$5,000 Retro Fit Hybrid Kit
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From: Bret Cahill on 13 Nov 2009 15:05 > >> >Even the prototype is only $100K. > > >> >http://www.planetanalog.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=218400113&cid... > > >> >Leave the big engine in there for the road trips. > > >> >The unsprung weight doubles and the batteries might not always be near > >> >the original design center of mass but aside from that it's a really > >> >good idea. > > >> >Bret Cahill > > >> Install one on your car and report back. > > >I'm in love with the idea. > > I wonder how he plans to have the controls (gas pedal, brakes, engine > throttle, tranny, abs, engine control computer) interact with the new > wheel motors. That's why he's selling it as a kit. It may not work as an aftermarket industry. > Regen braking will get interesting. Or what it might do > the existing warranty and regulatory compliance certs. Some states may outlaw it. > Sounds like a huge bag-o-worms. Let's check back in a few years. Odds > are it will be dead and gone, as 99.9% of such ideas are. It's not for everyone but it's certain he'll have a big market by the time it's ready. > Hybrids mainly get good mileage not because they have good drive > trains, but because they are ugly and aerodynamic. To be sure a diesel Rabbit does about as well as a Prius at freeway speeds but the biggest advantage with plug in hybrids, more important than the ability to scoot through an intersection 2X faster than a diesel Rabbit, is being able to avoid gasoline altogether on most trips. Unlike a Prius or Tesla, a retrofitted large engine vehicle will still be able to tow a trailer up a mountain. > They do pay a big > price in battery weight. Battery cost may be a bigger issue. > >It will be the most cost effective way to commute in a couple years > >yet you'll still be able to haul your boat over the mountains. > >The flexibility of adding anyone's new batteries as they become > >commercially available is another advantage over conventional hybrids. > >A big alternator and an electric ac compressor would be another plus. > >Maybe they could even tweak conventional [large rpm range] engines to > >run at an optimum speed when recharging. > >You're sitting in traffic going nowhere. It's 115 F outside but the > >ac is on and the main engine isn't running, at least not for a long > >period of time. > I wonder about the economics of having two gas engines, the main one > and a much smaller one for accessories and low-speed cruising. Supposedly some expensive cars already have. A large engine is only a thousand or so dollars so the cost of two engines will not be an issue compared to the fuel savings. > Batteries are terrible things. But they are steadily getting better. Some materials prof at ASU claims he has a rechargheable zinc air battery, cheap materials yet 2X the energy of Li-ion. Bret Cahill
From: Bret Cahill on 13 Nov 2009 15:08 > > Peak oil is always a few years ahead. > > "Peak Oil" at the present time, has evolved > from a production modeling resource into > a marketing scam. Hey, he's on _your_ side. Anyway how's your "CO2 Is Good for You" video coming along? Remember to have a large sign in the background that tells everyone you are inhaling "100% natural organic CO2." Bret Cahill
From: Bret Cahill on 13 Nov 2009 15:10 > >> Even the prototype is only $100K. > > >> http://www.planetanalog.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=218400113&cid... > > >> Leave the big engine in there for the road trips. > > >> The unsprung weight doubles and the batteries might not always be near > >> the original design center of mass but aside from that it's a really > >> good idea. > > >I came up with a similar idea a few years ago. > > >http://www.smart.net/~pstech/SHAMPAC.htm > > >It was too big a project for me alone and I had other priorities. There was > >also the problem of making an electric motor that had sufficient torque and > >speed for direct drive requirements, and I had planned to use a reduction > >chain drive, but that added some mechanical engineering challenges. But I > >found wheel hub motors available and in-use. And I found another website > >that described how to replace the alternator with a larger motor/generator > >which could be used to provide additional power from a battery bank and > >also be used for regenerative braking. But that was not very efficient > >because there was no easy way to unload the ICE to run on electric power > >alone. > > >I recently saw the movie "End of Suburbia"http://www.endofsuburbia.com/ > >which gives a lot of insight into how we in the US got into the situation > >we are now in, and the ramifications of "Peak Oil", which is where we are > >now or will be in a few years. > > Peak oil is always a few years ahead. > > Cheap energy fueled the flight to the > > >suburbs and the inherently wasteful concept of long commutes and sprawling > >individual houses for small families and individuals. > > Cheap oil changed a predominantly rural, farming society into a > primarily urban one. > > Auto makers and oil > > >companies made more profits as such a lifestyle became more popular. > > Of course. In the process they made us far, far more efficient and > prosperous and healthy than we had been. > > But > > >there is a finite amount of oil in the ground, and even though we are > >unlikely to "run out" suddenly like draining a gas tank, it will become > >increasingly costly to extract, and price will rise exponentially as demand > >continues to increase, until most people simply will not have the money to > >afford it. > > They will buy less as the price increases. This will happen slowly, > and people will adapt. > > > > >The economy relies on increased growth which is untenable globally, so we > >will need to adapt to an economy based on sustainable moderation and > >reduction of spending. Our economy as presently configured is doomed > >because it depends on continued sales of items that are based on cheap > >energy, materials, transportation, and labor. Much of the economy is about > >trade in items that are not essential and based on rapid obsolescence to be > >discarded and replaced. But we may very well. in our lifetimes, see a point > >where it will become difficult for most people to afford the essential > >food, clothing, shelter, and heating that are now taken for granted. > > Food and clothing in the USA are incredibly cheap; go to a Wal-Mart > and see. Houses are available in Detroit for $1. And when the recession is over the price of fuel will soar to $10/ gallon and beyond. Bret Cahill
From: leonard78sp on 13 Nov 2009 15:16 On Nov 13, 3:08 pm, Bret Cahill <BretCah...(a)aol.com> wrote: > > > Peak oil is always a few years ahead. > > > "Peak Oil" at the present time, has evolved > > from a production modeling resource into > > a marketing scam. > > Hey, he's on _your_ side. > > Anyway how's your "CO2 Is Good for You" video coming along? > > Remember to have a large sign in the background that tells everyone > you are inhaling "100% natural organic CO2." after you, sucker!!!
From: jim on 13 Nov 2009 17:12
"leonard78sp(a)gmail.com" wrote: > > On Nov 12, 10:41 pm, John Larkin > <jjlar...(a)highNOTlandTHIStechnologyPART.com> .wrote: > > On Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:12:39 -0500, "Paul E. Schoen" > > > Peak oil is always a few years ahead. > > �� "Peak Oil" at the present time, has evolved > from a production modeling resource into > a marketing scam. > > It worked quite well in 1956 to accurately > predict that United States oil production > would peak between 1965 and 1970. But > when Hubbert turned to foreign sources > he lost his way not understanding the way > Arabs and Russians do business, > > Unquestionably, Peak Oil's models were > responsible for the surge in prices for crude in > the futures markets. Added to that the API's > reluctance to accept the concept of "abiotic oil" > allowed the Sa'uds and Russians to conceal > their increased resources by drilling their old > unproductive holes deeper. > > > Cheap energy fueled the flight to the > > >suburbs and the inherently wasteful concept of long commutes and sprawling > > >individual houses for small families and individuals. > > > > Cheap oil changed a predominantly rural, farming society into a > > primarily urban one. > > > > Auto makers and oil > > >companies made more profits as such a lifestyle became more popular. > > > > Of course. In the process they made us far, far more efficient and > > prosperous and healthy than we had been. > > > > But > > >there is a finite amount of oil in the ground, > > �� Bullshit!!!! There is ONE well in the south > Atlantic (still under development) that has > reserves sufficient to supply USA with all > its' needs for centuries. > > In neighbouring fields, Exxon, BP, China, > Saudi Arabia, etc, are all drilling 10 miles > below the surface. > > Want to know more Google for "Tupi", > Petrobras, Sustainable oil, "Deep Hot > Biosphere" ... > There is something wrong with your hallucinations. According to Petrobras the Tupi oil field contains 5-8 billion barrels. The world uses 31 billion a year. > and even though we are > > >unlikely to "run out" suddenly like draining a gas tank, it will become > > >increasingly costly to extract, and price will rise exponentially as demand > > >continues to increase, until most people simply will not have the money to > > >afford it. > > �� BULLSHIT!! > > They will buy less as the price increases. This will happen slowly, > > and people will adapt. |