Introduction
When I started down the CNG trail in 2006, there was no way to know what I was getting into. However free well gas will drive a man to do some strange things. With that, I had been running Fuelmaker compressors for about 5 years. With over $10,000.00 invested over 3 compressors, I am glad to see them gone. Since Fuelmaker compressors are a dry sump/dry lubricant style compressor they are not suited for well gas. Plus support and parts will drive you crazy.
In the winter of 2009 my love/hate relation with Fuelmaker products came to an end. Well let me back up and start with the events that lead up to the purchase of the MCH-5. In the spring of 2009 I purchased a Phil refueling appliance to help my C3 offset my refueling needs. It became quickly apparent that the little Phil was way undersized for my needs. It was taking about 13 hrs to refill my bi-fuel Cavalier and I had 2 of them. So after about nine months of this nonsense, I decided to make a leap of faith purchase of a big buck compressor. This is another reason that CNG cars will only be a hobby and never catch on. No one in there right mind would spend $11,000.00 on a CNG compressor. Hmmmm. . . . . guess that explains me.
The Story
At the time there were not many options available, at least not like today. I did realize that a dry sump Fuelmaker style compressor was completely out of picture. After my Hybrid C3 project I realized that scuba compressors could be used to fill an NGV. So I began looking at large Bauer scuba compressor. I watched Ebay for some time looking for a used Bauer K15 compressor, which I could rework. Then one day I saw a CNG Compressor on Ebay. At the time there was no details about the manufacturer. So I contacted the seller and acquired some information. It took about a week and a half to work out a deal to purchase his "Demo" model instead of the Ebay auction model. However the deal got done, money exchanged and the unit got shipped. When the unit arrived it needed some setup and rework to get it running in my environment. Some of the connections and side panels needed relocated. I dumped the control panel that came with the compressor for a Variable-Frequency Drive Inverter. I also retrofitted a magnetic contactor switch and an hour meter. There was also some plumbing connections to my Desiccant dryers that needed to be made. I also had to add a bank of waterlast bit of water vapor from the natural gas stream.
Observations
First of all I want to say that my MCH-5 is a very early unit. It was manufactured in 2008 and Coltri has made many improvements. So some of the short comings of my compressor do not exist on todays compressors. So here are some observations and problems I have run into along the way. Over all I am happy with the MCH-5. After years of being tortured by the Fuelmaker C3 & Phil compressors, the MCH-5 has been pretty much trouble free. After the inter-cooler fix, the only maintenance I do is periotic valve jobs, change the oil, check the belt and check for loose bolts and fittings. The MCH-5 just runs and runs.
FAQ
This FAQ is in responce to the many emails I get from people who own MCH-5's and people who want to buy one. Any comments, please do not hesitate to email me.
- Dry sump compressors Vs. wet sump compressors.
- Running your 50Hz MCH-5 on 60Hz current.
- Is your MCH-5 using oil?
- Support for your MCH-5, or not.
- Your compressor is only as good as the availibility of replacement parts.
- Variable-Frequency Drive Inverter.
- MCH-5 documentation I have collected.
- Encountered problems.
- Complete tear down and rebuild, Holy Crap.
- Cold weather operation.
- Seperatrators, filters & dryers.
- What if I have to rebuild my MCH-5.