You can hardly find a car charger out west and theyabre cutting people off with partial charges.
In Utah, one gas station owner covered the chargers and won't allow them to run because tesla had not paid the electric bill since last November.
California is about to lose the power generated by the hoover damn. I thi k another transformer went. From what I read in their site onky 5 were working of 20. I dont k ow if that means 15 are broken or simply shut off. Considering the water issue I assume shut off.
This shit is about to happen. 110 degrees today in vegas. Strip is all alternative energy. But a million people need power for AC in the valley. Some of that power comes from hoover.
The roman empire fell because it ran out of wood/forest. It's also the reason they expanded so quickly was that they were running through forests like a baby does diapers.
I've laughed at the recent switch from plastic back to paper [straws,grocery bags, etc.] because of this inconvenient fact.
A couple of small flash boilers and a firebox that will burn anything combustible with a centrifugal compressor to transfer the power to a drive train. A free turbine to transfer power, as used in helicopters.
Axial compressors are more efficient but more complicated and expensive than centrifugal flow
Wood pellets, compressed paper and cardboard blocks for fuel.
The reason water is used is because it is cheap, nontoxic and the amount of expansion gained from heating water to steam is unrivaled. I don't know of a better fluid for this application.
The problem with steam is, they are highly unstable if they aren't maintained properly and become a giant pressure cooker waiting to pop if the relief valves calcify, rust or fail to function properly. Grass Valley, California Fairgrounds had an exhibit of single piston steam engines that took out 11 of 12 experts who knew the engines inside and out in one fell swoop. There was another in Ohio that killed a few people as well(4). For the majority of normies, who typically lack common sense and think chicken comes from a grocery store, the learning curve would likely kill them. Wood gasification motors are best suited for small engines that don't move, although any carburetor gasoline engine can be converted with a little time and modification. FEMA has a pdf. for wood-gas conversion for generators on their website. They don't take anything more than a couple of simple hand tools and a few metal containers/filters to build, though a welder and some fabrication experience sure is handy. There are dozens of YouTube videos for off grid living that cover converting a generator motor to wood-gas if you are interested.
This is why steam boilers (at least in the UK) have to undergo rigorous and constant safety checks like our motor cars and lorries have to to keep them on the road. Does the US have a test requirement for boilers?
How old were these steam engines you mentioned? If they were exhibited at a fairground I should imagine they were very old indeed.
1880-1910s I believe, definitely antiques and a huge loss of knowledge when it happened. Those 12 people were some of the last who knew how to operate those engines. Boilers here in the US also have to be inspected regularly. I wonder if it could be like smog checks if they ever did implement them for civilian use?
I've always been fascinated with the old steam powered and half step motors that revolutionized the American industrial period. Technology and metallurgy have advanced to a point that there really is no reason for us to not bring back some of the older more efficient and long lasting designs of the past. The only thing really stopping us is the, "if it breaks, buy a new one" mindset most of western society is stuck in. Almost everything is designed to fail on purpose now days, with parts purposefully designed so they cannot be rebuilt. I'm not exactly certain how to get all of society away from that mentality, but it warrants some thought.
I have often wondered how well a modern steam powered car would work these days but driving a steam turbine to generate electricity so you could use wood to heat the water and power the car.
With all those dead electric cars coming soon would be hilarious to convert them to run with a wood burning boiler strapped on top lol.
Take a look at Jay Lenos 1925 Doble Steam car, runs on any pretty much fuel that burns really advanced for the time.
Steam Car
They also had things called wood Gasifiers which were used during ww2 and you burn wood and the fumes from the wood is fed into a normal engine the gov made a document on how to build them during a gas crisis
Plans to build your own Wood Gasifier
interesting, so there were wood burning cars? had a dream/vision of being knocked over by some type of car with smoke...kind of reminded me of the kuntsler link AshlandD posts sometimes.
Sterling engines run by heating air instead if water. Steam engines have more torque, perhaps this can work in high RPMs? YT link explaining sterling engines
Not exactly. Biofuels just aren't that efficient in their conversion of sunlight to chemical energy. Although I'll take a SAWG that a gasifier will be more efficient than ethanol production. Although it's rumored that the distiller grains leftover from ethanol production result in more weight gain in animals that eat it than the corn itself.
A solar powered car is a much closer development than most people think. If someone drives 40 miles a day, that's the American average, they might need 12kwh or so. Assuming 4 hours of sun that means a 3kw solar array. That's not much bigger than the parking spot it requires. If the amount of energy can be reduced a reasonable amount then the panels can fit on the vehicle itself. Companies lke Aptera and Sono Motors are doing that. And even if the solar doesn't provide all the energy you need, the car will be collecting free energy while it sits parked.
There are lots of other good ideas too. Maybe burn plastic garbage instead of wood. Or a low pressure adsorbed natural gas system that you can fill up from your home NG line. Also, plug-in hybrids are cool. The gas in the tank lasts a really long time when you refill them with coal at home.
*Scientific Wild Ass Guess. Also, I own Sono Motors stock.
"There is not a lot of data about the frequency of electric vehicle fires in general, let along Tesla car fires. That said, according to an IIHS noncrash fire report, the relative claim frequencies (i.e. how often an insurance claim is made relative to insured vehicle years) for Model S and X fires that were not the result of a collision or vandalism are the highest of their categories (including ICE cars)."
https://www.tesla-fire.com/
Hell yeah. Gassification.. doable espescially with pellet technology now. And a way to compress the gasses into a separate tank prior to using in the engine. You could fill up while driving. Gassifier just runs in the back making gas from wood pellets.
Both gasifiers and GEET work... but they're complicated and temperamental. Once you get an engine warmed up and going, it's a lot easier to maintain alternative fuel sources... but starting up cold is almost always a challenge vs gasoline. It's really hard to beat the efficiency of gasoline from an energy density point of view.
Interesting factoid: it took until the 50s or 60s for diesel electric hybrid locomotives to equal the torque of a steam train. Diesel alone couldn't beat steam for bone crushing torque... they had to generate electricity with the diesel and use electric motors for propulsion.
People in San Francisco should start riding horses instead.
If people can defecate in the streets... there isn't any reason to restrict horses from doing the same thing. :>)
You can hardly find a car charger out west and theyabre cutting people off with partial charges.
In Utah, one gas station owner covered the chargers and won't allow them to run because tesla had not paid the electric bill since last November.
California is about to lose the power generated by the hoover damn. I thi k another transformer went. From what I read in their site onky 5 were working of 20. I dont k ow if that means 15 are broken or simply shut off. Considering the water issue I assume shut off.
This shit is about to happen. 110 degrees today in vegas. Strip is all alternative energy. But a million people need power for AC in the valley. Some of that power comes from hoover.
The roman empire fell because it ran out of wood/forest. It's also the reason they expanded so quickly was that they were running through forests like a baby does diapers.
I've laughed at the recent switch from plastic back to paper [straws,grocery bags, etc.] because of this inconvenient fact.
We have almost unlimited coal.
"YOU do it. Don't tell me what to do."
Says a disturbing amount of contributors here...
Fair enough. I'm just sick and tired of the "No, YOU do it" attitude.
Thankfully, NCSWIC. But that attitude is poison to action.
Steam powered cars.
A couple of small flash boilers and a firebox that will burn anything combustible with a centrifugal compressor to transfer the power to a drive train. A free turbine to transfer power, as used in helicopters.
Axial compressors are more efficient but more complicated and expensive than centrifugal flow
Wood pellets, compressed paper and cardboard blocks for fuel.
The reason water is used is because it is cheap, nontoxic and the amount of expansion gained from heating water to steam is unrivaled. I don't know of a better fluid for this application.
old school car manuals came with instructions on how to change the fluids. Nowadays they tell you not to lick the battery.
trying to be funny - don't downvote me .....
Plus it's in cartoon format.
The whole point is to do without gasoline.
I like how you think
The problem with steam is, they are highly unstable if they aren't maintained properly and become a giant pressure cooker waiting to pop if the relief valves calcify, rust or fail to function properly. Grass Valley, California Fairgrounds had an exhibit of single piston steam engines that took out 11 of 12 experts who knew the engines inside and out in one fell swoop. There was another in Ohio that killed a few people as well(4). For the majority of normies, who typically lack common sense and think chicken comes from a grocery store, the learning curve would likely kill them. Wood gasification motors are best suited for small engines that don't move, although any carburetor gasoline engine can be converted with a little time and modification. FEMA has a pdf. for wood-gas conversion for generators on their website. They don't take anything more than a couple of simple hand tools and a few metal containers/filters to build, though a welder and some fabrication experience sure is handy. There are dozens of YouTube videos for off grid living that cover converting a generator motor to wood-gas if you are interested.
This is why steam boilers (at least in the UK) have to undergo rigorous and constant safety checks like our motor cars and lorries have to to keep them on the road. Does the US have a test requirement for boilers?
How old were these steam engines you mentioned? If they were exhibited at a fairground I should imagine they were very old indeed.
1880-1910s I believe, definitely antiques and a huge loss of knowledge when it happened. Those 12 people were some of the last who knew how to operate those engines. Boilers here in the US also have to be inspected regularly. I wonder if it could be like smog checks if they ever did implement them for civilian use?
I've always been fascinated with the old steam powered and half step motors that revolutionized the American industrial period. Technology and metallurgy have advanced to a point that there really is no reason for us to not bring back some of the older more efficient and long lasting designs of the past. The only thing really stopping us is the, "if it breaks, buy a new one" mindset most of western society is stuck in. Almost everything is designed to fail on purpose now days, with parts purposefully designed so they cannot be rebuilt. I'm not exactly certain how to get all of society away from that mentality, but it warrants some thought.
I have often wondered how well a modern steam powered car would work these days but driving a steam turbine to generate electricity so you could use wood to heat the water and power the car. With all those dead electric cars coming soon would be hilarious to convert them to run with a wood burning boiler strapped on top lol.
Take a look at Jay Lenos 1925 Doble Steam car, runs on any pretty much fuel that burns really advanced for the time. Steam Car
They also had things called wood Gasifiers which were used during ww2 and you burn wood and the fumes from the wood is fed into a normal engine the gov made a document on how to build them during a gas crisis Plans to build your own Wood Gasifier
Hybrid electric would work. No battery tho. Trains don't have batteries. Theyb89 miles to gallon or some shit.
Investigate "wood gas". You don't even need to change much about your vehicle.
interesting, so there were wood burning cars? had a dream/vision of being knocked over by some type of car with smoke...kind of reminded me of the kuntsler link AshlandD posts sometimes.
In WWII, the Germans were very successful in converting wood to gasoline for their vehicles. Here's a video on how. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6vqFfG56V4
How to build a wood gasifier Truck
https://www.motherearthnews.com/sustainable-living/green-transportation/wood-gas-truck-zmaz81mjzraw/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVgWxwpC19o
See driveonwood.com
wood stove runs a generator, produces gasoline, runs a fridge and heats hot water at the same time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arbXj9R6ZXw
that's awesome, thanks for sharing! been wondering about this for quite awhile, this will give me someplace to start.
Leno has an old steamer car that he likes to drive.
I think he has a Stanley Steamer and a Doble which is the better design.
Sterling engines run by heating air instead if water. Steam engines have more torque, perhaps this can work in high RPMs? YT link explaining sterling engines
Not exactly. Biofuels just aren't that efficient in their conversion of sunlight to chemical energy. Although I'll take a SAWG that a gasifier will be more efficient than ethanol production. Although it's rumored that the distiller grains leftover from ethanol production result in more weight gain in animals that eat it than the corn itself.
A solar powered car is a much closer development than most people think. If someone drives 40 miles a day, that's the American average, they might need 12kwh or so. Assuming 4 hours of sun that means a 3kw solar array. That's not much bigger than the parking spot it requires. If the amount of energy can be reduced a reasonable amount then the panels can fit on the vehicle itself. Companies lke Aptera and Sono Motors are doing that. And even if the solar doesn't provide all the energy you need, the car will be collecting free energy while it sits parked.
There are lots of other good ideas too. Maybe burn plastic garbage instead of wood. Or a low pressure adsorbed natural gas system that you can fill up from your home NG line. Also, plug-in hybrids are cool. The gas in the tank lasts a really long time when you refill them with coal at home.
*Scientific Wild Ass Guess. Also, I own Sono Motors stock.
Search for:
vw kdf wood burning
Isn't it interesting how more than one person has 'invented' a water-powered vehicle only to abruptly abandon their research or turn up dead?
Eventually most electric vehicles will burn up themselves!
how so?
"There is not a lot of data about the frequency of electric vehicle fires in general, let along Tesla car fires. That said, according to an IIHS noncrash fire report, the relative claim frequencies (i.e. how often an insurance claim is made relative to insured vehicle years) for Model S and X fires that were not the result of a collision or vandalism are the highest of their categories (including ICE cars)." https://www.tesla-fire.com/
Get a GEET system and you can burn almost anything.
Just like a wood gasifier works, GEET does the same. I like the farmer, who said his wood gasifier works with anything except rocks, glass, and metal.
Paul pantone geet plasma caught beeing formed through sight glass
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTmN5EEcJ5Y
Hell yeah. Gassification.. doable espescially with pellet technology now. And a way to compress the gasses into a separate tank prior to using in the engine. You could fill up while driving. Gassifier just runs in the back making gas from wood pellets.
Pretty much just hook one of your in-laws to a hose and feed them KFC or Taco bell... 😆
Ford needs to get back to work on their nuclear powered 1958 Ford Nucleon. 5000 miles between fill-ups. 🤖
That would totally make some Aloha snack bar character's day.
Both gasifiers and GEET work... but they're complicated and temperamental. Once you get an engine warmed up and going, it's a lot easier to maintain alternative fuel sources... but starting up cold is almost always a challenge vs gasoline. It's really hard to beat the efficiency of gasoline from an energy density point of view. Interesting factoid: it took until the 50s or 60s for diesel electric hybrid locomotives to equal the torque of a steam train. Diesel alone couldn't beat steam for bone crushing torque... they had to generate electricity with the diesel and use electric motors for propulsion.
Trudat