CNG Source

[Leon Sheean]

Is anyone familiar with a CNG source anywhere between Buffalo and Detroit?

I'm in Cleveland and unable to find a local re-charge station although a couple of local utility companies use it in their commercial fleets!

Thank you,

 

[u079721]

We purchased an adapter years ago from Corp Brothers that allowed us to use the CNG filling stations, like the ones that the utilities use. In our case there was one in Flint MI that was not too far a drive. You might just take a tank to a welding supply store and show them what you have, and explain that you just need to be able to attach it to the quick release fitting at a filling station, and I bet they would have the parts you need.

BUT, the danger here is that the filling stations have (or at least had) two pressures available at the pump. ~3000 psig, and 4500 psig. The first is what you need, the second will dangerously overfill your tank. And the problem is that the fittings are the same, so that there is no way to idiot proof the process. In fact some years ago Corp Brothers sent me a registered letter informing me that my adapter was no longer safe to use and that I should dispose of it. (I ended up giving it away when I sold the boat.)

The other option is to contact Thomas Hardware in Grosse Point Farms outside Detroit. They were the last place I knew of to do CNG exchanges in the Detroit area.

Good Luck!

 

[Stu Jackson]

http://www.c34.org/wiki/index.php?title=CNG_Refill_Adapter

Also Google or go to www.safgas.com for distributors near you.

 

[u079721]

http://www.c34.org/wiki/index.php?title=CNG_Refill_Adapter

Also Google or go to www.safgas.com for distributors near you.

That's essentially what I had - I had forgotten that the Catalina forums were active with directions on how to make your own, right down to the part numbers that you need.

BUT, do remember the warning about checking the pressure of the filling station! This gadget is just an adapter - it does not limit the incoming pressure in any way.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Steve, just being the engineer in me, it's not the "Catalina forums", it's the Catalina 34 Website. They're two different things. I think of the "Catalina Forums" as www.catalinaowners.com, not "our" www.c34ia.org.

I've noted a few times that our C34 website has lots of M25 series engine information. I've helped a few Ericson owners with their propulsion plants over the years.

As I recall my high school physics, you fill the container up and the pressure builds up INSIDE the tank. The instructions in the link say you SHOULD use the 3000 psi nozzle, but also say you could use the 3600 psi, but you have to "watch it." It's like filling up your tires: the pressure in the pumping system exceeds what you'd put in, so you have to stop and check. With the CNG, that's why the gauge is there.