CNG Regulatuions

[flannelman]

Hi, I am doing some research for my senior design project at UALR and i need some more info on the regulations involving CNG conversions. I searched the site and came up with the memorandum 1A from the EPA. Are there any other regulations, certifications, or legal issues that I need to look into? My project team is looking into the CNG conversion process to see what is required and if it is something that anyone can do on their own. It appears that you must use an EPA certified kit and got to a certified installer. Is this true? If so I need to be able to document that for our project. I have been lurking around here for a couple of months checking out the site and getting some good info so thanks for everything.

[larrycng]

Re: CNG Regulatuions

I would assume you have check the Clean Air Act section 203? This is where we are having problems with getting conversion certified under federal laws. Also check the conversion certification requirements for Calif Air Resources Board; this is another problem area. These 2 areas need to simplified and streamllined to promote the legal conversion of vehicles to alternate fuels in a manner that will improve the envrionment.

The safety aspects are well covered by NFPA 52 and CGA C6.4

Larrycng

[John Mitton]

EPA guidance letters

Welcome to CNGchat flannelman!

Attached are the two guidance letters from EPA as to alternative fuel conversions and also the OBD II demonstration requirements. They cite specific CFR's (Code of Federal Regulations) for you to drill-down if you need more detail. I will look for the California stuff next...

[John Mitton]

California Air Resources Board docs

Attached are the relevant CARB documents for alt fuel converters. They are long and complex -- pity CARB does not have guidance letters like the EPA ones I posted above. You have to wade through the whole documentation to pull out relevant sections but anyway 1968.2 covers the OBD requirements, which is by far the biggest hurdle with CARB.

Good luck!

[afvman]

Re: CNG Regulatuions

flannelman et al,

There are currently no standards for shops or facilities that want to do CNG conversions. However, the Clean Vehicle Education Foundation (CVEF) has formed a taskforce to address this. A good contact to discuss their progress would be:
Doug Horne, Pres.
770.424.8575
[email protected]

There is a certification requirement for CNG Technicians administered by the Nat'l. Inst. for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE). The test is designated F-1 and you can find out more at:
http://www.ase.com/Template.cfm?Sect...ContentID=3994

Finally, there is one more certification for CNG Fuel System Inspectors that specifically deals with cylinder visual inspections. It's administered by CSA-America and the details can be found at:
http://www.csa-america.org/personnel...certification/

If you have any questions I can help with, feel free to contact me directly.

Best regards,

afvman/Billo

[flannelman]

Re: CNG Regulatuions

Thanks for the info. I'll have to wade through it all so I can see what I need to add to my report. I also need to look into some of the components that go in to the conversions but I'll post that up later.

[freedml]

Re: CNG Regulatuions

The bottom line is that while an individual COULD get a retrofit approved, the cost of going through the EPA and CARB testing required is so high that only retrofit companies that plan to sell quantities of conversions can afford to get them approved. The approvals are according to 'engine family' so one approval can apply to a number of vehicles. Another issue is that the approvals are only good for 1-2 years so the tests have to be repeated even on the same engine family and retrofit kit.

[flannelman]

Re: CNG Regulatuions

The bottom line is that while an individual COULD get a retrofit approved, the cost of going through the EPA and CARB testing required is so high that only retrofit companies that plan to sell quantities of conversions can afford to get them approved. The approvals are according to 'engine family' so one approval can apply to a number of vehicles. Another issue is that the approvals are only good for 1-2 years so the tests have to be repeated even on the same engine family and retrofit kit.

So if I decided to do a conversion myself then I would need to get it tested and approved by the EPA? Would I need to do that if I used an EPA approved kit, or does such an animal exist?

[freedml]

Re: CNG Regulatuions

Actually you would take the vehicle to an EPA approved lab who would run the tests and, if successful, would report the results to the EPA who would issue you a certificate.

EPA approved kits exist, but you can't buy one unless you're an authorized installer for the company who makes the kit.

[Curtis]

Re: CNG Regulatuions

You might read through (both) the Conversions and Conversion/Service Forums. The subject is covered extensively. Since this topic is starting to wander off-topic, please continue it in the propper forum.