Lets talk CNG

[1/4 mile king]

Average Daily cng used = $8= 88km. So 8×365= $2920/year. Today was average driving throughout the year on cng only all day.
88km @ less than 2KM/$ Premium gasoline ($7.75/litre) =
more than $44 daily= more than $16060 yearly.
16060-2920= >$13140 saved end of year running on cng only. Doesn't include additional maintenance due to cng system nor tax credit. Hitting Manzanilla weekend from central. Topping up the tank at tumpuna road arima to and from. Cng throughout from now on. So even more savings per year by avoiding premium gasoline. MAJOR DRAWBACK IS FREQUENT VISITS TO TOP UP BUT I RATHER SAVE $ MORE THAN TIME.

Money >> time

Hmm we can always buy time ?

We spend time to make money, In this case to save money lol. It takes me less than 7 minutes to top up the cng tank (including lining up @ a pump). That cng tank gives me 11km/$ to 16km/$ (165km to over 200km). It's cheaper for me to spend 7 minutes of my time rather than consuming premium gasoline at 1.6km/$ to 1.7km/$. I don't know how else to make sense of this to anyone. Btw more than 1600km done so far since last gasoline fill up with half tank gasoline remaining atm .

[matix]

Average Daily cng used = $8= 88km. So 8×365= $2920/year. Today was average driving throughout the year on cng only all day.
88km @ less than 2KM/$ Premium gasoline ($7.75/litre) =
more than $44 daily= more than $16060 yearly.
16060-2920= >$13140 saved end of year running on cng only. Doesn't include additional maintenance due to cng system nor tax credit. Hitting Manzanilla weekend from central. Topping up the tank at tumpuna road arima to and from. Cng throughout from now on. So even more savings per year by avoiding premium gasoline. MAJOR DRAWBACK IS FREQUENT VISITS TO TOP UP BUT I RATHER SAVE $ MORE THAN TIME.

Money >> time

Hmm we can always buy time ?

We spend time to make money, In this case to save money lol. It takes me less than 7 minutes to top up the cng tank (including lining up @ a pump). That cng tank gives me 11km/$ to 16km/$ (165km to over 200km). It's cheaper for me to spend 7 minutes of my time rather than consuming premium gasoline at 1.6km/$ to 1.7km/$. I don't know how else to make sense of this to anyone. Btw more than 1600km done so far since last gasoline fill up with half tank gasoline remaining atm .

It’s working for you and that’s it. You don’t need to convince anyone

[1/4 mile king]

Average Daily cng used = $8= 88km. So 8×365= $2920/year. Today was average driving throughout the year on cng only all day.
88km @ less than 2KM/$ Premium gasoline ($7.75/litre) =
more than $44 daily= more than $16060 yearly.
16060-2920= >$13140 saved end of year running on cng only. Doesn't include additional maintenance due to cng system nor tax credit. Hitting Manzanilla weekend from central. Topping up the tank at tumpuna road arima to and from. Cng throughout from now on. So even more savings per year by avoiding premium gasoline. MAJOR DRAWBACK IS FREQUENT VISITS TO TOP UP BUT I RATHER SAVE $ MORE THAN TIME.

Money >> time

Hmm we can always buy time ?

We spend time to make money, In this case to save money lol. It takes me less than 7 minutes to top up the cng tank (including lining up @ a pump). That cng tank gives me 11km/$ to 16km/$ (165km to over 200km). It's cheaper for me to spend 7 minutes of my time rather than consuming premium gasoline at 1.6km/$ to 1.7km/$. I don't know how else to make sense of this to anyone. Btw more than 1600km done so far since last gasoline fill up with half tank gasoline remaining atm .

It’s working for you and that’s it. You don’t need to convince anyone

Thanks. To me the pros outweigh the cons.

[1/4 mile king]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. Yes I use cng all the time now. I used to put average $330 premium gasoline every 5 to 6 days. I live central (refill stations nearby) and I always keep topping up the tank (daily) to avoid running on gasoline. I only use gasoline for engine warm up and sudden high acceleration etc ( barely use it at all ). I badly need to make this investment work .

Question: People with CNG systems allow the cng to run out for long periods & are comfortable consuming gasoline? That defeats the whole purpose (my opinion). I get more km/$ on CNG, why waste money running on gasoline? My trip distance tally (reset only @ every gasoline fill up) is over 900km (more than 1/2 tank gasoline remaining) since the last full up of gasoline. The CNG was installed @ 3/4 tank of gasoline and only about 200km (not too sure) was done before the cng installation.

What's the reason for using gasoline over the CNG (other than better performance)??
Kindly enlighten me.
Am I doing something wrong???
Will I still damage my engine despite being light on the pedal while on CNG??

I was hoping to get some feedback on these. But so far so good with my cng system.

[dtopshottas]

The only issue I had initially was a lean code and that was only because I'm flooring it all the time. The supplier adjusted the gasoline while I drove the car with the aggressive pulls. Additionally the spark plug gaps were reduced (was done with caution). Yes, you will not have the same power but the supplier did advise to use gasoline if the engine is under load for long periods of time (Maracas runs, Paramin, any hill, etc ) because the ECU will detect the car running lean again. But just run the CNG out and run gasoline back to the service station.

[1/4 mile king]

The only issue I had initially was a lean code and that was only because I'm flooring it all the time. The supplier adjusted the gasoline while I drove the car with the aggressive pulls. Additionally the spark plug gaps were reduced (was done with caution). Yes, you will not have the same power but the supplier did advise to use gasoline if the engine is under load for long periods of time (Maracas runs, Paramin, any hill, etc ) because the ECU will detect the car running lean again. But just run the CNG out and run gasoline back to the service station.

Thanks a lot. I was thinking for some time that this forum was filled with gasoline/diesel electric vehicles sales persons lol. Natural gas powers our electric power plants so i guess it will be here for some time. We will go fully electric when we start having wind turbine farms etc. or better charging facilities.

[sMASH]

I was also gapping my plugs. Didn't really notice much differencin reliability or performance
What i started doing, is switching off the cng anytime i needed power. Like if gojng up sn incline or dpeeding up.

I only use the cng when i. Petting the engine.

Doing this i noticing a lot longer duration fir changing plugs.


Supposed to run gas snywsys, so use it when i want the power

[1/4 mile king]

I do exactly that. I Use only gasoline for steep hill climbs & sudden overtakes. Did 3000km using $300 premium gasoline & $250 CNG which equals to 5.45km/$. That's equivalent to a vehicle running on only premium gasoline doing 99.9 miles per US gallon.

[dtopshottas]

I was also gapping my plugs. Didn't really notice much differencin reliability or performance
What i started doing, is switching off the cng anytime i needed power. Like if gojng up sn incline or dpeeding up.

I only use the cng when i. Petting the engine.

Doing this i noticing a lot longer duration fir changing plugs.


Supposed to run gas snywsys, so use it when i want the power

Adjusting the plug gap greatly assisted with getting the car from a cold start to operating temperature where it will not hesitate when I drove off.

[sMASH]

Hmmm. Ill gap it next time and psy attention to the stsrt up... I do get a slight hesitancy on first stsrt up ... But no real big issue...

[kamakazi]

When people here say they gapping plugs are they opening then up, making them smaller or targeting a specific gap value

[adnj]

Adjusting the plug gap greatly assisted with getting the car from a cold start to operating temperature where it will not hesitate when I drove off.

I understand that you decreased the spark gap, which should have given you an improved cold-engine performance.

Did the conversion also include swapping out your original plugs to an iridium plug? Or are the plugs unchanged from before the conversion?

[killercow]

CNG combustion results in higher engine block temperatures. As such, it is always recommended to replace your OEM spark plugs for a colder rated plug (colder rated plugs transfer heat more rapidly keeping the firing tip cooler) with a smaller gaping. There is a gapping tool that can be used to properly gap plugs in instances where an OEM spec smaller gap plug cannot be obtained.

Long story short, anytime you running CNG make sure of the following:
#1. Use a colder rated than OEM.
#2. Smaller gap (if gapping manually use a gapping tool and not the ponging crap the mango tree mechanic does want to do).
#3. Use IRIDIUM plugs only! (much stronger and harder than platinum plugs) otherwise you'll be changing plugs quite often and getting stuttering / poor performance from your CNG.

I hearing plenty people here saying they have to run gas to go up places like Maracas etc. I go anywhere on CNG and never had to switch to petrol for power. Just make sure your system is properly tuned and you good to go.

[dtopshottas]

Before the conversion I was advised to install iridium spark plugs and if possible (since it's an older vehicle) swap out the coils. Yes, some cars can use the CNG all the time with no power loss but that is not the case in my current setup. I'll just follow their instructions when to turn on or off the CNG system.

[1/4 mile king]

I just don't like when there're too many vehicles topping up at fuel stations and the loading pressure is low. I don't get to properly top up especially before going on long voyages (less range). I never ran out of cng though ( NP Carousel Mon Repos to and from Cedros) . So not too much of an issue.

[VexXx Dogg]

some plugs were not meant to be gapped eh. make sure you doh have pre-gapped plugs or the platinum/iridium tips that can be damaged.

[PariaMan]

Cng in Trinidad could only work if a limited number of people has it installed

If all those people who have aquas and vezels had cng, there would not nearly have enough stations

That's why it's a fools errand the government is pursuing

[sMASH]

When the batteries hadda replace in them cars, then might be the time fir a comparison... For those of us who count every black cent

[PariaMan]

People generally go to the gas station once a week with a gas or diesel vehicle

If these people had to go once every 3 days but had to use CNG in the few gas stations that usually have one filling station, things would go south very quickly.

This CNG thing will always be a niche business that could never go mainstream

[1/4 mile king]

Cng nor gasoline electric nor diesel electric is the future. Fully electric is & they give more km/$. Ask the Nissan leaf owners. Their electricity bill barely increased when charging their vehicles at home. I rather cng over gasoline/diesel electric atm. The YouTube mechanic shows you how to repair the batteries. Easy fix but the issue for me is the 2 types of integrated systems powering one drive train. It seems too complicated for me to repair. And they are stealing those vehicles now for their batteries. I did the calculations and I am getting way more km/$ with cng over any gasoline/diesel electric vehicle currently in T&T. I guess they will have to add more compressors and storage tanks at fuel stations to compensate for the higher demand for cng if more people goes for cng vehicles.

[1/4 mile king]

Does anyone have more information on LPG systems that RAMCO installs? How much is a liter of LPG after you buy a system from them? I believe the LPG should be better in distance range wise and may be power wise but in the end the price per liter will determine it all.

[adnj]

Does anyone have more information on LPG systems that RAMCO installs? How much is a liter of LPG after you buy a system from them? I believe the LPG should be better in distance range wise and may be power wise but in the end the price per liter will determine it all.

CNG offers about 33% better fuel economy than gasoline. LPG offers about 20% worse.

[killercow]

Does anyone have more information on LPG systems that RAMCO installs? How much is a liter of LPG after you buy a system from them? I believe the LPG should be better in distance range wise and may be power wise but in the end the price per liter will determine it all.

CNG offers about 33% better fuel economy than gasoline. LPG offers about 20% worse.

I have no clue on the facts with respect to the comparison. However, I run CNG and I've spoken to two individuals who are currently running the LPG. From the information they disseminated, the LPG giving better MPG than the CNG. The drawback however is that there are only two auto refill locations currently.

[adnj]

Does anyone have more information on LPG systems that RAMCO installs? How much is a liter of LPG after you buy a system from them? I believe the LPG should be better in distance range wise and may be power wise but in the end the price per liter will determine it all.

CNG offers about 33% better fuel economy than gasoline. LPG offers about 20% worse.

I have no clue on the facts with respect to the comparison. However, I run CNG and I've spoken to two individuals who are currently running the LPG. From the information they disseminated, the LPG giving better MPG than the CNG. The drawback however is that there are only two auto refill locations currently.

CNG is better than gasoline. Gasoline is better than LPG. Diesel and CNG are about the same.

LPG is probably cheaper than gasoline. It is nearly always less all over the world.

[1/4 mile king]

Does anyone have more information on LPG systems that RAMCO installs? How much is a liter of LPG after you buy a system from them? I believe the LPG should be better in distance range wise and may be power wise but in the end the price per liter will determine it all.

CNG offers about 33% better fuel economy than gasoline. LPG offers about 20% worse.

I have no clue on the facts with respect to the comparison. However, I run CNG and I've spoken to two individuals who are currently running the LPG. From the information they disseminated, the LPG giving better MPG than the CNG. The drawback however is that there are only two auto refill locations currently.

CNG is better than gasoline. Gasoline is better than LPG. Diesel and CNG are about the same.

LPG is probably cheaper than gasoline. It is nearly always less all over the world.

Based on the research I did, 1liter of LPG contains more energy than 1liter of CNG. Gasoline is too expensive so forget about adding that into the equation atm. So in theory 1ltr of LPG will be more powerful and render more range. Biggest advantage to me about LPG is that it is stored as a liquid in the tank. So a 70L volume LPG tank can carry 60 something liters of LPG fuel and thus more range per tank-full. A CNG 70L tank carries less than 20L of CNG so less range and power for the same size tank. HOWEVER JUST LIKE GASOLINE, IT'S ALL ABOUT THE PRICE PER LITER. If gasoline was $1 or $2 per liter, no one would care about CNG, LPG Nor electric and hybrid. My main question is how much is a liter of LPG when filling up a vehicle in Trinidad and how much to install a LPG system in a vehicle? I know LPG will cost more than CNG since it is processed more than CNG. A 20lb propane tank = $21 = 17liters i think. So i don't know if it is subsidized to cost a household $0.83 per liter for propane/LPG lol.

[1/4 mile king]

https://www.elgas.com.au/blog/1698-cng- ... 2025%20MPa.
Very informative.

[adnj]

Yes. A volume of LPG does have more energy than CNG. IIRC, LPG in 3x more energy dense than CNG @3000 PSI.

LPG requires a lower compression ratio than is acceptable for gasoline to achieve maximum fuel economy. Compression ratio, thermal characteristics, and a few other reasons are the cause of lower fuel economy in converted engines.

It isn't recommended, but I have seen LPG tanks refilled in garages by turning the donor tank upside down.

[Dave]

Didn't a car explode in a Chaguanas gas station filling the wrong gas or was it a wrong tank?

[adnj]

Didn't a car explode in a Chaguanas gas station filling the wrong gas or was it a wrong tank?

I believe that it exploded when the door was opened by the driver.

[Dave]

That was the lady with the bus.

There was another one in the gas station by the Chaguanas flyover with some odd system with cng/lpg.