Why not use LP or cng for reefer engine?

First and foremost problem is you need to fuel the reefer at the same time you fuel the truck. Not sure how truck stops are going to manage that in any meaningful way nationwide. Plus diesel engines have a MUCH longer hours lifetime then gasoline/NG engines and can go much longer between oil changes and such.

 

Can you see how smooth the fueling process would be ... it is already a nightmare with the way it is now ... they would need 100 pumps for the amount of time it would take most "drivers" to figure it out ... it is a good idea, though

I also like knowing if I have a wreck, the diesel isn't very likely to explode the way propane or natural gas could

 

What they said ^^^

Nothing wrong with your idea but the limitations on refueling make it a no go.

 

First off, CNG/LNG isnt that great for the environment. It burns cleaner, but its less fuel efficient and the process for getting natural gas is horrible for the environment. (far worse then getting oil to make diesel). Its cheaper and thats the main benifit of natural gas. Currently diesel is available everywhere and cng isnt. Diesel is just simpler and the availability makes it the obvios choice.

Rv use cng gens since they already have cng on board for cooking, heat, and fridge.

 

Please enlighten us.

 

Back in my early days I pulled a butane reefer unit. They are not no fun at all to pull, its a nightmare.

Many times I stopped at a truck-stop while walking to the truck-stop someone would tell me your unit just died. Well, that's what they do, when they reach the set temp, they die, & when the temp drops about 3 º the starter kicks in & it starts running again cooling your load, that is if it starts, if it does not start the starter keeps running until you battery is dead.

When stopping at a truck stopI found my unit not running & the battery dead as can be.

Plus in cold weather the regulator will freeze up & your unit will die & or not start.

I sure was happy when that company got rid of them. It had got to the point no Thermo King shop in this United States had no parts to repair them. At one time a place across I-10 at Tuscon had many old Thermo King butane units setting around & you could find used parts there.

 

Id bet my mortgage that once the infrastructure is there you will see more and more cng reefer units. Especially with local and regional outfits.

 

Just a quick observation here: California doesn't care how convenient anything is. If some politician gets a bug up their posterior to make us all switch to CNG or LPG in our reefers and APUs, then it will happen. They don't care if you spend an extra hour per day fueling.
And what's more, they don't care about the cost to you, nor will they do it for free. You can bet there will be some kind of required 'sticker' on the unit indicating it's 'Clean', and that sticker will cost you bucks!