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don't big truck have a power outlet from the engine? I think welders are plugged into the engine. I'd share some concern about transition, in particular becaus

don't big truck have a power outlet from the engine? I think welders are plugged into the engine. I'd share some concern about transition, in particular because I live in Arizona, but I guess things will be better in the long run.

jhoechtl 8y ago
And now guess how the trucks are powered? Now you use a cobustion engine to power an alternator to charge a battery. What is the net gain, if any?
- freeone3000 8y ago
  It's a more efficient engine, with better particulate filters, a catalytic converter to reduce NOx emissions, and yearly emissions inspections to ensure all of the above is up to standards. It's a gain.
  - reitzensteinm 8y ago
    "More efficient" is not a binary thing. Taking an efficient engine that's capable of throwing two tons of steel down a highway at 100 mph and using it to charge a lithium ion battery is like killing an ant with a sledgehammer. An F150 consumes ~2 litres of fuel an hour at idle and provides 400 watts of power through its outlet. A Bosch leaf blower is 2400 watt. Petrol powered leaf blowers do not use 12 liters of fuel an hour. Sure, the emissions in some ways will be lower, but it's not an unambiguous gain and it's not anything close to an environmentally friendly way to run a leaf blower. This is clearly a niche for PHEVs or BEVs.
    - djpilot 8y ago
      > An F150 consumes ~2 litres of fuel an hour at idle Where'd you get this number? AFAICT this is not true. https://www.google.com/search?q=how+much+gas+per+hour+idling&oq=how+much+gas+per+hour https://www.google.com/search?q=how+much+gas+per+hour+idling... More like a little less than 1 liter for a 4.6L V8 motor.
      - reitzensteinm 8y ago
        Your link says 0.5-0.7 gallons for the 4.6L V8, which is 1.9-2.6 liters.
    - liability 8y ago
      Ford is promising to produce a hybrid F150 that would upend your green calculus entirely.
      - reitzensteinm 8y ago
        > This is clearly a niche for PHEVs or BEVs. (And yes it would, and that's great!)
- nraynaud 8y ago
  yes, less noise, and less pollution (by the economy of scale).
- liability 8y ago
  Trucks don't use shitty two-stroke engines.
- CamperBob2 8y ago
  Same reason why EVs are a net win even if they are ultimately powered by coal. My impression is that pollution scales roughly linearly with the size of a power plant, while power output scales exponentially.

jhoechtl 8y ago

And now guess how the trucks are powered? Now you use a cobustion engine to power an alternator to charge a battery. What is the net gain, if any?

freeone3000 8y ago
It's a more efficient engine, with better particulate filters, a catalytic converter to reduce NOx emissions, and yearly emissions inspections to ensure all of the above is up to standards. It's a gain.
- reitzensteinm 8y ago
  "More efficient" is not a binary thing. Taking an efficient engine that's capable of throwing two tons of steel down a highway at 100 mph and using it to charge a lithium ion battery is like killing an ant with a sledgehammer. An F150 consumes ~2 litres of fuel an hour at idle and provides 400 watts of power through its outlet. A Bosch leaf blower is 2400 watt. Petrol powered leaf blowers do not use 12 liters of fuel an hour. Sure, the emissions in some ways will be lower, but it's not an unambiguous gain and it's not anything close to an environmentally friendly way to run a leaf blower. This is clearly a niche for PHEVs or BEVs.
  - djpilot 8y ago
    > An F150 consumes ~2 litres of fuel an hour at idle Where'd you get this number? AFAICT this is not true. https://www.google.com/search?q=how+much+gas+per+hour+idling&oq=how+much+gas+per+hour https://www.google.com/search?q=how+much+gas+per+hour+idling... More like a little less than 1 liter for a 4.6L V8 motor.
    - reitzensteinm 8y ago
      Your link says 0.5-0.7 gallons for the 4.6L V8, which is 1.9-2.6 liters.
  - liability 8y ago
    Ford is promising to produce a hybrid F150 that would upend your green calculus entirely.
    - reitzensteinm 8y ago
      > This is clearly a niche for PHEVs or BEVs. (And yes it would, and that's great!)
nraynaud 8y ago
yes, less noise, and less pollution (by the economy of scale).
liability 8y ago
Trucks don't use shitty two-stroke engines.
CamperBob2 8y ago
Same reason why EVs are a net win even if they are ultimately powered by coal. My impression is that pollution scales roughly linearly with the size of a power plant, while power output scales exponentially.