It takes planning to fill CNG vehicle - but it's worth it

Finding fuel was one of the more formidable challenges for motorists setting out on the open road — a century ago.

Duplicating that experience is difficult with today's network of interstates and gas stations. But you can get a nostalgic hint by driving a car that runs only on CNG, or compressed natural gas. Have you seen a gas pump lately that dispenses natural gas? Exactly my point.

The environmentally friendly, cheap-fuel, tax-credit-worthy cars caught my attention, so I bought one — a 2005 Honda Civic GX. The seller was in Glendale, a Los Angeles suburb, which meant I either had to buy it sight unseen and pay to have it shipped to my home in Murray or fly down and pick it up. I chose the latter but made some careful fueling preparations before making the trip.

Government and private entities involved with the promotion of this kind of alternative fuel vehicle universally caution drivers to find and plan their fueling stops before making a trip in unfamiliar territory. So I used the Department of Energy's alternative fuels Web site at afdcmap2.nrel.gov/locator/FindPane.asp to plan my trip. I also took cautionary advice and contacted each fueling station I planned to use on my trip back to Utah. Questar Gas also has helpful fueling information at www.questargas.com/FuelingSystems/NGV/ngv.html.

My initial fueling stop was in Burbank. California has the nation's largest network of CNG fueling stations, and each has a state-of-the-art pump with an interactive video screen that teaches first-timers, like me, how to fill up. Pumps squeeze natural gas into the car's tank at a very high pressure — 100 times the pressure in the car's tires — so it's important to know what you're doing when you turn the pump on.

Zip the credit card. Follow the on-screen instructions. Indicate on the pump's touch-screen that you know what you're doing and the fueling begins. The actual process of putting fuel in the car took about the same amount of time as a traditional gasoline fill-up.

The California pumps are networked and remember credit card information and issue the user a PIN for future fill-ups. So, in theory, the next California CNG pump I would visit would know who I was and that I knew how to use the pump.

I started the trip late, so it was about 3 a.m. when I rolled into my next planned fueling stop: Barstow.

Barstow's only CNG fueling station is owned by the city and used mostly to fuel the city's alternative-fuel vehicles. It's a 24/7 operation. There is no convenience store and no attendant, but the station did have a restroom.