Saturday, August 27, 2011

Re: [Electric Boats] re New Ideas?

 

Dear John,
While you are correct that making a battery can be done with a few fundamental parts is possible (Volta made "piles" of metals, electrolyte and seperators), Myles is correct that many millions have been invested towards a better battery. 
A 6v L16 lead acid wet cell at 375Ah for $250 would still be a much better bargin than the cost of your time and material to build the same. 
Electric boats need credibility. A bunch of old kitchen sinks full of acid sloshing around below decks seems far off that mark...

Be Well,
Arby Bernt, 
SAE Certified Battery Technician 

On Aug 27, 2011, at 5:10 AM, "John Green" <v_2jgree@operamail.com> wrote:

 

Myles, sorry for the long posts, I should have split the topics, will do
so next time around. I hope that you can relate it to my enthusiasm!

What a great idea Ron has to run motors so that they can be 'pumped'
with more electricity.
This, if it works, bodes well, because the cost of motors is high in
proportion to the output.
I guess in a way I have to retract my disagreement with Eric, because I
hadn't even thought that the difference (that Hanermo just pointed out
re basic versus costed out ideas) was the critical factor, even though I
have probably experienced it.
That situation actually applies, possibly in reverse, to my military
idea that is dormant. Say, for instance, the idea was to change the
spiral of gun rifling to twist the opposite way, it would be extremely
impractical for me to produce a working model, yet relatively easy for a
gun manufacturer to do so.
I think that the home-made battery is a poor example, because it
involves nothing that is novel.
I could give a breakdown that differs:
Old sink, obtainable from municipal dump, say $5 each.
Lead, melt it down on a wood fire in the garden, using old batteries as
the source, purchased from the local scrap yard for $2 each, say, 20
batteries = 40 bucks..........and so on. Like electric drives, it
depends on the personal situation of the user.
The difference is, that you end up with a massive single cell. With
another five, you end up with a massive battery that you can then
compare to, say, 100 units from Walmart at $100 per unit.
It was an idea, that's all. The real point was, if you need a large
battery bank to give range, and don't mind working at it, there are ways
around the cost of straightforward purchase of commercial items. It was
never meant as an idea to start manufacturing batteries from recycled
materials and selling them.

This need to spoon feed the corporate recipient though, is irritating to
me, hehehe. It seems that Hanermo has an added key to why corporations
are, in my opinion, resistive to ideas.
As a machinist, I did tend to include material and dimensional
specifications, as well as process descriptions that can be translated
into cost, if the recipient of the idea wishes to do so. I cannot
calculate that cost, say, of plastic battery cases, because I do not
have the bulk cost/price of the plastic pellets that the particular
manufacturer has brokered with their supplier, or his processing
overhead in moulding it.
Myles, I have no idea in the world where you get the impression that I
'seem' to think that battery makers have not been innovating. Reality
is, I believe that this is key to electric drives, and in the past, I
have mentioned that in my opinion the battery technology will be driven
by the EV industry. (so all the efforts to gain boat range might be moot
- just sit back and let the car guys do the work!).
I also realise that there is useful innovation, and that it drives
successful businesses. I had simplified it too much, I should have added
the word 'externally submitted' in front of 'innovation'.
Having given it more thought, though, it makes sense. The reason is
possibly that any already successful company will have it's innovation
sources already in place, and budgeted for. Such a situation would be
sure to make them resistant to happy crackpots like me.
Anyway, these days, I just have the ideas, put them out there, and no
longer get wound up about it.
John

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