A few ? about my new truck.

[sixb]

What does ogge or gge stand for.

I will get a UT tax credit of 3g, but I have read a couple of times here about a 4g credit from the feds. Is that only for the new honda gx.

The truck runs and drives great, but is there any reason to have the cng systems checked for saftey sake. I am usually a don't fix it unless it's broke kind of guy. The truck has 51k on the clock.

This one is a tough question to word but here it is. I have a cng station that is on my way to work in Sandy UT, but it only fills 5/8 & 1/2 tank the two times I used it. The other two were full fills at West Jordan by the old airport and the Murry station. My question is I went 160 mi on the 5/8 tank, and the full fills drop to 5/8 so quick I am wondering if it is worth driving out of my way to WJ to fill up. The full fills are good for 190-204 miles.

[Jennifer]

Re: A few ? about my new truck.

GGE stands for gasoline gallon equivalent. The energy in a GGE is 125,000 btus, which is the same as gasoline.
You might also see DGE which is diesel gallon equivalent, or 140,000 btus.

There is a little info on the federal tax credit for vehicles at ngvamerica.org:

Income Tax Credits for Alternative Fuel Vehicles
PL 109-58 provides for an income tax credit for the purchase of a new, dedicated alternative fuel vehicle of 50 percent of the incremental cost of the vehicle, plus an additional 30 percent if the vehicle meets certain tighter emission standards. These credits would range from $2,500 to $32,000 depending on the size of the vehicle. The credit is effective on purchases made after December 31, 2005 and expires on December 31, 2010.

You could probably google it and find out what your truck qualifies for... but if your truck is used, I don't know if you qualify for a credit at all.

Enjoy your truck and the cheap gas!

[John Mitton]

Re: A few ? about my new truck.

Welcome to CNGchat sixb!
I assume you purchased the truck used, so it is unlikely that a federal credit can be taken.

Utah provides an income tax credit of 1/2 the incremental cost of the CNG system on your vehicle, up to a maximum $3,000. So long as the credit has not already been taken on this vehicle (the state maintains a database of VIN numbers) you can take the credit.

Please review the details here:

http://www.cngchat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21

Your fast-fills are going to vary depending on the pressure of the system at the time you pull in. If the pump has had a lot of filling activity just ahead of you, the pressure is going to be down until the compressor can fill the storage tanks up again. Check the gauge on the pump before you fill -- I have seen it anywhere from 3800 down to 2500 psi.

What is the make and year of your truck?

[sixb]

Re: A few ? about my new truck.

My truck is an 01 f150 std cab long bed with a 5.4 auto in 2wd.

I don't think I got my point across the first time. My first tank was close to empty but no light and I put a little over 6 gallons and went 160 miles. A 15 + gallon fill got me 190-204 miles with light on. I think a full fill drops so fast to a 5/8 tank that a full fill might not be worth it.

I'm confussed.

[ngvdrivers.com]

Re: A few ? about my new truck.

I wouldn't drive too far out of your way just to get more in your take with each fill unless you need the extra capacity for a longer trip and don't want to have to pay for gasoline. When you said that it goes from full down to 5/8 very quickly, what you're probably referring to is the effect of using a fast-fill at a filling station. With a fast fill, the temperature of the gas inside the tank will increase due to the compression which in turn increases the pressure within the tank. A fuel gauge on a CNG vehicle is basically just a pressure meter, so when you get what you think is a full tank you're not really getting as much into the tank as possible. Once the heat in the tank due to compression dissipates, the pressure will decrease making it appear that you lost fuel according to your fuel gauge. However, you got the approximate GGE shown on the fuel pump - you just think it was enough to fill your truck but it wasn't. The best way to get the most volume of gas into your tank at any particular pressure is to slow fill the tank (hence the popularity of the FuelMaker and Phill home refueling units and the like). With a slow fill, the gas is put in the tank at a much slower rate which allows any heat buildup caused by compression to dissipate as the vehicle is being refueled. This allows you to get more CNG in your tank. An alternative strategy to investing in a slow fill unit for use at home is to fill up with a fast fill at a fueling station and then wait about 10-20 minutes and fuel again. This will allow alot of the heat for the bulk of your fill up to dissipate so that you can usually get another GGE or so in the tank. l've done this at times when I've had an errand to run near a fueling station. I'll fill up first, run my errand, and then return to the pump to top the tank off. It works great just before you go on a long road trip.