Gas prices are skyrocketting here in Colombia and they are expected to soar even further down the road. Being a Bronco owner, I am particularly affected. Natural gas is thus becoming a new fuel option. Yet, I've heard that, in addition to the conversion, which is quite expensive, there is a power loss, engines wear more rapidly and tuning up is a pain, not to mention the space taken up by the cylinder tanks. When switching to natural gas, fuel savings are expected to be around 50%. A conversion for a truck like mine costs around $2.000. Is this worth it?, what you all think...? thanks.

PS: I've seen a few pickup trucks which don't really suffer the loss of cargo space, yet....

 

The problem with natural or propane is they are still fossil fuels, and still subject to the same price fluctuation, and limited resource capability and infrastructure availability. It would only be a temporary bandaid fix.

 

Is it worth it?
No

 

Build a still and run on ethanol, little conversin an a good excuse to own a still.
Though you might get funny looks from the neighbors.

 

A few years back, we had 3 CNG powered E-350's used as accident investigation vans. A good portion of the time, they ran fine, but every now and then they had loss of power when accelerating from a complete stop. Felt like you were pulling a 20,000 pound trailer with its brakes on!

They also spent a LOT of time in the shop for various engine repairs. Not a good choice for emergency vehicles. Perhaps someday in the future they will make vehicles that work better with CNG.


reguy

 

the conservatiuon district i work for is now getting all of its new vehicles as cng vehicles. mostly f250's and f350's so far they seem to work good, nat gas burns cleaner and is WAY WAY cheaper

 

Thanks!, that is very interesting information. Haven't made up my mind yet but I'm still looking into it. I've heard about some F-350s and especially Broncos being converted here. I'll continue my research for now.

 

Calzo....where is here...

This is very interesting information, I am looking forward to this forum picking up pace

 

I meant Colombia, well, I'm better known at FTE in other topics like engine swaps, late Broncos, etc... Speaking of Colombia, The local government is promoting the conversion of vehicles to compressed natural gas while some research is under way to mass-produce sugar cane ethanol as another clean fuel alternative. Both gasoline and diesel fuel have been affected by the gradual withdrawal of subsidies by the government and of course the ever rising price of the WTI oil barrel in the international market.

 

It really depends where you are. Here in British Columbia propane & natural gas are only about 2/3 the price of gasoline. I have had an 87 F150 300 cu in. on propane for 4 years and it runs like a champ. Oil is still like new after 3000 miles and its cleaner on the environment. I highly recommend for anyone who does 20,000 miles a year or more.

 

I know other vehicles run on propane, and have the same reports. If the claims of ioil being a limited resource, natural gas and propane are also limited, that is what I meant. If we can find a way to produce either artificailly and with enough volume, it would be a great fuel. It does burn cleaner, I dont know about emissions if it burns cleaner that way, but I would expect it should.

 

You can collect natural gas from rotting debris, like trash and sewage if you store it right. journeytoforever has info on anaerobic digesters. not practical for most of us, but pretty cool nonetheless.

 

Hi, I just purchased a 1990 aerostar today, it is a bi-fuel (or duel fuel, whatever is correct) it runs on gasoline and Natural Gas with a switch on the dashboard to switch from either one, The guy i bought it from told me that the CNG was only working at high RPM on the highway and what not, and that otherwise the engine would just stall out if you turned it on. (fuel cylinders full) i switched it over and it just stalled out and would only run 1 second and shut off every time i started it again. Could it be that the Mixer is gone? or a vacuum hose or something?... there is also a tap on the filler unit that i have to turn to "OPEN" when i fill it... does this tap have to be open when i want to run it on CNG? If anybody knows i would appreciate any help, as i am not familliar with alternative fuel systems.

 

When i was stationed in ridgecrest Califorina the Navy converted a lot of the vehicles we were using to CNG I never noticed a difference. we went through the CNG faster than gas. I worked with ordnance and we used our vehicles to pull heavy weapons trailers. the converted vehicles worked great. only porblem is that they all had to run both fules or stay in town. no one had cng out in town

 

Do you have a picture of this 'Tap' ? There should be some type of quick disconnect to hook a filler nozzel to that prevents gas from coming out, not a hand valve. If you don't have a pic try cracking the valve open a little and listen for a hiss to see and smell if any is escaping. From the few systems I have worked with the valves should be open, also check for a 1/4 turn valve in the line, make sure it is open if you have one.