On Sat, 26 Jul 2008 10:51:07 -0400, you wrote: >This is pretty cool but it brings up a question that I have been wondering >about. > >Why is it that on something like this or even a car that they run an >internal combustion motor and electric motor instead of just straight >electric with a generator that runs the electric motor when the batteries >are low? This is how trains work why not everything that is a hybrid? In >this case there is already a generator on the boat so why even have the >diesel motors on it? Why not have the generator sized so that the electric >motors can run right off of it? > >Vern >s/v Nirvelli
Bob converted a diesel car to electric about 15 years ago. It is a straight electric car and not a hybrid. He considered various things like towing a genset to recharge the batteries 'on the fly'. He even bought a generator and a tow dolly, but decided against it. [He also decided against regen braking, where the energy from putting on the brake is rerouted to the batteries.] The genset (which is gasoline operated) comes in really handy now when there is no electricity here which happens at least a couple of times a year for up to a week at a time due to storms Anyway people have done the towed genset thing, but a) It is noisy (has been described as a screaming type noise) - not a problem for the electric car driver because he's 'ahead' of the noise, but it is for others Might not be a problem on a boat where the genset could possibly be insulated. b) The energy required to tow the genset is greater than the energy that you get from the genset - increased drag etc. Might not be a problem on a boat. c) If you are running a genset you are using petroleum. One of the advantages of electric power is that the power is supplied (on land) by a single power plant where the pollution component can be more effectively controlled rather than trying to control the tail pipes of millions of cars. Also it isn't an efficient way to use the petroleum. d) For boats, the greatest problem as far as we are concerned is that a diesel genset is horribly expensive and also pretty big and heavy. Bob hasn't got a genset on the boat because he doesn't want a gasoline one. He's really rather not even have the dinghy motors be gasoline. _______________________________________________ Liveaboard mailing list [email protected] To adjust your membership settings over the web http://www.liveaboardnow.org/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard To subscribe send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] The archives are at http://www.liveaboardnow.org/pipermail/liveaboard/ To search the archives http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] The Mailman Users Guide can be found here http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html
