[SustainableTompkins] natural gas vs. vegetable oil

[Shawn Reeves]

Marlo and everybody interested in natural gas vehicles.
For some GM and Ford models there is a "hardened" gasoline engine (and accompanying fuel supply hardware) made for the van that can take CNG. After getting the engine in place, you would probably buy a Phill for your home that would compress your natural gas from NYSEG and provide you with a connection to put that gas in your vehicle.
If you want to use the engine you already have, use veggie oil via Grease Car or something similar. If you really want CNG, maybe you could swap engines with a someone who has gas and wants to go to biodiesel.
After sitting in on dozens of meetings about CNG vehicles in Massachusetts Clean Cities and other organizations, I see the attraction of natural gas for city use, since it's so much cleaner than any other combustible fuel, but I don't see why someone out of smog's way would be interested, unless they lived on/near a dairy farm or sewage treatment plant and had digesters producing the fuel, such as Western Washington University's CNG race car uses.
Come to the Green Grand Prix this May in Watkins Glen and see all the options:
http://www.greengrandprix.com
-Shawn Reeves

Opinions in this message are not necessarily those of EnergyTeachers.org, but of the individual.


>-----Original Message-----
>From: marlo capoccia [mailto:marloco at verizon.net]
>Sent: Monday, January 7, 2008 11:09 PM
>To: 'Sustainable Tompkins County listserv'
>Subject: [SustainableTompkins] natural gas vs. vegetable oil
>
>hello,
>has anyone done research or have educated opinions about retrofitting  
>a large diesel van for natural gas vs. vegetable oil?  i know a bit  
>about local infrastructure for vegetable oil but almost nothing about  
>natural gas in tompkins.
>
>thanks,
>marlo