The thread about performance bargains of the year mentioned a never-ending power source from two AA batteries etc...
What happened to the hydrogen fuel cell engine? Modern myth has it that oil companies bought the patent and buried it. Anyone read Gridlock by Ben Elton will have heard this one before.
Far more recently and with my own eyes (i.e. read it in a legit newspaper) there exists a compressed air vehicle which uses overnight charge to pressurise a compartment slowly lettting the out air as required to power the car like a steam engine. Not only that but becase it takes air in through charcoal filters when it brakes and recharges it actually produces negative pollution. (it cleans the air as it is used!). Er.. so where did that one go then?
Excuse my poor memory but was it this forum that talked about electric cars that could do 200 miles for 60pence etc.. which all the car company reps in this country strenuously deny the existence of?
dan
|
You can read about all of what you have mentioned on the UK Electric Vehicles website www.evuk.co.uk
A bit too anti-petrol for my liking which spoils an otherwise good site with a lot of useful information. They also mention that compressed air car which has been designed and is being produced by a French company who are seriously going ahead with it. Will probably be bought by a big player and conveniently forgotten though!
Anyway, stuff fuel cell cars - A petrol engine with slightly increased compression ratio will happily run off hydrogen after a gas conversion. What would you rather drive, an "electric" car or a proper, meaty internal combustion engined mota (and one whose only exhaust output is good ol' H2O!).
I remember a program on Channel 4 about 10 years ago about some guy who had cracked, with some ingenious catalyst, how to create hydrogen much more cheaply from water thus making it a viable (and clean of course) fuel source. He actually claimed threats had been made to his life after he refused to "sell out"! I haven't heard anything more about it since so dread to think where his ideas ended up...
|
|
|
www.iav.de/iav_internet/News/media/MTZpdf/zee_e.pdf
Is one that would be great fun if they ever make it work
~R
|
|
|
I remember reading some time ago about the (Swiss?) coaches that used a large flywheel for power- it was run up to a few thousand revs at the depot and recharged during braking. Supposed to have had a range of 30 to 40 miles. I did wonder about the gyroscopic effect created - probably not an improvement to handling (especially cornering!)
P.
|
|
|
Many alternative power sources have side effects. Compressed air is potentially explosive. You can read about what happened to the Comet's, the first jet airliners when the cabins suffered explosive decompression. That was only at about 6 psi.
The though of a vehicle with a big pressure vessel full of compressed air in a head-on makes me feel a little ill.
|
petrol tanks arnt that safe...
lpg tanks are even less so...
batteries tend to explode or give off poisonous gases
walking will get you mugged
suggest you go to a rock gig and get p**sed, its the only safe place to be
|
|
|
|
I wouldn't worry about it, one of the most dangerous things you will ever be near or allowed to use is a car with a full tank of petrol. You are essentially driving a large bomb around with only a few bits of metal and (these days) electronics stopping the whole thing turning into a raging inferno!
|
|
|
|
|
I was informed by someone in the trade that the oil inside some types of central heating boiler has the same explosive force under the wrong circumstances as a half a pound of TNT.
|
|
I caused a BOOM in my solid fuel boiler when I dropped coal dust into it. Ooops!
|
|
|
|
me - you are talking absolute crap when you refer to LPG tanks as being less safe than a 'normal' petrol tank.
I know which type of fuel & tank I would rather have fitted to a car in which I knew I was going to crash in.
All LPG vessels are pressure tested to 10 times NWP and are certified to that effect. Are pressed steel/plastic petrol tanks tested to the same effect??
I think not.
Rgds
David
|
Yet again, Dave, the same old baloney is spooned out by those deciding to remain ignorant. A few "Old Wives' Tales" put right;
LPG tanks are made of a pressure tested steel vessel and have a mechanism to prevent rapid release of gas in the event of loss of regulator. The thermoplastic, semi-rigid, rear-fitted petrol tank on my Golf is none of the above and will squeeze the benzene rich unleaded petrol all over the hot engine bay of any vehicle that decides to run into me.
LPG does not cause a loss in performance - the engine will run smoother. I run a 10yr old Golf GTI on it and a friend runs a BMW M3 Evolution, a BMW 750iL and a knackered old 200,000mile 325i on LPG without any issues.
LPG does cause a loss in fuel economy of approx. 10%.
LPG will not suffer a duty increase equivalent to 100% unit price overnight.
Yes you do lose some boot space by fitting a tank greater than 30Ltrs. WOW.
No your insurance will not increase as a result of having an LPG conversion.
LPG costs 35p/Ltr. At present UL costs 70p/Ltr. Even with the 10% mpg loss - it doesn't take Einstein to work out the benefits.
|
|
How long does it take to recover the installation cost?
|
|
|
|
Alwyn,
Depending upon mileage covered and fuel consumption, installation costs can be recovered suprisingly quickly. Guy's conversion cost him roughly £650 (I supplied the labour FOC - family huh?)
I think Guy will have almost recovered his costs by now. I'm sure he'll pop up soon and put us right.
David
|
|
|
