I expect to be picking up my 'new' ride this coming Sunday. http://www.econogics.com/ev/Solo%20Electra/LeftSide.jpg
1974 Solo Electra e-bike (supposedly 25 km/charge, 25 km/h max speed). On-board battery capacity is about 1 kWh, so running the numbers (to be confirmed in real-life use), it should consume about 40 watt-hours per km. Unless I actually pedal, which should reduce the electrical energy consumption (substituting energy from the much less efficient meat engine). 40 watt-hours per km = 64 Wh/mile (1 mile = 1.6 km) 64 Wh/mile = 218 BTU/mile (1 Wh = 0.2931 BTU) A U.S. gallon of gasoline = 114,000 BTU (approximately) 218/114,000 = 0.00052 gallons/mile Reciprocal to get mpg: about 1,900 mpg That's energy equivalency. It does not take into account that the e-bike is zero emissions at point of use, and the primary form of electrical generation locally is hydro. I expect this vehicle will be adequate for my regular local errands. I expect the rear rack will accept my largish bicycle panniers, which will increase my grocery carrying capacity vs. walking (no cart). Incidentally, my son is now commuting by e-bike pretty regularly. http://www.econogics.com/ev/evbikes.htm (scroll down about 2/3's of the way to see an image of his bike). He does appreciate the irony that his job is about the use and maintenance of aircraft, any one of which will burn more petro fuel in an hour than he is saving in a season of e-commuting. Darryl On 03/06/2011 12:15 PM, Chip Mefford wrote: > > Well, > > > just say'n: > > http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTg6r6c0ZlKBq4FJWZWt9lsztH2wxDaJzUmaNCBjrCiT3deoE32 > > http://www.runmuki.com/commute/images/cartoon.jpg > > is all. > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Aleksander Kac"<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: sustainablelorgbiofuel@sustainablelists.org > Sent: Friday, May 27, 2011 6:26:53 AM > Subject: Re: [Biofuel] Fwd: New Engine 100 MPG > > Well. > Regardless of every sane argument I need to drive to make a living. > To pay the house I live in, to pay for my internet connection, you get it, I > believe. > I need to drive a lot some days. I need to carry tools sometimes. I need to > be on time and I'm hot. > > So yes, its 33 deg C out there, and the humidity is high, and aircon helps a > lot. > > I work 13-14 hours some days, staying cool during drives helps to stay alert > on the road. > So yes, I not only believe aircon is nice, I believe it's neccessary on some > days. > > Traffic is heavy only some days, but mostly very bearable where I live. > > The most we need to take real good care of these days are the cyclists. > > These are not people getting from A to B, these are people with nothing to do > all afternoon and they didn't tire themselves during their work day. But I > still take care. > > So yes, passive and active safety elements in cars are essential. And we > don't have tank traffic at all. We don't even have many tanks left anymore. > There are some > large vehicles on road and I happen to own one. And no, it's not putting in > danger any one, it's rather useful for that matter. > > Cheers, Aleks > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of Dawie Coetzee > Sent: Friday, May 27, 2011 11:54 AM > To: sustainablelorgbiofuel@sustainablelists.org > Subject: Re: [Biofuel] Fwd: New Engine 100 MPG > > Hi Aleks, Jason > > "Well, I need to say something here. Why all these inventions?" > > Why indeed? > > "You can buy a whole production car capable of 100 mpg today." > > Unfortunately it is fundamentally one of several million of them, and done > that way can't be otherwise. > > > "The world record in fuel economy set by Gerhardt Plattner with this car is > actually way better: 107 mpg from austria to denmark and back, 2007 km on 45 > litres of diesel, using autobahns, climbing mountain highway passes etc. > http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2011/05/gerhard-plattner-does-it-again-drives.html > (7% better fuel economy at these low values is no easy job in real world > traffic) > > "It's not a hybrid." > > Good. > > "It's got aircon and everything a modern car should have." > > Should a modern car have aircon and everything else? Why? Perhaps because it > spends so much time in heavy traffic? Isn't THAT rather the problem? > > > "It hasn't got an exotic engine, the engine is a common rail 1.2 litre tdi." > > That's one common rail too exotic! > > "It's even almost half reasonably priced. > > "And it's not even a kei or very small car : Skoda Fabia Greenline II > http://www.buyacar.co.uk/cars/skoda/skoda_fabia/review_skoda_fabia_greenline_ii_4637.jhtml > " > > Primarily because it needs to 'protect' its occupants against all that tank > traffic ... > > "Cheers, Aleks" > > This looks like a lot of fun to me. Seventeen of them might achieve remarkable > fuel economy; no great matter if the eighteenth and nineteenth don't. And they > would achieve that fuel economy the right way, that is, pretty much by > accident. > > Regards > > Dawie > > > > > > > ________________________________ > From: Aleksander Kac<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "sustainablelorgbiofuel@sustainablelists.org" > <sustainablelorgbiofuel@sustainablelists.org> > Sent: Fri, 27 May, 2011 8:27:01 > Subject: Re: [Biofuel] Fwd: New Engine 100 MPG > > Well, I need to say something here. Why all these inventions? > > You can buy a whole production car capable of 100 mpg today. > > The world record in fuel economy set by Gerhardt Plattner with this car is > actually way better: 107 mpg from austria to denmark and back, 2007 km on 45 > litres of diesel, using autobahns, climbing mountain highway passes etc. > http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2011/05/gerhard-plattner-does-it-again-drives.html > (7% better fuel economy at these low values is no easy job in real world > traffic) > > It's not a hybrid. > > It's got aircon and everything a modern car should have. > > It hasn't got an exotic engine, the engine is a common rail 1.2 litre tdi. > > It's even almost half reasonably priced. > > And it's not even a kei or very small car : Skoda Fabia Greenline II > http://www.buyacar.co.uk/cars/skoda/skoda_fabia/review_skoda_fabia_greenline_ii_4637.jhtml > > > Cheers, Aleks > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of Lee > Dyson > Sent: Friday, May 27, 2011 3:13 AM > To: sustainablelorgbiofuel@sustainablelists.org > Subject: [Biofuel] Fwd: New Engine 100 MPG > > Hello All, > > was sent this, looks interesting. Looks like if it can be vaporised and > combustible you can run this engine on it, diesel also. Looks like the idea > has > been around since at least the 1950's > > Lee > > > Begin forwarded message: > >>>>>> Subject: FW: New Engine 100 MPG >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> New Engine! VERRRRY Cool! >>>>>> >>>>>> Here is another German Invention! >>>>>> >>>>>> Oh, and by the way! Let’s watch this invention closely, so we can >>>>>> observe the >>>>>> MANOEUVERING of the Oil Companies, Lawyers, Politicians, Unions and Wall >>>>>> Street, to cut this invention off at the knees, delay and/or even stop >>>>>> it’s >>>>>> development. They will all contribute to stopping this engine from ever >>>>>> reaching >>>>>> the American consumer in a reasonable time frame at a reasonable price. >>>>>> JUST >>>>>> WATCH! >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Be sure and watch the video…. Interesting..!! >>>>>> >>>>>> For a good demo, See: >>>>>> http://www.engineeringtv.com/video/Opposed-Piston-Opposed-Cylinder >>>>>> >>>>>> Saving the World Two Strokes at a Time >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> This is no wimp engine. It's a two cylinder with four pistons >>>>>> delivering 300+ Horse Power It's extremely small and very >>>>>> efficient and is presently in use in test applications The >>>>>> configuration below is equivalent to a extremely ballsy four >>>>>> cylinder engine when doubled, it's an extremely ballsy 600+ H.P. >>>>>> engine >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> It’s called OPOC (Opposed Piston Opposed Cylinder), and it’s a >>>>>> turbocharged >>>>>> two-stroke, two-cylinder, with four pistons, two in each cylinder, that >>>>>> will run >>>>>> on gasoline, diesel or ethanol. The two pistons, inside a single >>>>>> cylinder, pump >>>>>> toward and away from each other, thus allowing a cycle to be completed >>>>>> twice as >>>>>> quickly as a conventional engine while balancing it's own loads. >>>>>> >>>>>> The heavy lifting for this unconventional concept was performed Prof. >>>>>> Peter >>>>>> Hofbauer. During his 20 years at VW, Hofbauer headed up, among other >>>>>> things, >>>>>> development of VW’s first diesel engine and the VR6. >>>>>> >>>>>> The OPOC has been in development for several years, and the company >>>>>> claims it’s >>>>>> 30 percent lighter, one quarter the size and achieves 50 percent better >>>>>> fuel >>>>>> economy than a conventional turbo diesel engine. >>>>>> >>>>>> They’re predicting 100 MPG in a conventional car! >>>>>> _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
