Converting a car to run on Natural Gas?

S

Sid Post

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Oct 14, 1998
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People around here make it easier to order a Hummer or a Ferrari then getting a factory car that burns natural gas so, I'm think about coversions now.

I am curious if anyone has experience with this or if you can point me to a forum with this sort of information.

What I am wondering is if I can get something along the likes of Scion Xb or Nissan Frontier pickup or Crown Victoria with fuel injection and convert it to burn Natural Gas for a reasonable cost.

I know LPG is a more common thing but, it is cost prohibitive where I live. Diesel for reasons I can't explain is expensive as well. NG seems to be plentiful and relatively cheap - though the compressor for home use is a financial hurdle.

Thanks!
 
Talk to your gas company. Virtually all the Northwest Natural Gas company vehicles I see on the road have signs on them declaring that they're running on Natural Gas. Obviously, they've got a line on the resources to make that conversion. My guess is that they'd be happy to share those resources with you.
 
I talked to a guy with a 1 ton ford pickup that had their V10 converted to run on aither natural gas or LP. Think it was natural gas.
He bought it used from part of a fleet of trucks some big company had bought and then gone bankrupt. He wasn't real impressed, or at least didn't sound overly happy with it.
You had to run it on gasoline till the engine was warmed up, then switch it over. Gas mileage wasn't any better.
Seemed like a lot of hassle with no real benefit. And good luck finding a place to fuel up when your on a road trip and don't know the area.
 
Matt Shade said:
And good luck finding a place to fuel up when your on a road trip and don't know the area.
Click to expand...

Definitely not a good choice for a one and only vehicle if you plan to travel.

If enough people buy these though, the filling station situation will improve.
 
Various New York City agencies have collectively, one of the largest fleet of natural gas cars in the world. NYC also has a good concentration of Natural Gas refilling stations, yet, almost everyone I spoke to has run out of fuel and it's not like you can take your can to the nearest filling station, thus you might as well just run on gasoline. These agencies are currently switching to hybrids.
 
Get a diesel and do a deal with the local fast food/Chinese places to take away their old oil. You can run a car on SVO (Straight Vegetable Oil) or you can make your own biodiesel.

IIRC You will need a Bosche fuel pump and or injectors though so you may be limited to German vehicles.

The only problem with SVO is thinning it out first to reduce the viscosity. If you live in a hot place though you may have an easier time of it.

Biodiesel and air powered cars are the way forward IMHO Hydrogen is a pain in the ass, expensive to distribute and really only a step sideways not forwards.

Depending on where you live and your transport needs you may be able to run a vehicle for almost free after the inital expense.
 
For biodiesel I have also heard it recommended that you screen used vegetable oil into a 55 gallon drum before filling up. I know that it burns very clean and efficiently.

I am told that in Florida we won't have this problem but in most of the country what people do is run a large biodiesel tank and a small regular diesel tank. On startup and for the first few miles they will run the regular to let the engine warm up and then switch over to the bio.

Just don't buy it online. People are charging like 4 bucks a gallon for biodiesel last time I checked...like Temper said, check the chinese restaurants. People have better luck with non-chain restaurants as the chains tend to have regs regarding contractual disposal and all of that.

My buddy Mordachai is a member on this forum who knows a heck of a lot more about biodiesel than I- I'll ding him later on and see if he has anything else to contribute.
 
Willie's in. Mr Nelson has gone green (actually, he's always been green, but he's diversifyin'), and has a biodeisel co thats getting a little traction.

BioWille
 
To be honest, I hadn't even considered running Vegtable Oil in a diesel. That would go a long way to reducing cost per mile and it would certainly get me past or through fuel shortages (anyone remember the problems in Phoenix and Tucson with fuel lines?).
 
IIRC, Ford no longer makes vehicles with dual gasolene/propane engines. The company that delivers propane to me has all propane engines - of course !!
 
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