I know a few cars and some buses use it now, but not many. Isn't it cheaper AND cleaner?
2006-07-05 07:25:43 · 10 answers · asked by Joe G 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Other - Cars & Transportation
There are several issues with natural gas.
*It requires a more complex larger fuel tank, which eats up a lot of trunk space.
*It is cleaner, but prices on natural gas have increased dramatically recently. I believe there is a cost savings available, but it's not all that much. Natural gas prices are expected to continue to rise.
*It doesn't refuel very quickly. Whereas other fuels can be filled in just a few minutes, filling a natural gas tank takes 6-8 hours.
Honda sells a natural gas Civic. If you lease one, they will install a natural gas pump in your house, which is connected directly to your house's natural gas line. Before you go to sleep, you connect it and by the time you wake up the tank is filled.
There is quite a lot of promise with that setup, since you can just fill the tank at home, but, alas, the price of natural gas is simply too expensive to make it worthwhile.
2006-07-05 07:43:34 · answer #1 · answered by James 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Natural gas has less energy BTU content then a gallon of gas
so the energy required takes you less distance. I.E. range is decreased
Plus, there are big storage issues.
The NGV vehicles you see are large enough to package
the large cylinders of natural gas required.
In a car, which has been done, ( Ford Motor Fleet )
your talking about 4 or 5 large high-pressure cylinders that
weight a lot stuffed into the trunk area. Can you say BOMB?
There are also refueling issues. The stuff is under pressure,
and must be clean, no moisture. The average time to fill
and pressurize the tank was about 9 minutes. The refueling station looks like a bunker, because god forbid anyone hit
the pumps or storage area.
To the answer about Bio-Diesel. I work in Diesel powertrain
quality. Bio-Diesel is junk and will void your warranty.
Since it is a bio-product it absorbs water, and becomes
acidic to fuel systems. Rusts injectors and tanks. Causes
major damage. Stay away from it.
2006-07-05 08:03:01 · answer #2 · answered by rjm96 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Bio diesel is a better and cheaper alternative. It is renuable, cheap, requires no changes to our infrastructure. We just don't have the diesel engines in our cars yet. That is soon coming.
Natural gas is now very expensive. E-85 will be a good short term fix, but it still requires 15% gasoline.
2006-07-05 07:46:46 · answer #3 · answered by mykidsRmylife 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It may burn cleaner.. but I don't know if it is as powerful. That new E-85 Ethenol will be cheaper when it arrives.. but it also take more of it to produce the same amount of power. The main reason people don't use natural gas, E-85, propane, biodiesel is just the fact that there is no infrastructure for many of the types in the major metropolitan areas of the USA.
2006-07-05 07:35:51 · answer #4 · answered by escaped_mental_case 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
10 years ago Columbia Gas gave our parts dept (GMC Dealer)) a 1/2 ton Sierra pick-up that was converted to run on natural gas. They came to the dealer and installed a fill station also. 3 large tanks mounted lengthwise under the truck - no gasoline backup.
1st trip out driver ran out of fuel - 140 miles of city driving. No problem - we didn't really know what to expect for range. Towed him back to dealer. Only other fill station on Columbia's property farther away. Filled tanks.
2nd trip out - ran out of gas 55 miles - towed truck back refilled tanks.
Received tech bulletin from Columbia about defective fill valve - parked truck and waited on new valve like 10 days to 2 weeks. Installed new valve. Refilled truck and was unable to remove fill hose from valve. Columbia tech came and removed truck from hose. Tanks were overcharged according to him - used words - "time bomb". Isolated truck from flame and heat sources and depressurized truck. Bulletin from Columbia said to park trucks til further notice.
Columbia collected trucks and uninstalled fill station a month later. Nothing further was heard about passenger vehicles and natural gas.
Some local buses are running on natural gas at this time but the bus company is subsidized by local sales tax and is losing money big time.
2006-07-11 15:57:46 · answer #5 · answered by Norman 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ethanol prices too a lot because Bush desirous to lower back corn as an subsidy. Ridiculous because corn is about the costliest thanks to create ethanol. utilising land it truly is used to furnish nutrition to furnish ethanol is stupid. sweet grass is situations extra effective for ethanol production than corn and can want to and may be grown on marginal land unused for different applications. yet another indication we've a fool for president. Ethanol is in straightforward words an somewhat small part of the alternative ability production. Hydrogen ripped from organic gas and different fossil fuels is merely straightforward stupid even if it would nicely be ripped from methane it really is a superb idea because methane is 26% extra intense as a warming agent than CO2. electric powered automobiles will in straightforward words be a potential selection mainly elements. constrained use city in straightforward words automobiles at present. yet we ought to guage the source of the electrical energy. A coal fired thermal electric powered plant in Indianna isn't sensible. they received't be conventional in truly warm places which contain Pheonix or chilly places which contain Moscow. Drilling received't carry the expenses down on oil. the price of crude has fallen because of relief of use and higher production international huge has produced a surplus. likely short lived. One reason behind not drilling at abode is to keep reserves for strategical applications. the yankee vehicle agencies were appearing stupid for decades. they merely weren't afflicted to commence perfect analyze for the inevitable upward thrust in prices of crude oil. Slackers in a capitalist economic equipment lose. Getting hydrogen from thermal-nuclear flora is very intense priced. united states of america of america has few uranium sources. it will be pertinent to be conscious that once Pappa Bush invaded Iraq oil expenditures doubled. at the same time as infant Bush invaded expenditures doubled and the longer he has stayed the better the price escalated. If we invade Iran the price would probably triple. also, oil agencies were complaining about not making earnings from refining crude yet contained in the subsequent prompt of the records one oil organization had higher earnings contained in the perfect quarter of seventy seven%. who's screwing with the fact right here?
2016-11-05 22:37:17 · answer #6 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Natural gas is just as expensive as gasoline.
2006-07-05 07:28:46 · answer #7 · answered by casey_leftwich 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I can tell that you haven't been paying for natural gas to heat your home in recent years.
2006-07-05 07:28:45 · answer #8 · answered by mweller1956 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
don't know, but i wish they'd kick it in to gear and give us a cheaper source of fuel
2006-07-05 07:33:24 · answer #9 · answered by joelzfriends 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Fart really hard make car go
2006-07-05 07:34:27 · answer #10 · answered by john 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋