Comments on: Your fuel alternatives

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:02:34 +0000

This link has cars that can and cant use E10/E5 petrol.
http://www.fcai.com.au/publications/all/all/all/3/capability-of-vehicles-to-satisfactorily-operate-on-ethanol-blend-petrol.
hope its helpful

By: jimma

jimma — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 17:32:03 +0000

I grow weary of closed minded experts. We have to be open to all options no matter how unlikely. Our best energy solutions are likely to come from small r&d companies or even out of someone’s garage workshop.

By: Morgasshk

Morgasshk — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 01:50:26 +0000

AAARRGHH!! @ GLENN CAMPBELL

PLease tell us all where you got your information on Hybrid cars and batteries? PLease, do share? Have you owned one? Have you spoken to a SINGLE hybrid owner that replaced their battery withint 2-3years? It DOES NOT HAPPEN!

Toyota Motor Corp australia have replaced 2 batteries… That’s right, two, and these were for vehicles 4 and 5 years old that were taxi-cabs - With 400,000 and 650,000klms on the clock respecively. And not ONLY that, TMCA have a comprehensive, 100% recycling program for ALL Hybrid parts, batteries included. Get your facts straight.

All this information is available from TMCA, Dealerships etc. And wait, you guessed it, on the net too!

I don’t mean this to be a personal dig, it is just frustrating that these un-truths are STILL being perpetuated.

Thanks,

Morgasshk

By: vetha.yuvaraj

vetha.yuvaraj — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:05:23 +0000

Sir,
we want to convert our car to “water fuel ” technologies. So, we need the manufacturer of the kit or seller for it. Pls advice us.
thanks with regards
v,yuvaraj

By: Peter

Peter — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 07:48:28 +0000

Re Noel Silvester’s electrolyzer, the energy required to split water to oxygen and hydrogen is the same as is available from their reaction back to water. If the energy is from the alternator, the energy must be robbed from the motor to electrolyze the water. This sounds like a ‘perpetual motion machine’ to me!

By: Noel Moore

Noel Moore — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 05:31:06 +0000

I think it is useful to consider the oil debate in an historic perspective. As a young graduate engineer in 1973, and immediately after that years oil shock, I was asked to present a series of lectures to the transport industry on the Australian Bureau of Transport Economics research into oil and transportation. One fact I found interesting was that through out the 20th century the known reserves of world oil had consistently been approx. 30 years.

I have just Googled, and read a very detailed article in Wikipedia. In 30 years time there is a high probability we will be saying there is 30 years of world oil left! They also make the comment that “In many countries (particularly OPEC producers) the estimates may involve a great deal of political influence.”

While at University I filled my Holden for $2. With the 1973 oil shock it was $4+. This week I had little change out of $100. While at university (1968-71) the Mechanical Engineering Department was working on a hybrid car, and steam and hydrogen cars were under active consideration. Our lecturers were telling us that fosil fuels would lead to global warming. The debate is not new!

Hybrids may be a small part of the future, but I suspect that the fact with most certainty is that petrol prices will increase in the next 30 years at the same rate as the past 30; with a similar series of ’shocks’ a decade apart, connected by simar periods of limited activity.

By: Noel Silvester

Noel Silvester — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:18:02 +0000

I have successfully built an electrolyzer for my 1998 EL Falcon which produces hydrogen and oxygen from water and it is fed into the intake side of the engine. I think it is a big improvement to economy, exhaust emission and performance.
I challenge the NRMA to do some testing on this car to see if my claims are justified. I would be prepared to make the car available at an appointed time for exhaust analysis etc.

Noel

By: Paul Jones

Paul Jones — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:33:51 +0000

Natural gas has to be the way to go for Australia. It would not only be cheaper for motorists but could revolutionise industry and make us incredibly competitive internationally.

I can’t believe all the talk about hybrids nor the fact that governments are actually subsidising car manufacturers to produce them. I think that in 20-30 years people will look back and laugh at hybrids the way we laugh at the flying and amphibious cars produced in the 1950’s. Electric storage in batteries is very inefficient; the batteries will have to be replaced and disposed of; and in Australia the electricity is produced largely by coal! Its unbelievable that anyone would think they are a viable replacement for petrol.

By: Stuart John Pearson

Stuart John Pearson — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 03:53:16 +0000

I was watching DW-TV the Journal News program from Germany on SBS Television recently and they had a story about an electric car that was going to be released on the market in Europe.The car would be able to go 320 kilometres before recharging and only required 3 hours to fully recharge the car to maximum capcity.

The price was going to be 65,000 euros ($106,996.50 AUD Australin Dollars) at the exchange rate of 1 Euro = $1.6461 (AUD) as at the 19/06/2008.

It is expensive but this seems to be the best option at the moment for the enviroment as I think Hybird cars are going to be an intermin measures by the car industry.

By: Glenn Campbell

Glenn Campbell — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:37:01 +0000

Hybrid! What a poor choice for an Alternative.
How can this be a Green or intelligent option?
Firstly it costs more to buy a Hybrid car so you are behind from the first day, In terms of Fuel you will use just as much driving a hybrid than any car up to 2.0l or equiv engine as it is only when you are in standstill traffic does the Hybrid run on the battery. Not a real lot of your travelling is 40km/h , so you won’t really cut your fuel bill substantially….. Now don’t forget about those stupid batteries that need replacing after 2-3 years, They just end up on the scrap heap, oh and the cost to replace them.. ouch!
Hydrogen is the way of the future, it’s already started in Germany, this is where the funds for research and development need to go.