Posted on 10/30/2007 10:14:34 AM PDT by AZLiberty
"Check it out. It's actually a jet engine," says Johnathan Goodwin, with a low whistle.
[Snip]
Goodwin leads me over to a red 2005 H3 Hummer that's up on jacks, its mechanicals removed. He aims to use the turbine to turn the Hummer into a tricked-out electric hybrid. Like most hybrids, it'll have two engines, including an electric motor. But in this case, the second will be the turbine, Goodwin's secret ingredient. Whenever the truck's juice runs low, the turbine will roar into action for a few seconds, powering a generator with such gusto that it'll recharge a set of "supercapacitor" batteries in seconds. This means the H3's electric motor will be able to perform awesome feats of acceleration and power over and over again, like a Prius on steroids. What's more, the turbine will burn biodiesel, a renewable fuel with much lower emissions than normal diesel; a hydrogen-injection system will then cut those low emissions in half. And when it's time to fill the tank, he'll be able to just pull up to the back of a diner and dump in its excess french-fry grease--as he does with his many other Hummers. Oh, yeah, he adds, the horsepower will double--from 300 to 600.
"Conservatively," Goodwin muses, scratching his chin, "it'll get 60 miles to the gallon. With 2,000 foot-pounds of torque. You'll be able to smoke the tires. And it's going to be superefficient."
He laughs. "Think about it: a 5,000-pound vehicle that gets 60 miles to the gallon and does zero to 60 in five seconds!"
(Excerpt) Read more at fastcompany.com ...
Is it for real?
Lemme is God!!
Oh wait, this isn't a heavy metal thread is it.....OOPS
Hard to believe that Lemmy is 62 years old.
If he can find a way to make it sound like a big-block, I’m in!
If these figures are true, it should be mandated that all large city bus operations retrofit their fleets first.
He is still Rockin it out though....partyin’ too!!
That isn't bio diesel, it's grease. Everyone who uses a deep fryer regularly knows how they get gummed up with thick hard baked on grease that results in the deep fryer being tossed into the landfill if it's not cleaned regularly.
The same thing happens inside an engine if this stuff is burned without first being filtered, and put through an esterfication process to remove this goop and convert this deep fryer oil, chicken fat, beef fat, potato starch, and what ever else finds it way into the deep fryer greese, into proper bio diesel that will burn in a diesel engine without destroying it.
See:
making biodiesel
"Conservatively," Goodwin muses, scratching his chin, "it'll get 60 miles to the gallon. With 2,000 foot-pounds of torque. You'll be able to smoke the tires. And it's going to be superefficient."
Uh huh. That will take about a 1000 Hp engine, that gets 60 mpg. (snicker)
Whenever the truck's juice runs low, the turbine will roar into action for a few seconds, powering a generator with such gusto that it'll recharge a set of "supercapacitor" batteries in seconds."
The problem with capacitors, is that the discharge just as fast. Good luck trying to get any amperage out of them. They aren't used as batteries for good reason.
"Is it for real?"
Yep, just like Star trek's star ship voyager...
The short answer is no. There are so many inconsistencies and errors in this article, it's hard to know where to start. There is, however, enough accurate information in the article, that anyone that wants to believe it, will believe it.
Here are a few starters:
The H1 has always been diesel
Bio-diesel fuels get too thick to flow at warm enough temperatures that most drivers will encounter them often.
Chicken grease is even worse.
Emission requirements make some of these schemes illegal.
Where do you fill the Hydrogen tank?
There isn't enough restaurant grease in all the world to even dent the fuel supply requirements.
Lemme is still alive?
Still touring!
If these figures are true, it should be mandated
I think I detect the faint order of bovine wast frying. However, there is a whole bunch of natural gas kits you can buy to plumb into a diesel, but are they cost effective? Consider that most cause you motor to wear out much quicker. Are you system messes up and you burn holes in your pistons.
This is telling. If he replaces half the diesel with hydrogen, then of course he'll only need half as much diesel, giving him twice the mileage per gallon -- if you only count the diesel.
Hopefully he looks better than Keith Richards.
Sort of.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5xVR-kfmMo
The problem in kalifornia is you have to get your car smogged every other year. The smog nazi’s won’t let you alter your car. So how can you get your registration renewed?
I was going to point that out, but you did a good job!
Ford tried for years to adapt a turbine to cars and trucks, they even produced a couple of large trucks they ran over the road for testing. And they had a car are two. However, they were never able to solve the heat problem, Maybe this guy knows how to keep it from setting the pavement on fire. LOL
Not much on the music, but that’s a pretty nifty set of puppets.
Yeah.
Turbines just love being fired up for a few seconds and shut off. They last much longer that way, not to mention the gain in efficiency and reduced emissions when that happens.
Morans.
Maybe, that’s why I thought mandating the gizmo onto city’s funky buses first would be a good test market.
I think I get it now. This guy provides $50,000 upgrades to the Hollywood elite to make them feel green.
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