What is HBO for a diesel

Gas-balloon equipment has been installed on gasoline-powered vehicles with an internal combustion engine for a very long time. Moreover, many car brands today produce such hybrids that run on both gasoline and gas fuels. As for the installation of HBO on cars with diesel engines, this opportunity has appeared relatively recently. Therefore, it is worth considering the "gas diesel" in a little more detail.

HBO for diesel: about installation methods

Today, there are two main ways to install gas-balloon equipment on a diesel-powered car. One of them is very radical and is used extremely rarely, however, you should be aware of it.

We are talking about inserting classic spark plugs into the cylinder head. This will create a spark, which in turn will ignite the gas. In addition, diesel injectors can be replaced with spark plugs, if space permits.

If not, then plugs are installed in place of the diesel injectors, and the integration of the gas injection system is carried out in the intake manifold. At the same time, to reduce gas compression, it is necessary to install a thick gasket between the head and the cylinder block.

All these alterations affect not only the fuel system of a diesel car, but also its electronics and wiring. As a result, the diesel engine, in fact, ceases to be itself and turns into something else.

The second option is much simpler, more practical and economical, and it consists in integrating HBO into a diesel engine, but only if its design is as close as possible to the design of gasoline counterparts. In this case, nothing needs to be changed in the ignition system, since the ignition of gas fuel occurs from compression, just like the ignition of diesel fuel. In this case, the gas fuel is a mixture of propane and butane, or compressed natural gas - methane. It is noteworthy that the use of natural gas is more profitable than a mixture of propane and butane, since methane is cheaper. In addition, natural gas is capable of replacing diesel fuel by 80 percent.

HBO kit for diesel engine

LPG equipment for diesel engines is almost identical to the 4th generation HBO installed today on gasoline cars. In particular, we are talking about:

• gas cylinder;
• Reducer with evaporator/heater;
• solenoid valve;
• filters;
• Injection system with a set of nozzles;
• An electronic control unit (ECU) with the ability to connect to auto sensors and HBO.

It is worth noting that some HBO manufacturers supply emulators and electronic actuators for diesel injectors. The presence of these devices in the system allows using the HBO electronic unit to control the fuel supply process and control its amount.

The main feature of HBO, designed for a diesel engine, is just the presence of an ECU, which greatly simplifies the control over the operation of equipment and diesel injectors.

The principle of operation of a gas diesel engine

Interestingly, the installation of HBO only reduces the percentage of diesel fuel used. That is, diesel fuel is consumed constantly, but in smaller quantities. The consumption of diesel fuel is especially intensive when starting a “cold” engine, as well as at low speeds. As the engine warms up and the number of revolutions increases, the consumption of diesel fuel in the fuel system gradually decreases, and gas takes its place. In this case, up to 80 percent of the fuel in the system can be replaced by methane, as already mentioned above.

In addition, the diesel engine does not need to be "switched" from diesel fuel to gas and vice versa, all this makes the ECU invisible to the driver. However, the possibility of manual switching is still available, and you can use it at any moment.

LPG equipment can be installed on any modern diesel engines, both atmospheric and turbocharged.

Gas diesel: pros and cons

A weighty argument "for" the installation of HBO on a diesel car is, of course, a significant reduction in the cost of refueling a car with fuel. If a diesel car is often operated outside the city, at a "decent" speed and at high speeds, then fuel savings can be up to 25 percent.

If we consider the "against", then it should be noted the relatively high cost of both the HBO equipment itself and the professional services of the craftsmen who install this equipment. In this regard, the payback period will depend on the intensity of operation of a gas-diesel vehicle. In addition, LPG equipment may fail and its parts will need to be replaced, which indicates possible additional costs.

In other words, before installing HBO on your diesel car, you need to carefully weigh the pros and cons, and only then make a final decision.