How do you fill a CNG cylinder

[John Nantz]

With how long a tank lasts, with our 2-burners stove and no oven, we cruised Alaska Southeast for 77 days and only replaced the tank on either the 76th day or the last day. We also had a pot of coffee every morning and, (disclaimer) had a small microwave plus a hotplate that was used with shore power the few times it was available. The first mate knows how to be frugal with energy when cooking. We also had freshly caught salmon.

With regard to propane news, this "event" made the local headlines.
Ship blast caused by propane (read post Sep 11 at 2:21 pm)

Sailboat explodes, sinks off Nanaimo
52 girls and staff from Vancouver school got off 25 minutes earlier
Read more: http://ferriesbc.proboards.com/thread/1949/explosion-newcastle-island-ferry-dock

62 foot charter schooner blew apart and sank within minutes … blew the top off the rear cabin … 52 girls and staff had gotten off 25 minutes prior to the explosion. …
Caused by propane (different link). The skipper went to make a pot of tea and then that happened.

 

[nfg2u]

Steve, where did you buy your adapter?

Richard,

I purchased it from Ebay. I am going to have the Hydro guys take a look at it before I use it. I have been putting off buying the parts and building it myself so I just bought one.
Here is the link.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/182849601490?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

I should get my tanks back tomorrow, I will let you know how it goes.

Steve

 

[Richard19068]

Richard,

I purchased it from Ebay. I am going to have the Hydro guys take a look at it before I use it. I have been putting off buying the parts and building it myself so I just bought one.
Here is the link.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/182849601490?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

I should get my tanks back tomorrow, I will let you know how it goes.

Steve

Steve, Thanks for the reply. I have been looking at that same adapter on e-bay. It looks pretty good. Please do let me know your thoughts about it after you give it a try. Both the cost and availability of the tank exchange program around here is getting frustrating.

 

[nfg2u]

Ok, I picked up my Tanks today. Had a good talk with the owner of Hydrostat. My tanks are rated at 2200 lbs and good for another 5 years! The owner told me they were good tanks and he prefers CNG over LPG. I made my way to the CNG pump and filled both tanks to about 22-2500 psi according to the gauge on my new auto fill adapter. I am really glad that I purchased the one with pressure gauges on both the fill and the tank side. I was able to regulate the pressure as it came from the pump with the valve. As soon as the pump started I registered 3800-4000 lbs coming from the pump. I opened the valve slowly to fill the tank. It only took a few seconds and the tank was at 2200 lbs. The tank was slightly warm and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to regulate the pressure. All total, it cost me less than $3.00 dollars to fill both tanks. Now I have two full tanks and will be swapping them out and filling them as needed. I am super happy with this setup. @Richard19068 I had no issues with the adapter purchased from Ebay and would recommend it if you need it.

Steve

This was a full tank!



Beats the $40 I had been paying to have it filled!

 

[jviss]

My tanks are rated at 2200 lbs

filled both tanks to about 22-2500 psi

Is that safe? 2500 is 14% over the rating. In the old days of steel, 71.2 cu. ft. SCUBA tanks, 10% over was specified as acceptable.

 

[Richard19068]

Steve, Thanks for the report. Very good to see you had a good experience.

Richard

 

[nfg2u]

@jviss Thanks for your concern. I will keep that in mind.

 

[JimInPB]

When filling scuba tanks, I have always been instructed to fill them slowly & not let them get hot. I assume that the same is also recommended for CNG since the pressure & tanks seem to be the same. I don't have any experience working with CNG, so this is just conjecture on my part.

The video looked a bit scary to me. Thousands of pounds of pressure in a long thin conglomeration of fitting sticking out of a tank with the weight of the hose on the other end, looks like a risky proposition to me, especially with a flammable gas.

The home made fitting scares me a little too. The instructions had you tapping an oversized female thread in a pressure rated fitting. Removing the extra material voids the pressure rating.

 

[All U Get]

So are you going into business? We should be in Vero in a few weeks.

All U Get

 

[jviss]

The video looked a bit scary to me.

Me too. I have filled many SCUBA tanks (I still have a Bauer Purus compressor, good to 4kpsi). Put th etanks in a water bath, and preferably on the other side of a concrete wall!

 

[All U Get]

We’re now in Vero Beach and looking to fill our CNG, is anyone filling tanks in the area?

All U Get

 

[Richard19068]

Ok, I picked up my Tanks today. Had a good talk with the owner of Hydrostat. My tanks are rated at 2200 lbs and good for another 5 years! The owner told me they were good tanks and he prefers CNG over LPG. I made my way to the CNG pump and filled both tanks to about 22-2500 psi according to the gauge on my new auto fill adapter. I am really glad that I purchased the one with pressure gauges on both the fill and the tank side. I was able to regulate the pressure as it came from the pump with the valve. As soon as the pump started I registered 3800-4000 lbs coming from the pump. I opened the valve slowly to fill the tank. It only took a few seconds and the tank was at 2200 lbs. The tank was slightly warm and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to regulate the pressure. All total, it cost me less than $3.00 dollars to fill both tanks. Now I have two full tanks and will be swapping them out and filling them as needed. I am super happy with this setup. @Richard19068 I had no issues with the adapter purchased from Ebay and would recommend it if you need it.

Steve

Beats the $40 I had been paying to have it filled!

I got the same adapter and just used it today for the first time. It was quite straight forward and with the shutoff valve and two qauges was very easy to keep it down to the rated 2250 psi.

Cost me $1.69 for a full fill which used to cost $56 for an exchange tank. At $150 for the adapter and $18 for the tank hydro and inspection it will only take a few fills to pay off.

 

[1mcarlson]

Well it's now 2019, is anyone still using CNG and refilling yourselves? I have 2 tanks I re-certed when I bought the boat 2 years ago and are now empty. I cannot get them filled anywhere except a self-serve place near me that only pumps at 3600 psi. Little worried about filling or do I go ahead and convert to lpg? Thoughts now in 2019???

 

[jon hansen]

check larsons marina in waukegan. i get mine filled in shawano wis. for $5.00 a tank.

 

[Rick D]

CNG is readily available in SoCal, so not much of an issue.

 

[1mcarlson]

Called Larsen-they stopped filling last year as their refill people will not handle personal cylinders. I tried, called last night
Yes I have a fill station right down street but it fills at 3600 psi. Not sure if I trust the ebay adapter.

 

[Richard19068]

Well it's now 2019, is anyone still using CNG and refilling yourselves? I have 2 tanks I re-certed when I bought the boat 2 years ago and are now empty. I cannot get them filled anywhere except a self-serve place near me that only pumps at 3600 psi. Little worried about filling or do I go ahead and convert to lpg? Thoughts now in 2019???

Still refilling my own as above.