convert your truck to run on natural gas

[Wayne County Hose]

May work in Arkansas, but it doesn't work in the north country. LP won't vaporize or flow when it gets cold and the vehicles won't start. One of the local school districts spent thousands of dollars converting their buses to find this out. Then they spent thousands more converting them back.

Hmmm, the thousands of propane powered forklifts currently being used in Canada vehemently disagree. We use them in -30°.

 

[5030]

I just checked Cummins.com and Detroitdiesel.com and neither has any info on NG engines.
Bill

Interesting. I sent you a PM....

 

[5030]

Redirect Notice


Prime movers using Natural Gas have been around for many a year.

That's a great link Egon....

I almost forgot about the Waukesha turbocharged inline NG engine we have for auxillary power at the shop. Your link reminded me. It's direct coupled to a Delco ac unit, I think it's around 100 KVA. It's a handsome engine (Waukesha), like the Cooper Bessemers.

 

[heehaw]

i checked ebay about 6 months ago, and there were several kits to convert vehicles for less than $1000: but they did not include the tank: they also had several different home NG filling stations that were under $5k: and from most things i have read, and talked to a couple folks that have NG powered vehicles, the mileage is as good, the power is as good, and they have a 20 gallon tank: its like everything new, once a story gets started, it never ends: the only car i am aware of that you can buy ready to run on NG is a honda: but there may be others: i was told a Ford truck cost @ $6k more rigged for NG:
i avoid using my chevy truck as much as possible..because of the cost to fill it up: so my 2004 truck has 47,000 miles on it: and as i said before, i would sure like to convert it: but just don't have whatever it takes to let go of that kind of $$$$ now..the dealer in conway, ar said it takes 4 days to do the conversion????
heehaw

 

[Dimba2009]

I knew he meant NG over LPG as well. However, there are quite a few obstacles concerning NG for fueling engines, most noteably is the pressure at which NG has to be stored for use versus LPG. LPG is about 80 PSI whereas NG is a couple thousand.

My hunting partner owns the LP company I buy from and he runs his vehicles on LP, including the Ford gas pickup we take up north hunting (read cold) and it starts on gasoline and automatically switches to LP. Has a heated intake system to vaporize the LP in cold weather.

CNG is stored at 400 bar.

 

[Bob77064]

Hmmm, the thousands of propane powered forklifts currently being used in Canada vehemently disagree. We use them in -30°.

I have to agree, propane does not freeze til -310 farenheit.

 

[bcp]

I think it is Butane that fails in freezing temperatures, and people extend that to the other gases.

Bruce

 

[fxrupr]

I was visiting my brother's dairy farm in central Vermont last winter. It was a toasty 10 degrees out in his shop and one of his hired hands was needing me to torch cut something. Brother said he had propane instead of acetylene in his gas ax but it was supposed to work just as well and was cheaper.
NOT
Propane was very hard to light and required nursing the flame along until the cutting tip warmed up enough to support more throttle. I've never had that problem with acetylene. Once I got the torch and handle warmed up it worked just fine.

 

[WM75Guy]

Don't confuse CNG with LNG, both of which are used as motor fuel. CNG vehicles can be filled with a compressor from the public gas system at your home and stored at a lower pressure than LNG. The one CNG truck that a neighboring city bought for Public Works could go about 100 miles on a tank of CNG. As CNG is NG for your home it is odorized allowing you to detect a leak easier. Lack of public filling stations makes both impractical for travelling. If you want to travel use LPG which is everywhere.

LNG cannot be oderized as it is cryogenic. LNG vehicles must have sensors to detect a leak adding to the cost. LNG is stored in a cryogenic Dewar vessel usually on top of the vehicle such as a converted public bus so any leak does not accumulate. The one case study I saw when a mechanic was looking for leak on a bus in a city shop was not pretty. He overrode the leak detectors which prevent the bus from starting and tried to start the bus. Blew out all the windows in the vehicles and the building. Fortunately no one was killed.

 

[kenmac]

The ones I,ve seen. use CNC , They pump in about 3600 PSI. All the busses in town run off CNG. diesel engines converted to CNG