Comments on: ECUA, City Unveil Escambia’s First Natural Gas Filling Station

By: David Huie Green

David Huie Green — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 16:36:58 +0000

Obviously cng isn’t appropriate for every situation, but where it is is where it should be considered.
As equipment wears out replacing it is a time to consider cng.
If the application requires long distances where cng will not be available, it probably isn’t appropriate.

Just remember it is cheaper, cleaner, safer, more abundant, bulkier than gasoline, diesel, ethanol. Use appropriately.

David for doing the right thing
and knowing what that is

By: Frank

Frank — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 16:55:26 +0000

I want to know how they were alowed to put ina gas station or any business on a state hwy without having to put in a turn lane, when they made mine pay for one? When we expanded our business on pine forest?

By: Jane

Jane — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 10:19:15 +0000

We are behind…Europe has had natural gas vehicles for years. They are efficient and not as expensive as gas/diesel/electric to operate. Maybe the car companies should have looked in this direction.

By: bill

bill — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 04:20:03 +0000

So if they had to buy new vehicles….where is the savings?Hpw much were they? Oh they forgot that cost….lol Also the nice new wraps on the cars and the garbage trucks arn’t cheap. In the end I’ll bet its just another govt program that the bean counters incorrectly counted the beans……Our ECUA rate are going up 3 percent…..remember last week? We cant even get a correct number out of ECUA on how much they make from recycling……
Bad idea for the city cop cars to have to drive all the way up to pine forest and mobile hwy to fuel up….and then back to the city….

By: well

well — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 03:37:07 +0000

The pickups purchased by the county and ECUA are duel fuel capable.
CNG or Unleaded

By: Yup

Yup — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 03:33:34 +0000

Yes, prices are so stable that ESP gave the county a price of about 1.38 a gal when these vehicles were being discussed. But how bout that, when they arrive the cost is 2.02 a gal.

By: Ben Thar

Ben Thar — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 17:13:16 +0000

“of course, you could remove the back seat, but the prisoner would have to be strapped to the hood for transport”
_____________

Still not seeing the down side.

By: fred

fred — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 15:57:50 +0000

@ c.w. – From my reading, it appears that the Gasoline Gallon Equivalent (GGE) of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is about 5.660 pounds of CNG per gallon of gasoline. Stored at 3600 psi, that is about 3.82 gals of CNG to equal the energy (measured in BTUs) of gasoline. So, in order to fill up with the same amount of equivalent fuel, to replace a 26 gallon gasoline tank, you’d need a 99.32 gallon CNG tank, very large. That’s why the deputies were spending half their shift at the pump. Maybe an engineer reading this column could comment, but it appears to me that the practical application of CNG is in large vehicles with the ability to store large amounts of fuel, not patrol cars with limited fuel storage capabilities (of course, you could remove the back seat, but the prisoner would have to be strapped to the hood for transport.) Then, in my mind, there’s the issue of having an injection system and engine capable of burning CNG fuel at a rate and volume high enough to generate the horsepower of a gasoline engine. Again, we need an engineer to comment here, because that’s beyond my knowledge as a layman.

I guess I’m just saying that it’s difficult to tell whether this is a good idea or not for all applications – I won’t be running out to purchase a CNG vehicle, thinking that it will save any money or be practical for a daily driver. perhaps one of the Milton PD officers could comment about their experiences driving converted vehicles?

By: c.w.

c.w. — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 15:07:41 +0000

Milton put a natural gas service station in several years age. The city used it to fuel the police cars as I remember. What a joke. The cops had to fuel up twice or more every 8 hours. lol

By: PSU1Earl

PSU1Earl — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 14:53:15 +0000

So, with ECUA saving $350k in annual maintenance and $900k in fuel costs… I will see a reduction of how much in my bill? *All I hear is crickets*… Of course when the price went up for fuel they were all over passing it on to the customers… and when do I start seeing my reduction in my trash bill from the windfall they are getting from the recycling program or methane generators at the dump? *more crickets*…