Compressed Natural Gas car

glatt · 07-28-2008, 08:27 PM

You retract this blue sleeve, push the nozzle in place, and let the blue sleeve spring back and complete the air tight seal with the car's tank. Then you turn the nozzle to "on" and turn the pump on.

These LED gauges give you the gallon equivalent, but don't tell you what you are paying. I guess it's a surprise at the end of the month. He says it cost about $12 to fill up, and the tank lasts for about 200 miles.

glatt · 07-28-2008, 08:28 PM

The real gauge to watch is the pressure gauge. The car's tank fills to 3600 PSI, so the pump shuts down once it reaches that pressure. Only takes a minute or so.

Then you turn off the nozzle and make sure the pump is off, and the pump vents the small amount of pressurized gas that was in the hose up this pipe and right into the atmosphere.

The whole process of filling the tank make sounds that are similar to filling your tires with air, except without all the leaking air noises. The nozzle seal is air tight to 3600 PSI.

glatt · 07-28-2008, 08:30 PM

The Civic trunk is even smaller on this car. Can't put too much in here.

Under the hood, the only change I could see to the engine was this blue regulator right next to the valve cover. The label says it drops the pressure down to 36.3 PSI before it goes into the engine. The label also says the max input pressure is 193PSI, so there has to be another regulator somewhere to drop the tank pressure down from 3600PSI to 193PSI here.

glatt · 07-28-2008, 08:31 PM

The exhaust system has this thing in it, upstream from the regular muffler. It looks like a muffler to me and not a catalytic converter, but what do I know?

glatt · 07-28-2008, 08:34 PM

And finally, here are the stickers I found under the hood.

Overall, it's just like a regular small car.

Elspode · 07-28-2008, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glatt

He says it cost about $12 to fill up, and the tank lasts for about 200 miles.

My Exploder gets 15 mpg. I just paid $3.79 a gallon today. That's 25.6 cents per mile.

His is 6 cents per mile based on $12 for 200 miles. My meager calculation skills tell me that he's getting somewhere near 60 mpg gasoline equivalent if all the other figures are correct.

Color me envious.

glatt · 07-28-2008, 08:58 PM

Yeah, well, I can't verify these numbers. It's all hearsay. But I don't think he's trying to BS me.

Maybe he pays $12 each time he fills it up, but he fills it up (tops off the tank) whenever it drops below half a tank. There are few places to fill the tank, and if it were my car, I'd make sure the tank never got too low. Otherwise you would be stranded. (It has a standard looking fuel gauge in the dash.)

So maybe the $12 is what it costs to fill half a tank.

Either way, the mileage is good, and he gets to use the HOV lanes, so his commutes are much faster, and it's better for the environment.

07-28-2008, 08:27 PM	#1
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	You retract this blue sleeve, push the nozzle in place, and let the blue sleeve spring back and complete the air tight seal with the car's tank. Then you turn the nozzle to "on" and turn the pump on. These LED gauges give you the gallon equivalent, but don't tell you what you are paying. I guess it's a surprise at the end of the month. He says it cost about $12 to fill up, and the tank lasts for about 200 miles. Attached Images

07-28-2008, 08:28 PM	#2
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	The real gauge to watch is the pressure gauge. The car's tank fills to 3600 PSI, so the pump shuts down once it reaches that pressure. Only takes a minute or so. Then you turn off the nozzle and make sure the pump is off, and the pump vents the small amount of pressurized gas that was in the hose up this pipe and right into the atmosphere. The whole process of filling the tank make sounds that are similar to filling your tires with air, except without all the leaking air noises. The nozzle seal is air tight to 3600 PSI. Attached Images Last edited by glatt; 07-28-2008 at 08:37 PM.

07-28-2008, 08:30 PM	#3
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	The Civic trunk is even smaller on this car. Can't put too much in here. Under the hood, the only change I could see to the engine was this blue regulator right next to the valve cover. The label says it drops the pressure down to 36.3 PSI before it goes into the engine. The label also says the max input pressure is 193PSI, so there has to be another regulator somewhere to drop the tank pressure down from 3600PSI to 193PSI here. Attached Images

07-28-2008, 08:31 PM	#4
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	The exhaust system has this thing in it, upstream from the regular muffler. It looks like a muffler to me and not a catalytic converter, but what do I know? Attached Images

07-28-2008, 08:34 PM	#5
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	And finally, here are the stickers I found under the hood. Overall, it's just like a regular small car. Attached Images

07-28-2008, 08:58 PM	#7
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	Yeah, well, I can't verify these numbers. It's all hearsay. But I don't think he's trying to BS me. Maybe he pays $12 each time he fills it up, but he fills it up (tops off the tank) whenever it drops below half a tank. There are few places to fill the tank, and if it were my car, I'd make sure the tank never got too low. Otherwise you would be stranded. (It has a standard looking fuel gauge in the dash.) So maybe the $12 is what it costs to fill half a tank. Either way, the mileage is good, and he gets to use the HOV lanes, so his commutes are much faster, and it's better for the environment.

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