compressed natural gas

[gregor]

I was just wondering if anyone knew if it was possible to run on cng also? We have alot of gasoline trucks where I work that also run on cng to, but I have not noticed any diesels. Just wondering because the price of cng last time I checked was only about 40cents a gallon( it may be different now but I know it is alot cheaper than gas and diesel). In the gas trucks you can't tell any difference in the performce.

[straycat]

They have done a lot of research on that here at the University of British Columbia, we actualy have some city buses running on it here. they sound the same, maybe a little quieter. But they are out there running.

Gord.

[gregor]

I keep trying to find a conversion kit but the cheapest one will cost about $10,000. The actual price is 70cents a gallon when I checked over the weekend. On the pump they have a conversion price to compare to gas and it equals the same as paying 12cents a gallon for regualr.

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Last edited by gregor : 02-06-2007 at 03:10 AM.

[straycat]

As far as I know it's still pretty new stuff, and the weight of the tanks will make you think twice about it. they are around 3x heavier walled than propane tanks, and the range is nowhere as good as gas.

Gord.

[gregor]

All I really know about it is that we have a couple of trucks at work that we run on it and the whole setup we have only takes up about two and half feet of the bed right behind the cab. Not really sure about the mileage on it but we can usually make almost a whole day of nonstop driving on it, but ours switches over to gas periodically to so it is hard to tell how long one tank would really last.

[straycat]

I talked to a couple of cab drivers on it and they were saying they were always looking for fuel, Couldn't take any trips outside of Vancouver proper, so it's pretty restrictive, not a lot of places around to get it, I think he said something like 14 stations in B.C.

Gord.

[gregor]

Its the same way around here I think that I have only seen two places to get it. But for the price it sure would be nice.

[straycat]

For sure, but I don't even know if they are commercially available for the diesel yet. But like everything else, it's just a matter of time I think.

Gord.

[CHenry]

"Compressed natural gas" is a misused term...you can't compress natural gas like you can propane therefor a 50 gallon tank will not hold much of it...leaving you with a short range on a tank full. You would have to have a pretty big tank to get any rang otherwise your filling it every 100 miles or so.
There is 1 place in OK that I know of that you can buy it...only one.

[straycat]

That's the thing, you couldn't get enough on board to make it worth while, and if you do, you would have your entire box full of very heavy tanks. Plus the coast of the conversion, lack of availability, and just plain old inconvenience of it does not really make it worth while in my opinion.

Gord.