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Drivers switch to compressed natural gas

Local 10 -- The soaring price of gasoline has forced South Floridians to consider alternative fuels.

Some drivers have cars that run on compressed natural gas, or CNG, a fuel that is becoming more popular in the United States.

"There are 8 million natural gas vehicles globally but in the United States, there is less than 300 thousand," said Jeff Greene, the owner of Wise Gas.

Wise Gas has built eight CNG stations in Florida and has plans to build two more -- one in Miami and another in Orlando.

Greene's car can run on both CNG and regular gasoline, so he won't be stranded if he can't find a CNG station.

"The cost to convert a light duty vehicle ranges anywhere from about $5,000 to $6,000. We have financing now that can get that price down to a couple hundred dollars a month," said Greene. "You ha

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Submitted Oct 19, 2012 By: skb69sa

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honda0105 Champion Author Tallahassee Posts:18,599 Points:1,607,570 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Oct 23, 2012 5:04:46 AM Ignore honda0105 Report Abuse when my current car is ready to be scrapped, I may consider (if there are more stations as the the current radius of CNG vehicles is not any more than that of regular fuel vehicles).
RitaVespa Champion Author Oregon Posts:2,971 Points:790,310 Joined:Jan 2011	Message Posted: Oct 21, 2012 10:42:55 AM Ignore RitaVespa Report Abuse I would buy one
BEGTWO Champion Author Maryland Posts:1,932 Points:722,340 Joined:Sep 2010	Message Posted: Oct 21, 2012 6:48:35 AM Ignore BEGTWO Report Abuse I hope they like it.
jrs4125 Champion Author Indiana Posts:2,748 Points:589,795 Joined:Sep 2011	Message Posted: Oct 20, 2012 11:12:17 PM Ignore jrs4125 Report Abuse When the demand rises for CNG, so shall the price.
52MPG Champion Author Dayton Posts:7,252 Points:1,739,755 Joined:Apr 2006	Message Posted: Oct 20, 2012 12:49:29 PM Ignore 52MPG Report Abuse Not Me.
jetskijerry Champion Author North Carolina Posts:3,891 Points:771,295 Joined:Mar 2011	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 11:56:34 PM Ignore jetskijerry Report Abuse price is going up...
LetemEatCake Champion Author Oklahoma City Posts:5,596 Points:1,203,730 Joined:Mar 2008	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 11:12:25 PM Ignore LetemEatCake Report Abuse Natural gas, which is 90 percent methane, has a much higher octane rating than gasoline, allowing for higher compression ratios and therefore greater efficiency in the engines that use it. If you compare CNG with Electric vehicle, this is where CNG begins to shine. A four-door CNG taxi with a tank that can hold the equivalent of 15 gallons of fuel can get close to 300 miles on a tank. 200 miles is easy. Most mid-range and economy-level EVs like the Nissan Leaf get almost 100 miles on a charge. Compared to petrol, cars running on natural gas offer a CO emissions reduction of 90% to 97%, 25% reduced CO2, 35% to 60% reduced NOx emissions, and 50% to 75% reduced non-methane hydrocarbon emissions. NGVs often deliver similar horsepower ratings to their diesel and gasoline-powered counterparts. Premium gasoline is 91 octane. Natural gas has an octane rating of approximately 130. This higher octane allows for increased engine compression and combustion efficiency. Because of the clean burning attributes of natural gas, NGVs generally have longer engine life compared to most gasoline-powered vehicle. So why switch....is a no brainer! [Edited by: LetemEatCake at 10/20/2012 12:13:10 AM EST]
lesndave Champion Author Texas Posts:3,032 Points:699,430 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 10:15:11 PM Ignore lesndave Report Abuse No thanks
blupupher Champion Author Houston Posts:3,540 Points:746,095 Joined:Feb 2011	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 9:59:24 PM Ignore blupupher Report Abuse give me an affordable CNG/gasoline hybrid and I would be happy.
esq262 Champion Author Asheville Posts:2,892 Points:646,540 Joined:Jul 2011	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 9:41:26 PM Ignore esq262 Report Abuse Good bridge fuel.
CVA19 Champion Author Salem Posts:2,393 Points:607,950 Joined:Aug 2011	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:48:59 PM Ignore CVA19 Report Abuse No conversion in my future, but a new CNG vehicle purchase and a garage-based compressor may be.
Skunk63 Champion Author Phoenix Posts:2,556 Points:557,500 Joined:Oct 2011	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 5:50:29 PM Ignore Skunk63 Report Abuse Good alternative.
Pramodsharma Champion Author Richmond Posts:1,974 Points:385,890 Joined:Feb 2012	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 5:31:28 PM Ignore Pramodsharma Report Abuse Yes, CNG is good alternate to gasoline , but US lags far behind.
SkooterG Champion Author Phoenix Posts:1,359 Points:328,585 Joined:May 2012	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 1:17:05 PM Ignore SkooterG Report Abuse CNG sure is the darling lately. I wonder it is just a temporary thing or will it last?
RitaVespa Champion Author Oregon Posts:2,971 Points:790,310 Joined:Jan 2011	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 12:53:31 PM Ignore RitaVespa Report Abuse Yay! I want one!
hibsaw Champion Author Mississippi Posts:8,032 Points:1,680,015 Joined:Feb 2008	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 11:22:49 AM Ignore hibsaw Report Abuse I will seriously consider a vehicle that is powered by CNG the next time I buy.
Asbury09 Champion Author Iowa Posts:7,203 Points:1,528,355 Joined:Jan 2009	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 11:04:52 AM Ignore Asbury09 Report Abuse reduce conversion costs, and make more fuelling stations available
elhefe2003 Sophomore Author New Orleans Posts:136 Points:27,580 Joined:Oct 2012	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 10:40:37 AM Ignore elhefe2003 Report Abuse Better news if they could get the cost of conversion cheaper
clermont40miles Champion Author Cincinnati Posts:10,562 Points:1,770,920 Joined:Apr 2008	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 10:03:23 AM Ignore clermont40miles Report Abuse Costly conversion cost and minimal infrastructure are impediments to greater usage.
AlienBug All-Star Author Connecticut Posts:732 Points:218,035 Joined:Jul 2011	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 9:23:22 AM Ignore AlienBug Report Abuse $5,000 to convert a car to CNG. You'd need to drive to Saturn to recoup that cost.
EMoe57 Champion Author Jacksonville Posts:4,607 Points:1,014,090 Joined:Apr 2009	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:56:15 AM Ignore EMoe57 Report Abuse good good
Marson Champion Author Scranton Posts:8,937 Points:2,076,210 Joined:Oct 2006	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:31:22 AM Ignore Marson Report Abuse Just to set the record straight, natural gas is selling wholesale currently for about $3.64 a million BTU's. It takes about 8 gallons of gasoline at 125,000 BTU's per gallon to make a million BTU's, or about $32 worth. If the cost of CNG in your car's tank was 3 times the wholesale price or about $11.00 it would be the equivalent of $1.32 a gallon gas. Add to this that natural gas is about 110 octane and regular gas in about 89, you can make a CNG engine higher compression and a bit mor efficient. What's not to love about that?? Natural gas in the vehicle fuel of the future.
bruceha2000 Champion Author Vermont Posts:2,864 Points:1,283,505 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:25:42 AM Ignore bruceha2000 Report Abuse Doesn't work so well in places like Vermont where there are NO public NG stations. Only the gas company has one. A state where there is almost NO natural gas to compress. It exists only in the far north west part of the state, from a pipeline coming down from Canada.
geezrtek Champion Author Michigan Posts:1,896 Points:430,535 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:19:02 AM Ignore geezrtek Report Abuse The economics of CNG for the average commuter are marginal at best but it makes sense for route driven vehicles. As for long haul trucks, the costs make sense but availability is a problem. But as the number of CNG gas stations increases the usage will increase. Article - **** out of 5.
mikerroy Champion Author Albuquerque Posts:2,556 Points:718,970 Joined:May 2005	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:16:33 AM Ignore mikerroy Report Abuse CNG sounds like a good deal but, you don't get the same gas mileage as gasoline. So, your cost per mile is going to be about the same as using gas or more, when the price for CNG goes up.
ss70 Champion Author Detroit Posts:9,645 Points:1,868,150 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:16:06 AM Ignore ss70 Report Abuse we need at least 10 - 20 thousand CNG filling stations right away all over the country
BigBrat Champion Author Phoenix Posts:2,664 Points:1,050,450 Joined:Dec 2004	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:15:35 AM Ignore BigBrat Report Abuse That's good
Grinch09 Champion Author Grand Rapids Posts:1,598 Points:77,975 Joined:Dec 2009	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:14:43 AM Ignore Grinch09 Report Abuse yep!
municipal Sophomore Author Illinois Posts:248 Points:366,265 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:14:03 AM Ignore municipal Report Abuse I wish I can do that!
bell05 Champion Author Atlanta Posts:9,245 Points:1,874,660 Joined:Jun 2005	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:13:48 AM Ignore bell05 Report Abuse would love to convert my old '71 Monte, but think it will pay off.q
Rhino8of8 Champion Author Wisconsin Posts:1,245 Points:372,890 Joined:Jan 2012	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:13:40 AM Ignore Rhino8of8 Report Abuse Hope this progress is for the best.
shea33 Champion Author Pensacola Posts:2,358 Points:540,990 Joined:Oct 2011	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:13:19 AM Ignore shea33 Report Abuse best alternative out there if we can afford to convert the stations.
PrepHermit Champion Author New Jersey Posts:8,091 Points:1,642,230 Joined:Aug 2008	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:13:16 AM Ignore PrepHermit Report Abuse What about fuel economy? Is it comparable to gasoline?
CAD69 Champion Author Milwaukee Posts:3,196 Points:844,290 Joined:Nov 2010	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:13:03 AM Ignore CAD69 Report Abuse I would buy one if I could fill it up!
RevDrCBJ Veteran Author Ann Arbor Posts:363 Points:187,010 Joined:Jul 2011	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:12:24 AM Ignore RevDrCBJ Report Abuse Sounds good.
rnlunder Champion Author Waco Posts:2,321 Points:496,125 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:11:24 AM Ignore rnlunder Report Abuse More CNG refueling stations will generate more CNG car sales. CNG cost about $2.00 less per gallon than conventional gasoline and burns much cleaner. Actually it should only cost about $2000 to convert to CNG, so it sounds like someone is making a lot of money doing conversions to CNG. If the auto makers will produce more CNG models, I think the car sales would pick up and the cost of building a dual fuel CNG/Gasoline vehicle would be much cheaper than a converting an existing gasoline engine.
papou Champion Author Tampa Posts:10,874 Points:1,904,385 Joined:Jul 2005	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:11:05 AM Ignore papou Report Abuse I do not know enough about it what it takes to convert to NG and cost involved.
91Hilux Champion Author New Haven Posts:2,157 Points:679,745 Joined:Aug 2007	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:10:50 AM Ignore 91Hilux Report Abuse We're only decades behind the rest of the world with this...
kyrunner Champion Author Lexington Posts:8,967 Points:1,697,975 Joined:Aug 2008	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:10:28 AM Ignore kyrunner Report Abuse Conversion is expensive and infrastructure just isn't there yet.
RootbeerFan Champion Author Illinois Posts:1,824 Points:1,333,405 Joined:May 2005	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:10:17 AM Ignore RootbeerFan Report Abuse I wish it was an option.
mnbeancounter Champion Author Minnesota Posts:4,727 Points:1,060,865 Joined:Oct 2009	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:09:22 AM Ignore mnbeancounter Report Abuse Conversion is costly
BumpinButch Champion Author Texas Posts:1,596 Points:507,350 Joined:Feb 2009	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:08:54 AM Ignore BumpinButch Report Abuse Most places don't have the advantage of CNG. No infrastructure to disburse it, and most don't have the conversion of vehicle to use it.
tauro514 Champion Author Connecticut Posts:3,130 Points:1,799,140 Joined:Oct 2006	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:08:45 AM Ignore tauro514 Report Abuse okay.
brbts Champion Author Charlotte Posts:3,628 Points:773,440 Joined:Feb 2011	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:08:02 AM Ignore brbts Report Abuse I think a lot of people would switch if we have the infrastructure to support it.
Sunset69 Champion Author Long Island Posts:1,310 Points:207,850 Joined:May 2007	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:07:50 AM Ignore Sunset69 Report Abuse OK
timesaverinc Champion Author Wichita Posts:1,463 Points:292,665 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:07:46 AM Ignore timesaverinc Report Abuse Cool
Garston Champion Author Maine Posts:2,421 Points:473,765 Joined:Jul 2011	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:07:34 AM Ignore Garston Report Abuse ok
stpatrickbday Champion Author Albuquerque Posts:1,516 Points:565,475 Joined:Mar 2011	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:05:57 AM Ignore stpatrickbday Report Abuse Just another excuse to raise gas prices.
FocusGuy Champion Author Seattle Posts:7,047 Points:1,410,805 Joined:Apr 2009	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:05:37 AM Ignore FocusGuy Report Abuse there is cng everywhere git on it
peabeax55 All-Star Author Atlanta Posts:713 Points:185,515 Joined:Mar 2012	Message Posted: Oct 19, 2012 8:05:17 AM Ignore peabeax55 Report Abuse PROPANE is ubiquitous and carries a higher # of BTUs per gallon. Conversions for many autos are $1500-$4000. Try it instead.