[Gasification] engine rebuilds

[Dick Glick]

Hello -- 

For what it's worth -- here is one Cab Company's experience comparing a fleet of CNG and Gasoline Taxis -- Table 7 could not be easily copied -- it's available at:
http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/pdfs/26035.pdf

Best, Dick
www.CorpFutRes.com

Barwood takes a proactive approach to maintaining its vehicles, with a focus on preventing problems so the vehicles can be on the road as much as possible. Repairs required that were beyond those listed above (or those required at times different from the manufacturer's recommended intervals) were defined as unscheduled maintenance.

 

Table 7 summarizes the number and timing of the maintenance for the study vehicles. The number of service visits was higher for the gasoline vehicles (291 compared to 248 for the CNG vehicles). This is to be expected because the gasoline vehicles were in service an average of 3 months longer than the CNG vehicles. The number of miles and days between service visits is nearly the same for the two vehicle types, which indicates that there is no difference in the care given to the CNG vehicles compared to the gasoline vehicles.


The maintenance and repair records and cost data were grouped into scheduled, unscheduled, non-mechanical
repairs, and other categories. The scheduled maintenance category was described above. The unscheduled
maintenance or repairs included all non-scheduled repairs, including those resulting from problems reported
by the vehicle drivers, vehicle breakdowns, and repairs resulting from accidents. Non-mechanical repairs
typically included work and costs associated with changing advertising on the vehicles, checking the radio,
resetting the fare meter, installing new carpeting, and cleaning or touching up the vehicle. The other category
included costs such as towing, and any other items that did not fit in the previous categories.

The scheduled and unscheduled maintenance records were reviewed by vehicle type (CNG and gasoline) to
evaluate whether any repairs occurred more frequently on either type of vehicle. We looked for frequencies
of items such as brake work, tire replacement, fuel system repairs, or engine-related repairs.
As reported above, there was no difference in the frequency of scheduled maintenance, and the vehicles
followed the same service schedule. The rate of unscheduled repairs was slightly higher for the gasoline

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <LINVENT at aol.com>
To: <dlevine at speakeasy.net>; <gasification at listserv.repp.org>
Sent: Saturday, July 28, 2007 6:06 PM
Subject: [Gasification] engine rebuilds


> What is being missed is that diesel engines last longer than gasoline or 
> natural gas engines. The major reason is that diesel acts as a lubricant to the 
> cylinder. Natural gas and gasoline engines also have higher rates of corrosives 
> produced, dry out the cylinders and automotive engines are much lighter 
> design. 
> My undertanding is that diesel engines made into natural gas engines do not 
> last as long or have shorter time periods between major maintenance, i.e., 
> downtime for rework, as natural gas engines built specifically for natural gas. 
> Valve seats are one of the basic difficulties where they don't last and wear out 
> requiring replacement. 
> 
> 
> 
> Sincerely,
> Leland T. Taylor
> Leland T."Tom" Taylor
> President
> Thermogenics Inc.
> 7100-F 2nd St. NW Albuquerque, NM 87107
> Phone:505-463-8422 Fax:505-268-9206 (call first)
> Web:thermogenics.com
> 
> 
> 
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