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Keep on it and post updates for us all here.
It will be interesting to follow as I believe Honda owns roughly 20% of FuelMaker, so there will either be some FuelMaker price concessions and better availability or strong resistance keeping the competition off shore and far away.
Has anyone else noticed that the Civic GX's no longer have a "GX" emblem on the car anywhere? At least there wasn't one on mine. So, I bought a "G" and an "X" from chromeemblems.com for pretty cheap (free shipping) and put it below the CIVIC emblem right aligned. The emblems from chromemblems.com are really nice. In fact, I think they provide custom emblems for some car manufacturers.
Thanks for the links on the decals.
Thank you,
Jim Kuhlman
York, PA
Garry
2. Check out more places to quote the transmission fix. That $3K seems rather off the scale... With a warranty replaced compuvalve, that car should run a LONG time. Just remember imported oil is not getting cheaper.
I own 2 of the same model with replaced compuvalves - everything is running quite OK. One will be for sale shortly, to be replaced with a Civic GX.
We have a Honda Civic GX and have owned it new since Dec. 1998. We are not impressed with Phill, especially since FuelMaker originally told us that it would cost $2,000 the first year and would drop to $1,000 within a year or two. We almost purchased a used FMQ-2-36 5 years ago, but held off waiting for Phill. That was a mistake, since Phill came out $700 higher than the used FMQ-2-36.
We live in California, near Sacramento, but have relatives in Queen Creek, so transportation would be an easier problem to solve.
Thanks for the information.
Murphy
Garry
is anyone else bothered by this?? the net pollution of this combination must be worse than just running gas or even diesel. clearly, an electric compressor (as in Phil, FMQ) is the better way to go. and yes, i recognize that electricity is coming from some burning at the power plant, but this is infinitely more efficient than these big diesel engines.
thoughts?
Garry
Maybe a phone call or conversation with someone in charge at Trillium to ask why, and explain the environmental concerns. Then politely suggest they seriously need to get a clean diesel engine or convert to electricity.
Later on if nothing happens, contact the state or local DEQ agency, or CARB if they cover that area. I would think at minimum an air quality pollution (not to mention the noise) situation exists that should be investigated, etc. That application hardly qualifies as rural agricultural irrigation pumping needs...
thanks,
b
thanks,
b
ST
You seem to know a lot about Contours. I bought one used a few months ago. It seems the compuvalve has gone and will only now run on regular gas. I had a certified mechanic check it out. He said the new ones are $1K to $1.5K.
Do you have any suggestions on where to get a used one from a reseller? Thanks.
Bob
You did not mention the year or mileage so likely you are past the warranty.
Maybe try doing a phone or Internet search of auto dismantlers (junk yards) and find a used one...
Good luck.
Two items, first, the compuvalve has an 8 year 80,000 mile warranty from Ford. If you are in that range, you can get it replaced for free. You may have to push your dealer to find it as I did but it is there. Second, if you are out of that range, I have a 2000 Ford Contour that the transmission went out at 46k miles and I am going to part it out on e-bay. The compuvalve was replaced about 8 months ago by Ford and is the new style. I am traveling now but will be listing it in 2 weeks or so.
I will not sell Contours anymore or take them in on trade. I stand behind all my cars and I just can't afford to stand behind a Contour.
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Can you send me a sticker as well?
My email is in my user profile.
Thanks,
Bud Raymond.
Just curious, why propane ? it costs as much as gasoline, unless you have a free or almost free supply.
If I could find a dedicated propane vehicle meeting california ulev or sulev emission standards, I would buy one myself , but only for carpool lane access.
Why propane? Because it isn't just about money. Although the ecological aspects of alternative fuel cars are important to me, there is a more practical reason. I have been monitoring the output of the major crude oil producers, and I don't like what I see. Output for all of them is in decline. Meanwhile consumption continues to rise. Most alarming, consumption by the producers themselves is rising even faster than industrial newcomers like China and India. (Saudi Arabia, our supplier of last resort, is in the lead here.) This leaves less and less oil for them to supply to an outside world that is consuming more and more crude. I remember the gasoline shortage during the Carter presidency with long lines just to get to a gas pump and many people in my area not being able to get sufficient gasoline at any price. And that situation was not nearly as serious as what we are facing today. Like most people, my family has to have at least one car that can keep running in such a situation.
My ideal car is a plugin electric; but they won't be available for two years at least. Fuel cell cars are out because natural gas is not available in my area. Hybrids, although they use less of it, still need gasoline.
As to PHEVs not being available for at least two years, they are available NOW. The only negatives are that you will void your Toyota warranty if you have one of the Lithium Ion battery packs installed in your spare tire well and will be out $10-$12K. I just had a demo ride in a PHEV Toyota Prius this week. It is the first of 10 PHEV Prius which the University of California at Davis Institute of Transportation Studies will have available for a long-term study of their durability, emissions, equivalent mpgs, etc. The battery pack is 5KWh from Hymotion. During the entire demo for my middle school Computer Applications students (part of their research project on Alternative Fuel Vehicles), the gasoline engine started only once. The vehicle was well over 100mpg on its way to my school and excited my students tremendously.
Biomethane is increasingly available in Sweden, Canada has a research facility in Vancouver, and PG&E is working toward capturing methane before it goes to waste and further damages the environment. A PHEV running on biomethane and battery power is my ideal. A serial hybrid, in my opinion, would be more efficient than a parallel with a constant speed CNG generator recharging the batteries, rather than dual duty of recharging and driving the wheels. This would also solve the problem of PHEVs possibly being "dirtier" than hybrids without pure EV mode. More on that when UC Davis finishes their study with the 10 Prius PHEVs.
http://www.cngmotors.com/index.php
Good hunting. We have enjoyed our 1998 GX for close to 80,000 miles now.
"Natural gas is a gaseous fossil fuel consisting primarily of methane but including significant quantities of ethane, propane, butane, and pentane—heavy hydrocarbons removed later on as condensate—as well as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, helium and hydrogen sulfide." wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_gas
The levels of hydrogen sulfide present would probably overwhelm the adsorption unit designed to remove the mercaptan odorant in commercial natural gas, and the levels of uncombustible gasses could be significant. You'd never know how far you could go on a fill. Then there would be the problem of the heavier hydrocarbons possibly condensing to a liquid in the tank.
But this raises the question of feeding a Fuel Maker with gasified LPG (aka propane), say an LPG designed for a cold climate. What would happen?
I've personally met a guy in PA who is in same situation as you. He is looking into what needs added (like dryer, etc.) and Fuelmaker to compress the cng. Check into what tax credits are available where you live (in CA, UT, & OK there are state tax credits, on top of Federal tax credit). Fed will give you $1,000 for purchase of Fuelmaker (but only if new). You might consider used Fuelmaker as they are very reliable - - C3 and FM4 would be 3,000 psi models, while newest model is FMQ2-36 which is 3,600 psi model (all these models compress at about 1 gge per hour). Of these, best is fmq2-36 as heads will go 4,000 hours before needing rebuild. I would NOT recommend Phill as only compresses 0.5 gge per hour and quite expensive once you consider rebuild cost of compressor and fact that it only goes 2,000 hours before needing head rebuilt. You could also add a cascade of few cng storage tanks and have your own fast-fill.
In helping PA guy with well do his research, found terrific cng user also in PA who has been through all this on his country farm. He's built thorough website that documents his natural gas well being drilled on his farm, and all the efforts needed to get that well gas ready for use in Fuelmaker. Brian actually BUILT HIS OWN DRYER and lists all the parts needed, along with suppliers he used. You can do the same with simple supplies like pvc plastic pipe, etc. See website at:
http://littlemetalshop.com/
Also, I would recommend you also join www.cngchat.com which has lots of cng information as well. Finally, see www.cngprices.com which is terrific for locating public cng pumps - - backup to this site is Alternative Fuels Data Center (Federal website) at: http://afdcmap2.nrel.gov/locator/findpane.asp
Go CNG !!! Spread The Word as CNG is definitely what is needed all across the USA to reduce dependence on foreign crude oil, AND drastically reduce pollution. Pressure local gas company, cities, post office, transportation companies, etc. to either open new public cng pump, or open a private cng site so that public can use it with just a credit card.
Everyone in USA also need to pressure US auto dealers to bring more cng cars to USA. GM has GM/Opel Zafira cng (sold everywhere except USA) ; Ford has Focus cng (sold everywhere except USA) ; Mercedes (various models sold everywhere except USA) ; VW has Ecofuel Caddy cng & recent announcement of Passat bi-fuel (PLEASE urge VW to bring both of these to USA!!!!) For now, best and only car sold in USA is Honda Civic GX (dedicated cng) which has been named Cleanest Car On The Planet for 5 years straight . . I have one and love it!!
I did purchase a newly rebuilt FMQ2-36 and very close to bringing online - 220 elec and ng supply plumbing now complete. Still dealing with issues of adequate water column and filters. I should have the analysis results back this Monday of the specific properties associated with my particular ng supply direct from well-tap and I will continue to post related info as I progress. Well see if this thread catches a few of us out there on the fringe. Now, on to the research of the material kscng provided. Thanks again.
Curious whether the idea of converting 3,000 psi to 3,600 psi is safe?? Does it just require changing the refueling male fitting?? Any ecm changes needed?? I've got 2000 Contour that I'd like to change to 3,600 psi.
Also, I just bought used fmq2-36 and was curious if that unit could run past 4,000 hour limit imposed by Fuelmaker??
Please email back to cng_across_usa@yahoo.com
Thanks !!
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I've asked for update from my cng friend in PA who I know has talked with Brian about how his well and Fuelmaker process all went. If he has Brian's phone number, I will send you private message.
Also, if you'll look at setup in website, his well has some equipment that cleans out the unwanted chemicals, etc. before the line is ran up to his home-made dryer, then finally on to Fuelmaker for compression.
www.cngprices.com
This is excellent website for locating PUBLIC cng pumps (just type in city and state) and website tells you current price, hours of operation, method of payment required, etc.
I use the cngprices website as a supplement to the AFDC website by Fed's which lists both private and public cng pumps . . ie sometimes private cng pump sites can be convinced to become public. Also, in a severe pinch, a private pump might let you fill up your dedicated cng vehicle if you're going to run out!!
LEE
http://ngvgroup.com/index.php?nav=estadisticas&PHPSESSID=062d6598b7cb1de342078a3- bedbf5136
According to it, there are 7.9 million CNG powered vehicles worldwide.
Also a Plastic LPG cylinder is being introduced in India which is lightweight. Pretty soon, Plastic CNG cylinder which may be lighter and durable and can carry more gas may be introduced soon giving a big boost to CNG powered vehicles.
http://publication.samachar.com/pub_article.php?id=1558492&navname=Business%20&m- oreurl=http://publication.samachar.com/mumbaimirroronline/business/business.php&- homeurl=http://business.samachar.com