David Roden wrote: > It sounds too good to be true, and it is. They're not > measuring accurately.
I have to admit, I'm intrigued by this. They have to be pretty gutsy to try to pull something like this off, especially if it's a scam. If they're really generating power on board, it has to be some sort of fuel cell. So given this information, assuming they're using a hydrogen fuel cell, how much hydrogen would they have to carry in order to go, say, 500 miles (since they boast that they're going to go "many multiples" of 220 miles)? They're running 144V, and let's assume they're getting 4 miles per kWh (my Solectria Force goes around 3 miles per kWh, but that includes charging losses, so I thought I'd be generous). That would require 125kWh for their demonstration. Anybody know what kind of fuel cell stack and hydrogen supply would be required to generate that? Doing a little math, I figure that if they're running at 60MPH they're going to have to generate an average of 15kW out of a 144-volt fuel cell to offset the usage that 4 miles per kWh represents (1kWhour = 60kWminutes; 4 miles @ 60MPH = 4 minutes; 60kWm / 4minutes = 15kW. Also, 500 miles / 60MPH = 8.33 hours; 125kWh / 8.33 hours = 15kW. If this wasn't so darn far away, I'd go watch it. I need to travel to Missouri the week of the 9th, but Nashville is still well out of the way. But I'll bet that they have some sort of "mechanical failure" (wink wink) and can't run more than a few miles. I'd like to know if anyone from the list will go; if not, I might just have to be the group's guinea pig and make the trip. SOMEONE has to be there to report what happens... -Tom Thomas Hudson http://portdistrict5.org -- 5th District Aldermanic Website http://portev.org -- Electric Vehicles, Solar Power & More http://portgardenclub.org -- Port Washington Garden Club http://portlightstation.org -- Light Station Restoration
