- 1). Find a hydrogen fueling station. Until hydrogen fuel cars become more mainstream, finding a hydrogen filling station will be the most difficult part of filling up a hydrogen car. The National Hydrogen Association website maintains a searchable hydrogen fueling station database. Here you can search for hydrogen fueling stations in the United States and Canada by state or province.
- 2). Get your vehicle ready for filling by accessing the data port. This port will connect via cables to the filling station to calculate how much hydrogen fuel you need. According to the Penn State website, this "electric connector, much like a computer cable, transmits measurements of tank pressure, temperature and capacity from the car to the station." Your vehicle manual will give you specific instructions for accessing the data port for your individual vehicle.
- 3). Type in your hydrogen refueling personal identification number, or PIN, into the computer on the filling station. This is a security measure to prevent unauthorized access to the hydrogen gas. You will get this PIN with the purchase of your hydrogen vehicle.
- 4). Connect the data cable from the fueling station to the data port. You will need to lock it into place for it to work properly. A light will signal that the connection has been made.
- 5). Connect the filling hose to the fuel tank valve after seeing that the data cable connection has been made. Unlike a traditional gasoline vehicle in which the gas hose fits into the gas tank valve, the hydrogen hose fits onto or over the fuel tank valve. Lock the hose onto the valve to ensure it is secure by using the locking mechanism on the hose. From here, the filling becomes automatic as the computers in the hydrogen fuel car and the computers in the filling station communicate. If the fueling does not start automatically, check your data port and hose connections. The system will not fuel the car if the data cable or hose are not secure.
- 6). Remove the filling hose first when the fueling is finished. Then remove the data cable from the data port.
- 7). Replace the hydrogen fuel valve cover before driving the car.
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