High Speed Steam Powered Car

CodeWanker wrote in to tell us about a story about new steam powered vehicles that are aiming to set speed records. The car is kind of goofy looking, but more eco friendly (which works for the Prius ;) Don't expect to see anything like this at your local dealer any time soon tho.

Comments

The Prius/hybrids actually isn't good at all

[Enigma_Man]

The gas mileage you can get with a hybrid is far less than what you can get with a good diesel engine. Hybrids are a bad idea, twice the weight (batteries, two motors), half the interior room. Diesel-engined cars have been getting 50+ MPG for years and years. Unfortunately the stigma in the US over "diesel" prevents them from being brought over here.

-Jesse

Re:The Prius/hybrids actually isn't good at all

[RzUpAnmsCwrds]

" The gas mileage you can get with a hybrid is far less than what you can get with a good diesel engine."

That's because we measure mileage using miles/gallon, and *diesel has more energy per gallon than gasoline*. About 30% more, in fact. That's like saying that a P-M is better than an Athlon 64 because it gets more work done "per clock". That's not the unit you need to be evaluating.

"Unfortunately the stigma in the US over "diesel" prevents them from being brought over here."

It's not the stigma, it's the envrionment. Even "clean" diesel engines rank horribly on particulate, NOx, and other nasty emissions.

The Prius *wasn't* designed to get the best gas mileage period. It was designed to reduce emissions *and* get good fuel economy. The Prius actually burns gas when it doesn't have to so that the catalytic converter stays hot (it doesn't work otherwise).

"Hybrids are a bad idea, twice the weight (batteries, two motors), half the interior room."

That's bullshit. The entire THSD - including the batteries and motor - is around 800lbs. This is *easily* offset by the fact that the Prius doesn't need a wasteful transmission. You might be able to save 400lbs using a vehicle with a manual transmission, but that's not really comparable to the automatic Prius, is it?

Oh, and your precious diesel cars? They weigh more than their gasoline counterparts because diesel engines need stronger components (much higher compression).

And, half the interior room? What kind of crap is that? The batteries in the Prius don't take up much room at all - and the engine compartment isn't any bigger than the one on any other medium-small car.

"Diesel-engined cars have been getting 50+ MPG for years and years."

The Prius hits 50mpg in real-world testing, too, with fuel that has 30% less energy than diesel.

Re:The Prius/hybrids actually isn't good at all

[ngkdc]

You'd better check the recycling rate for lead-acid batteries before you go on about how horrible it is to dispose or recycle them. With an approximate 94% recycling rate, the lead-acid battery industry is just about as good as it gets. Most of the batteries that don't get recycled are due to ignorance, not the lack of opportunity. ANY lead-acid battery reseller will accept old lead-acid batteries for recycling, since everything in the battery is fully recyclable, and has a strong market for the materials (plastic is reground and used to make new battery cases, the sulfuric acid electrolyte is neturalized and converted to food-grade sodium sulfate (a preservative), and the lead is smelted back into the appropriate alloy(s) for making new lead-acid batteries.
Further, the cycle of lead from smelter -> battery manufacturer -> consumer -> old battery to smelter is as tight a closed loop as you'll find (short of a cow in a pasture).

BUT, don't just take my word on it ... do some research!

Re:The Prius/hybrids actually isn't good at all

[PateraSilk]

Grrr!!! Rowr!!!

The "Bad Hybrid" trolls have been loud lately!

As a present hybrid owner, I'm perfectly happy with my car, thank you very much. As a former Diesel owner, I was very happy with that car, too.

Stanley Steamer

[hey!]

My father-in-law actually remembers some people who had Stanleys from back in the 30s. I imagine that they were the same kind of people I remember from my youth who kept their 2-stroke Saabs on the road: engineering afficiandos.

According to pops, the Stanley was a terrific car in most respects, and fast as all get-out, but it had one fatal flaw. You had to heat the boiler up for a long time before you could get going. No running out the convenience store for a gallon of milk in that car.

Nothing new but....

[MajorDick]

Steam and Electric are obviously nothing new, the first Car to break 100 mph was I belive electric.

Steam , like electric has several DISADVANTAGES as well, The was a time, when steam engines didnt reclain their steam that steam polution caused great enviromental issues with their condensate.

In addition high pressuer steam is DANGEROUS, and any vehicle designed would need to take that into account, think of the danger to the occupants of a vehicle whose boiler explodes.

For a take on this take a Hot Water heater, it is actually (gas or electric) the MOST Dangerous item in you hous a blocked T&P (Temperature and Pressure relief valve) with a tank in ovverun condition can catapult a Hot water tank through a 3 story house to a height of 100 ft, yup thats right, just like those little red plastic water rockets you had as a kid.

I was a union plumber and pipefitter, my specialty was in steam, I can tell you while the average goober might see great potential they seldom see the very real dangers of steam, steam to most seem innocent enough, just look at some of the deaths associate with steam engines recently, This even happened about 10 miles from my home an hourt after I left. Here and Here , and the fellow who owned and operated this was FAMILIAR with these risks, from burns to boiler failures, its not something to screw with unless you know what youre doing, and even then it will leave you suspicious

Steam is not a source of energy

[frovingslosh]

OK, I've RTFA. Hype! The bottom line is that steam is not a source of energy. Something has got to make that steam. And that gets us right back to the problem of supplying the energy in a form that burns clean and is clean to produce in the first place (Hydrogen for hydrogen based cars, by the way, burns clean, but is made from natural gas in a very polluting and wasteful process; overall a "clean burning" hydrogen car is a much more wasteful car and a source of more total polution tyhan one that would just use natural gas directly. Of course, if we were to produce hydrogen cleanly that would change, but there seems to be no move to do so.)

Re:So it's a steam turbine

[Alien Being]

"was it Ford?"

It was Chrysler, but the car looked quite a bit like a Ford Thunderbird. IIRC, Chrysler builds the M1 Abrams tanks which are also turbine powered.

Re:The Air Car...

[stratjakt]

You can refill at a modified gas station in 3 or 4 minutes, for a couple of bucks, and the vehicle is equipped with a compressor that you plug in and can refill itself in 3 or 4 hours.

It's also capable of running on gas, like a hybrid, so you can use it normally while you wait for the filling stations to propogate.

The air compression uses electricity. Whether that electricity was generated *cleanly* or not is irrelevant to the car itself.

The whole point is that 80% of vehicle emissions are released in densely populated city centers, and the quality of air in big cities is declining. When the local news is issuing "smog warnings" during the summer, somethings wrong.

This is about fighting the pollution problems in cities, it doesnt pretend to be a magical source of free energy.

This is an interesting idea, and I wish it success, but after reading that website (and the ridiculous amount of typos in their FAQ), it sounds like a lot of PR hype, they really seem to be running on hot air. Time will tell.