Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Swerve wrote:I just purchased another car from out of state, out of rego and out of date tank for LPG.

To get the grant and also get the LPG tank tested what should I do? Do I need to get the car registered 1st on Petrol and then do the LPG for the grant or can I do it all at once?

Also to get the tank re checked etc, should I remove it for my LPG installer or not?

Thanks

Steve

anybody noticed how the updated guidelines documentation from lpg australia, ostensibly liberalised with regard to state of registration etc, have also seen a couple of unrelated phrases deleted to further reinforce the monopoly of the industry to exploit this grant for their benefit and to discourage the private individuals the grant is aimed at ? until 24/09/08 the guidelines contained the following phrases:"Conversions using second hand LPG units are eligible to apply" and "If you do the LPG conversion yourself......."
these references have now gone.
what also appears to have happened is that these changes were not published on time. i accessed their site on 02/10/08, the day before my appointment with a fitter. and the forms and guidelines i downloaded were the older ones before the deletions.

i had followed these previously referenced guidelines to the letter, bought some components used and some new, mounted all the major units onto my vehicle, made the preparatory electrical connections and then arranged for a qualified gas fitter to supply and fit all the high and low pressure lines, check all the components and commission and tune the system. i was invoiced $605 and the fitter signed my grant application forms.

some 20 days after lodgement at medicare (it says 10 in the documentation) lpg australia (aka centrelink) refused my application for a grant. i have challenged them on this and they are squirming fit to bust and keep trying tricks to get me to go away. after reluctantly acknowledging my claim that the older information was all that was available to me at the time of the conversion firstly they tried suggesting that the line about 'converting yourself' actually refered to gas fitters converting their own cars. i pointed out that this was in the consumer guidelines as opposed to the dealer and installer guidelines so they put me on hold for 20 minutes while they thought about it, then came back with the suggestion, in full knowledge of exactly who fitted what, that i approach the gas fitter to alter the wording on the invoice to say "complete installation". whether they meant 'complete' as an adjective or a verb isn't known but as their denial of my claim has seriously screwed up my finances i was prepared to play the game. unbeknownst to me and in direct contradiction of their statement that they could have no contact with the installer direct, by the time i managed to get a call through to him 'somebody' had already put the fear of god into him and he wouldn't have a bar of it. his wife also called me a "dickhead" which was nice ! i suspect they had been leaned on because they'd seemed perfectly amicable previously.
so now i've got to take up my case with the ombudsman, suffer the ignominy of applying for a hardship payment from an association i belong to <u>and</u> be insulted by people who've taken $600+ off me for about $400 worth of work.

the only thing i've got out of it is a better installation than any pro would have done because i fitted things like a stone guard/heatshield to protect the vulnerable areas of pipework, a air meter flap opening device to prevent damage from backfires and used genuine rover type 'rist' heavy-duty soldered electrical connectors throughout instead of cheapo crimp ones.
the single modification the fitter insisted i make to any of my work was to fit a second isolation point under the bonnet to allow the tank valve to be electrically disconnected remotely. he was happy enough with an inline fuse holder cut into the wire using crimp connections and cable tied to a convenient hook. as he is a member of the institute of automotive mechanical engineers who am i to question that for quality? oh, of course, i am but a 'dickhead'. that would explain why i have worked on ferraris , lamborghinis and jaguars professionally and have maintained trucks, buses and a myriad of other cars privately. i'm also an operational firefighter with plenty of experience in the hazards of lpg so the very thought of attempting anything in the slightest bit dodgy is anathema to me. at no time until the fitter made the gas connections and started the vehicle had any gas been anywhere other than in the s/h (in date) tank.

i have since read that the ombudsman has forced lpg australia to reverse several refusals of the grant so there may be some hope yet. the stress my family and i are suffering in the meantime is immeasurable, just trying to keep our heads above the financial waterline because these clowns choose to spend their over-paid time trying to wheedle out of disbursing public funds to exactly the intended recipients. what is perhaps more galling is the apparent intention in modifying the guidelines to increase the chances that the grant actually ends up lining the pockets of the installers. i suppose i'd be drawing a long bow to suggest actual collusion but why the ACCC hasn't investigated the gas industry over their blatant over inflation of parts and installation costs yet is a miracle. how is a 'poorer' australian with a car worth sub $2k supposed to justify capitalising it by a further $3-$4k unaided ? these are precisely the people the government needs to target with assistance to reduce their emissions.

i feel so duped by these events i am cancelling the solar hot water service we were going to have installed in a futher effort to reduce our emissions as i have no faith that the rebates promised by the federal government will ever materialise either.

Swerve wrote:But the new car does not have any LPG fitters plates etc ? as far as I know it may have been done illegally, doesnt have any LPG notes on the plates or old registration. Either way it's basicly all disconnected so I will be re-installing myself and plan to get it re-certified, so will have receipts from my installer and the complete check through.

Nothing to loose.