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Charging an Electric Car
The charging system in an electric car has two goals which consist of pumping electricity into the batteries as quickly as the batteries will allow and to monitor the batteries and avoid damaging them during the charging process.
The most sophisticated charging systems monitor battery voltage, current flow and battery temperature to minimize charging time. The charger sends as much current as it can without raising battery temperature too much. Less sophisticated chargers might monitor voltage or amperage only and make certain assumptions about average battery characteristics. A charger like this might apply maximum current to the batteries up through 80 percent of their capacity, and then cut the current back to some preset level for the final 20 percent to avoid overheating batteries.
Many electric cars actually have two different charging systems. One system accepts 120-volt or 240-volt power from a normal electrical outlet. The other is the Magna-Charge inductive charging system popularized by the GM/Saturn EV-1 vehicle.
The normal household charging system has the advantage of convenience because anywhere you can find an outlet, you can recharge. A normal household 120-volt outlet typically has a 15-amp circuit breaker, meaning that the maximum amount of energy that the car can consume is approximately 1,500 watts, or 1.5 kilowatt-hours per hour. It can take 10 to 12 hours to fully charge the vehicle using this technique.
By using a 240-volt circuit, the car will be able to receive 240 volts at 30 amps, or 6.6 kilowatt-hours per hour. This arrangement allows significantly faster charging, and can fully recharge the battery pack in much less time. In an electric car simply plugging into the wall with a heavy-duty extension cord or using an inductive charging system will start the charging process.
Cost of Fossil Fuels
Did you know that you pay as much to fuel up your vehicle in two years as the value of your vehicle. This happens almost always with SUVs and trucks and is becoming more of a reality as the price of fossil fuel more than triples. Did you know that many nations we import fuel from sell fuel for less than the cost of water!
Europe does pay more for fuel than the United States but they have a very different lifestyle that allows for higher prices. The United States is a big place, especially Texas. Our commute and driving is more than double the European lifestyle. Public transportation is poor in many states which makes us rely on fuels for transportation more than most nations. Comparing our fuel prices with higher prices in Europe is a poor comparison and only leads to excuses and barriers to change.
Here are some fuel costs in perspective. These prices are based on average yearly miles and average fuel costs in north Texas. You might have to double take what other nations are paying for fuel. Under a US dollar is common around the world but not in the United States.
What are we paying in North Texas for fuel each year?
- Gas cars: $4,500.00 - $6,000.00 per year
- Hybrid vehicles: $3,500.00 - $4,500.00 per year
- Gas trucks & SUVS: $9,000.00 - $12,000.00 per year
- Diesel trucks: $6,500.00 - $8,500.00 per year
- Bio-diesel trucks: $700.00 - $1,100.00 per year
- Bio-diesel cars: $300.00 - $800.00 per year
- Straight vegetable oil: $0.00 per year with a 1 year payback
- Electric cars: $0.00 per year with a 3 year payback
What are other nations paying for fuel?
- Saudi Arabia: $0.45 per gallon
- Kuwait: $0.79 per gallon
- Nigeria: $0.38 per gallon
- Turkmenistan: $0.30 per gallon
- Venezuela: $0.19 per gallon
- Iran: $0.42 per gallon
Fuel Cells & Natural Gas
We don't specialize in either and for several reasons. The practicality of fuel cells is years away. The supply of fuel cells is small and the technology is so expensive that it would costs enormous amounts of money to build a fuel cell vehicle that was in any way practical. One of the other downfalls is you still need fuel and the infrastructure of fueling stations is non-existent.
Fuel cell vehicles will take some time to enter mainstream or they may never enter mainstream at all. We may build them but for now we stick with what is practical, cost effective, works well and is past the proof of concept stage. Most people like the fact that electric vehicle technology eliminates their dependence on any kind of fuel. The use of natural gas will benefit heavy equipment and trucks.
Biofuels
We do not actually make any fuel. We can provide our clients with the equipment and skills they need in order to make bio-fuels or run straight vegetable oil. Biofuels are typically used in place of petro-diesel. Any diesel engine can accept bio-fuels. Actually the diesel engine was designed for bio-fuels. Since producing electric engines to drive large trucks and heavy equipment is currently not very practical, bio-fuels are becoming mainstream in trucks, buses and heavy equipment as an alternative fuel source. Bio-fuels are generally cheaper to make and can be better for the environment if properly used.
- straight vegetable oil
- high quality steel frames and anti-static tanks
- compact solutions without expensive accessories
- thick wall high density polyethylene thermoplastic welded tanks
- long lasting safe designs
- stainless steel tanks
Bio-diesel benefits:
- biodiesel is cheaper than fossil fuels ( petrodiesel )
- their is no need for engine modifications
- biodiesel can be mixed with regular diesel fuel
- engines that use biodiesel actually last longer
- biodiesel is as easy to make as baking bread
- small amounts of biodiesel lubricate engine parts
- biodiesel does not change the fuel economy of your vehicle
- save 50%-70% off your yearly fuel bills
Bio-diesel main ingredients:
- straight vegetable oil
- waste vegetable oils
- waste cooking oils
- animal fats
Bio-diesel characteristics:
- safer and cleaner than diesel
- biodiesel burns 75% cleaner than diesel fuel
- vegetable based fuel with no CO2 emissions
- no black fumes or harsh smells
- reduces risks or birth defects and cancer
- biodiesel is four times more efficient than petrodiesel
Bio-diesel wet wash:
- filter waste oils from debris
- heat oils to 120 degrees and titrate
- mix lye and methanol with oils
- drain out glycerin
- wash biodiesel with water
- drain out water
- run through biodiesel processor to produce clean fuel
Bio-diesel dry wash:
- filter and heat waste oils to 120 degrees
- drain off excess glycerol during bio-reaction process
- let fuel sit in 8 hour settling tank
- add magnesol powder and mix
- transfer to polishing tank to remove excess moisture
Running straight vegetable oil:
- easier than making Bio-diesel
- safer wash and filtering methods
- cheaper supply of ingredients and materials
- smells like a barbeque
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