>I wonder why more people arent using the Prius motor/box its very
>good and comes with the gearbox and a second setup of windings which
>can act as motor or generator ....
I suspect few have heard of it or understand it yet. Here I've been
trying to figure out how to do a real torque converter for 3 years,
trying many different ideas and designs, and no one in conversations
or from reading my newsleters has ever said, "Why not just use one
from a Toyota Prius?" Only very recently a couple of people have said
"New hybrid cars are using CVT's" (which conjured up images of split
pulleys and steel drive belts). I have just heard of it now after
figuring almost the same thing out for myself, from Tom on this list.
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>Also the cells altho small are very very good; of far higher quality
>than anything you will find in a power tool.
Last I heard, Toyota uses nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH, NiMH) cells
instead of lithiums. Some hybrids are known to use NiMH D cells
inside their high voltage battery.
I have 30 NiMH D cells, 3 banks of 10, for my regular car battery. It
should last at least 10 to 20 years instead of 4 or 5. (Rated to
-10ºC. At the coldest we've had here, -6ºC, the car started same as
when it's warm.) I determined in experiments that 13.8 volts, the car
charging system standard, is the *ideal* float charge voltage for 10
x NiMH. So they're a better drop-in replacement for lead acid than
lead acid is, and less than 1/2 the weight. You need one bank for
every 70 amps the starter motor draws just as it starts to turn.
(Lead-acid battery chargers, on the other hand, often put out 14.4
volts or more, which the NiMH's won't get up to until they fry. They
need to shut off by about 14.2 volts.) but at 6-8$ per D cell,
they're not cheap - perhaps on a par with lithiums.
I've been using the NiMH car battery a year. Last month I left the
(converted to LED) lights on (not the headlights, but the others) for
4 hours in a parking lot. I was concerned, but the car started as if
nothing had happened.
(I've been trying to sell NiMH D cells in 12V/10AH "Handy Battery
Sticks", without much success so far. http://www.Turquoiseenergy.com/)
Unless (until) I have my new economical chemistry MnMn batteries
working, I plan to use them for the electric outboard and other
power. They don't 'fade' like lead-acid until the end of their
charge. And they can be left up to 90% discharged, even for weeks,
without any damage.
Craig
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