HBO. Methane: reviews, pluses and negative messages

If you are the owner of a car, and every day you drive around the city, you are probably already tired of spending a huge amount of money in order to feed your iron friend. But what then? It's very simple to install gas-cylinder equipment, for example methane, into the machine. Reviews of motorists about such an alternative type of fuel will help us to find out all the pros and cons of such a HBO.

What changes in the design of the machine after installing such equipment?

After installing the HBO, your car remains the same as it was before. The only innovations you will notice in the design of the fuel line, where experts install a special solenoid valve to switch the supply of gasoline to gas or vice versa. Also in your trunk (if it's a car) there will be a metal ballon of red color. And if such a HBO is mounted on a GAZelle or ZIL, the tank will be located between the frame and the booth. This will slightly increase the load on the load-carrying structures, therefore it is not necessary to install 10-15 cylinders in trucks, since these are extra 1000-1500 kilograms of weight.

As you know, an alternative fuel always has advantages over the classical one. So, let's look at the advantages of methane gas:

• Reviews argue that when the engine on natural gas significantly increases the service life of the cylinder-piston group (by about 30 percent).
• The resource of replacement of oils also increases, since this type of fuel does not form a deposit, like gasoline.
• Environmental friendliness is another undeniable plus that methane gas owns. The experts' comments say that when the engine is running on this fuel, the octane number increases to 100, you will not have any problems with the traffic police about the environmental friendliness of your iron friend. The emissions of CO into the atmosphere here are minimal.
• The price of fuel. It's all clear and, probably, it is not difficult to calculate how much you will spend money for buying 7-ruble methane and 30-ruble gasoline. Saving is obvious.
• Power reserve. This characteristic means the operation of the car without refueling for a long time. And if there are already 2 tanks in the car, then without additional stop for fuel purchase it can travel 2 times more. Those motorists who love to travel, have already appreciated this and were convinced of the usefulness of installing the HBO "methane" on the car.

The reviews, of course, contain not only positive, but also negative points. Fortunately, there are very few of them, but still we will note them:

• Significant loss of engine power. After the installation of the HBO, the car spends 25-30 percent of its capacity, especially it is noticeable in cargo GAZ, ZIL and GAZel.
• Huge weight of cylinders filled with methane gas. The drivers' comments say that with the installation of each capacity the machine loses up to 110 kilograms of its load capacity, which is why it is not worthwhile to install them in large quantities.
• A small number of gas stations. Despite the low cost of methane, you can not find gas refills in Russia at every corner, as it happens with gasoline, so in order to refuel, you need to look for a gas station well.