Electric Car? How about a Compressed Air Car?

The Chevrolet Volt is "coming" as well. I even saw a commercial about
it on TV the other night. AFAIK they aren't taking orders yet. Like
all the other "Revolutionary Vehicles" we'll see.
However, I won't hold my breath.

Around 1930 the US had a car called the Cord. In the works is an
electric version. The extension cord.

Jose
--
You can choose whom to befriend, but you cannot choose whom to love.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

On Fri, 16 Nov 2007 18:35:46 -0800 (PST), Dave wrote
in
:

The Chevrolet Volt is "coming" as well.

Can you test drive it?

Dave wrote in
:



I would think that many of the drawbacks could be overcome with modern
control systems. From what I have read the Doble did solve most of the
problems of previous attempts. However, it was more expensive to build
and overcome by the cheapness and convenience of gasolne engines. The
ability to burn any available fuel could make a difference in the
future.


Yes, absolutely. Could happen!

I've always found it an extremely attractive form of engineering. Almost
magical in the way it works.



Bertie

Dave wrote in
:

On Nov 16, 12:05 am, Bertie the Bunyip wrote:
And another
one!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw6NF...eature=related

Bertie

I wonder how much the powerplant weighed. I also wonder why they moved
the condensor from under the fuselage (as shown in the drawing) to the
top - where it appeared to do a good job of blocking the pilot's view
ahead.


Looks to me like that were two different rads. Probably one was a condenser
and one an water-oil seperator. I know this was one of the big problem with
recovery, getting the oil out of it.
Blocked pilot's vision was no big deal in those days. Lots of Hisso and OX-
5 powered airplanes had rads in front of the cockpit. It was just a fact of
life. It was alwasy better to have the rad high if you could in case it
leaked. If all the plumbing was below the engine, you had an empty engine
in seconds if something broke. if all the tubes were up, at least you had
something to keep it cool while you got it down.



Bertie

Dave wrote in news:2f905138-4135-4312-a93a-250eb1623342
@w34g2000hsg.googlegroups.com:

On Nov 15, 10:56 pm, Bertie the Bunyip wrote:
Dave wrote in news:085e256a-0987-4249-b920-
:



Don't be too quick to judge batteries that way. New advances in
lithium-air batteries have come a long way since their inception.
The
Tesla electric car is using Lithium-ion batteries which has far
less
efficiency, but still making waves. It is not unfeasible in the
near
future to have a lithium-oxygen battery to power a light GA
aircraft
with the same endurance as gasoline with comparable fuel+engine
weights.

I'm all for electric vehicles - but feel that there needs to be an
order-of-magnitude improvement in battery performance to make them
practical. There have been claims of "revolutionary battery
technologies" for years - but they never seem to pan out.

There has been.

Bertie

If that is so, why can't I buy a viable electric vehicle now?


Well, there are some out ther, OK, but you're not going to do route 66
in them.

In
related matters, probably the nearest thing to a practical vehicle
that runs on battery power (around town, at least) is a "Pluggable
Hybrid" Many experimenters have been working on modifying hyprid cars
(such as the Toyota Prius) to run on battery power alone in urban use.
The primary change is to install a larger
battery, and to modify the control circuits appropriately. There is at
least one commercial conversion that you can buy today. The auto
manufacturers are "looking into it", but have nothing
for sale as of yet. You can read about it he
http://www.calcars.org/


Well, i's down to definition. I used to hav an electric car and it did
work OK, bt it was a pretty old one...
You have to admit, the Li-Po bateries and new motors are a big
imprvement on the stuff around just a few years ago.
The momentum that is gathering with regard to electric vehicles of al
sorts will surely result in something of interst in our lifetimes, at
least.


Bertie

Jose wrote in news:W0v%i.22020$lD6.14259
@newssvr27.news.prodigy.net:

The Chevrolet Volt is "coming" as well. I even saw a commercial about
it on TV the other night. AFAIK they aren't taking orders yet. Like
all the other "Revolutionary Vehicles" we'll see.
However, I won't hold my breath.

Around 1930 the US had a car called the Cord. In the works is an
electric version. The extension cord.


Oh dear oh dear.


Bertie

On 2007-11-16 16:55:03 -0800, said:

Dave wrote:


I read somewhere about steam locomotives that operated from a pressure
tank that was filled up at a "charging station", then run until a
refill was needed. Used in mines and other circumstances where
cumbustion was not acceptable. A proven technology that works - but I
wonder about the range. Problem is, steam is a preishable commodity.
Use it without delay or lose it. Compressed air doesn't have that
problem. Air motors are a proven technology as well - but as others
have said, efficiency may leave much to be desirerd. I for one will be
interested to see if the claims made about this compressed air car
will pan out.

It won't.

Have you ever used air tools?

Notice the huge motor and tank to supply the air for a little, bitty
tool?

Ever noticed how hot the tank and motor get compressing the air?

That's wasted energy.

What we need is a car powered by hot air from Usenet. :-)
--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor

On Nov 13, 10:07 pm, Dave wrote:
The recent discussion of the merits of various electric cars. I'd
summarize the current state of the art as one of interesting
technologial developments, but an unsolved basic problem: How to store
an adequate amount of the source of motive power in a manageable
package. Batteries aren't there yet - and may never be. NEVs are a
joke, and the 3-wheel "motorcycle" types are marginal at best.

Now it appears that someone has come up with the idea of running a
vehicle on compressed air. Check this out:http://www.theaircar.com/ There is nothing novel about the
technology - air motors have been around for years. They are often
used where sources of ignition are a hazard. The only thing new is the
idea of combining an air motor and a source of supply in a compact
vehicle. The advantages would appear to be adequate power and range
for urban/suburban use - and zero pollution (not counting the
pollution generated in the process of compressing the air in the first
place). Such vehicles could be "recharged" by compressors overnight -
when surplus electric power is available. Downsides? High pressure
compressors are expensive, and require lots of power to operate. Not
to mention the fact that any high pressure tank is a potential bomb.
OTOH such tanks are in common use, such as SCUBA tanks and paintball
tanks - found everywhere.

Comments?

David Johnson

http://youtube.com/watch?v=QmqpGZv0YT4

Wil

On Nov 17, 4:18 am, Larry Dighera wrote:
On Fri, 16 Nov 2007 18:35:46 -0800 (PST), Dave wrote
in
:
The Chevrolet Volt is "coming" as well.

Can you test drive it?

Not yet, but you can read about it he http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007...evrolet-v.html

David Johnson

On Mon, 19 Nov 2007 10:35:16 -0800 (PST), Dave wrote
in :

On Nov 17, 4:18 am, Larry Dighera wrote:
On Fri, 16 Nov 2007 18:35:46 -0800 (PST), Dave wrote
in
:
The Chevrolet Volt is "coming" as well.

Can you test drive it?

Not yet, but you can read about it he http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007...evrolet-v.html

David Johnson

Thank you for the informative link.


The Chevrolet Volt:
Not all is rosy at GM: the striking styling of the Volt concept
car has officially been nixed due to a poor coefficient of drag.

... an “aggressive” target production date, according to Bob Lutz,
of November 2010.

Three years! A lot of advances in battery technology can happen in
that time.


http://bioage.typepad.com/.shared/im...ized/volt1.png
120 kW (160+ HP) electric motor, 53 kW (71+ HP) 3-cylinder
(1-liter) genset, 16 kWh Li-ion battery pack. (1 horsepower =
745.7 watts)

The company settled on a 40-mile all-electric range because it
would cover daily driving of 78% of Americans, according to US
Department of Transportation figures.

Comparing the fuel costs between old and new methods of
propulsion, GM estimated that driving costs in EV mode would be 2
cents per mile&mash;or 1 cent per mile if charged
off-peak—compared to about 12 cents per mile per gallon of
gasoline for a typical car today.

The company hopes to sell the first-generation Volt for around
US$30,000, putting it within the high range of compact cars.


Tesla Motors:
http://www.teslamotors.com/learn_more/faqs.php
Current reservation holders for 2008 model year Tesla Roadsters
have each already received an estimated delivery date in 2008.
Wait list customers who are offered a 2008 car can expect to take
delivery in the fourth quarter of 2008.


Ford:
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007...nnounces_.html
Ford Announces Hydrogen-Electric Plug-in Hybrid Drive and
Airstream Concept

The HySeries drive in the AirStream Concept combines a lithium-ion
battery pack with a compact fuel cell system as a range
extender—the fuel cell’s sole function is to recharge the
lithium-ion battery pack as needed.

The new fuel cell, supplied by Ford partner Ballard, operates in a
steady state, allowing a reduction in the size, weight, cost and
complexity of a conventional fuel cell system by more than 50%.
This approach also promises to more than double the lifetime of
the fuel cell stack, according to Ford.

The Ford Airstream Concept can travel 25 miles in battery
mode—depleting the battery’s state of charge to about 40%—before
the fuel cell begins operating to recharge the vehicle’s 336-volt
lithium-ion battery pack.

With the hydrogen-powered fuel cell, the range increases another
280 miles for a total of 305 miles.

The Ford Airstream Concept can travel at speeds of up to 85 mph.
An on-board charger (110/220 VAC) can refresh the battery pack
when a standard home outlet is available

The concept uses 4.5 kg of hydrogen stored in a 350-bar hydrogen
tank. The HySeries Drive delivers the combined city/highway
equivalent fuel economy of 41 miles per gallon.



http://www.greencarcongress.com/fuel_cells/index.html
Fuel Cells