What did you do to your Volvo today? Topic is solved

[abscate]

It’s the magic of chemistry. The energy of fuel is in its chemical bonds, which are broken during combustion to release energy to do work.

Hydrogen has little such energy so you have to burn lots of it , and it is hard to store and distribute compared to,petroleum.

We got lots of dem der doze smarht scientists, but we all have to eat at the same periodic table....

When I was in school the Army was experimenting with borane fuels next door. Every once in a while a building would blow up, the lesson stopped for a few minutes, then we carried on

[bmdubya1198]

When I was in school the Army was experimenting with borane fuels next door. Every once in a while a building would blow up, the lesson stopped for a few minutes, then we carried on

That sounds exciting!

[BlackBart]

Toyota and others are still investing in hydrogen fuel cell tech, which has its issues with infrastructure, distribution, safe tanks, leakage, and associated costs. It might be ideal for commercial fleet use with a central service area.

One big issue with splitting water into hydrogen is the enormous amount of electricity it takes to do that, and what do you use to make the electricity?

My wife's brother works for this tech company in Australia & Colorado called AquaHydrex, developing technology for more efficient ways to do electrolysis. Pretty interesting stuff.

https://aquahydrex.com

[Stu70]

I foresee a great demand for converting classic and collectable cars to electric. But does that mean the soul of the car is gone? Is a 6 carb Ferrari V12 still cool with a 100kw dc motor - lots of VFD whistle and no smell of unburnt petrol, or is it the look and feel and soul of a S/C/V70/850 that we love not the 5 pot banging away at the front.

[yanga001]

I foresee a great demand for converting classic and collectable cars to electric. But does that mean the soul of the car is gone? Is a 6 carb Ferrari V12 still cool with a 100kw dc motor - lots of VFD whistle and no smell of unburnt petrol, or is it the look and feel and soul of a S/C/V70/850 that we love not the 5 pot banging away at the front.

I would say the look feel and soul in all honesty. Love my wagon for its size and shape, the fuel economy could be better but I would not say the 5 cylinder is the reason why i love it. If we found reliable and simple conversions then i would 100% install one eventually.

[volvolugnut]

Gasoline and diesel (and other liquid hydrocarbons) can all be stored in relatively thin walled steel or plastic tanks. Compressed natural gas (CNG), liquid petroleum gas (LPG), hydrogen and any other compressed gas or liquid requires a thick walled tank, generally in cylindrical shape to contain the fuel under pressure. These pressure containing tanks will always be heavy and often a poor shape for placement in a vehicle. Often these alternative fuels do not have as much energy per gallon or pound, so the tank must be larger for the same vehicle range. Then there is the current lack of fueling infrastructure for alternate fuels in most areas.
These alternative fuel disadvantages make conversion less desirable.
volvolugnut

[BlackBart]

lots of VFD whistle and no smell of unburnt petrol, or is it the look and feel and soul of a S/C/V70/850 that we love not the 5 pot banging away at the front.

I think that will completely depend on the specific car and engine. Engines like those V12s, or a Maserati or Jaguar straight 6, or a GT40 289, were visceral - wild animals, musical wind instruments. They can't be duplicated, and will always be around even if limited by fuel availability or cost.

Many other classics with boring engines, or British sports cars with tractor engines, are prime candidates for modern clean conversions, making them practical in-town dailies.

[bmdubya1198]

I've never been a fan of electric cars, and it's just not something that even slightly piques my interest. They are a good solution for an "appliance" level car... your urban daily driver cars where you aren't traveling very far. However for more rural areas, it's much less practical. Hell, in some really rural parts of NC it's hard to find a gas station... you're going to find a charging station? Good luck!
Most of my love for cars is my love for engines. Ditching the internal combustion engine rids the car of soul, to me. Besides, think of the balance and weight after adding batteries... things get changed.
Look up Rich Rebuilds on Youtube... he's currently LS swapping a Tesla Model S, most notably and importantly with a MANUAL transmission! Easily one of the funniest guys on YT, he's awesome. He made a name for himself repairing Teslas (sounds like an awful channel for someone like me, but part of what I love about him is that he loved cars in general... not just Teslas. Too many Tesla people are so absorbed in the brand and hate everything that isn't electric or a Tesla). I don't think he's mentioned it, but I feel like the balance of the car will be WAY off after the swap... you're moving all the weight to the front, and without the batteries in the floor, you lose a lot of weight and rigidity in the chassis. He mentioned bracing for the rigidity issue, but I'm really interested to see how it ends up being balanced out.
Anyway, my point being that swapping a car to an EV would probably do the same, maybe less dramatic though since there are fewer systems related to the powertrain spread throughout the car.

[abscate]

Popped the head of Elizabeth the T5

Found a burnt and broken #3 valve

[bmdubya1198]

Have a spare head or are you replacing the valve and refreshing the current one?