[ft_chief]

Stopped by Costco on N. Decatur this morning, gas was $3.21. With my 3% discount, I am paying $3.11 per gallon for top tier gas.

[ScoopLV]

November is coming. Don't worry, we'll be back to WTF after the mid-term election.


The price of CNG is holding steady at $2.19/gallon (It's sold by weight. But that's what it works out to as $/gallon.) It's been at or near that price for the past five years. The highest I've ever paid was $2.69/gallon. And that was when gasoline was higher than $5/gallon.

I don't know why so few people go this route. It is SO much better than gasoline.

[yellowsnow]

Have to go to Costco and get some gas!

[ddrhazy]

Are you advocating using natural gas powered cars as opposed to gasoline powered ones?

[ScoopLV]

Yes I am. And I am WELL aware about how bad fracking is. But there are clean ways to get natural gas out of the ground without destroying people's water system. They aren't as cheap. And energy companies only care about profit. This is one instance where government should have our backs for the common good.

Still better than OPEC. That's the conclusion that I came to. Truthfully, I would ride my bicycle to work if that were an option. But that's a death sentence to ride the surface roads near the Strip in the wee hours of the morning.

So I have a CNG-powered truck. I could use public transportation. But that ALSO uses CNG.

[winter-rabbit]

What make and model is your truck?

Originally Posted by ScoopLV

Yes I am. And I am WELL aware about how bad fracking is. But there are clean ways to get natural gas out of the ground without destroying people's water system. They aren't as cheap. And energy companies only care about profit. This is one instance where government should have our backs for the common good.

Still better than OPEC. That's the conclusion that I came to. Truthfully, I would ride my bicycle to work if that were an option. But that's a death sentence to ride the surface roads near the Strip in the wee hours of the morning.

So I have a CNG-powered truck. I could use public transportation. But that ALSO uses CNG.

[ScoopLV]

Google "CNG-powered pickup truck" and you will easily find it. CNG vehicles work EXACTLY the same way gasoline vehicles work, with the exception of the way the driver fills the tank, and the way the fuel is delivered to the engine.

When my truck needs basic maintenance, I take it to the local garage. It's nothing they haven't dealt with before.

[ddrhazy]

Electric cars are the way of the future. Transmission of and centralization of power generation make this the optimal choice for vehicle propulsion.

[ft_chief]

What is the gas mileage for the CNG powered truck?

[ScoopLV]

Doesn't really work that way. CNG drivers deal in range. About 250 miles per fill, which costs $30. They're great as commuters and for "need to have a truck to make my life work" duty. But it would be near impossible to take a road trip with one. The distribution network isn't in place. Victorville is as far as I've driven. Utah is big on CNG since they are a producer. So I could easily drive to Salt Lake if I needed to do so.

While I agree that electric cars are the way of the future. I need a way to get to work while I wait for the future to arrive. (And I wish it would hurry up. I've been reading about flying cars my entire life.)

EDIT -- I would be remiss if I didn't mention that CNG drivers can purchase a home filling system that attaches to their home gas line. That makes the price per gallon SERIOUSLY cheap. But the system itself is so expensive that CNG would have to be either a decades-long commitment or the driver owns multiple CNG vehicles.

EDIT AGAIN -- The easiest way to answer about gas mileage is that like I said before, EVERYTHING works the same way as a regular gas-powered vehicle, except for fuel storage and delivery. Methane is not as efficient as gasoline. But it burns cleaner. There's always a trade-off. So the short answer is that my truck gets the same kind of mileage that any 8-cylinder, 5 liter pickup truck gets. I just don't pay for terrorism and wars to commute. Instead I pay for environmental destruction and out-of-control corporate greed. As with most things, there are no easy answers.

THIRD-TIME'S-THE-CHARM -- And I didn't mention: No smog check. Completely exempt. Good to go in any HOV lane in the country. Oil changes every 20,000 or so because it's so clean burning. Spark plugs? No idea. I pull one every once and awhile and it looks like it has less than 100 miles on it. My truck has 106,000 on it. And it runs and drives as new. But someday, I will need to replace the big horkin' fuel tanks in the bed.