Thread: Is it possible to have an all electric car and charge the batteries while using them?

I mean is it possible to drive an electric car that has say a small internal combustion engine that can charge the batteries while using the batteries to power the car at the same time? It seems to me a small turbine engine could turn a generator capable of charging the batteries but not necessarily provide enough electricity to power the car by itself. Turbine engines have no octane or cetane requirements so they could run on almost anything that burns. This would allow for the use of "green" fuels and hundred miles per gallon or more.

Yep, that's how hybrids work. In fact, the 'normal' cars recharge their (starter) battery while drawing from it.

Rechargable batteries don't last forever. Sooner or later the batteries won't hold a chage anymore. And what it takes to make batteries for cars harms the planet more than help. Mining for nickle is no cake walk and so is the refining process.

Yeah, you'd have to find a way to get overunity from some circuit, its possible, but not easy. Id check on youtube for overunity generators/bedini motor, cold fusion, HHO cells, might be able to find what you're looking for. I have an idea of what you need to do, but I dont want to giver you advice that Im not sure of. I suggest youtube.

Yeah, you'd have to find a way to get overunity from some circuit, its possible, but not easy. Id check on youtube for overunity generators/bedini motor, cold fusion, HHO cells, might be able to find what you're looking for. I have an idea of what you need to do, but I dont want to giver you advice that Im not sure of. I suggest youtube.

dont think so... you would have to rotate which cells were being used and charge the out of use cells...

Volvo is doing something like that. They have announced production for 2010- sooner I hope. Great mind think alike!

Check out this website for a video on it:

There are different types of electric cars. All electric cars use an electric motor. Electric hybrids use a combination of an internal combustion engine and and electric motor to propel the car. Energy may be stored in a car in the form of gasoline, diesel, propane, natural gas, hydrogen, batteries, ultracapacitors, flywheels or compressed air. This energy is then recovered and converted to mecanical energy by a motor which uses the appropriate energy source. Cars that use rechargeable batteries only do not emit pollution. Electric cars charged from a coal fired grid are still more efficient and produce less pollution than gas engines. Electric cars come in all sizes and performance. Generally, lighter more aerodynamic cars perform better.Batteries can be used until they are dead just like gas tanks can be run empty. It is good to watch the gauge and refill them before this happens. Car batteries are recharged just like cell phone batteries. It typically takes overnight to charge a battery. They should not be charged faster than in 3 hours. However, they can be charged as fast as 20 minutes, but then they don't last as long and special charge stations are needed. Charging overnight can be done with any normal electric outlet. Charging in 3 hours requires a 220 Volt Dryer or Stove Plug. Most parking lots in colder climates have normal plug-ins. In Vancouver many private parking lots such as restaurants and parking garages may have plug ins. The infrastructure exists now, it needs to be identified and publicized. Batteries can be exchanged. In Nepal over 400 small electric buses exchange their batteries twice a day and operate continuously. The range of most electric cars is plenty for daily city needs so a second car is not needed, unless you travel long distances regularily. A hybrid electric car can go unlimited distances. According to Statistic Canada the average Canadian commutes 7.5 Km each way to work and over 10 million commute less than 50 Km / day. Delivery truck drivers average 200 Km in an eight hour day. The range of electric cars varies from 50 Km to over 200 Km. 100 Km is typical. Range is affected by weight, aerodynamics, rolling resistance, energy management driving habits and accessories. If a battery is run until almost dead, simply recharge it at the nearest electric outlet, which is usually any nearby house or building. There are more electric outlets in Vancouver than gas stations in the world.Electric cars can go very fast. The current record 1/4 mile drag race for electric cars is about 8.8 seconds and 230 KPH. Three cars nearing production have acceleration of 0 to 100 Kph in about 5-7 seconds (Similar to a Ferrari or Corvette) and 1/4 mile in about 16 seconds and 130 KPH. This is because electric motors have very high torque. Cars that are designed with the batteries low have excellent cornering.The price of an EV is set by market factors not cost. For equivalent production volumes battery EVs should be cheaper because they have many fewer parts. This also means they are cheaper to maintain. Only the cost of battery replacement every 3-5 years is about $3000. They are less expensive to operate by a factor of ten over gasoline. Hybrids get about double the fuel efficiency of regular cars.EVs are equally as safe as similar sized cars. Due to the low energy density of batteries and significance of weight to range, many electric cars are small. Hybrids come in all sizes including SUVs and Trucks. The batteries can use up some cargo space depending on the design of the car. Batteries are either heavy or expensive and last longer.Most major car manufacturers now sell hybrid cars. Due to California laws most manufacturers made a few battery electric cars until this year when the laws were relaxed. A few small car companies are starting to design and sell a variety of electric cars. The industry is changing. Crash testing is the only expensive limitation.The benefits of EVs include less air pollution, quieter, and lower cost to operate. They are potentially more reliable due to fewer parts and mature technology (140 years). They have similar power and the smaller EVs may be more maneuverable in traffic and be easier to park.EVs are similar to normal cars in comfort, road handling, safety, performance, durability and sturdiness, and repair. It is not practical to use solar energy to recharge but wind mills have been used.

Do you have a place to park and plug in an EV at home as a second or only car ?

Do you have a parking space with a plug-in that other EVs could use? If so where?

<<I mean is it possible to drive an electric car that has say a small internal combustion engine that can charge the batteries while using the batteries to power the car at the same time>>

yep. it's called a Prius.

<<It seems to me a small turbine engine>>

they had a turbine engine some decades ago. wasn't successful, just as the EV-1 wasn't successful, because batteries at the time weren't good enough. with the advancement in technology, it may well be reasonable to try it again.

btw, you probably do need it to be strong enough to at least help accommodate steep hills. you surely don't want the electric motor+battery to be able to supply all that energy -- it's wasteful.

<<This would allow for the use of "green" fuels and hundred miles per gallon or more.>>

i doubt that "green fuels" are going to be a large factor in the future of energy. if you've watched the price of corn in the past year, as more agricultural land has been converted to producing ethanol, there should be an indication that some other solution is more likely to be successful.

in addition, turbines are not, i think, more fuel efficient. air planes seem to have proved that. they are faster, and need less maintenance, but they are not efficient.

the "hundred miles per gallon" is going to come from smaller and lighter cars, regardless of the power source.

look up chevy volt, it will be doing this. Turbine engines have the lowest thermodynamic efficency of all combustion engines. SO, it's a loser in cars. Chrysler made a turbine engine car for about 1 year. The Indy 500 saw turbine cars for a while, but they couldn't make the fuel restriction and they wore out the brakes on the cars.