'12 now on CNG

[retirednak]

I've been looking around my area for places to fill CNG tanks and haven't had any luck,Anchorage may have it but I'm not driving 50 miles to fill up. We have quite a few places that sell propane,and from what I've researched,the tanks are less expensive then CNG tanks. Did you look into running propane rather then CNG?

 

[Roostre]

I've been looking around my area for places to fill CNG tanks and haven't had any luck,Anchorage may have it but I'm not driving 50 miles to fill up. We have quite a few places that sell propane,and from what I've researched,the tanks are less expensive then CNG tanks. Did you look into running propane rather then CNG?

From what I have read propane's auto-ignition point is much lower than CNG; it tends to cause detonation and has a reputation in diesel circles for killing motors. Not sure if that is because people tend to push a good thing too far?

50 miles would be a deal breaker. We are fortunate here to have stations all over the state.

 

[retirednak]

I wonder if there is a way to run with propane and not injury my engine? In the past I've seen propane injection advertised,but its been a couple years. I'm gonna keep looking around for CNG,I do make a trip to Anchorage(50 miles) once a month,so I could fill my tanks then. A tank of diesel usually lasts me at least a week,sometimes two. It would give me a heart attack if I got mileage above 18 mpg. We'll see. Please keep us updated on your fuel mileage.

 

[Roostre]

A quick update. I just hit 12345 miles on the truck, so about 5K on CNG now.

My mileage on diesel only is consistently about 30MPG hand calc'd. My oil no longer "grows" and is in fact going down the dipstick very slowly every few thousand miles. I am due for an oil change and will be sampling and sending in for analysis.

Combined mileage is averaging slightly lower than before the CNG install at 12. 5MPG combined diesel/CNG. Part of this I attribute to the fact that CNG is sold in Gas Gallon Equivalents and Gasoline has less BTU's per gallon than Diesel. The price of CNG went up due to a tax increase in June from $1. 49 to $1. 56 per GGE.

Overall I am still very happy with this mod. The power/torque addition makes towing our 5'er a breeze and more relaxing/enjoyable. Cruising down the road pulling 13K and seeing 22MPG on the EVIC is nice too. System has required zero maintenance since installation.

 

[retirednak]

Thanks for the update. Did the 12's come with traction control as part of the safety anti-skid crap? Wondering if its to intrusive, or it works great, or it can be disabled. Some systems work great in snow/ice, others... ... .....

 

[Roostre]

No traction control on my dually.

 

[Roostre]

8000 miles on CNG oil analysis

Thought I would share this with the few who are interested. This analysis was done on a sample the dealer took at 14,121 miles. (It says hours on report, but it is miles. ) Previous oil change was at about 6,000 miles.



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It looks pretty good. Particularly like that there is Zero fuel dilution.



I'm no expert on analysis so I googled up a few other 6. 7L oil results and the iron and other metals look to be typical or even on the low side.

 

[Walcott]

Great info,almost seems to good to be true. I just had to do a Goerand transmission ,great product!!next up is the CNG.

 

[DiamondDiver]

I've been following this thread since it started. I'd love to put a 20 gal system on my 12 ram 2500. I took a 20 state 4 month 5er trip this spring with the bulk of it up the spine of the rockies. This thread was passing through my mind at every fill up. I haven't had any trouble with fuel dilution, and when I was towing my rig I noticed very few DPF purges. As long as CNG is readily available this would be a very worthwhile mod.

I'll be looking into installing the CNG mod on my 6. 7L later this year, but I want to do an install that doesn't sacrifice bed space. Cylinders installed under the bed to the frame would be preferred.

I also wonder if onboard LNG is feasable or even DOT legal as a mod. LNG would give a much greater range than CNG for the same volume cylinder.

Roostre, thanks for the posts and keep up the good work.

 

[Roostre]

Cylinders installed under the bed to the frame would be preferred.

I also wonder if onboard LNG is feasable or even DOT legal as a mod. LNG would give a much greater range than CNG for the same volume cylinder.

Under the bed along the frame would be great; its how most shuttle vans and buses are setup. Would take some creativity and fab skills.

There is an LNG station next to the Flying J here in SLC now. I would imagine the tanks are very $pendy.

 

[Sticks]

Good read.

What is your total cost for the system (kit, gauges, tanks, upgrades) excluding your toolbox and additional covers?

I'd be tempted to do this on my '02, but have concerns with the current power upgrades being more of a hindrance or additional risk.

 

[Roostre]

Good read.

What is your total cost for the system (kit, gauges, tanks, upgrades) excluding your toolbox and additional covers?

I'd be tempted to do this on my '02, but have concerns with the current power upgrades being more of a hindrance or additional risk.

Mine cost more than it should as I took a few wrong turns along the way. That said, a local CNG company advertises similar kits for $1500 installed. Using the eBay regulator and sourcing good used tanks it can be done for about half that if you don't mind getting your hands dirty.
The CNG acts like a programmer that adds a lot of fuel down low. It spools the Turbo instantly on a towing tune. Aggressive tunes just tend make more black smoke down low.
My brother and I have just started experimenting with toggling the CNG with a boost switch.

 

[Walcott]

Hi corey,where are you sourcing used tanks, it seems this is the most expensive part?
thanks,Alan

 

[Roostre]

My tanks came from a guy on ebay located in Victorville, CA. Give him a call as he drags these tanks all over the country. He delivered mine for no charge because he was heading north through Salt Lake. I did have to wait a few weeks, but it worked out.
Craigslist or similar is a good source. Be sure they are not going to expire too soon. I ran across some 2017 s for $550 with brackets a few weeks ago.

 

[Sticks]

Roostre - I would presume that you have a stable set up now ~ READ; not tinkering with adjustments every week.

Could you give us a dollar per mile that you are burning? That would help me at least see the real cost benefits here. MPG is misleading since you are burning 2 different fuels and the cost of those fuels is radically different. For me here in CO, Fuel has been hovering in the $3. 65 +/-$. 10, and my commute for the last 2 months has been putting me at 16. 2mpg city ~ $. 225 per mile.

A breakdown on your city fill-ups and highway fill-ups would be nice too. Ex: 400 miles, 20 gallons of Diesel, 10 gallons of CNG.

On edit ~ Matt Snow at Snow Performance might be able to help you with a boost switch for your propane. He has a lot of experience with boost, load and EGT controls with his Water Methanol systems - which by the way may lower your EGTs even more, like never break 1k and add even more HP/TQ when towing - spooky. The thought of pulling a 34' 5er up a 6% grade for 6 miles at 8k - 11k feet @ 65mph and EGTs holding 900* with power to spare... shudder.

 

[Walcott]

What a range in pricing in Tucson it's 2. 34-2. 60 gl,if you go to Texas it's 1. 00-2. 49.
Good link to check pricing CNGprices.com

 

[Roostre]

What a range in pricing in Tucson it's 2. 34-2. 60 gl,if you go to Texas it's 1. 00-2. 49.
Good link to check pricing CNGprices.com

Pleasantly surprised today to our price locally drop to $1. 52 GGE. (Keep in mind the a Gas Gallon Equivalent is 116,090Btus vs diesel at 128,450 Btu/gallon)

Sticks- I wish my truck could get 16. 2MPG on diesel alone! I may have never bothered with CNG.
If its babied I can get 14. 5MPG.
The way I drive its closer to 12. 5. In mostly city driving my setup is costing me . 075¢/mile CNG and . 152¢/mile. So about . 23¢/mile. I believe it would do much better on empty highway trips, but we own a Jetta TDI for those trips. Hard to beat . 075¢/mile. My motorcycle can't match it.
No tinkering or adjustments for several months. (No time)

 

[Roostre]

Typed the above on my phone; apologies if it is unclear.

My truck runs closer to . 30-. 32 per mile with plain old diesel. (Remember it is a CC dually; heavy) So in city driving I am saving about . 08 cents per mile right now. That goes up quickly as the price of diesel goes up. When diesel is at or near $4. 00 it is more like . 12 cents per mile. If nothing else- it is a hedge against rising diesel prices. Its also got a good grin factor when you step on the skinny pedal.

One of these days I need to take a long freeway trip to see how it pans out on such a trip. Whenever we do take the truck on long trips the 5'er (14K and tall) is in tow.

 

[retirednak]

I called our local gas supplier to find out about retailers in my area. There is not a single retailer within 55 miles! Wasilla, which is 9 miles away, has a compressor for some of their equipment/vehicles, won't sell it to the common folk. Unless I can score a compressor on the cheap to tie into my gas line at home, that type of setup isn't within my reach. Somebody was selling a freshly rebuilt compressor unit used for NG powered Honda cars for $4K, too rich for me.

 

[Roostre]

Yep. My opinion is if you don't have a filling station within a few miles of home its not gonna workout. Also you really need to keep the costs low for a decent payback. Keep it under $1500 unless you are using the truck to make money and racking up miles; then it may be worth spending a little more.