Ford Ranger Lightning!

[12Bravo20]

There are central planner types in government, especially now, who see everyone moving to the city, selling their cars, renting and using mass transit as the ultimate goal. Forcing EVs on everyone, limiting range of movement, etc is what gets them excited.

I will stick to living out in the country since I prefer small town living over any big city. And the feds can take their EV mandates and stick them in their fourth point of contact.

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[FunInTheSun]

Unfortunately that idea doesn't work the way people think it does, Turbine Electric systems are not efficient in any aspect as to produce any real power the turbine has to really spin, 4k RPMS or more, that will A: Suck fuel like all Turbine Engines do and B: make a a crap load of noise like all Turbine Engines can do. To get an understanding look up Union Pacific's Gas Turbine Electric Locomotives aka the GTELs.

But the turbine could be really small, if all it's doing is running a recharge generator for the battery system. That way it can be sized for the average power requirement, rrather than for peak output like a typical usage. If all you need is an average of 15-30 HP, then the turbine can be pretty small. Battery can be sized to be able to dump a bunch of power for decent acceleration, and recover after you reach cruising speed.

I am thinking of something like this at the heart of things. Note: 50 kW is around 65 HP, so plenty of headroom, even for a pickup. No word on how much it weighs, but looks like about 60-80 lb. Lots of weight savings vs recip ICE, means weight burden is available for soundproofing and electronics. Plus it will burn anything flammable...

 

[MrBirdman330]

But the turbine could be really small, if all it's doing is running a recharge generator for the battery system. That way it can be sized for the average power requirement, rrather than for peak output like a typical usage. If all you need is an average of 15-30 HP, then the turbine can be pretty small. Battery can be sized to be able to dump a bunch of power for decent acceleration, and recover after you reach cruising speed.

I am thinking of something like this at the heart of things. Note: 50 kW is around 65 HP, so plenty of headroom, even for a pickup. No word on how much it weighs, but looks like about 60-80 lb. Lots of weight savings vs recip ICE, means weight burden is available for soundproofing and electronics. Plus it will burn anything flammable...

No, a Turbine isn't efficient at producing power, a smaller turbine will need to rev at higher rpms to produce the power necessary it's why they are not used for commercial applications. They're maintenance heavy, loud and suck fuel. Chrysler's Turbine engine concept is a great second explanation for that. The car is driven and it is loud for how low the RPMs are for just being a car. You don't understand the concept of what is necessary for a turbine to work. Except for Jet Fighters and Commercial Aircraft Turbine engines are anything but practical. The best Hybrid application is Diesel Electric.

 

[Zaph]

I second that motion. Isn’t this the Repo dude with the $2000 payment on his soon to be repossessed Lightening?

Oh hey it is indeed repo dude! Miss one payment, even due to error, and your truck starts itself up, drives itself back to Ford, and runs you over on the way out of your driveway!

 

[D Fresh]

No, a Turbine isn't efficient at producing power, a smaller turbine will need to rev at higher rpms to produce the power necessary it's why they are not used for commercial applications. They're maintenance heavy, loud and suck fuel. Chrysler's Turbine engine concept is a great second explanation for that. The car is driven and it is loud for how low the RPMs are for just being a car. You don't understand the concept of what is necessary for a turbine to work. Except for Jet Fighters and Commercial Aircraft Turbine engines are anything but practical. The best Hybrid application is Diesel Electric.

I see, you're a mailman. I'm just a milkman, so you might have more insight than I.

But micro turbine generators are becoming quite the the thing. You might want to Google them. Small rotary motors have also been co-opted for hybrid use.

I know you like deisel, but deisel electric hybrids are almost a century old. Saying they're the "best" is ignoring a lot of advances.

 

[MrBirdman330]

I see, you're a mailman. I'm just a milkman, so you might have more insight than I.

But micro turbine generators are becoming quite the the thing. You might want to Google them. Small rotary motors have also been co-opted for hybrid use.

I know you like deisel, but deisel electric hybrids are almost a century old. Saying they're the "best" is ignoring a lot of advances.

Not the best, just the most efficient and reliable. Turbine engines have been around since 1900, used in steam ships which allowed higher speeds on the Oceans. Cunard Line was known to use Turbines to power their liners, giving them speed advantages to take the legendary Blue Riband. It had drawbacks, when at full speed it caused awful vibrations that passengers could feel. It's why White Star Line often chose Triple Expansion Steam Engines, slow but smoother operations if you haven't heard Triple Expansion it's got a very incredible cadence rhythm. Turbines were tested as coal fired which Chesapeake and Ohio scrapped their three test units of the M1 before they entered revenue service. The M1 was built to be a protest to Diesel Electric Locomotives taking over steam powered in the late 40s. GE in the 30s tested a Turbine fueled by Heavy Bunker Fuel Oil aka Type C which was one step from being crude oil. The oil had to be heated to be liquid rather than a thick goop, it wasn't as damaging as coal dust was to the fan blades, and the prototype was at about 2,400HP over twice what a Diesel Electric Locomotive offered.

It wasn't till after the war and Union Pacific had the Big Boy class Locomotive built that Steam had hit it's peak in terms of power to size. The Big Boys are limited to where they really can travel despite being articulated. They were used in the Wasatch Mountains to haul ore. Union Pacific needed something more, GE built a Turbine and UP took it, the first two generations were 4,500HP units with generation 3 being a 3 car setup that produced 8,500HP. UP's Turbines hold the record for the most powerful combustion locomotives in the world, most powerful Diesel Electrics reached 6,000HP. Maintenance was high, and they were fitted with small Diesel Engines for moving around the yard as the Turbines only spun at 4,800RPMs but we're ear splitting loud. This was at a time when Diesel Electric Locomotives were at most 1,400HP. Turbines fell out when Type C Bunker Oil increased dramatically in price, the Turbines were fuel hogs and back then Type C was pennies on the dollar. So costs were not exactly high despite consuming 4 times the fuel a Diesel Electric did.

Now your mini turbine generators are extremely loud you can't get around that, the history of the turbine is summed up in one word, LOUD. There's a reason their applications are limited. Honestly I'm more into the fact we can make extremely small efficient nuclear reactors that are easy to maintain and can power small towns and cities. They also don't require a massive plant to operate them.

Also yeah we know Mazda is cooking a Rotary Hybrid so you can replace the engine with the battery pack at the same time and have a yearly PM of changing the APEX seals. A Rotary engine is great you can rev the smack out of it all day, but they wear out often before 100k miles if they don't seize up from leaking oil. A true RX owner will tell you they have had the engine replaced at least once if they have owned it long enough.

 

[Msfitoy]

But the turbine could be really small, if all it's doing is running a recharge generator for the battery system. That way it can be sized for the average power requirement, rrather than for peak output like a typical usage. If all you need is an average of 15-30 HP, then the turbine can be pretty small. Battery can be sized to be able to dump a bunch of power for decent acceleration, and recover after you reach cruising speed.

I am thinking of something like this at the heart of things. Note: 50 kW is around 65 HP, so plenty of headroom, even for a pickup. No word on how much it weighs, but looks like about 60-80 lb. Lots of weight savings vs recip ICE, means weight burden is available for soundproofing and electronics. Plus it will burn anything flammable...

Tiny functional turbine jet is common place in RC today...jet shaft turbine used in RC helicopters would be suitable...

 

[D Fresh]

Not the best, just the most efficient and reliable. Turbine engines have been around since 1900, used in steam ships which allowed higher speeds on the Oceans. Cunard Line was known to use Turbines to power their liners, giving them speed advantages to take the legendary Blue Riband. It had drawbacks, when at full speed it caused awful vibrations that passengers could feel. It's why White Star Line often chose Triple Expansion Steam Engines, slow but smoother operations if you haven't heard Triple Expansion it's got a very incredible cadence rhythm. Turbines were tested as coal fired which Chesapeake and Ohio scrapped their three test units of the M1 before they entered revenue service. The M1 was built to be a protest to Diesel Electric Locomotives taking over steam powered in the late 40s. GE in the 30s tested a Turbine fueled by Heavy Bunker Fuel Oil aka Type C which was one step from being crude oil. The oil had to be heated to be liquid rather than a thick goop, it wasn't as damaging as coal dust was to the fan blades, and the prototype was at about 2,400HP over twice what a Diesel Electric Locomotive offered.

It wasn't till after the war and Union Pacific had the Big Boy class Locomotive built that Steam had hit it's peak in terms of power to size. The Big Boys are limited to where they really can travel despite being articulated. They were used in the Wasatch Mountains to haul ore. Union Pacific needed something more, GE built a Turbine and UP took it, the first two generations were 4,500HP units with generation 3 being a 3 car setup that produced 8,500HP. UP's Turbines hold the record for the most powerful combustion locomotives in the world, most powerful Diesel Electrics reached 6,000HP. Maintenance was high, and they were fitted with small Diesel Engines for moving around the yard as the Turbines only spun at 4,800RPMs but we're ear splitting loud. This was at a time when Diesel Electric Locomotives were at most 1,400HP. Turbines fell out when Type C Bunker Oil increased dramatically in price, the Turbines were fuel hogs and back then Type C was pennies on the dollar. So costs were not exactly high despite consuming 4 times the fuel a Diesel Electric did.

Now your mini turbine generators are extremely loud you can't get around that, the history of the turbine is summed up in one word, LOUD. There's a reason their applications are limited. Honestly I'm more into the fact we can make extremely small efficient nuclear reactors that are easy to maintain and can power small towns and cities. They also don't require a massive plant to operate them.

Also yeah we know Mazda is cooking a Rotary Hybrid so you can replace the engine with the battery pack at the same time and have a yearly PM of changing the APEX seals. A Rotary engine is great you can rev the smack out of it all day, but they wear out often before 100k miles if they don't seize up from leaking oil. A true RX owner will tell you they have had the engine replaced at least once if they have owned it long enough.

Steam turbines, while not at all the same as a gas turbines, are still being used to this day to generate 80% of the world's electricity. That includes every single nuclear plant on earth. The fission heats water, which produces steam, which SURPRISE, drives a turbine generator. Hell every nuclear ship in our fleet drives the propeller direct from steam.

Loud is fun. And rotaries are proving to be quite reliable when ran at steady rpms.

Right or wrong deisel and nuclear will have very small roles to play in our energy future.

 

[MrBirdman330]

Steam turbines, while not at all the same as a gas turbines, are still being used to this day to generate 80% of the world's electricity. That includes every single nuclear plant on earth. The fission heats water, which produces steam, which SURPRISE, drives a turbine generator. Hell every nuclear ship in our fleet drives the propeller direct from steam.

Loud is fun. And rotaries are proving to be quite reliable when ran at steady rpms.

Right or wrong deisel and nuclear will have very small roles to play in our energy future.

Steam is entirely different from Internal combustion and no loud isn't fun it's why Turbines are limited to their usage. But guess what, steam turbines need a crap load of fuel to burn to boil water for steam. Only half way cost-effective steam turbine is geothermal and or nuclear. It's not for lack of trying sorry to tell you but it's the fact Turbines have been tried in all applications multiple times and never found in any way shape or form cost effective. Turbine powered Train worked okay until fuel costs began to increase more than Diesel Fuel. Turbine powered car, not so great as it's loud and sucks fuel, while it can seriously run on alcohol loaded whiz if needed, it sucks fuel faster than a Hoover sucks up dirt off carpet. Turbine powered Semi, yup works great for power applications but just sucks fuel and is yup loud, most sane people like to keep their hearing or for some us what's left of it. I honestly don't see the Rotary being used despite the RX Fanboy base falsely getting their hopes up. So no sorry your fantasy of everybody being deaf from a non fuel efficient hybrid won't come true.

 

[MrBirdman330]

Tiny functional turbine jet is common place in RC today...jet shaft turbine used in RC helicopters would be suitable...

You can get a mini supercharged V8 engine for RC cars produces 9hp, but like your mini RC turbines it's worthless for a hybrid application. The power to size ratio is like using a damn kite instead of full rigging sails to move a schooner on the ocean. Lots of power is needed to generate electricity.

 

[D Fresh]

Steam is entirely different from Internal combustion and no loud isn't fun it's why Turbines are limited to their usage. But guess what, steam turbines need a crap load of fuel to burn to boil water for steam. Only half way cost-effective steam turbine is geothermal and or nuclear. It's not for lack of trying sorry to tell you but it's the fact Turbines have been tried in all applications multiple times and never found in any way shape or form cost effective. Turbine powered Train worked okay until fuel costs began to increase more than Diesel Fuel. Turbine powered car, not so great as it's loud and sucks fuel, while it can seriously run on alcohol loaded whiz if needed, it sucks fuel faster than a Hoover sucks up dirt off carpet. Turbine powered Semi, yup works great for power applications but just sucks fuel and is yup loud, most sane people like to keep their hearing or for some us what's left of it. I honestly don't see the Rotary being used despite the RX Fanboy base falsely getting their hopes up. So no sorry your fantasy of everybody being deaf from a non fuel efficient hybrid won't come true.

I have no fantasies of hybrid anything. I do, however keep an open mind. And I can use the Google. 30 seconds of searching finds microturbine generators operating at 65db at 10 meters. Or about the noise level of a dishwasher.

https://www.capstonegreenenergy.com/info/technology

As the other poster stated, gas turbines are becoming quite viable as generators. I can't tell you if hybrids will win out over Electrics, or if ICE engines will even be able to be fueled in 15 years. But I do know for certain that deisel electric hybrid vehicles are never gonna be a thing in the US. Like ever.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

IMAGINE TRYING TO EQUIP ALL THE UNDERGROUND PARKING GARAGES RELATED TO APARTMENT BUILDINGS, CONDO BUILDINGS AND OFFICE BUILDING WITH ENOUGH CHARGER FOR ALL? THERE'S NO WAY

You’re absolutely right Tom - there’s no way…but mainly because there is really no need to have charger at home or at work, especially as range, charging time, and infrastructure has improved - I don’t have a gas pump at home.

Landlords will not likely do this and condo boards won’t be springing for it either. I also suspect those five or six “free EV charging” stalls in office towers will soon switch to pay-to-charge.

 

[Zvedza]

I have no fantasies of hybrid anything. I do, however keep an open mind. And I can use the Google. 30 seconds of searching finds microturbine generators operating at 65db at 10 meters. Or about the noise level of a dishwasher.

https://www.capstonegreenenergy.com/info/technology

As the other poster stated, gas turbines are becoming quite viable as generators. I can't tell you if hybrids will win out over Electrics, or if ICE engines will even be able to be fueled in 15 years. But I do know for certain that deisel electric hybrid vehicles are never gonna be a thing in the US. Like ever.

This isnt really the same thing, but the gas turbine on the M1 Abrams is considerably quieter than its diesel contemporaries, theyre also decently efficient once moving, just horrible when stopped.

 

[Friday yet?]

OK, the only thing I like about that is the front-end. Wish the 6G front looked like that. I agree with most of the posts. Only thing it can do truck like is haul groceries from the local store. Can’t go far enough towing anything useful.

But you can buy a Tacoma if all the capability you need is simply hauling groceries... long as you don't go over about 3 bags a Taco can handle it just fine.

 

[MT2003]

There are central planner types in government, especially now, who see everyone moving to the city, selling their cars, renting and using mass transit as the ultimate goal. Forcing EVs on everyone, limiting range of movement, etc is what gets them excited.

Exactly. Communes prisons. While the elites have free roam and enjoy our tax money / labor.

15 minute cities is what the call them. We will own nothing and be happy they say.

Never!! The communists can go rot in hell.

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