hi from las vegas

[lvcng]

hi, I'm tom from las vegas, I have just purchased a beatup 97 econoline van dedicated to cng, although I've been interested in natural gas as a vehicle fuel for quite some time. I've been going thru it fixing it up to become I hope a great van. I will be using it to commute to la for work periodically, I have the local cng distributers cng card, there are five municipal fueling spots and one nearby my house only available to water district employees. I am writing a bill for the state legislature to encourage and sponsor cng fueling stations at statelines and other tourist meccas, roadway signs, and other necessities. I feel the legislature will go with the idea to encourage toursim by cng vehicle, especially when gasoline goes back to four dollars a gallon, and considering calif. and utahs progressive attitude toward cng. I'm happy to become a member of cng.chat, have been viewing it for a while and hope to get a great deal of positive information from its members. thanks, tom...

[John Mitton]

Re: hi from las vegas

Welcome Tom!
Many of us know the Vegas stations well. There is a hot discussion going on about the Clean Energy assumption of maintenance in the Nevada forum... I know of one tech in Vegas with decent CNG experience. You might want to give him a call to assist with your vehicle fix-up. Its Jason Koga at 702-427-8430.

[lvcng]

Re: hi from las vegas

Hi John, thanks so much for the info. I took the van to friendly ford to get the tanks certified and got the van running like a top with the cng specialists there, but it was expensive. I'm trying to figure out right now how many miles I will get on the three tanks, one long on the frame and two smalls where the spare tire would go. The van is a ford dedicated former so. west gas van, and the mechanic said I would get between 12 and 16 miles per equivt. gallon. Would you happen to know how I can get this info on the range of the tanks? Thanks again for all our help. tom...

[jetboatjohnny]

Re: hi from las vegas

Look and see if you can read the fluid capacity of the tanks. Take that number and divide by 3.2 and that will be close to the GGE capacity.

[lvcng]

Re: hi from las vegas

Look and see if you can read the fluid capacity of the tanks. Take that number and divide by 3.2 and that will be close to the GGE capacity.

Johnny, thanks for the info. The long tank about 70" to 73" has no labels on it, it is a gold colored wrapped in what looks like a fiberglass material, the two smaller tanks are black and are encased in what looks to be where the spare tire carrier would be at the rear and they are about 30" to 35" and next to each other. I don't have the original sticker or the owners manual. My next step is to try and get in touch with So. West Gas, so far unsuccessfully and Ford to see if these are stock or SWGas tanks. I need to be able to make it to Barstow, Ca. or even Victorville, on my commutes to LA to work. thanks, tom...

[Franz]

Re: hi from las vegas

The labels are not paper labels but are integral to the tank. They are installed during the final wrapping process, thus covered in fiberglass. They SHOULD be visible and are required to be visible at least with a "lamp and mirror". You might have to wash the tank to remove any debris. The label is usually about 1/3 the way from the valve end.

Franz

[Yroc]

Re: hi from las vegas

Not all labels are under the fiberglass wrap. I got a type 2 tank out of a 99 chevy and the label was all but worn away. I wouldn't be able to know when it expired if I didn't know the year of the vehicle. I also have type I tanks that don't have a wrap and they are labeled with a sticker that 'could' wear off, but mine is fine.