RV Doctor – Connecting Fuel Line Directly to Generator?
November 5, 2009 by Gary Bunzer · 1 Comment
Dear RV Doc, Is it possible to connect a fuel line from the gas tank directly to the generator that I have added to my 23-foot Honey motorhome? Can we do it ourselves? I’ve been looking for any technical help for so long. Hopefully, you are the right one. - Marciano Miego, (Savannah, GA) Read more Read More →
Are We the Anchor to Mainstreaming Electric Vehicles?
October 24, 2009 by Bob Difley · 42 Comments
Axeon electric vehicle By Bob Difley On Wednesday, 18 scientific organizations wrote Congress to reaffirm that there was a consensus among scientists on the validity of global warming. They cited melting ice caps and the world’s oceans this past summer hitting their highest monthly recorded temperatures. On Thursday the Pew Research center for the People & the Press released a poll of 1,500 adults that found that 57% believe there is strong scientific evidence that the Earth is warming up, and has been over the past few decades. But that majority figure was not seen as a positive moment to global warming believers. Why? The reason is that the percentage of people—according to the poll–believing in global warming has dropped from 77% just since 2006. That’s a 20-point drop in believers. “The priority that people give to pollution and environmental concerns and a whole host of other issues is down because of the economy and because of the focus on other things,” said Andrew Kohut, the director of the research center, which conducted the poll from Sept. 30 to Oct. 4. “When the focus is on other things, people forget and see these issues as less grave.” However, half of all the respondents said they supported establishing limits on the emission of greenhouse gasses—even if it meant higher energy prices. Three-quarters of Democrats believe the evidence of a warming planet is solid, and nearly half believe the problem is serious. But, far fewer... Read more
Could this be the breakthrough electric vehicles need?
October 17, 2009 by Bob Difley · 19 Comments
By Bob Difley Can anyone deny that the world is entering potentially one of the most disruptive periods of change in the transportation sector since the internal combustion engine was invented over 100 years ago? The activity surrounding and driving alternative energy vehicle development–hybrid electric, plug-in hybrid electric, or all electric (EV)–produces news stories everyday with words like newer, better, larger, smaller, more efficient, and breakthrough in the headlines. Auto manufacturers and venture capitalists are pouring money into technological advancement of vehicles, batteries, EV technology, charging systems, and infrastructure. Garage entrepreneurs and small cap tech companies are scrambling to grab a piece of what could be a very enormous pie, especially when the pie expands to include pick-up truck, delivery truck, RV, and bus size vehicles. In a step closer to realizing these goals, now IAV Automotive Engineering, a German company with facilities in Michigan, has acquired a patent for their Star Trekie EV wireless road charging system, that magically beams energy to your EV. The technology requires installing electrical conductors into roads that would generate magnetic fields which would charge an EV’s battery as it drives. RFID tags would identify your EV and bill you for the amount of energy used. This could be a game changer–if it works–and a disaster for all the companies scrambling to establish battery charging and swapping... Read more
Nickel-Lithium: The Next Battery Break Through?
October 10, 2009 by Bob Difley · 17 Comments
By Bob Difley As electric vehicle proponents, alternative energy entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists have predicted, the development of better, more efficient batteries will give the electric vehicle (EV) industry the game changing boost it needs to change the way we think about transportation. Battery technology, which produced the successful development of the lithim-ion battery for laptop computers and then in the Tesla sports car, is now about to take the next leap forward with a battery that can be produced at lower prices but with greater capacity, meaning an increased range between charges. Well, the lower price hasn’t happened yet, but researchers have created a new generation battery by combining Nickel and Lithium to produce a battery that can store more than 3.5 times the energy of lithium-ion batteries.. This is a prime example of the payoff from the money and effort going into the development of smaller, cheaper, safer (the Nickel-Lithium batteries are less prone to burst into flames as some lithium-ion batteries in laptops have), and more powerful batteries that will deliver more miles between charges as the era of the Electrical Vehicle (EV) is knocking at the door. Other companies are developing the components that will complete the EV. One such company (Proterra) claims to deliver a full charge to lithium batteries in ten minutes, and has produced an all electric bus that also includes a regenerative braking system that they claim will capture 90% of a vehicle’s... Read more
Subsidies, Mandates, and Renewable Energy
July 25, 2009 by Bob Difley · 28 Comments
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Forget CO2: Aerosols are the Global Warming Culprit
July 18, 2009 by Bob Difley · 13 Comments
By Bob Difley As if we didn’t have enough to be concerned about with CO2 emissions and global warming, climate scientist Drew Shindell of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies says we need to be concerned also about aerosols. Read more Read More →
Algae: The New Oil?
July 11, 2009 by Bob Difley · 5 Comments
By Bob Difley “ . . . alternative energy is behaving more like high-tech as opposed to old school energy” says Riggs Eckelberry, CEO of OriginOil. “Old school energy seeks to dominate massively, with vertical integration and specialized utilities. With new energy we are looking at a networked approach and we need rapid adoption for this to succeed . . . “ Read more Read More →
Freightliner Leads the Way in Environmental Responsibility
July 4, 2009 by Bob Difley · 6 Comments
By Bob Difley Though this achievement doesn’t yet save you money or increase your miles per gallon, the fact that Freightliner has taken serious steps to reduce pollution and landfill waste in their manufacturing operations indicate where their collective heads are. The initiation of their Zero Waste to Landfill program as of May has achieved a 94.1% waste-free status. They expect to be 100% landfill waste-free by 2010. Read more Read More →
Narrow Victory for Energy Bill in the House
June 28, 2009 by Bob Difley · 36 Comments
By Bob Difley The energy bill that passed the House on Friday will no doubt antagonize a lot of people around the country, mostly those from industrial Midwest, farm, and southern states whether Republicans or Democrats. All the Republicans and 44 Democrats that voted against the bill warn that we are in for economic disaster, that carbon caps will raise energy prices forcing more manufacturers to move to China where there are no caps, and to other countries that do not limit greenhouse gasses. They also contend that energy costs will rise to consumers, jobs will be lost, and the country will sink into such debt that it may ruin the country. On the other hand, those who voted for the bill, all Democrats, feel that this climate legislation would begin to tilt the equation of energy policy in the US. It would cap greenhouse gas emissions for the first time in US history, boost production of renewable electricity sources, create investments in clean-energy technology, create thousands of jobs, and help free us from the grasp of foreign oil producers and their hold on the nation’s economic and foreign policy. You know that it is going to result in higher energy costs, at least in the near future. Fuel prices will rise, affecting our RV lifestyles. But it may also mean that we will buy smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles, and install renewable sources of energy on our rigs, like solar and wind, and maybe boondock more. I guess it all comes down to whether: You think that... Read more
Hybrid Vehicles Gaining Acceptance
June 21, 2009 by Bob Difley · 11 Comments
By Bob Difley Johnson Controls, a leading producer of lead-acid batteries for passenger cars and trucks, including batteries for hybrid vehicles, commissioned Harris Interactive to conduct a survey on Americans’ attitudes toward buying a hybrid vehicle. The online survey contacted 2,309 adults 18 years and older with the results weighted to reflect the composition of the US population for gender, education, income, ethnicity, and propensity to go online. The survey was conducted between March 9th and 11th, 2009 and revealed some interesting results. Read more Read More →
