Should I? - FMQ - 2

[CNG4RD]

It seems i can get almost 5k in incentives for buying an FMQ - 2 with my Honda Civic purchase and with other tax incentives piled on.

So I think that puts the price around 6K.

I am considering the purchase not because of any savings (I live in Utah), simply a convenience purchase.

Can any owners or others that have weighed this decision chime in and let me know what you think.

Thanks for your opinions.

[CNG MOTORS]

Re: Should I? - FMQ - 2

$6k for a new FMQ2 is a smoking deal, if you don't take it I will.

[in_cognito]

Re: Should I? - FMQ - 2

The FMQ is way better in the long run than a PHILL.

Aside from the convenience you may want to check your cost of CNG per GGE at home and the Electricity per kw/h.

I put a spread sheet together and having the FMQ at home cost about a buck per gge if you consider the cost of the FMQ.

Example: The FMQ has a 6000 (CORRECTION 4000) hour life say you bought it for 6000$ thats roughly a buck per (CORRECTION Buck 50 )gallon for the cost of the unit itself.

With CNG pump prices being so low in UTAH I don't think it makes financial sense to do so. But like I said before if you are buying it for the ease of use then go for it.

Note: You could reduce the cost per GGE of the FMQ drastically when you calculate in the second 6000 (CORRECTION 4000) hours of the FMQ.

Again in rough numbers the FMQ field replacement part cost approx $1000

So you now divide the cost of the $6000 + $1000 replacement in a few years then you could 7000/8000 and get .875 cents per GGE in overhead for the cost of the FMQ.

Do note that at 4000 hours of service the FMQ will give you close to 3600 GGE of CNG.

3600 x 30 miles per gallon = 108000 miles.

(NOTE: Thanks all for correcting me. I was confused between the 6000 of the phill)

[Adrian]

Re: Should I? - FMQ - 2

The FMQ is way better in the long run than a PHILL.

Aside from the convenience you may want to check your cost of CNG per GGE at home and the Electricity per kw/h.

I put a spread sheet together and having the FMQ at home cost about a buck per gge if you consider the cost of the FMQ.

Example: The FMQ has a 6000 hour life say you bought it for 6000$ thats roughly a buck per gallon for the cost of the unit itself.

With CNG pump prices being so low in UTAH I don't think it makes financial sense to do so. But like I said before if you are buying it for the ease of use then go for it.

Note: You could reduce the cost per GGE of the FMQ drastically when you calculate in the second 6000 hours of the FMQ.

Again in rough numbers the FMQ field replacement part cost approx $1000

So you now divide the cost of the $6000 + $1000 replacement in a few years then you could 7000/12000 and get 58 cents per GGE in overhead for the cost of the FMQ.

Do note that at 6000 hours of service the FMQ will give you close to 5400 GGE of CNG.

5400 x 30 miles per gallon = 162000 miles.

I thought the service life of an FMQ2-36 was 4,000 hrs. It is the Phill that's supposed to work for 6,000 hours, though my first one died at about 5,000 hours. I'm sure someone that owns an FMQ can chime in and confirm the actual service life for one.

[jetboatjohnny]

Re: Should I? - FMQ - 2

I thought the FMQ was good for 4000 hrs, Phill 6,000 ?

[OKGX]

Re: Should I? - FMQ - 2

I just ordered a FMQ with two fill hoses using the Honda purchase discount. Now up to 6 week wait for delivery. The quoted price in Oklahoma with the discounts was $8657 plus $600 install (with everything ready to hook up). To run the gas and electrical to the location was $800. So total for us is $10,057. Oklahoma will credit 50% through taxes and the Feds another $1000. So that brings it to $4028.50.

Time before rebuild is 4000 hrs. Realistically at about 0.8 GGE per hour that equates to 3200 GGE. At 28 MPG with the GX that equals about 89,600 miles before FMQ overhaul. From a cost standpoint $4028.50 for the unit plus about $320 for power cost and $3200 (about $1 per GGE here) for the gas over the first 4000 hours gives a total cost of $7548.50 for that 89,600 miles or 8.4 cents per mile. Compare this to $4/gal gasoline at 14.3 cents a mile with the same MPG. There are other possible credits for the CNG fuel cost if you qualify, and I would expect new legislation next year on the federal level that could improve the incentives for the fueling equipment.

This still only made since to my company because with the vehicle tax credits we could purchase the GX slightly cheaper than the gas version. Had it not been for the tax credits it would take too long to make up the difference in the higher vehicle cost with the fuel savings.

Still the major reason I considered this purchase was concern over the stability of gasoline prices. Any conflict in a oil producing region of the world, such as Israel attacking Iran, could drive oil prices through the roof in a matter of days and potentially lead to rationing. A separate source of fuel, such as CNG, makes a lot of sense in that case.

[freedml]

Re: Should I? - FMQ - 2

It's not just a matter of convenience. You just think of (or remember) the slight panic every time you drive up to a dispenser that isn't working or has less pressure than you have left in your tank. This seems to be happening regularly in Utah these days.

I was going to top-off in Oxnard when the power was apparently out. I had a chat with another GX owner who was low on fuel and had to figure out where to buy gas before he ran out. I showed him mobile.cngprices.com and flagged the Oxnard station as 'not operational' right there.

[CNG4RD]

Re: Should I? - FMQ - 2

hmmm, slc reseller is quoting me over 11k for the same rig..... need to look into OK resellers, what was the name of your reseller in OK if you don't mind me asking?

[mike4ou]

Re: Should I? - FMQ - 2

I was quoted 11K plus install this week here in Oklahoma without the Honda special discount. Honda incentive pricing is not available to individual retail customers.

Details of Honda incentive:
http://http://fuelmaker.com/files/NewGXVRA07c.pdf

Still seems attractive in Oklahoma with the tax credits for Home refueling. My 09 GX is on order but I think I will try public fill station for a while before I make a decision on home refueling. I pass by a public fill station on my route 3 times a week so the convenience of home filling may not be worth the cost. Then again if the reliability of the SE 59th street station is inconsistant or gives poor fills then I will likely buy a FMQ 2 when I get my tax credits back on the GX.