can this be done

[wvpete2008]

I have been searching this site and others on the internet for two days. I have not seen where anyone has converted a vehicle to cng. Now I know someone must have done it, but why is it so hard to find information about methods, costs, or professional converters?

[DannyCNG]

Re: can this be done

I saw another thread where it said a conversion was $18,000 !

[dyno]

Re: can this be done

from what I've seen the powers that be on this site and others are affraid to comment on coversons becouse they are not epa approved and deamed unsafe. The answer to your question is yes. There are kits to convert and I'm looking at it myself at risk of being banned fro the site I will not post the names of the kits but they are mentioned here often.

[cnghal]

Re: can this be done

Pete,
"The powers that be" that run this site are awesome and have a set of rules to protect uneducated newbies from the sledgehammer swinging monkeys throwing crap on the wall and trying to sell it to you.
There is so little chatter about kits because there are so few legal, safe and affordable kits in the US. The EPA certification process gets longer, harder and costlier every year. I have an EPA certified kit for 05-06 Ford E-350, 5.4L Bi-Fuel that I installed in a fleet in Tucson. I am also working on an 04-05 Toyota Tacoma 2.7L Dedicated and Bi-Fuel kit that I won't discuss until I get back from the EPA test lab in Ann Arbor, MI and am holding a cert in my hand. I am also working on an affordable sequential injection kit for Gen 1 Chevy 350s for use in classic and muscle cars and speedboats (No EPA required).
The costs are always vehicle specific and depend more on cylinders (new/used, type, quantity) than on the actual kit itself.
Methods vary from kit to kit (TBI, Sequential, Fumigation).
As for professional/legal/insured installers, we're few and far between.

What are you looking for?

[rgliedt]

Re: can this be done

You are the first person I have seen mention a Toyota trk of any kind and converting it to CNG. Is there a way to convert 2006 4.7 v8 Tundras to cng? We can probably only approach this one way at this time because I am pretty sure there isnt anything EPA certified yet. Lets say I own a 10,000 acre butterfly farm in the hills of Missouri and I am planning to strickly use cng off road. Is there a way to convert that really works and will give me proven performance over time?
I do want a system that works with OBD and fuel injection. Is there even a way to buy a box of parts to self install? When I set up these trucks for my farm (I own six by the way, Its a big farm) I invested $10,000 additional in each truck for the business. Gas was not so unreasonable as it is now. But it would be a hugh investment to switch to a new truck that is convertable. If it is impossibe to get a kit that works with the fuel injection at this time, what is the down side to a kit doesnt? Remember I am using it on my farm only. I am sure there are problems with the non epa kits but be specific please dont just slam the kit without giving me detail as to why.

I am mad at big oil and I am not gonna take it anymore. I want to quit sending my hard earned money to terrorist countries who hate me and use my dollars to make weapons to kill me and want to destroy my country. Those people are taking the opportunity of lifetime with oil reserves unimmaginable and killing each other with it.

[TheBundo]

Re: can this be done

I am mad at big oil and I am not gonna take it anymore. I want to quit sending my hard earned money to terrorist countries who hate me and use my dollars to make weapons to kill me and want to destroy my country. Those people are taking the opportunity of lifetime with oil reserves unimmaginable and killing each other with it.

They don't hate you, they just want you to mend your infidel ways

[dyno]

Re: can this be done

cnghal I'd love to hear about the kit you are working on for Muscle cars and boats.....why wouldn't a carb {reference to illegal product removed by moderators} kit work for these applications?

[rtry9a]

Re: can this be done

I am mad at big oil and I am not gonna take it anymore. I want to quit sending my hard earned money to terrorist countries who hate me and use my dollars to make weapons to kill me and want to destroy my country. Those people are taking the opportunity of lifetime with oil reserves unimmaginable and killing each other with it.

What country are you talking about... Mexico or Canada?

[cnghal]

Re: can this be done

rgliedt,
I'm not just bucking non-epa kits for fun. I have worked with, removed, disected and am accumulating quite a museum collection of monkey crap and the tanks that went with them.
Carb kits are a waste of my time since ultimately I will be running everything past EPA and carb/mixers aren't clean enough to meet current emissions.
Several TBI kits that use RC/Hobby servo motors to control fuel flow(a monkey's version of the Compuvalve) and use "Autocar" europian "safety standards that don't shut off fuel flow to the engine for 30 seconds after a crank and no start event.
There are also a bunch so-called sequential injection kits from other countries who's components(mainly high pressure regulators) won't pass CSA or NFPA safety standards and have a very short injector life cycle. Not to mention the number of "emulators" you have to use to lie to the ECU so you don't throw a DTC.

Currently I am working with two kit ECUs. One is quite flexible and has some killer tuning software and the other will be a direct replacement for the OEM ECU that will handle injection and ignition with multiple personalities (power/towing, fuel economy....) and full OBDII.

As for the Butterfly Farm, "Show Me", sorry I couldn't pass on the MO humor. Yes it can be done.
I know of several farmers and ranchers that run on whatever they want on thier spreads. I'm sure it's legal if you're trucks are not registered and don't drive on public highways. But if not, the fines start at $5,000.00 per instance and can eat up your potential savings real quick.

[fang1111]

Re: can this be done

I'm looking to convert my 2002 Chevy Impala. Is there a place to look for information ?

[jmurray]

Re: can this be done

We can probably only approach this one way at this time because I am pretty sure there isnt anything EPA certified yet. Lets say I own a 10,000 acre butterfly farm in the hills of Missouri and I am planning to strickly use cng off road. Is there a way to convert that really works and will give me proven performance over time?

Interesting attempt to get around Federal Legislation. Filburn (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wickard_v._Filburn) was a farmer in Ohio in 1939 who thought he could get around federal legislation with a similar argument. He ignored the wheat quotas, claiming that his excess production never left his farm--he would feed it to his cows and chickens. He fought it to the supreme court, but the Supremes said that what he did on his private farm still affected interstate commerce and fell under the regulation of Congress.

Even if you use your vehicle only on private property, the emissions (even though they come from a ULEV) travel beyond your property line and will be regulated by congress.

[cnghal]

Re: can this be done

You mean regulated by EPA. Your right, but they would fall under the off-road set of rules (racing, atvs, farm equipment, etc...) that they are just starting to tighten up on.

[fang1111]

Re: can this be done

I'm looking for a kit that will fit a 2002 Chevy Impala with a 3.8 liter engine. Does anyone know where I can start looking?

[CraziFuzzy]

Re: can this be done

I'm looking for a kit that will fit a 2002 Chevy Impala with a 3.8 liter engine. Does anyone know where I can start looking?

First place I would look would be the Stickied thread in this very forum titled EPA Certified Conversion Kits. In that thread you will find a current list of all EPA certified conversion kits. In there you will see that ECO Fuel does have certified conversions for the 3.8L V6. Their web site does show a 2002 3.8L impala in their gallery, with certification numbers.

You should contact them regarding a shop that could do the conversion for you. It will not be cheap though.

[Adrian]

Re: can this be done

Interesting attempt to get around Federal Legislation. Filburn (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wickard_v._Filburn) was a farmer in Ohio in 1939 who thought he could get around federal legislation with a similar argument. He ignored the wheat quotas, claiming that his excess production never left his farm--he would feed it to his cows and chickens. He fought it to the supreme court, but the Supremes said that what he did on his private farm still affected interstate commerce and fell under the regulation of Congress.

Even if you use your vehicle only on private property, the emissions (even though they come from a ULEV) travel beyond your property line and will be regulated by congress.

I think you're referring to the commerce clause in constitutional law. I think it would be a real stretch to argue that vehicles on a private ranch and their associated emissions would somehow affect interstate commerce. The aggregate effect argument worked in the case you mentioned above because of the historical background and because producing something that can be sold can be linked to commerce. However, I'd be curious to see how someone would do that for emissions of an off-road vehicle on a private ranch....and yes the emissions would likely be cleaner if the vehicle ran on cng.