My ONG Rant!

[narcolepsy4]

First of all let me begin by saying I love CNG. I have had my Civic for nearly a year and I wouldn't give it up for anything. I love the fact that I am helping the environment, saving money, and sticking it to OPEC.

That being said, I am to the point where I don't know if I will ever buy another CNG vehicle if things don't change in Oklahoma. In the last week and a half I have nearly been stranded twice. On Sunday 6/28 in the evening the Stroud station was down and I barely made it back to Tulsa and then last night I tried to fill up at the 71st St. and Hwy 75 ONG station and it was down. I had to cross my fingers to make it to the 15th street location. Mind you this is after the 71st and 75 station has been down for over a month with repairs. I think most people would expect that station to be functioning properly for some time to come after repairs that take that long.

Now I know very little about the detailed workings of CNG, but I do know that CNG will never become anything more than what it is now if 50% of the time you pull up to a station it is down.

I can tell you for a fact that if every other gasoline station was "down for repairs, sorry for the inconvenience" that most people would be looking for another option.

I am also aware that most of you will say that what ONG does for CNG users is almost a courtesy. Also, I am not opposed to ONG increasing the price per GGE to overhaul the stations. I just want to be able to have the peace of mind to know that when I plan out my trips I will not be stranded because of a non working station.

I have much more to say on the matter, but am out of time at the moment.

How do you feel?

Sean Thornburg.

[jblue]

Re: My ONG Rant!

I have only been stranded once. I was trying to make it to Anadarko and got within 3-5 miles before the tanks went dry. But it ended up I was screwed either way .. Anadarko was out of service so I did not feel so bad!

As you alluded to, ONG is what it is. I've given up on Stroud and exit (depending on my direction of travel) either Stroud or Chandler and fuel at Davenport because I always get a 3k fill.

Norman takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r. Bartlesville has been good to me but it sure is a tight squeeze if ya are pulling a trailer. Muskogee is nice and so is Owasso. My iffy list is SW 59th and NE 50th. Although, NE 50th seems to be running strong lately. Those rickety yellow ice cream vans suck the life out the stations. ugh. Mustang is okay and so is Tulsa's 15th street, I just don't like to drive that far to hit those sites.

I've been told that the station will need a tech to reset it if it pumps more than 25 gge per transaction. If the e-stop is activated a tech will need to visit the station.

Personally, I am okay with the status quo but I understand your frustration. Have you thought about adding an additional tank? I've seen the threads were extra tank vs. space is talked about, but if I drove a GX as my commuter, I would have an extra tank in the trunk without a second thought.

What ticks me off about ONG is the $75.00 hold that is place on my card per transaction. Depending on how much I drive, I will need to do three or more transactions a day. It's nuts!

[scamper]

Re: My ONG Rant!

This is not good news for me. I want a CNG vehicle so bad... about the time I got serious about buying a converted Impala or a Honda GX, House Bill 1835 was introduced, which if passed, would allow a large fed tax credit on bifuel and not just dedicated. Then the home refueling option disappeared. VERY frustrating - I don't get why CNG is so hard to get going.

[jblue]

Re: My ONG Rant!

I want a CNG vehicle so bad... about the time I got serious about buying a converted Impala or a Honda GX ..

Just do it!

If your worried about laying out a ton of cash, I wouldn't buy the Impala or the GX. Spend 3 - 4k and get a used NGV and drive it for a bit. See how you like it. Try it on, you'll like it, I promise.

Then, when you are ready, get something pretty.

[rhonda]

Re: My ONG Rant!

as I understand a CNG vehicle cost up to 7,000 more and a conversion runs about 2 to 4000 and you can run on cng or gas by the flip of a switch on the dashboard. I'm thnking of converting my maxima as more fuel stations become available.

[CraziFuzzy]

Re: My ONG Rant!

Rhonda, realize that there are only a limited number of vehicles that there are legal, EPA or CARB certified conversion kits available. I'm pretty sure the Maxima isn't one of them. Also, most available kits are only certified for current year vehicles, meaning it is very difficult/impossible to convert an older car (more than a year old) at ANY point. These regulatory restrictions are the single biggest detractor to CNG currently.

[cowboy]

Re: My ONG Rant!

as I understand a CNG vehicle cost up to 7,000 more and a conversion runs about 2 to 4000 and you can run on cng or gas by the flip of a switch on the dashboard. I'm thnking of converting my maxima as more fuel stations become available.

here is some one who might convert except for the epa the goverment is going to save us all and my god save us from the goverment