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Car Forum / Volvo Cars / July 2008Converting a Volvo to elctric power
With North American gas prices approaching European levels (and European levels heading for the moon...), I've been looking around to see if anyone has converted a Volvo to electric power? What got me started was the Discovery Channel Canada's Daily Planet episode that covered a Midwest high school student who electrified his truck and is now working on doing the same to a Toyota Camry. The Camry project is interesting because he appears to be using lithium-polymer battery packs rather than the lead-acid type. http://broadband.discoverychannel.ca/?vid=44930 If I do a conversion on my V40, it'll probably be diesel for now -- I have to go 50KM (30 miles each way) to work, and that looks to be the total limit for most battery systems -- no plug-ins at work to use. > With North American gas prices approaching European levels (and > European levels heading for the moon...), I've been looking around to [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > have to go 50KM (30 miles each way) to work, and that looks to be the > total limit for most battery systems -- no plug-ins at work to use. In the US we see conversions with 60+ mile ranges. They use lead-acid batteries, and lots of them. I have wondered about using a 240 for this, as they have so much extra space in the engine bay and trunk... Have you considered doing a battery conversion with a small generator to partially recharge it, in order to extend the range? 60 mile range?.....I do 550 miles on one tank of gas in a s80t6.... > > With North American gas prices approaching European levels (and > > European levels heading for the moon...), I've been looking around to [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > - Show quoted text - >> With North American gas prices approaching European levels (and >> European levels heading for the moon...), I've been looking around to [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > Have you considered doing a battery conversion with a small generator > to partially recharge it, in order to extend the range? I have considered this on a 940 estate (lots of solar panel area). In the process I found the best kept secret about electric cars. You can easily extend the range of an electric drive car by using a small petrol generator (or anything really..steam, Hydrogen, etc). Typically you can expect 100mpg if you don't use the plug in charging, 300mpg cost equivalent if you do. Goes to show just how inefficient IC driven cars are. Combine with some solar panels and it might make the 25mile journey to work free. Although Solar panels are pricey they do pay off, and now Nano-solar can do panels for 1$ per watt, while less efficient than silicon panels are in a new league in price. Just waiting for enough production so we can buy them. Volvo have a concept car with 4 wheel electric drive (4 motors) and 1.6L petrol engine, called a plug-in hybrid. The petrol engine is not connected mechanically to the wheels and is much more efficient than the Prius type. Electric may not have great range but it is so much cheaper/mile. The only other down side is battery replacement, but I think the economy more than compensates for this and there is plenty of work to do in improvements and combining various storage methods. And don't think Engine motors are weak, pound for pound they are around 4 times more powerful than a standard petrol engine. Downside is batteries weight more than fuel, but comparing Li-Po batteries+equivalent motor with a petrol power plant+fuel they weight, perform and last for the same amount of time. Just look at the RC Models these days, IC power is now much less popular than it was, especially with newcommers. You can even get a single seater sport plane that runs on electric alone, companies are looking at further scaling up. The future is electric, the oil companies cannot kept it quiet any longer. I quite liked the idea of starting a business converting cars, but needs some significant development and investment. Old Volvo's would be ideal as they are cheap and rust free. -- Tony " The future is electric, the oil companies cannot kept it quiet any longer. " Wouldn't walking be best? Best for the environment, cheapest? Quiet?... > >> With North American gas prices approaching European levels (and > >> European levels heading for the moon...), I've been looking around to [quoted text clipped - 63 lines] > > - Show quoted text - > " The future is electric, the oil companies cannot kept it quiet any > longer. " > > Wouldn't walking be best? Best for the environment, cheapest? > Quiet?... Yes of course it is. Can't really see it working though. -- Tony i asked a stupid question...just being a dickhead...i guess.....butt...i have to say it will be a while b4 we produce (mass produce) modes of personal transportation that rivals the gas/desel motor....pound for pound, $ for $..it will be tough to beat fosil fuels...in the imed future.......at least, IMHO...... > > " The future is electric, the oil companies cannot kept it quiet any > > longer. " [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > -- > Tony > i asked a stupid question...just being a dickhead...i > guess.....butt...i have [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > will be tough to beat fosil fuels...in the imed future.......at least, > IMHO...... The advantage in using IC engines isn't in the engines - they are very complex and inefficient. It's in the fuel, which has huge amounts of solar energy pre-stored in it. Electric motors are vastly superior at converting energy to transportation, and are very simple, inexpensive and rugged. It's the storage mediums that we have to improve. >>> " The future is electric, the oil companies cannot kept it quiet any >>> longer. " [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >> -- >> Tony Good point Leftie! but in addition to the required improvements in storage mediums, the *production* of electrical energy must get beyond the present environmentally unfriendly methods which use coal and gas and oil, especially since the extra demand for electrical energy would be enormous when we all started to plug in our cars overnight. Nuclear too? Hydrogen would burn clean in power stations to produce electrical energy, but would need electrical energy to produce the Hydrogen! (From water by electrolysis). "Fuel Cells" using Hydrogen are already in use in electric vehicles, but large scale use for electrical energy generation has not been contemplated. What's left? Solar? Tidal? Wind? All are working at present but it doesn't seem as if they could ever supplant the current (sorry.....) polluting generating methods. Hydro is great, but sites are limited. What's left? Put our Volvos up on blocks I guess........ Andy I. : The advantage in using IC engines isn't in the engines - they are : very complex and inefficient. It's in the fuel, which has huge amounts : of solar energy pre-stored in it. Electric motors are vastly superior at : converting energy to transportation, and are very simple, inexpensive : and rugged. It's the storage mediums that we have to improve. > Good point Leftie! but in addition to the required improvements in storage > mediums, the *production* of electrical energy must get beyond the present [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > Andy I. Cars don't require huge amounts of energy, so this is a good application for solar panels and wind chargers. Put both on parking garages and home garage roofs, and you're halfway there. > : The advantage in using IC engines isn't in the engines - they are > : very complex and inefficient. It's in the fuel, which has huge amounts > : of solar energy pre-stored in it. Electric motors are vastly superior at > : converting energy to transportation, and are very simple, inexpensive > : and rugged. It's the storage mediums that we have to improve. why do we need to store the energy in the car...why not fig a way to transmit wireless to the mobile unit ? > > i asked a stupid question...just being a dickhead...i > > guess.....butt...i have [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > > - Show quoted text - There is a way, "beancounter". Tesla did it many years ago............ Andy I. why do we need to store the energy in the car...why not fig a way to transmit wireless to the mobile unit ? >> i asked a stupid question...just being a dickhead...i I guessed that, decided not to entertain it. You missed the point. >> guess.....butt...i have >> to say it will be a while b4 we produce (mass produce) modes of [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > converting energy to transportation, and are very simple, inexpensive > and rugged. It's the storage mediums that we have to improve. Yes I agree, that was my point really. Electricity is just more efficient as a drive mechanism, and petrol is efficient as a storage. We need to start producing electric 'drive' cars, how the electricity is produced is less important right now, but it will give us much greater flexibility and efficiency for the limited amount of fossil fuel left. Those who quote that electricity is produced by fossil fuels really don't understand the efficiency improvements. I don't see any reason to continue producing mechanical drive cars except for the paradyme that 'we are used to it'. I do like the noise! We can produce petrol fueled cars now that do 100mpg, why have we not been doing this since the 70s? I do favour the oil industry/gov't conspiracy theory. Electric drive cars are so much more convertable, you could design them to accept different power/storage sources as technology was available. -- Tony 95 850 conversion www.evalbum.com/1825 : With North American gas prices approaching European levels (and : European levels heading for the moon...), I've been looking around to : see if anyone has converted a Volvo to electric power? : What got me started was the Discovery Channel Canada's Daily Planet : episode that covered a Midwest high school student who electrified his : truck and is now working on doing the same to a Toyota Camry. : The Camry project is interesting because he appears to be using : lithium-polymer battery packs rather than the lead-acid type. : http://broadband.discoverychannel.ca/?vid=44930 : If I do a conversion on my V40, it'll probably be diesel for now -- I : have to go 50KM (30 miles each way) to work, and that looks to be the : total limit for most battery systems -- no plug-ins at work to use. > 95 850 conversion > > www.evalbum.com/1825 Nice looking car, and they obviously spent a lot of money on it, but it's highly impractical. 25 mile range??? I've seen lots of driveway conversions on compacts with twice that range. > : With North American gas prices approaching European levels (and > : European levels heading for the moon...), I've been looking around to [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > : have to go 50KM (30 miles each way) to work, and that looks to be the > : total limit for most battery systems -- no plug-ins at work to use. |
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