CNG tank fill or exchange... PNW... Anacortes, Port Townsend???

MikeHoncho · Feb 21, 2021

PaulK said:
If UPS can find sources to fill the tanks for its forklifts all over the U.S you should be able to locate them too. Those outfits may not like your "looks iffy-to-them" tank. If you use the same tank as UPS does, they shouldn't have a reason not to fill it. There must be lots of CNG distributors who handle forklift tanks but who don't want to bother with "custom" boat-sized tanks. So it can be about the tank as well as the source. I've had propane dealers give me looks about our "mini" aluminum propane tank and have to be convinced too.

I just got off the phone with my friend who’s been repairing and commissioning forklift for a long time for a major shop and he said CNG forklifts are not a thing. Propane and electric are what is out there. Nobody knows everything but I believe he knows a lot about this. People confuse NG, LPG and LNG all the time but they are three different beasts. Maybe this is the case here?

PaulK · Feb 21, 2021

MikeHoncho said:
I haven’t heard of forklifts running off of CNG.

When I worked in air cargo at JFK we had CNG forklifts in the warehouse. (And 10 ton diesel ones for outside.) Guess they're not as popular now - they've gone to propane. Good to learn.

MikeHoncho · Feb 21, 2021

PaulK said:
When I worked in air cargo at JFK we had CNG forklifts in the warehouse. (And 10 ton diesel ones for outside.) Guess they're not as popular now - they've gone to propane. Good to learn.

Probably gone the same way as marine CNG it seems. Lol

All U Get · Feb 22, 2021

A business opportunity for you in the PNW, put together a manifold to fill 4-8 bottles and an adapter so you can refill at a CNG station. There was a guy in Baltimore a few years ago that did just that. He had a route and did exchanging along the Chesapeake.

smokey73 · Feb 22, 2021

Options:

1. I did some research a while back. If you have Natural Gas at a your home you can purchase a compressor that does a "slow fill" compressing the Natural Gas from your home line to pressurize a tank. Would take several hours to fill and I imagine its pretty expensive for the unit so if you didn't have either a CNG vehicle or a viable customer base it wouldn't be worth it but who knows. Here is a link to a unit on Amazon:

Amazon.com: HPDMC Mini CNG Compressor Fill Station - 230 Volts, Single Phase, 3 HP, 3.5 Nm³/H @ 3600 PSI, Domestic Natural Gas Compressed System, DMC3: Home Improvement

www.amazon.com

2. Or you could buy a "bigger tank, say the size used for a car and fill it up to 3600psig from the authorized fueling stations and then fill the smaller tanks from the bigger higher pressure tank. Also pretty expensive.

3. Not so much a "business opportunity" but possibly an option? 90% pure methane can be purchased from a commercial gas supplier that handles welding gasses. Natural Gas is just methane plus some trace other gases and as I understand it is about 90% methane anyway. Why couldn't you just purchase or possibly even rent at filled tank from a welding or other commercial gas supplier and use that? Not sure if it has the odorant put in it for that application like CNG has or if the valve on the tank is the same but maybe worth investigating. I think a full tank of 90% methane costs about $100. I could do a lot of cruising cooking for the $4000+ it will cost to convert from CNG to LPG.

All U Get · Feb 22, 2021

Did a quick check in Jacksonville, Fl.
Teco or Peoples Gas. com
A lot of information on using methane gas.

smokey73 · Feb 22, 2021

All U Get said:
Did a quick check in Jacksonville, Fl.
Teco or Peoples Gas. com
A lot of information on using methane gas.

Couldn't find the "lots of information on using methane gas" you refer to? Any specific link other than the company name?

All U Get · Feb 23, 2021

The premiere source for CNG components - www.AmericanCNG.com– American CNG

Another search for TECO then look for Jacksonville, Fl. (the link won't copy) then click the Company tab which brings up a page showing trucks at a slow fill station. Then it show alternative fuels and sources.

What I have found is that browsing with different computers, iPad, and iPhone give different results and I can find what I'm looking for. Try searching with a different computer, like at a library. Its like comparing apples to windows.