I have a former Minnegasco van that apparently has the capacity to run
on natural gas. There is a controller attached to the dash that lets
one switch from gas to
CNG, but the tank has been taken out. Anyone know what's involved in
refitting a vehicle like this? Know where I could have it done in/near
Minneapolis? With the price of gasoline these days, I'd like to have
the option!
Ad absurdum per aspera - 12 Sep 2005 23:57 GMT
If you're lucky, the conversion parts are mostly still in place, and it
could be as simple as a replacement tank and a careful check of the
plumbing, especially around any coupling and the controller. (You
definitely don't want a leak!)
If the van is fairly new, contacting the manufacturer to see if it was
a factory offering might be worthwhile.
I wonder if CenterPoint Energy could (and would, a different issue!)
tell you. They're the corporate heir to Minnegasco... and one of
their other branches, Entex, is involved in compressed natural gas
(CNG) stations as a business that began with its own fleet. See for
instance
http://altfuels.centerpointenergy.com/news/archives/090102.asp
Here is some background information that you might find useful:
http://www.pugetsoundcleancities.org/pdfs/cng_lpg_conversion_facts.pdf
(That page has a bit of potentially bad news: that the most expensive
item in the few- to several-$k conversion system is the tank. Maybe
that's why somebody removed it!)
Best of luck,
--Joe