Will Butane work in a Natural Gas(CNG[methane] Van?

[reese7]

Will Butane work in a CNG (Natural gas, methane) Van?

The reason I ask is that I can buy good used CNG Vans in
California?

I want to move to Belize where gas is $3.50/gal, and butane
is $1.65/a gallon. They talk about butane conversion
companies in Belize(Belmont Butane, Corozal and Hussons, Orange Walk) but instead of a conversion would a CNG van work with butane?
Reese reese7@pacbell.net

 

[pbloore]

Unfortunately all the kit used is different for CNG rather than LPG (Propane/Butane). CNG is stored in heavier tanks as a gas at approx 10 times the pressure of LPG. The regulator drops this pressure to something more useable as opposed to the LPG vaporiser which takes in liquid and outputs gas.

The only thing that may be common in a closed loop system is the ECU and possible the venturi or injection unit.

 

[franzh]

Reese7:

Butane and Natural Gas are totally different fuels with different physical and chemical properties. The CNG tanks are not equipped to store Butane (or other LPG gases) and should not be used for this purpose (even if you could, filling and drawing fuel out could be a real issue).

If the van was a factory unit, it has fuel injection, calibrated for Natural Gas, and substituting Butane (or LPG) would require pressure regulators, vaporizers, and other devices to convert over. One reader to this forum is doing this as we speak with moderate success so far, but it is not for a novice. If the van is aftermarket converted, the carburetor, regulator, and fuel system must be changed out for Butane components, they are not interchangeable with CNG (depending on what is installed, some parts may be.)

Franz