Rail locomotives running on diesel are actually diesel generators on wheels, they power an alternator, which supplies power to motors driving the wheels through gears.
So a hybrid of sorts, been around for ages.
The Prius uses an engine running at constant speed to top up the batteries, much better fuel efficiency as the maximum waste of fuel and also pollution occurs in transit from one speed to another (when you rev up or down).
Apart from the weight penalty, I see no issue in using a diesel in a Prius type car.
I read in 'Rotor and Wing' (or similar) magazine in 1980 that the low temperatures can cause strange issues, a Canadian operation used diesel in their Bell 206 helicopters in winter, kerosene based jet fuel would wax and clog.
Bill: gasoline can burn diesel pistons, kerosene or a different grade of diesel may be an option, but getting kerosene is also an issue. So if you are doing it, use a small amount, not too much.
Another trick here to start diesel engines was to soak a rag with petrol and keep it at air inlet...quick start, particularly if fuel injection had air etc. They said make it sniff petrol...
So a hybrid of sorts, been around for ages.
The Prius uses an engine running at constant speed to top up the batteries, much better fuel efficiency as the maximum waste of fuel and also pollution occurs in transit from one speed to another (when you rev up or down).
Apart from the weight penalty, I see no issue in using a diesel in a Prius type car.
I read in 'Rotor and Wing' (or similar) magazine in 1980 that the low temperatures can cause strange issues, a Canadian operation used diesel in their Bell 206 helicopters in winter, kerosene based jet fuel would wax and clog.
Bill: gasoline can burn diesel pistons, kerosene or a different grade of diesel may be an option, but getting kerosene is also an issue. So if you are doing it, use a small amount, not too much.
Another trick here to start diesel engines was to soak a rag with petrol and keep it at air inlet...quick start, particularly if fuel injection had air etc. They said make it sniff petrol...
Well the alternatives (fossil fuels) are also hideous chemicals ha ha, in much less of a closed loop. I used to work fairly near the Torrance Refinery...gak! choke! I mean come on, who doesn't love the smell of burning lithium in the morning?!? 😎
Thank you, Bill, but an apology is really not necessary.
I think Tesla has introduced a lot of confusion with their so callled "supercharger stations" and not fully explained to people in a simple manner what to expect and not to expect from them. Particulary in unusually cold weather. To do so could very well affect their sales in some areas. Even the name itself "supercharger" carries with it a certain amount of perhaps false hope. But I'm sure it helps to sell cars.
If anyone owes an apology it's Tesla to their customers.
I still think that biofuel is the best answer. With Green gasoline we won't need to replace all of the current vehicle fleet or the infrastructure that powers them. The savings compared to anything else would be huge.
Pete
Pete
Great alternative, but can it be produced in the huge quantity needed to replace petroluem based gasoline. And at a comprable price point. If so, it would be an ideal answer.
There is a solution to this: heatable windshield. It has embedded wires that are much finer that what you have on the rear window. Had this in every car I've had since 1999.
Diesel engines have become so efficient that they fail to heat up the interior on shorter trip. My 2006 and 2014 Diesels had an electric heater to supplement engine heat as standard equipment.
I imagine ocean-borne algae farms. It would need to be done on an industrial scale, but the sunlight and seawater are free and it isn't like making gasoline is easy.
Perhaps the greatest benefit would be the freeing up of petroleum for other products. It's a wonderfully dense fuel source but it has a lot of other uses that we haven't replaced.
Pete
How about an ocean-borne algae farm integrated into a tide-change and/or wave-based electrical power source. Basically a two for one implementation in the same space.
They are finding that solar farms on land also do some of that, improves wildlife. Last study i saw talked about how many more insects…
Be interesting to see what happens with thwe solar installations in the desert in Morocco.
dave
Yes, yes and a marmot wraps chocolate in tinfoil...... Man, I'm sorry but......it's serious, talking about the future. Look around you, look what's happening in Germany. Germany quits nuclear power?!! I wonder who they're going to blame this time? The power of talk - who gets heard and why. To recall:
Greta Thunberg - "How dare you?"
Past summer DHL in the Netherlands had a fleet of hundreds electric delivery vehicles. Six months later they have learned there lesson.
Gotta wonder how much energy was used in making and installing all of those mirrors. And then the need for constant upkeep sweeping away the sand and dirt from them degrading their performance.
A standard big construction project in the boonies. But big payback.
This (and i believe a few more) will supply a significant amount of the EU electricity needs.
dave
Around June July when the production of my photo voltage panels is at it's maxim, the price for electric energy at the exchange turns negative. This because there is more production then demand during day time in these months. So I shut down my PV panels to avoid having to pay for the upload. Instead I turn on some heaters in a far corner of my garden. On days with overproduction the power company is paying me to use energy as it helps to stabilize the grid.
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Greta Thunberg is a hero rather than a sick kid as far as I'm concerned. Most of the time she just quotes or rephrases IPCC reports and encourages people to listen to the scientists rather than to her, by the way.
What in the world are you talking about? I challenge you to point to a single climate change denial argument by me in this thread.I am baffled as to why the mods have not closed this thread, the OP has pulled out every climate change denialism argument in the "it's not practical" category.
Questioning the dependablity of electric cars in extreme cold weather is not climate change denial.
It's just plain common sense given the recent reports of all the problems people are now encountering with them. Problems that the electric car manufacturers did not care to reveal to their potential customers.
Norway is tiny. Driving distances are a tiny fraction compared to Canada. Also, many parts of (inhabited) Canada are much colder than (inhabited) parts of Norway. For example https://weatherspark.com/compare/y/68697~2428/Comparison-of-the-Average-Weather-in-Oslo-and-Edmonton Olso's average low temperature in winter is Edmonton's average high.
So the "it works in Norway" argument is about as compelling as mud.
I'm not a climate change denier, but electric cars still have a very long way to go.
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