[geeks] [rescue] Computerfests (was: first real server hardware) -OT

[Dan Duncan]

On Mon, 26 Apr 2004, Sandwich Maker wrote:
> locomotives aren't strictly -hybrid- -- they just have electric
> transmissions, with trivial batts that aren't even reliable for
> cranking the prime mover -every-day-.  locos are designed for
> continuous operation, and assumed to be in revenue svc 24/7.

The design is still considered hybrid-electric.
They primarily use electric because of the immense amount of starting
torque available from electric motors (face it, you'd KILL a clutch
in a position like that) but the technology has a well established
install base.

> the only diesel hybrid i could find was the alco-ge-ir unit of 1928,
> but they were rather specialized, not very successful, and only about
> 46 were made.  at that, they did better than their parent non-hybrid
> diesel electric design, with 28 300hp and 18 600hp units '24-'30.
> [2nd diesel spotter's gd, pp alco-212 and ge-143]

There were hybrid electric cars in the early 20th century.  Steam-driven.
Heh.  Remember, firewood is a renewable resource.  :)

> " It seems to me that a basic
> " premise of a hybrid is that you can get rid of things like transmissions
> " and differentials and simplify the design somewhat, but what are
> " Toyota and Honda doing?  They're keeping them and ADDING complexity
> " by trying to integrate an inline electric motor inside the mix.  Gah!
> " Part of the inefficiency of a conventional vehicle comes from having
> " to run the engine at varying rpm's.  So why do it?
>
> exactly!

It's nice to see CVTs making some entry into the consumer market as well.

> otoh, mech trans are -very-compact-, and i don't know if a gen/motor
> could be as small.  but they should be working on it.

Size isn't that big a factor anyway except where it relates to weight.

> " Instead of
> " trying to make gas suck less, why not choose something less sucky
> " to begin with like diesel or natural gas?
>
> this may be a us-mkt phenom - diesel cars are a hard sell, vw and
> mercedes [possibly] excepted.

Manual transmissions are going the same way, alas.   :(

> " As you mentioned above,
> " they merely bump a gas car up to the level of an ordinary diesel.
> " Why not START with a diesel?
>
> diesel has its own problems, but i agree.  and then there's
> biodiesel...

Biodiesel is nice.  I still want to strangle every drooling cretin
who suggests hydrogen or ethanol as a currently viable fuel.  They're
essentially storage mediums at this point.

> i would prefer lpg to natural gas - much easier to handle mobile.

Yeah, the pressures needed to liquefy NG make me a bit reluctant
to have it under my car, and there's a big leap to getting it
into your car.  Right now, I'm leaning towards diesel because
the only change needed is to use the green handle instead of the
black one when I fuel up, and I think people will manage.

-DanD

-- 
#  Dan Duncan (kd4igw)  dand at pcisys.net  http://pcisys.net/~dand
# We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence is therefore not
# an act, but a habit.  - Aristotle