Any reason not to mount additional tanks standing on end?

[pb4ugo]

Looking at each back corner of my van. I could fit a pair of 15" x 48" inch tanks there without sacrificing useable interior room.

Seems like a great place to mount to me. They would be constrained in all three dimensions. I imagine the valve end down, sitting in a conical bearing cup and sealed to the floor pan so as to not need any additional "bagging/sealing" for the venting. The other (vent) end would have the necessary tubing routed behind the interior panels through the floor.

Anything I'm missing? Is there any reason not to do it this way?

[siai47]

I don't think you have a problem except for the valve end down. NG is lighter then air and all the other crud that comes in through the gas system. So, if you want the good, clean gas at the opposite end of the tank from the valve and all the crud going through your fuel system then mount them valve end down. Otherwise mount them valve end up (just like the tanks used in stationary baskets). The mount would have to be extremely strong to resist the leverage caused by the mass of the tank installed in a vertical positon during an impact.

[cowboy]

I think this is a bad the dome of the tank is not able to suport the tank .if I were to do this I would use straps around the tank and bolt it to a piece of chanal welded to the frame and guseted if you want to draw from the bottom than put a tube in the tank valve exstending up in to the tank so as not to get drit in the fuel system 6 inchs is plenty do not let the tank rest on the dome

[Lakewood90712]

You might want to review this http://cleanvehicle.org/technology/PasadenaincidentFinalReport.pdf . It is a report about the pasadena tank failure accident in march 2009 , and may be usefull .

[afvman]

pb4ugo,

I just returned from inspecting 30 some CNG cylinders mounted vertically just the way you described. NFPA-52 guidelines still apply, namely that the mounting system has to be able to withstand a force of 8x the wgt. of the cylinder applied in any direction without moving more than one half inch and that the valve/PRD and the cylinder have to be in the same compartment. Other than that, I don't know of any regulations that would prevent this type of an installation.

Aside from the required brackets and gaskets, this customer rested the cylinders on a large diameter plastic pipe section. (Much better approach than rubber garden hose!) But, as has been mentioned, it should not bear the full weight of the cylinders regardless.

Good luck and send me some pictures when you're done!

B/r,

afvman/Bill

[pb4ugo]

Thanks all for the replies. Rest assured I'd never rest it on just a ring like in that report. I imagine a steel disc the diameter of the tank with a conical recess to match the tank's dome. Luckily I have access to a machinist that would not charge me much at all to make said recess on his lathe. That combined with a ring mount mid ship tied into both side and back and a bracket to hold in the top should do it.

Give me a couple months yet to make it happen.