Home gas station. Is it possible to refuel a car with household gas? Is it possible to refuel a car with household gas?

home

Security systems

Accidents at gas filling stations, despite the high safety of modern gas equipment, unfortunately do happen. And sometimes the fault is not even the car owner’s negligent attitude towards the refueling process, or the violation of safety regulations by a gas station employee. The reason for emergencies at gas filling stations is most often banal awareness; people simply do not know how to behave correctly at gas filling stations. No, I don’t want to say that emergencies don’t happen at ordinary gas stations, it’s just that gas fuel differs from classic gasoline and diesel fuel. We are talking about a completely different refueling technology and a completely different state of these types of fuel, not to mention flammability...

In this article I want to talk about safety rules at gas stations, as well as how to fill a car with gas correctly independently, if the need arises.

First, about what not to do at a gas station

At gas stations it is prohibited:

Well, first of all, of course, smoking or using open fire sources. I think there is no need to explain here, we all know what gas is and what happens if you suddenly set it on fire a large number of gas. There is an explosion of unprecedented proportions, so in no case, under any circumstances, do not violate this rule “No. 1”.
Refuel the car with the engine running. When the engine is running, the fuel line is functioning, so there is a high probability of a sharp increase in pressure in the fuel line, which can lead to damage to the valves and many other equally important components of gas equipment.
Refill a faulty LPG. Before you fill your car with gas, make sure that the valves, VSU, are in order. is not damaged, and the gas equipment itself is in good working order and has no leaks.
Start refueling without permission from the gas station operator.
Perform refueling with the gun installed incorrectly.

How to properly refill a gas cylinder in a car with LPG?

First of all, you must remember one thing - refuel your car if there is an operator or a gas station attendant - prohibited! For such a violation, the employee may be punished or even fired, and you, at a minimum, will receive a warning or possibly even a fine! All you need to do is tell the employee the location of the remote refueling device.

There are, however, exceptions when there is no refueler or the refueling station itself provides for the possibility of refueling yourself, in which case the tips below will help you correctly fill up with gas at a gas station.

From personal experience. For example, I once witnessed a simply blatant case of violation of safety rules by an employee of a gas station. The gas station operator is in a strong state alcohol intoxication tried to connect the gun and couldn’t, not only connect it to the VZU, he could barely stand on his feet. The worst thing was that a few minutes after his unsuccessful attempts, the gas station attendant decided “out of grief” to light a cigarette, while holding the pistol in his hands. I’ll tell you honestly, I’ve never seen people get into cars so quickly and drive off in all directions... 🙂 Laugh with laughter, but everything could have ended in tears...

1. The first thing to do is drive up to the pump and turn off the engine.

2. Perform a visual check to ensure that it is working properly, although it is best to do this before you go to the gas station.

3. Connect the adapter, if it is provided for in the design of your gas equipment, and install the gun into the VSU.

4. Turn on the gas supply and monitor the filling of the gas cylinder. Here it is necessary to remember that only the amount of gas that can physically fit into the cylinder can fit into it; you should not shake the car or stagger in order to pump more gas into your cylinder. I wrote about this in more detail in my previous article: .

5. After the cylinder is filled, the automatic gas station will shut off the gas supply. You will notice this by the fact that the numbers in the “liters” and “rubles” fields will stop. Although if you don't need a full tank, you can stop refilling at any time.

6. All that remains is to disconnect the “gun” and remove the adapter, if you installed one.

After completing the refueling, do not forget to pay the bill. That’s actually the whole procedure, as you can see, it’s not complicated, the most important thing is to try to do it yourself several times.

Finally a video about How to fill your car with gas yourself:

Thank you all for your attention, I hope the article was useful to you!?

Is it possible to refuel a car with regular household gas at home? How to save on fuel? Read how to do this in our material.

The topic of converting gasoline (sometimes diesel) cars to run on liquefied or compressed gas (,) has been raised more than once on our website. Without a doubt, operating such a car is more economically profitable. And the more powerful and large-volume the engine, the faster the gas equipment pays off and the more significant the savings. In previous materials, we provided calculations for reducing fuel costs, and came to the conclusion that under any conditions, the cost of one kilometer is reduced on average by half. Now imagine that costs can be reduced not by half, but by 6-10 times. Do you think this is unrealistic? In fact, it is possible. We will tell you how further.

When calculating the cost per kilometer driven on gasoline and methane (based on the energy intensity of 1 cubic meter of methane = 1 liter of gasoline), we took the cost at specialized gas stations as a basis. On average in Ukraine it is from 5.80 UAH. up to 6.60 UAH. per cubic meter The average figure as of November 4, 2013 was 6.54 UAH. That’s right, it’s almost two times cheaper than the cost of a liter of gasoline; accordingly, with equal consumption of a liter of gasoline and a cubic meter of gas, we get double savings. So how can you further reduce costs? - you ask. It’s elementary to refuel with methane that enters our homes through gas stoves and heating boilers. Its cost to the population is much lower. To be more precise, from 0.73 UAH to 2.68 UAH. But the upper limit is reached only in case of consumption of more than 12,000 cubic meters per year. Even if a house of 200 square meters is heated and a couple of cars are refueled, it is unlikely that you will be able to achieve such gas consumption. Moreover, our heating season is only 4-5 months. However, in the future we will carry out calculations taking into account the maximum cost.

The price is nice, it makes me happy, but how do I fill my car with household gas? This is not propane-butane, which liquefies at relatively low pressure. Methane is stored in cylinders at pressures up to 200 atm. Theoretically, it is enough to purchase a special compressor capable of receiving methane from the gas pipeline, increasing its pressure to 200 atm, and feeding it into cylinders.

Everything is beautiful in theory, but what about in practice? It turns out that sometimes in our country theoretical projects can well be brought to life. Wanting to get first-hand information, we contacted the Energospetsservice company, which is a distributor of such equipment.

In reality, everything turned out to be banal simple. Anyone can buy a special pump high pressure which connects to the domestic gas pipeline low pressure and refills a vehicle equipped with HBO (methane gas). In this case, no special permits or safety requirements are required from the owner. Let me emphasize - special! All norms and requirements and safety regulations in accordance with “NPAOP 0.00-1.20-98 Safety Rules for Gas Supply Systems of Ukraine” remain in force. Don't be alarmed, these are the same requirements as for gas stove or heating boiler. In addition, the installation is connected to the electrical network and must be grounded.

And then it’s just a fairy tale. You connect a special high-pressure hose to the charging connector of the car, and... you will have to wait a little longer than at a branded gas station. How many? It all depends on the performance of the pump you choose. For example, the weakest one with a capacity of 3 cubic meters per hour can spend 5-6 hours to fill one cylinder, but an average capacity of 10 cubic meters per hour will only take an hour and a half. How long would you say? And you count how much time your car sits idle near your house. During this time, he can easily refuel. You are sleeping, the car is refueling. When the limit pressure is reached, the system will automatically turn off. In the morning, a car with filled cylinders awaits you. Everything is great, especially since the bills not spent on fuel continue to lie in your pocket, and not at the gas station cash register.

Everything is good and wonderful, but we still add a fly in the ointment to this beautiful ointment. With all the visible advantages of using a home gas station, there are no less disadvantages.

Firstly, the cost of installing LPG.

Secondly, the cost of the gas compressor.

Thirdly, the weight and dimensions of high-pressure cylinders.

Fourthly, the network of methane gas stations is not extensive enough (you have to drive not only near your home).

But there is a category of citizens for whom these disadvantages are not critical. They use vehicle not only to move their mortal body from home to work and back, they make money from it. For those whose cars have a huge annual mileage, switching to methane and installing a gas filling station is a completely relevant solution.

As always, let’s evaluate the feasibility of such a solution using an example. Let's take a private entrepreneur with a small fleet of cars, say 5 Gazelles with an average daily mileage of 250 km.

The cost of a gas station with a capacity of 10 cubic meters per hour is 7,600 euros or 83,600 UAH. We divide this amount by the number of cars and get the cost per car of 16,720 UAH. Let’s add here the cost of HBO, about 8,000 UAH.

16720 UAH. + 8000 UAH. = 24,720 UAH.

Initial costs have already amounted to UAH 24,720. per car.

The average fuel consumption of a Gazelle car is about 18 l/100 km. Gas is correspondingly the same amount in cubes. The cost of a cubic meter of methane is 2.68 UAH. (maximum cost for the population). A total of 100 km of fuel travel costs 48.24 UAH. On gasoline for the same mileage you have to pay 187.20 UAH. savings on every 100 km of travel 138.96 UAH.

Accordingly, to pay for the gas equipment and the gas station, the car must travel 17,790 km.

That is, in 71 working days the equipment will be sold out, and in the future the entrepreneur will receive permanent savings in the amount of 130 - 140 UAH. every hundred kilometers.

At a frighteningly high initial cost, the system allows for significant savings in the future. Up to 112 -113 thousand UAH. with a mileage of 100,000 km.

When a vehicle fleet consists of several cars and they have a high daily mileage, then installing a gas station undoubtedly makes sense. Is such a purchase profitable if you are going to refuel your own car while having such a device at home? For example, let's take a car with an impressive engine and, accordingly, fuel consumption -. 25 - 30 l/100 km make you think about costs and, most importantly, how to reduce them.

Since only one car will have to be refueled, you can choose a less productive installation. Let's take it with a productivity of 5 cubic meters per hour for 5955 euros or at the rate of 65505 UAH. We add the cost of HBO 12000 UAH. and we get costs of 77505 UAH. The amount is impressive.

Let's take 27 l/100 km as average consumption. Accordingly, for every hundred kilometers you will have to spend 72.36 UAH for methane, or 280.80 UAH for gasoline. The difference is 208.44 UAH.

This means that the HBO and high-pressure compressor will pay for themselves in 27,602 kilometers. And then... you will continue to drive a large, powerful car, incurring the same costs as for a tiny subcompact car. The benefit is obvious. All that remains is to overcome stereotypes regarding gas and convince yourself that you are saving not because you are greedy, but based on common sense.

We have sorted out the payback, but with the sizes of cylinders for storing methane, everything is not so simple. They are not suitable for use in small passenger cars. Their large weight and size simply do not allow them to be painlessly introduced into the design of a car. Most likely, gas equipment with methane great alternative for huge pickup trucks and American SUVs. There, in the back, a couple of large, eighty-liter cylinders will not take up much space.

The problem with gas stations remains pressing, especially in the case of long-distance travel. Things are not going as well with them as we would like. There are gas stations, but there are few of them, and the distance between them is considerable. Must have detailed map their location, otherwise there can be no talk of saving. You'll have to fill up with gas again.

And finally, let’s please environmentalists and the Greenpeace community. An engine running on methane has much less toxic exhaust gases. The amount of toxic carbon monoxide CO is reduced by more than three times ( carbon monoxide), 1.6 times - the content of carcinogenic hydrocarbons CH, consisting of particles of unburned fuel. The concentration of nitrogen oxide NO and NO2 dioxide when the engine is running on gas is reduced by 1.2 times.

What conclusions can be drawn from this? Converting modern cars to methane, although expensive, is a simple operation. At the same time, due to the lower cost of gas, the costs are quickly recouped. If we take into account the possibility of installing a gas station at home, then this is the most cost-effective option existing on the market.

Published: 03/19/2018 08:11

Good afternoon dear visitors of our website. Many residents of our country are familiar with the situation when, to heat their area, they have to resort to self-installation gas equipment.

This article will tell you about the main nuances of using gas cylinders in everyday life and will be useful to those who have not yet encountered their purchase. We will also find out whether it makes sense to buy a new container and what you need to pay attention to when buying a used cylinder.

Among other things, in the article you can learn about the most important thing - how gas cylinders are filled with propane. Let's not waste time and start studying this issue.

Types and features of gas storage cylinders

A regular gas cylinder is a durable steel container. There are several common volumes: 5, 15, 25 and 50 liters. There are also cylinders made from polymer materials, their volumes differ from common steel ones and often the volume of a composite gas cylinder with propane is 14 or 33 liters. Naturally, there are differences between iron and composite containers.

Steel cylinders are produced exclusively in factory conditions. In addition to using durable material, when creating, much attention is paid to the reliability of welding seams. The better they are made, the longer the household cylinder will last. Buying steel model, you should carefully examine the welding areas and pay attention to whether the seams are processed. The main advantage of iron models is durability. But before purchasing, you should prepare a place for installing the container. If there is enough room high level humidity, the container may rust and become deformed over time.
More expensive and modern version– polymer container. She has quite a lot positive aspects, but I would immediately like to emphasize their main disadvantage: the price of a polymer one is 2-3 times higher than a similar steel container. In production, fiberglass is used, which is durable and light in weight. This is a clear advantage, because it is easier and safer to transport LPG in such containers. In addition, high-quality models are equipped with additional protection for the case. Accordingly, if it falls from the height allowed by the passport or receives a slight impact, the case of the container will not be deformed. Such a propane gas cylinder can be placed next to a fire, because it is usually designed to withstand high temperatures.

The color of a gas cylinder is a kind of marker showing what materials it is intended for. There are cylinders painted in the following colors:

white with yellow lettering for acetylene;
propane tanks are painted red.
medical and regular oxygen are stored in blue cylinders;
hydrogen ones should be dark green;
Nitrous oxide should only be stored in gray containers with black elements.

For many people, the weight of a propane tank is important. Steel empty models Depending on the volume, they weigh from 4 to 22 kg. Thus, the largest commercially produced household cylinder is designed for 50 liters and weighs 44 kg when filled. Therefore, it is worth taking care in advance about the possibility of transporting the container to your site.

There are certain standards for refilling cylinders. To calculate how much gas you can fill, you should divide its rated volume by 1.43.

For example, you have at your disposal a standard iron cylinder with a volume of 27 liters. You can safely store and transport no more than 19 liters of propane in it. If the pressure is too high, the safety valve of the container may fail, resulting in an explosion.

Purchase of a cylinder and necessary components

Propane storage tanks have an almost unlimited service life. The main condition is compliance with all operating standards, as well as storage and transportation conditions. You can save a little and buy propane tank used, but you need to approach the purchase with the utmost caution.

First you need to make a visual inspection of the case. You can safely refuse the offer if it shows signs of poor-quality welding and serious dents. Appearance can tell a lot about the conditions in which he was. Suspicion can be caused either by traces of fresh paint or, conversely, by too old, cracked coating.

You shouldn’t risk buying a used container if there is even the slightest suspicion of rust. This indicates that the container was stored incorrectly under conditions high humidity. Even a small spot of rust will sooner or later increase in size, which will inevitably lead to gas leakage, and in the worst case, to an explosion.

The inlet valve and valve should be in order. If they are damaged or show signs of repair, they will require replacement in the future, and therefore additional costs.

The points described above must also be taken into account when purchasing a new cylinder, since no one can guarantee that the correct conditions were observed during storage in the warehouse.

In addition to the cylinder for household use The following items will be required:

a set of adapters for connecting to a stove, burner or heating system;
reducer for propane tank;
special gas hose with fittings;
tools for isolating connections.

To ensure maximum safety during installation, it is necessary to use keys and other tools coated with brass or copper. Such tools do not create a spark when they come into contact with metal.

Features of cylinder refilling?

So, we figured out what types of gas cylinders there are, found suitable model and a complete set necessary accessories. It's time to talk about how and where gas cylinders are filled with propane for domestic use.

Before refilling the cylinder, it is extremely important to ensure the following:

there is no damage on the body - rust, dents, broken welds, cracked paint;
the valve and valve are visually in perfect order;
there is no residual pressure in the empty container.

If everything is in order with the container, we begin to look for a place where we can refill the gas cylinder in compliance with all standards. In our country there are specialized gas stations equipped necessary equipment and qualified employees. In turn, there are three refueling mechanisms at such stations:

pumping – gas is pumped into the cylinder with special pumps;
pump-evaporation – when pumping gas, special heating elements maintain a certain temperature, as a result of which the pressure in the system increases;
pump-compressor - a compressor is used that increases the performance of the pump, which in turn affects the speed of filling the container.

At such gas stations, fire safety is observed as much as possible.

You can also fill a propane tank at some gas stations. Before asking gas station employees to fill a household cylinder, you should make sure that special equipment is available.

The specifics of filling gas for cars and household cylinders are slightly different. Unfortunately, gas stations often neglect this. Filling a household container at a gas station that is not properly equipped has a number of negative aspects:

Refuelers often ignore the expiration date and inspection of household cylinders;
There are no scales to control weight.

The last point is worth dwelling on in more detail. As mentioned earlier, a household container should be filled with propane taking into account the coefficient of 1.43 - this is 85% of the volume of the empty container. Cars have special fuses that do not allow more gas to be filled than required. Conventional household containers are not equipped with such sensors, so when refueling it is necessary to control their weight. Filling more than 85% poses a high risk of explosion, especially when exposed to temperatures.

If you have decided which household cylinder you want to purchase, please contact our company. With us you can get additional advice, as well as refuel, order and buy everything you need to install gas equipment.

Despite the significant increase in energy prices, gas is still the most common type of fuel. It is used for various purposes, including refueling cars. Installing gas equipment on cars allows you to reduce the cost of purchasing fuel.

You can purchase suitable cylinders and other equipment on the website http://safegas.com.ua/ru/gazovye-ballony/.

Necessary equipment

The gas supplied to residential buildings, costs much less than liquefied gas at specialized gas stations. Therefore, refill cylinders from kitchen stove much more profitable. But in order to carry out this process yourself, you will need special equipment.

Currently there are two available options:

mobile gas filling stations industrial manufacturing. Such equipment is not produced in our country. Therefore, you will have to turn to foreign manufacturers. Installations for filling cylinders with household gas are produced in France, Austria, Germany and many other countries;
homemade installations. In order to manufacture such equipment, you must have certain skills. It is important to understand that accidents can occur when household gas leaks.

A feature of the equipment that allows you to fill cylinders with household gas is the use of several compressors combined into different circuits. This allows for a gradual increase in gas pressure.

Operating principle of a gas filling plant

Since the gas pressure in the gas pipeline is approximately 0.05 Atm, it must be compressed to 200 Atm before refueling. This problem is solved by the installation for refilling cylinders. It can include from 3 to 5 circuits, while the operating principle will remain unchanged:

The gas passes through a filter installed at the inlet of the system and enters the circuit cylinder.
The compressor builds up pressure and the compressed gas is supplied to the cooling radiator.
The gas is supplied through the pipeline to the next circuit, where even greater compression occurs.

All processes are repeated in each circuit. Before filling into a high-pressure cylinder, the gas is passed through a molecular filter.

The refueling process lasts from 1.5 to 2 hours. If you use reserve cylinders into which gas will be pumped in advance, the time can be reduced to 10-15 minutes.

When using homemade gas filling equipment, you must be extremely careful. Gas leaks can cause various accidents.

How to independently convert a car for gas filling at home

Today we will talk about how to refuel your cars with natural gas at home from a regular kitchen stove. We will also consider methods, technologies, instructions, drawings and descriptions of compressors and pumps for liquefying methane or propane to refuel a car with visual photos. Let's find out how to make a mini-gas car filling station at home

Due to its low cost and environmental friendliness in use, natural gas found wide application in the automotive industry. However, on the way from main gas pipeline to the consumer's filling cylinder, natural gas goes through several more intermediate stages.

Without a doubt, running a car on natural gas is more economically profitable. And the more powerful and large-volume the engine, the faster the gas equipment pays off and the more significant the savings. At the gas filling station, gas is pumped into the vehicle's refueling cylinder. The operating pressure of the compressor is 1.6 MPa (16 atm). The gas pressure in a car cylinder depends on the temperature environment and varies widely.

Thus, at an air temperature of 0 o C, the pressure in the cylinder is 0.3 MPa (3 atm), and at a temperature of 20 o C its value increases to 1.2 MPa (12 atm). In addition to vehicles, gas filling stations refill cylinders for the use of liquefied gas by the population for domestic purposes and at small and medium-sized businesses.

In previous materials, we provided calculations for reducing fuel costs, and came to the conclusion that under any conditions, the cost of one kilometer is reduced on average by half. Now imagine that costs can be reduced not by half, but by 6-10 times. Do you think this is unrealistic? In fact, it is possible. We will tell you how further. You can refuel your car at home from the domestic gas network. As you know, household gas tariffs for the population are orders of magnitude lower than the price of gas at gas stations. And this is even through the counter.

If there is no meter and you pay standard (albeit inflated) tariffs, then everything is clear. Yes, it turns out that you will be refueling your car for practically nothing. By the way, in the West or America, such home gas stations are increasingly gaining popularity, although there the difference in the price of gas in the kitchen and at the gas station is not at all large. It’s a different matter for us... When calculating the cost per kilometer of travel on gasoline and methane (based on the energy intensity of 1 cubic meter of methane = 1 liter of gasoline), we took the cost at specialized gas stations as a basis.

I think everyone understands the savings - even according to the most conservative estimates, at least more than 10 times, provided that you pay everything honestly according to the household gas meter.

In addition to this, refueling your car with natural gas from a household network connected to your house or apartment will allow you to:

Let us repeat, the main thing is to reduce the cost of refueling a car. The cost of methane is several times lower than the cost of gasoline. The more intensively the car is used, the higher the economic effect.

Extend engine life. Methane gas, like propane-butane, does not wash away the oil film from the walls of the engine cylinders, which provides excellent lubrication of the piston group parts. In addition, methane, unlike gasoline, does not contain various additives that oxidize the oil itself, which has a positive effect on the service life and stability of engine oil characteristics. Plus, this extends the life of the spark plugs by about a quarter. Reducing wear on engine parts increases engine life by 1.5-2 times, and the service life of engine oil by 2-2.5 times.

The high octane number of natural gas (104-115) allows it to be used for any engines (ZAZ, LuAZ, VAZ, GAZ, Moskvich, UAZ, etc.), as well as in the engines of most foreign cars. This also applies to trucks.

Significantly reduce emissions of harmful combustion products into the atmosphere. When using gas as a vehicle fuel, there are completely no emissions of harmful toxic compounds of lead and aromatic compounds, emissions of CO, CH, and nitrogen oxides are reduced significantly, and smoke from the exhaust pipe is reduced three times. Even if you are not an ardent fan of “green” cars, cars with installed methane gas equipment are exempt from environmental control when passing inspection.

You can purchase a ready-made factory mobile gas filling station. Unfortunately, the domestic industry does not produce them (that’s understandable; no one will be given permission), and there are already quite a lot of foreign samples. For example, they are mass-produced by Neuman ESSER (Germany), Maschinenfabrik (Austria), Litvin (France) and many others. The only, but very significant, disadvantage is the price. These gas stations are not cheap, especially for a person who wants to save on it. In reality, everything turned out to be banal simple. Anyone can buy a special high-pressure pump, which connects to a low-pressure household gas pipeline and refueles a car equipped with LPG (methane gas).

In this case, no special permits or safety requirements are required from the owner. Let me emphasize – special! And then it’s just a fairy tale. You connect a special high-pressure hose to the charging connector of the car, and... you will have to wait a little longer than at a branded gas station.

How many? It all depends on the performance of the pump you choose. For example, the weakest one with a capacity of 3 cubic meters per hour can spend 5-6 hours to fill one cylinder, but an average capacity of 10 cubic meters per hour will only take an hour and a half. How long would you say? And you count how much time your car sits idle near your house. During this time, he can easily refuel. You are sleeping, the car is refueling. When the limit pressure is reached, the system will automatically turn off. In the morning, a car with filled cylinders awaits you. Everything is great, especially since the bills not spent on fuel continue to lie in your pocket, and not at the gas station cash register.

Household gas compressors for refueling cars and gas cylinders at home with natural gas from a low-pressure network

1. description of the type: -TypeX compressors; - Cooling - air; -Productivity: 2 Nm3/h; -Inlet gas pressure:0.017-0.035 bar -Outlet gas pressure:200 bar

2. General characteristics of XF-2/0.017-0.035-200 natural gas compressor-supercharger for refueling vehicles, cylinders with a pressure of 20Mpa. Refill time 5-6 hours, small size, light weight, excellent performance, safety, cost-effective and durable.

3. Basic specifications Stroke: 14 mm Rotation speed: 1000 rpm Number of stages

4 Input temperature: Ambient temperature +10° First compression stage: pressure: 0.39 MPa Second compression stage: pressure: 1.9 MPa Third compression stage: pressure: 6.5 MPa Fourth compression stage: pressure: 20 MPa Motor power 1.1 kW Voltage: 200-240 V Frequency: 50 Hz Rated current: 6.6 A Noise level: 55 dB Weight: 105 kg Dimensions: 810 * 660 * 640 mm

Everything is good and wonderful, but we still add a fly in the ointment to this beautiful ointment. With all the visible advantages of using a home gas station, there are no less disadvantages.

Firstly, the cost of installing LPG.

Secondly, the cost of a gas compressor.

Thirdly, the weight and dimensions of high-pressure cylinders.

Fourthly, the network of methane gas stations is not extensive enough (you have to drive not only near your home).

But there is a category of citizens for whom these disadvantages are not critical. They use a vehicle not only to move their mortal body from home to work and back, they make money from it. For those whose cars have a huge annual mileage, switching to methane and installing a gas filling station is a completely relevant solution.

We have sorted out the payback, but with the sizes of cylinders for storing methane, everything is not so simple. They are not suitable for use in small passenger cars. Their large weight and size simply do not allow them to be painlessly introduced into the design of a car. Most likely, methane gas is an excellent alternative for huge pickup trucks and American SUVs. There, in the back, a couple of large, eighty-liter cylinders will not take up much space.

You can make such a compressor yourself. The option, again tens of times cheaper, but requires desire, time and, most importantly, “straight” hands, moreover, they must grow from right place.

The following article is for those who are interested in the second method. The implementation of the first does not need much explanation.
Guide self-production a set of gas cylinder equipment for refueling a car with household gas

At the beginning, it is necessary to clarify: there are gas equipment for compressed gas and equipment for liquefied gas. Equipment for compressed gas uses ordinary natural gas - methane, which can be taken from the residential household or industrial gas network. The only problem is how to fill this gas into a car at home.

In a regular gas pipeline supplied to a home stove, water heater or boiler, the pressure of natural gas is about 0.05 Atm, and in a high-pressure gas cylinder up to 200 Atm. Therefore, a compressor is needed that will raise the gas pressure to the required value. The design of such a compressor is somewhat different from that used in conventional household devices.

A conventional single-circuit compressor is capable of raising the pressure to a maximum of 20 -25 Atm., and to refill a gas cylinder it is necessary to reach 200 Atm. This is achieved by adding additional circuits to the system. It looks like a set of several compressors, each subsequent, of which presses the gas pre-compressed by the previous one to a higher pressure.
In general, the high-pressure compressor circuit looks similar.

The operating principle of a compressor for filling a car with gas:

Gas from the domestic gas pipeline through the inlet filter (1) is supplied through the inlet valve (2) into the primary circuit cylinder. Compression occurs and through the exhaust valve (3) through the pipeline through the cooling radiator (4) it is supplied to the cylinder of the next circuit. Next, the gas pre-compressed in the primary circuit is pressurized to even higher pressure. All processes are repeated in the third circuit. The number of circuits can be increased to five. There are three of them in the above diagram. But this does not change the principle.

Natural gas compressed to the required pressure (this is about 200 atm.) passes through the pressure switch (11), is purified in a molecular filter and, through a safety valve, is supplied to the cylinder of the car being refueled or to a reserve high-pressure cylinder. Refilling time will depend entirely on the productivity of the installation.

In order to speed up the time it takes to refuel a car, you can use additional stationary cylinders. Then, in free time, the compressor pumps gas into these stationary cylinders. And when you need to quickly refuel your car, you distill the methane directly from them. Thus, you can reduce the refueling time to 10-15 minutes.
Description homemade device for refueling a car with household gas.

As previously stated, this requires a high-pressure compressor (up to 200 kg/cm2). You can use compressors like GP4, NG-2, AKG-2, but they require a powerful electric motor, which is not suitable for many. A good option- this is the use of an AK 150C aircraft compressor. It is used on modern armored vehicles and in aviation. This compressor is quite small-sized, lightweight, and requires a low-power electric motor of 1.5-3 kW, which allows it to be connected to an apartment or garage electrical network. The main question is where to get it. But believe me, this is not as difficult a task as it seems at first glance. It often happens that they can be written off, having spent no more than 10% of their resource. He who seeks will always find (sometimes for very little money or liquid barter

From the domestic gas network via rubber hose(possibly from a gas welding machine), the gas is supplied through a valve to the gas filter (7). A pressure meter (2), connected through an adapter (3), serves to monitor the pressure in the gas network. The gas in the filter (7) is cleared of foreign impurities and supplied to the compressor (10), where it increases to 150 kg/cm2. Then the gas enters the moisture separator (18), high-pressure gas filter (19), pressure automatic (20) type ADU-2S. After this, gas is supplied to the filling valve.

When the pressure rises above 150 kg/cm2, the ADU 2 valve opens and the gas returns through the tube (23) to the compressor inlet. The NMP 100 type pressure meter is used with measurement limits of 0-400 mm water. Art.
Function gas filter Can perform new fine fuel filter for diesel engines. To release condensate from the moisture separator, a tap (17) is used. To control the pressure at the compressor outlet, a pressure gauge (22) (0-250) kg/cm2 is installed.

The housing (11) is attached to the compressor flange (1) using sheet metal and studs (8) through a gasket (10). A plate (12) is welded to the bottom of the housing to secure the compressor with a lubrication unit (Fig. 5). A type 205 bearing (4) is pressed into the housing (11) (Fig. 3). A bushing (7) from a slot is pressed into the bearing, which is secured with a retaining ring (19). The splined shaft (6) of the compressor enters the bushing on one side, and on the other side a shaft (17) is pressed in, the key of which fits into the splines of the bushing (7). This is done to avoid cutting splines on the shaft (17). After pressing, the shaft (17) is carefully welded to the bushing (7).

After this, the housing (11) is closed with a cover (14) with an oil seal (13). The cover is secured with bolts (5). A drive pulley (15) with a key (16) is mounted on the other end of the shaft (17). The compressor lubrication unit is shown in Fig. 2 and fig. 5. The base is a tank (24) (Fig. 2), which can be made from a rectangular profile or welded from tin. The drive unit with the compressor is attached to the top of the tank. The hole (13) (Fig. 3) must coincide with the hole (11) (Fig. 5) of the tank. A hole is cut out on top of the tank in a convenient place, to which the filler neck (3) and the lid (2) are welded (Fig. 5).

A hole is drilled in the lower part of the tank for the drain plug (14) (Fig. 2). A hole is drilled in the side wall of the tank for the oil pump (1) and the pump drive shaft (17). The oil pump is attached to the wall of the reservoir with studs.

Hole (4) (Fig. 5) serves to supply oil to the pump. Shafts (6) and (17) are connected using a plate (7) and a bushing (8). To secure the bearing (12), there is a housing (15) with a cover (16) and an oil seal (13). The cover is attached to the body using bolts (14). A pulley (18) with a key is put on the shaft (17). The oil pump is used from a GAZ-51, 52, 69 car, but it should be kept in mind that the pumps differ in the length of the drive shaft.

To monitor the oil level, a viewing window (11) of any design is used. The lubrication system works like this. The torque from the electric motor pulley is transmitted through a belt drive to the pulley (16) (Fig. 2), (18) (Fig. 5) and through the shaft (17), bushing (8) and plate (7) is transmitted to the shaft (6) pump drive (1). The oil enters through the hole (4) into the pump (1) (Fig. 5), (8) (Fig. 2), passes through the adapter (3), into which the car pressure sensor (4) is screwed, and is supplied through the tube to the inlet fitting (12) oil supply to the compressor. Fitting (12) in fig. 2 is conditionally deployed. It is screwed into the hole (3) (Fig. 3). The diameter of the thread depends on the tube you have, which can be used from hydraulic system automotive and tractor units.

Next, the oil passes through the lubrication channels of the compressor (Fig. 3, Fig. 4), collects at the bottom and is discharged through the oil drain hole Fig. 4, fig. 11 (part 11) then flows through the hole (13) (Fig. 3) into the tank (24) (Fig. 2). Part of the oil passes through the bearing (4) (Fig. 3) and lubricates it. Part (7) ( Fig. 11) can be made from a compressor drive gear, which must be purchased. To do this, it is necessary to grind the ring gear to the dimensions shown in Fig. 11 (part 7). You can connect a car light bulb to the pressure sensor (4) (Fig. 2).

Instead of a sensor, you can connect a pressure gauge for monitoring. In order to remove the gas that has broken through the piston rings into the housing of the drive unit, there is a threaded hole at the top of the housing (Fig. 11), (part 11), section A-A, into which the fitting (13) is screwed ( Fig. 2). Slides onto the fitting rubber tube and is displayed above the roof of the garage or house. Although the design of the filling device provides for the localization of possible gas emissions into the room, it is advisable to install it outside the room.

On average, filling gas cylinders takes 1-1.5 hours. To reduce refueling time, two compressors can be paired. Truck owners can use 4 compressors. In Fig. 10 shows the principle electrical diagram connecting a 3-phase electric motor to a single-phase network.

Voltage to the IM motor is supplied through circuit breaker Q1, magnetic starter MP. When you press the “start” button, relay P1 is activated, which, with its contacts P1.2, supplies voltage to the coil of the MP starter and connects the starting capacitors Sp with contacts P1,1. At the same time, the starter is triggered and connects the motor and operating capacitors Ср to the network. At the same time, the block contacts of the MP 1.1 starter close and the starter becomes self-locking.

When you release the Start button, Sp is disabled. When you press the “Stop” button or when the RT motor thermal protection relay is triggered, the circuit opens, the starter turns off, the engine turns off and the circuit returns to its original position. When connecting the motor windings with a triangle, Ср=4800 (IHOM/U), where IHOM is the rated current of the motor, U is the network voltage. Sp=(2-3)Avg.

When storing a car in a garage, a tube is put on the fitting, which is led above the roof of the garage. With this design, you will be completely guaranteed against any gas leaks. Before using cylinders, you need to check them operating pressure, volume, technical condition. The outer surface must not have dents, cracks, deep scratches and traces of corrosion. Near the neck of the HP it is indicated:
- date of test and date of next test;
- type of heat treatment (N - normalization, W - hardening and tempering);
- operating pressure;
- test hydraulic pressure (p225);
- actual weight, factory mark,

To connect gas pipelines, special adapters are used (Fig. 8), which are screwed into the cylinder instead of a valve, lubricating the threads with red lead. The tightening torque of the adapter is 45-50 kg/m (450-500) Nm. This can be checked with a special torque wrench, which can be borrowed from a car service station. When the valve or adapter is fully screwed in, there should be 2-5 turns of thread left on its threaded part. The size of the tapered thread (Fig. 8) depends on the types of cylinders.

High-pressure pipes have a non-gasket nipple connection, which, when the union nut is tightened, rests against the conical surface of the fitting and, when deformed, seals the connection. If you purchased old tubes, you need to cut off the end of the tube with the nipple and put on a new nipple, coat it with lead, and tighten the union nut. After carefully tightening everything threaded connections The filling valve is opened, the filling device is connected and air is pumped to half the operating pressure, the connections are checked, and if there are no gaps, air is pumped to the full operating pressure.

Air leaks must be eliminated after the pressure has been completely relieved. If there are no gaps, then open the filling valve and completely bleed air from the system and pump gas into the cylinder. After this, open the flow valve and let gas into the high pressure reducer, check its operation.
To do this, use the fitting (13) (Fig. 1) to set the gas pressure at the outlet to 10 kg/cm2, then purge the low-pressure system with gas until air is completely removed, start the engine on gas and check the pressure at the outlet of the HP reducer. may fall a little. All work must be carried out outside the premises. After this, the operation is checked safety valve gearbox To do this, tighten the fitting (13) (Fig. 1) smoothly and gradually increase the pressure at the outlet of the reducer until the valve operates. It should operate at a pressure of 15-17 kg/cm2.

If the valve operates at a different pressure, the locknut on the valve must be loosened and the actuation adjusted. After this, check the tightness of the main valve. To do this, completely unscrew the fitting (13), while gas should not enter the low pressure line. If the pressure slowly increases, then the valve seat in the gearbox is changed or taken to a workshop. If everything is in order, make a test drive and check the low pressure reducer.
How to do this is well described in the operating instructions for liquefied gas equipment and there is no need to describe it. It should be borne in mind that when using a low pressure reducer from a liquefied gas nozzle, your car may slightly lose dynamism. To prevent this from happening, you can drill out the jets in the gearbox by 1-2 tens, but then the mileage and efficiency will decrease. So the decision is yours.

You need to know that natural gas is lighter than air and rises, unlike liquefied gas, which spreads along the ground and fills all the cracks and basements. Therefore, during operation it is necessary to take this feature into account.

Before each departure and return to the garage, after Maintenance and repairs it is necessary to do a leak test gas system. Most available methods detecting gas leaks - this is odor control and washing with a soap solution. If you smell gas while driving, the problem must be repaired. If you cannot eliminate the malfunction, you must release the gas from the cylinders into the atmosphere (in the absence of people, open fire, or other cars nearby).

If the gearbox freezes and the engine starts in winter period must be used to warm up hot water, the use of open fire is strictly prohibited! When gas equipment catches fire, it is necessary to close the valves and turn off the refueling system. To extinguish a fire, have a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher on hand. In this case, it is necessary to water the cylinders with water to prevent the pressure in them from increasing.

Once every three years, it is necessary to check high-pressure cylinders with a hydraulic test, and once a year, they must be tested. It is strictly forbidden to attach them to the surface of cylinders by welding. structural elements. When refueling a car, it is necessary to monitor the gas pressure at the inlet and outlet of the compressor, the temperature of the cylinders, and the pressure in the lubrication system. There should be no people in the vehicle during refueling.

If gas leaks are detected, refilling must be performed under the following conditions: refill only with the flow valve closed, do not stand near the filling hose when refilling, do not tighten the nuts when refilling under pressure, do not knock metal objects on the details of the filling system. The filling hose must only be disconnected after the filling valve has been closed. When the operating pressure in the cylinders is reached, it is necessary to turn off the compressor engine, close the filling valve, and close the valve at the compressor inlet.

In conclusion, I would like to say that the task was to give you a simplified, affordable and at the same time safe and efficient design of a refueling device, which you can assemble in a fairly short time and receive moral and material pleasure from your work.

And finally, let’s please environmentalists and the Greenpeace community. An engine running on methane has much less toxic exhaust gases. The amount of toxic carbon monoxide CO (carbon monoxide) is reduced by more than three times, and the content of carcinogenic hydrocarbons CH, consisting of particles of unburned fuel, is reduced by 1.6 times. The concentration of nitrogen oxide NO and NO2 dioxide when the engine is running on gas is reduced by 1.2 times.

Sections