Excursion CNG Conversion

[wantaford]

I am having a difficult time trying to get information on a CNG Bi-Fuel Conversion for an '01 Excursion w/ 6.8L V10 in California. The only info I have been able to find is Holden Fleet Services and if there customer service is an example of there work I want nothing to do with them. They quoted me $15.5K for the conversion. They are probably using less than a $1K in parts.

Is it possible for me to buy a kit, install it my self and have it checked and or certified for CNG refueling?

[jimandmandy]

$1 in parts? You dont understand how different CNG is compared to LPG. CNG is dispensed at over 3000psi, so the tanks are extreme pressure vessels. The price of one small tank (Honda Civic GX) is about $6k alone.

Jim

[wantaford]

Originally Posted by jimandmandy

$1 in parts? You dont understand how different CNG is compared to LPG. CNG is dispensed at over 3000psi, so the tanks are extreme pressure vessels. The price of one small tank (Honda Civic GX) is about $6k alone.

Jim

I think I said $1K (means a $1000). That's why I am asking the question because I can not fathom how it could cost $15,500 to convert a vehicle to CNG unless I am just padding someone's pocket in labor and mark up. I maybe could believe and go along with $7K - $8K, but over $15 grand - give me a break.

If CNG is really going to catch on, conversions are going to need to be made more affordable. I am an old parts guy so I have a pretty good idea of what parts really cost between wholesale and retail. I just don't buy into it. When was the last time anybody purchased (not leased) oxyacetylene tanks, they are pressurized at those pressures. I know they actually don’t cost that much - somebody is making a killing in pure profit!

I am really not trying to make anybody mad here. If we (as a nation) are going to cut our dependance on foreign energy we need to make better use of what we have readily available. There is an over abundance of Natural Gas - I just can't believe that considering the times we live in that this has not been better exploited! I can not believe that more aftermarket companies have not stepped up to the plate and brought more products to the table. Why has the OE Auto Manufactures not offered more dedicated or bi-fuel options on CNG?

In Utah (I don’t live there, wish I did) they currently have CNG at .73 cents per gallon. The state offers a tax credit (one time per vehicle) of up to $3,000 plus what you get from the FED’s. In the Golden State which is one of the supposed leaders in saving the environment and emissions standards offers you a big phat zero in incentives - all you have is the FED credit.

[aurgathor]

CNG vehicles were mostly a bust, though that may be because they were ahead of their times.

Because of that, I don't think there's many companies involved in making supplies, so the lack of the competition leads to higher prices across the board.

The current fads seem to be electric hybrids and biofuels, so you may need to work hard if you want to do the conversion cheap.

[jimandmandy]

We have had two CNG vehicles in the family and they are clean-running and economical. The problems that make them not practical are difficult to overcome. Maybe easier than hydrogen cars, but still difficult. First, a compressed gas can only store a fraction of the energy in the same volume as a liquid. So, the tanks take up significant cargo space and yet the range per fill is still half that of gasoline. Second, these 8000psi tanks, hoses and fittings are specialized, expensive, parts that may get cheaper if mass-produced, but still not near a cheap as even an LPG system. Third, CNG fuel stations only exist in a few places, a common problem with any "alternative" fuels. That is the biggest problem, which one will "win"? Gasoline became the only standard quickly about 100 years ago, with diesel pumps added about 40 years later. Since then, nothing has surfaced as "universal".

Jim

[wantaford]

Sounds like a potential business opportunity. If you have a home refueling appliance, who cares if you have to hook it up every other day or so for fuel. I don't drive any one of my cars more than a 100 miles in a day, unless we are traveling - thus the bi-fuel option. At the prices of CNG I don't think most people would complain much about CNG hassle's.