Adam, tell that to the P85D.......that thing will pin you to your seat.

Oh, I know. I was at the launch for it. Thing is insane.

Oh, I know. I was at the launch for it. Thing is insane.

Just think of that torque in a hill climb...(yes I am different...:-)

I have a Dankoff Solar Force Piston Pump that I'm installing right now, to pump water from a spring; uphill to a 5,000 gallon water tank. It runs on 48VDC (Battery, not PV), and I'm moving 5,000 gallons of water uphill about 100 feet.

The pump uses 226 watts per hour & pumps 5 GPM, so for the cost of running a little over (2) 100 watt light bulbs for an hour, it lifts about 300 gallons of water 100 feet uphill. Vertically.
Think about that for a minute. That's carrying (6) 55 gallon drums 100 feet up, vertically. It's a LOT of work.

It will take about 16 hours of pumping to fill that tank, and the tank will water my garden for a summer; using gravity.

It will use about 4,000 watts total to move 5,000 gallons of water 100 feet uphill.

The same as running (1) 4KW generator for (1) hour.

This is the most efficient pump in existence today, it is expensive, and amazing, to me.

The pump itself is NOT space age, it uses leather cups as valves.
Chris

I'm holding off for the third generation only because the P85D is too big. Don't need the size.

Not a chance mate.....I'll lend you some chitlins, you can bring your three playmates and take the kids. Seats 7

Plus it's perfect balance for a guy who flies a Commander

I also drive a Montergy DC motor with a 9 HP air cooled diesel engine that makes about 130 amps @ 48-60VDC to charge my forklift batteries. Uses about 1/3-1/2 GPH & is extremely efficient.

This motor is the same motor that powers the electric Ninja Motorcycle developed by Briggs & Stratton. Instead of using it as a motor, I use it as a generator.

Just thought you pro electric airplane folks might be interested in the idea that I do use some very efficient DC electric motors powered by batteries & also driven by diesel.

And now all those fine old hot rod cars and sports cars will get left in the dust by a electric car, amazing!
Of course, still being kind of old school, I'd most like to drive a new 707hp Hellcat.
Maybe Tesla can duplicate the sound of a supercharger winding up to 20000 rpm on top of a Hemi motor to go along with the sound of rubber melting.

Greg

They've gotten DC motors to the point now where they're VERY efficient; the issue is & will be, for a long time, how much power can you get a battery to store & at what weight; with what longevity?

Locomotives use electric engines, driven by gigantic enormous diesel engines that drive generators. Can you imagine how much power it would take, battery wise, to get a freight train moving? It's one thing when you have high voltage lines overhead, like they do in Europe, but with batteries the high voltage isn't there, I just think the premise is fascinating.

Actually, not that much. Outside of being on a hill, the rolling friction is very low on rails, typically about 0.001 coefficient (1 lb force to move 1000 lbs weight). A 50 ton box car thus requires only 100 pounds force to move it. This is why railroads are the most efficient form of transportation known over land.

A 50 car train takes 5000 lbs. At 5 MPH, this is only 67 HP. At 50 MPH, 670 HP plus some to overcome some increasing air resistance. Now put it on a hill, well...

Weight would not be much of a problem, actually a benefit to aid traction. There are, in fact, battery shunt locomotives popular in Europe for spurs with no electrification.

And this project seems to be an "EL", electric locomotive:

http://cleantechnica.com/2013/10/26/new ... ocomotive/

Mike C.

I remember hearing some ridiculous numbers about what it costs to move a ton of freight from coast to coast, something like $26.00 if I remember right. It might be awful efficient, Mike, but it still does take some spectacular HP to keep it moving, I mean the electric motors are hyper efficient & all, but it STILL take spectacular HP in terms of large diesel engines to make that amount of MW to drive those motors, right?

Not spectacular when normalized to the load.

50 car freight train with two 2500 HP locomotives is 1000 lbs per HP and the locos won't be at max power most of the time. The power need is really defined by accelerate times and any hills to climb, not flat cruising.

Cargo ship is even better than trains. The CSCL Globe, the largest container ship, is 4000 lbs per HP. It is a little hard to use through Kansas, though.

My airplane is 7.3 lbs per HP and I run 65-90% power in cruise all the time. At 1430 HP, my plane is not that much less power than a typical locomotive.

Mike C.

And now all those fine old hot rod cars and sports cars will get left in the dust by a electric car, amazing!
Of course, still being kind of old school, I'd most like to drive a new 707hp Hellcat.
Maybe Tesla can duplicate the sound of a supercharger winding up to 20000 rpm on top of a Hemi motor to go along with the sound of rubber melting.

Greg

George Bye from Bye Aerospace made a presentation on electric airplanes at the Aviation Expo last Friday in Palm Springs. Remarkably, he stated that the current electric planes only cost $1/hour for "fuel" compared to other trainers that run on avgas. To combat the question regarding recharging, he simply stated that the electric planes used for training will simply swap out batteries.

http://www.byeaerospace.com/

Yes, the claim is remarkable because it is bogus.

$1 buys 10 KWH, maybe less.

That is about 9 HP over that hour considering efficiencies for charging (85%), battery (85%), and motor (93%).

I don't know of any plane that can carry two people for 9 HP and perform typical primary training maneuvers. I'm not even sure a self launching sail plane can manage that for 1 person.

It takes slightly over 1/2 gallon of Avgas to make the same power, or about $3 worth.

Mike C.