compressed air car - Fuelly Forums

Click here to see important news regarding the aCar App

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 01-23-2006, 08:51 AM   #1
Registered Member
 
MetroMPG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,223
Country: United States
compressed air car

this one is hard to categorize - and really ingenious.

<img src="http://www.motordeaire.com/Img/Mini/Mini34.jpg" align="right">

it's a micro car that runs at low speed (under 60 km/h) on a compressed air piston motor. the air is stored at very high pressure in carbon fiber tanks under the floor. can go 160km on a tank of air, and you can "recharge" it at home overnight, just like an electric.

get this: it's also a hybrid - runs on fossil fuels above 60 km/h.

see a video from Discovery Canada, or visit the company's site
__________________

MetroMPG is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-23-2006, 09:29 AM   #2
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 682
Country: United States
Compressed air motor

Many years ago I went to Edaville Railroad in Carver, Massachusetts, which primarily featured a steam train ride through cranberry bogs.
It also had an old engine museum that had a compressed-air-driven locomotive. It was originally used at an oil refinery in their switch yard as an explosion-proof locomotive. The more things change, the more things remain the same.

I'm curious to find out how much energy can be stored as compressed air versus how much can be stored in newer batteries like lithium-ion.
__________________

__________________
Capitalism: The cream rises. Socialism: The scum rises.
Sludgy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-23-2006, 09:40 AM   #3
Driving on E
 
Matt Timion's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 3,110
Country: United States
I just looked at all of the

I just looked at all of the info on this car. Very cool. It's another perfect commuter vehicle.

The cool thing is that you can fill up at the gas station as well. Just plug your car into the air compressor and let it rip :P
Matt Timion is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-23-2006, 09:42 AM   #4
Registered Member
 
MetroMPG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,223
Country: United States
Quote:I'm curious to find

Quote:
I'm curious to find out how much energy can be stored as compressed air versus how much can be stored in newer batteries like lithium-ion.
you raise a critical question.

in terms of total energy use, battery electric vehicles will always be most efficient.

you can put electricity from the grid into a battery at far higher efficiency than using that electricity for other purposes (e.g. compressing air, or generating hydrogen for fuel cell use).

plus, electric motors are far more efficient at converting that stored energy to motion than an air pump engine would be.

but there are a bunch of other factors to calculate - e.g. recharging speed. if you had a home compressor/tank, you could "recharge" your car's compressed air tanks in a couple of minutes, vs. many hours for a battery pack (unless you swapped packs).

also, carbon fiber tanks are cheaper than batteries, more environmentally benign to make, much lighter, and they probably have a much longer service life than batteries too.
MetroMPG is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-07-2006, 08:29 PM   #5
Registered Member
 
GasSavers_Ryland's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,325
Country: United States
Send a message via AIM to GasSavers_Ryland
the compressed air tanks are

the compressed air tanks are not low presure tanks like home air compressers (120 psi) they are more like the presure of a scuba tank (5,000-8,000psi) and driving with a scuba tank in a car is extreamly dangerus, like if you have one in the trunk of your car, and get rear ended, the entire rear of your car will be shreded as it explodes, and the energy it takes to compress air to 8,000psi and the time it takes, and fittings it takes to transfer that much air, at that kind of pressure... it's not instant, it would be more like charging the battery on an electric car, something you do over night, and then there is the fact that compressed air cars do not work in cold climents, as when you release air from a compressed tank, it cools, and a commen problem with compressed air engines is that they ice up, and as air cooles, it takes up less space, so you have your cold tank of air, that is dropping in both presure, and temp, and your range drops, or you presurize your tank to it's fullest on a cold night, and then the sun comes out and the presure spikes, blowing some relife valve, reducing your range once again.
mostly the selling point of these is that they "run on air" and you can't get cleaner then running on air, right?
GasSavers_Ryland is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-09-2006, 10:33 PM   #6
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 270
Country: United States
Send a message via AIM to molecule
any energy that comes from

any energy that comes from the grid must be factored on the large scale
our goal should be to eliminate the grid...or enhance it...
using coal and rivers is harmful to our world
**** the colorado doesn't reach the ocean
our f'ing river doesn't make the cycle any more yo
__________________
BE ZEITGEISTED
molecule is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-09-2006, 10:39 PM   #7
Driving on E
 
Matt Timion's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 3,110
Country: United States
Re: any energy that comes from

Quote:
Originally Posted by eigerzoom
any energy that comes from the grid must be factored on the large scale
our goal should be to eliminate the grid...or enhance it...
using coal and rivers is harmful to our world
**** the colorado doesn't reach the ocean
our f'ing river doesn't make the cycle any more yo
I'm all for enhancing the grid. Most local governments have restrictions on how much of the grid can be fed back from solar power. Usually the cap is 1%.

I say to build all new homes with solar panels, and then let the extra juice feed back into the grid. The same goes for wind power.
Matt Timion is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-09-2006, 10:59 PM   #8
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 270
Country: United States
Send a message via AIM to molecule
have you heard of the

have you heard of the nano-technology solar achievements
i've only heard minimal about it
but supposedly its like painting your home
and it generates sooo much power...
and every house would no longer be supplied by the grid...
every house would be supplying the grid
__________________

__________________
BE ZEITGEISTED
molecule is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Fuelly badge not updating for about 2 - 3 weeks Need Fuelly Web Support and Community News 18 07-01-2012 02:01 PM
VW Jetta fast riser coolbreeze General Fuel Topics 5 07-21-2009 11:25 PM
Incorrect Milage Calcuatlion PatM Fuelly Web Support and Community News 4 07-17-2009 07:21 PM
Gallons per Mile? nerb Fuelly Web Support and Community News 1 11-12-2008 03:33 AM
Condensator orevgym General Fuel Topics 0 07-23-2006 10:25 AM

» Fuelly iOS Apps
Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 04:53 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.