Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I was curious if compressed natural gas would ever be available in tanks similar to the LP tanks we now use. In the tiny house I have the option to use natural gas appliances and was curious if it will be available in more portable tankage.

Anyone know?

CNG has been used on boats (but not nearly to the extent that propane is) for years. The reason being that it is lighter than air and won't settle in the bilge and be an explosion hazard.

There are a number of disadvantages to it. First the pressure in the bottles is thousands of pounds per square inch. This requires more robust tanks and pumps to compress it and fill tanks. This translates into it's more expensive. The infrastructure to deal with CNG isn't nearly as ubiquitous as the infrastructure for dealing with propane. Propane also burns hotter than natural gas. Propane is easier to store as the pressure is only a couple of hundred pounds per square inch tops.

I can't see a compelling reason to use CNG on a land based camper versus propane. Even on boats propane is, by far, more common than CNG.

There are tanks available on EBay: http://www.ebay.com/bhp/used-cng-tanks but unlike propane tanks the composite tanks have expiration dates beyond which they cannot be used (as far as I know).

I don't think I agree with all of the statements in this article: http://www.cngunited.com/products/the-a ... rsion-kits It is directed at running vehicles on CNG though.

Cheers,

Gus

Bob,

Can't help with the question, but would add that if you find/use convertible appliances that come with LP/Nat. orifices, you can switch at will.

Just change the orafice(s) and adjust the air.

Rob

A discussion: http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f11 ... 33591.html

Cheers,

Gus