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There is potentially a very bright future out there for personal transport that doesn't rely on petrol, diesel or chip fat to power the engine of your car. So where is it and why are we not using it then?
Well the truth is people love their petrol engines because they're cheap (reliable?) and they don't cost much to buy or run. Throw in the fact that alternative power sources for vehicles are expensive to buy, more complicated to refuel and generally are seen as inconvenient compared to the internal combustion engine. You basically end up with a one horse race and we all troop off down to the nearest BP or Texaco to fill our tanks, swearing and complaining as we're forced to practically empty our wallets.
The oil companies and the retailers are happy, they've never had it so good. The government is happy because they're raking in the fuel duty (see earlier gripe) and of course the car manufacturers are probably quite happy churning out new and ever more efficient (?) cars. But are you happy with the way things are? Do you get a warm fuzzy glow when you fill up at the petrol station in the morning, knowing full well you'll probably be paying even more for the same amount of fuel next week? You probably don't think much about the pollution and CO2 emissions, but that's not what this gripe is about so we'll ignore that for now.
As I said earlier there are alternatives out there but people just aren't interested, either that or they just didn't know about it in the first place. I can't in all honesty believe that the average consumer has deep enough pockets to go for an alternative option and there's also the fact that the infrastructure just isn't there never mind the cars. Who wants an electric car that costs five times as much as a petrol car and only goes a fraction of the journey before needing a recharge? Who wants a hydrogen or fuel cell car that you can't refuel at any old motorway service station?
Well it's coming, and one day you won't be able to run your car on petrol or diesel. Maybe it will be a case of you can't afford to run it on petrol because it's too expensive. These alternative power sources have slowly been evolving over whether we want them or not. Battery and fuel cell technology for example has made a rapid amount of progress in the last few years. More efficient motors, lighter and stronger car chassis, regenerative braking, ultra efficient solar cells and wind turbines for recharging at home. All this and more is already out there and it keeps getting better and better. Hybrid cars are a good start and could prove to be a good stepping stone to wean ourselves off oil once and for all.
If you're daily commute was less than 50 miles a day and you could by an alternatively powered vehicle complete with a renewable or cheaper means of recharging it. If that same vehicle cost about the same as a petrol car, would you go for it in a heartbeat? So let's talk about it, let's think about and and finally, let's do it!
By: Electric Sam
Want to find out more?
Wikipedia - The Electric Car
Who Killed The Electric Car? and on YouTube
EV Network UK - directory of electric vehicle charge points in the UK
Electric Motorcycles and Scooters
Electric motorcycle conversion - a YouTube demo
Amped Bikes - this is a must see, very low cost easy to fit hub motors. Check out the videos!
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Oh not enough content to post what about a horse and cart ? No wait if we all did that they would require an mot on your rig like lights indicators tread on the tyres then there is the horse it would have to be fitted with an air intake meter that would be chargeable then you have the emissions it would require an emissions meter to measure the methane output along with tax insurance and mot you would better off with a car !
While the media is after the banks & bankers the petrol petrol pumps are having a feast
Could it be that the answer is for our government to force these fuel companies who are recording record profits (such as BP with their 6 Billion in 1 quarter), to use some of these profits to lower the cost of fuel production?
Why should we the people who are purchasing the fuel take up the strain when these companies have large amounts in the bank sat there.
Is that fair?
Surely if all the companies off loaded say 5 million pounds each into the government's kitty to reduce the overall tax of fuel for all, those fat cats would still have plenty dosh to buy their cream for the morning coffee for their homes in the lakes and the US.
Also why are our government not forcing these companies to use their profits to research and produce these so called alternative fuels? If they were able to mass produce the next safe fuel cell car surely they would make more than billions because everyone would want one.
Is it time this government stuck its hand down the throats of these over powering "playground bulling" companies instead of the easier pray which are the public.
How much energy is required to separate Hydrogen from Oxygen electrolytically?
Bah!
WAIT! - wait - you do not actually add water to your petrol tank . . no, no. It goes into a 1 litre "bottle" and by means of a connection to your battery, baking soda (added to the water) and various pipes and hoses - hydrogen is leeched out of the water, and then added (via more pipes) to the engine.
A 1 litre bottle of water will last (they reckon, some 900 miles, as the hydrogen extracted is huge). It is quoted on the sites, that MPG is often improved by as much as 77%, in some cases, (lorries too).
What I'd like to know - is . . . has any one actually added one of these kits to their car? Only I'd love to do it and help "save" the planet, save some money and extend the life of my engine at the same time. BUT . . . I'd really like to know it works first (wouldn't we all).
Well . . . . . anyone?
By the way - what I've outlined above, is only a very basic taste of the idea. You need the full plans (which you buy from the web site) before getting it right. So don't try it on the info above - from what I gather, there's more to it than that, and I haven't gone as far as buying the plans . .. yet!!
ferkemall