Re: [Biofuel] advancement of car technology for 1
I once has an idea of a stirling engined car, this car store hot water (or hot molten salt) in an insulated tank or a big Termos flask. The stirling engine will utilize the heat stored and convert it to mobility. And the fuel bar will only show the temprerature inside the insulated tank... To refill, simply heat up your insulated tank content. The idea sounds fun and interesting. But yet, this is just more like a fantasy, you need a noble price to solve the technical difficulties behind. ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] advancement of car technology for 1
Interesting idea, but I'd have to say I prefer PV myself. No moving parts. Solar got a bad rap in the US in the 80's due to alot of poorly installed solar thermal systems. Now everyone expects their PV system to leak I can't actually remember doing any maintenance on my PV system in the last year (it has sealed batteries), except maybe shoveling the snow off the panels after returning from vacation. Solar thermal is the obvious way to go for any heat collection needed (at least two thirds the loads of a house here in Colorado), because of higher collection efficiency, but I have yet to find a way to convert low grade (100 or 200C) heat into electricity that withstands the tests of the real world. Here's an idea I had, I think it's new. If a house is using solar power,(not panels, but solar water heating panels) to heat its hot water, then a stirling motor could be placed on or incorporated into the top of the hot water cylinder where the heated water enters the cylinder. Thereby heating the hot part of the stirling engine cycle. The flywheel attached to the engine could be used to generate electricity, providing the power for the house. A solar panel could charge batteries to take over when the output of the stirling engine drops below a certain level, at night or very cold winters for example. So fewer batteries, fewer solar panels for electricity and double use,(or triple if the house is water radiator heated), of the solar heated water. Wha'd'ya's think? I think the effectiveness of the Stirling Cycle engine is proportional to the difference in temperature (delta T) of the two active sides, and typical low-tech solar thermal is not going to make enough of a temperature difference in most situations to justify the investment. For me, I'll stick with solar thermal for heating my water and house and PV for electricity (some day). However, don't let me discourage you from this kind of creative thinking - I think it's great. ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] advancement of car technology for 1
Howdy all, My first post, yaaay! I don't recall the exact thread but I read one of you talking about how hybrids in the U.S. are all about shaving time off the quarter mile. Well, I saw a report on a car show in Europe about 5 mins after I read the mail, about how the manufacturers here are now looking at developing a diesel hybrid. Good news for us I feel. And while I'm thinking of it, did anyone else see the guy who developed a car that works,(and that's really works), on compressed air? I saw a report on the telly but haven't found anything on the net. Here's an idea I had, I think it's new. If a house is using solar power,(not panels, but solar water heating panels) to heat its hot water, then a stirling motor could be placed on or incorporated into the top of the hot water cylinder where the heated water enters the cylinder. Thereby heating the hot part of the stirling engine cycle. The flywheel attached to the engine could be used to generate electricity, providing the power for the house. A solar panel could charge batteries to take over when the output of the stirling engine drops below a certain level, at night or very cold winters for example. So fewer batteries, fewer solar panels for electricity and double use,(or triple if the house is water radiator heated), of the solar heated water. Wha'd'ya's think? Jay P.S. for a look at another of my ideas to fight air pollution go here http://homepage.urbanet.ch/scaf/pages/flat_tab_medium_indexpag.html - Original Message - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Biofuel@sustainablelists.org Sent: Saturday, September 17, 2005 6:00 PM Subject: Biofuel Digest, Vol 5, Issue 100 Send Biofuel mailing list submissions to Biofuel@sustainablelists.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to [EMAIL PROTECTED] You can reach the person managing the list at [EMAIL PROTECTED] When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than Re: Contents of Biofuel digest... Today's Topics: 1. Re: advancement of car technology (Brian Rodgers) 2. Re: advancement of car technology (Keith Addison) -- Message: 1 Date: Sat, 17 Sep 2005 07:18:44 -0600 From: Brian Rodgers [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Biofuel] advancement of car technology To: Biofuel@sustainablelists.org Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Makes me feel better about driving twenty plus year old cars. Speaking of antiques; I found out this last week that a local man is importing and rebuilding Keith's favorite vehicle the 'Land Rover.' I am going over on Monday and see his biodiesel lab. Brian Rodgers -- Message: 2 Date: Sat, 17 Sep 2005 23:47:20 +0900 From: Keith Addison [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Biofuel] advancement of car technology To: Biofuel@sustainablelists.org Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii ; format=flowed Hello Brian Makes me feel better about driving twenty plus year old cars. Speaking of antiques; I found out this last week that a local man is importing and rebuilding Keith's favorite vehicle the 'Land Rover.' :-) Used to be. We sure learned a lot with them. But that's it, good for our learning curve. One thing we learned was that they're not what we need. They're too small, for one thing, even the long wheelbase 109. Forward-control is better, ie vans. Another thing I learned was that a Land Rover can't match a Haflinger, having had experience of both. Haflingers are really small, but they're really worth it. Maybe you could sort of hang it out the back on davits like a lifeboat or something. We sold one Land Rover just before we left Hong Kong, and we sold the other one a year later in Tokyo to a guy who restored the first FJ40 Land Cruiser ever made, for Toyota. He had a Pinzgauer too (adult Haflinger). Now we use a 1990 Toyota Town-Ace 4x4 turbo diesel van, which we ran on JtF B100 homebrew biodiesel for two years and on SVO for the last six months, and a 1990 550cc Daihatsu K-truck. The Town-Ace doesn't get stuck on muddy slopes where 4x4 Suzuki jeeps get stuck, and the K-truck is about the closest thing I've seen to a Haflinger. See: ... no doubt Americans would laugh at them, but I don't think Japan would get on too well without them. I really wonder if an F250 or something is that much more effective. http://moonstationfoxtrot.com/journalpics/ktrucks.html Moon Station Foxtrot: K-Trucks http://moonstationfoxtrot.com/ktrucks/index.html K-TRUCKS Website uploads soon, hopefully, though the Town-Ace is on our website. Future vehicles is an interesting subject, but later. Best wishes Keith I am going over on Monday and see his biodiesel lab. Brian
Re: [Biofuel] advancement of car technology for 1
Jason [EMAIL PROTECTED] posted: Howdy all, My first post, yaaay! Welcome. I don't recall the exact thread but I read one of you talking about how hybrids in the U.S. are all about shaving time off the quarter mile. Well, I saw a report on a car show in Europe about 5 mins after I read the mail, about how the manufacturers here are now looking at developing a diesel hybrid. Good news for us I feel. Indeed. Can you direct us to any further information? Is this Volkswagen, or someone else? And while I'm thinking of it, did anyone else see the guy who developed a car that works,(and that's really works), on compressed air? I saw a report on the telly but haven't found anything on the net. Perhaps you are thinking of Guy Negre's venture. http://www.theaircar.com/ Personally, I have been following this one for at least five years. Call me skeptical. Here's a quote I have from private correspondence with an electrical utility energy manager, The industry consensus is that an air motor uses 7 to 9 times as much electricity to compress the air used as an equivalent electric motor. There's more, but this is a good opportunity to refer you to the list archives at http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ . We've covered this topic in the past. E.g. http://www.mail- archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/msg33017.html , http://www.mail- archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/msg17711.html . Again, there's more. I think that diagrams of early versions of the engine showing a spark plug were the capper for my personal alarm system. Here's an idea I had, I think it's new. If a house is using solar power,(not panels, but solar water heating panels) to heat its hot water, then a stirling motor could be placed on or incorporated into the top of the hot water cylinder where the heated water enters the cylinder. Thereby heating the hot part of the stirling engine cycle. The flywheel attached to the engine could be used to generate electricity, providing the power for the house. A solar panel could charge batteries to take over when the output of the stirling engine drops below a certain level, at night or very cold winters for example. So fewer batteries, fewer solar panels for electricity and double use,(or triple if the house is water radiator heated), of the solar heated water. Wha'd'ya's think? I think the effectiveness of the Stirling Cycle engine is proportional to the difference in temperature (delta T) of the two active sides, and typical low-tech solar thermal is not going to make enough of a temperature difference in most situations to justify the investment. For me, I'll stick with solar thermal for heating my water and house and PV for electricity (some day). However, don't let me discourage you from this kind of creative thinking - I think it's great. Jay P.S. for a look at another of my ideas to fight air pollution go here http://homepage.urbanet.ch/scaf/pages/flat_tab_medium_indexpag.html This being a great example of the kind of creating thinking I think merits praise and consideration. But I think I'll start another post on your solar air cleaner. - Original Message - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Biofuel@sustainablelists.org Sent: Saturday, September 17, 2005 6:00 PM Subject: Biofuel Digest, Vol 5, Issue 100 Send Biofuel mailing list submissions to Biofuel@sustainablelists.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to [EMAIL PROTECTED] You can reach the person managing the list at [EMAIL PROTECTED] When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than Re: Contents of Biofuel digest... Today's Topics: 1. Re: advancement of car technology (Brian Rodgers) 2. Re: advancement of car technology (Keith Addison) -- Message: 1 Date: Sat, 17 Sep 2005 07:18:44 -0600 From: Brian Rodgers [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Biofuel] advancement of car technology To: Biofuel@sustainablelists.org Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Makes me feel better about driving twenty plus year old cars. Speaking of antiques; I found out this last week that a local man is importing and rebuilding Keith's favorite vehicle the 'Land Rover.' I am going over on Monday and see his biodiesel lab. Brian Rodgers -- Message: 2 Date: Sat, 17 Sep 2005 23:47:20 +0900 From: Keith Addison [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Biofuel] advancement of car technology To: Biofuel@sustainablelists.org Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii ; format=flowed Hello Brian Makes me feel better about
