Anandakos

How PHEVs and EVs Will Sabotage America's Drive for Energy Independence

Fred Linn,

Railroad locomotives do not use lead acid batteries as a storage technology for traction power. They do have batteries to crank the prime mover if its shut down, but the batteries are not in the power train.

They work as follows: a diesel engine of significant power turns a large alternator by direct drive. If the engine uses A/C traction motors the output from the alternator is fed directly to the traction motors through a control system. If the older direct current motors are used, the output from the alternator is passed through silicon rectifiers to product direct current which is then fed to the motors.

No batteries are used in standard diesel-electric locomotives.

Now there are some new hybrid designs coming on the market in order to store the electricity generated by regenerative braking in batteries for later traction use. However, the diesel electric locomotives "we have been building for the last 70 years" emphatically are not hybrids. They dissipate the regen braking energy through large steel grids on the roof of the locomotive. They function as resistive heaters to radiate the energy from braking.


On Aug 28 03:12 AM Fred Linn wrote:

> Mr. Peterson--------" Fred Lin, in an HEV you use the batteries to
> recover the energy lost in braking and use it to help with acceleration.
> In PHEVs and EVs I'm with you, why bother? "----------
>
> Exactly my point Mr. Peterson. People should not believe what
> they are being told----and this has been going on for YEARS.
>
> Hybrid vehicles offer about a 25% fuel savings overall, depending
> on driving conditions. There is lttle if any savings on highway
> driving----most of the savings are in stop and go city traffic.
> Compare that to 200% increase in thermal efficiency using biofuels.
> Hybrids seem to me to be paltry by comparison.
>
> Then add the fact that hybrids add another $2,000 to $5,000 to the
> price. Biofuels can be produced using all off the shelf parts,
> and are well tried and well proven.
>
> Of coarse automakers want people to believe that they can only have
> cars with power and efficiency if they pay a premium price.
> They are only interested in getting the premium price---not delivering
> the goods.
>
> There is no technical reason for using all the exotic battery types
> people are mentioning here. Good old lead/acid batteries work
> just fine----we've had 150 to perfect them(this year). The Baker
> Electric is a classic car that ran on lead/acid batteries and is
> widely recognized as one of the finest cars ever built---and performed
> admirably within the limitations of its battery/charging format.
> We can build hybrid cars just fine with lead/acid batteries.
> Railroad locomotives are one of the most efficient means of transport
> we have----and we have been building diesel/electric locomotives
> (hybrids using diesel engines to charge lead acid batteries) for
> over 70 years. If we can build locomotives capable of producing
> horsepower in the 4,000 to 6,000 range----we can easily produce cars
> needing only 100-200 hp.
>
> Look back through these posts. Everyone is brainwashed on "new"
> technology. The truth is, the clamor for "new" technology is
> just coporate manuevering to get hands deeper into your pockets.
> We can do everything we want our vehicles to do, right now, in a
> clean, renewable and sustainable way, using technology we have right
> now, and have had for over 50 years.
>

How PHEVs and EVs Will Sabotage America's Drive for Energy Independence

You say that Priuses use Nickel Metal Hydride batteries while the PHEV's and pure EV's use Lithium Ion batteries. Are you assuming that both kinds are manufactured in the same facility? It seems to me that's the only way that building more of one could necessitate building fewer of the other.


On Aug 26 11:14 AM John Petersen wrote:

> Mrfnd, the scarce commodity is the batteries. One GM Volt uses the
> same batteries that could be used to power 10 Prius class hybrids.
> One Nissan uses the same batteries that could be used to power 15
> Prius class hybrids. So for every EV you build, you are going to
> keep 10 to 15 Prius class hybrids off the road.