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Does any electric car have an option where you can place a portable gasoline generator in the frunk and then trickle charge the battery while you drive on a roa
by davideous 8y ago
Does any electric car have an option where you can place a portable gasoline generator in the frunk and then trickle charge the battery while you drive on a road trip (with appropriate venting of exhaust).
If not, why not?
I've seen very small, quiet gasoline generators. I would think this could solve this problem easily at the expense of a small amount of storage space.
- woofyman 8y agoYou’re describing a plug in hybrid or a serial hybrid like the Chevy Volt.
- pitaj 8y agoExcept the engine isn't always there as taking up extra space and weight.
- saalweachter 8y agoWeight probably isn't a problem - a Chevy Volt weighs a lot less than a Tesla S. You don't even save much by keeping the gas tank mostly empty when you aren't expecting to need it -- the gas weighs ~6 lbs / gallon, so you might save 50 lbs by keeping the tank on 1/4 when you aren't planning to drive past the battery range. Think about it this way: batteries are really heavy, and the Tesla has like 5x more battery capacity than a Volt. Meanwhile, if you're mostly making short trips, you're hauling around 3/4 of those heavy, heavy batteries as a contingency.
- davideous 8y agoYes, that's the effect. But I'd only have to carry the generator portion when needed for a road trip. You could perhaps even rent it only when you need. Even if the generator was in a small trailer, that would provide the range freedom without loosing the storage space (and help with venting/cooling/noise).
- smileysteve 8y ago> Even if the generator was in a small trailer This has been done; but the small trailer also adds significant friction and aerodynamic drag. It also adds complexity in driving and maintenance.
- bluGill 8y agoTrue, except the road trip case is also the case where you want more cargo capacity than is standard. A rental trailer for one week that lets my wife pack the kitchen sink actually makes sense.
- pkaye 8y agoAt that point might as well just rent an gasoline engine car.
- pitaj 8y agoI've thought about this, too. It can't be that difficult to do, can it? Maybe it's illegal under current regulatory systems.
- smileysteve 8y agobuilding a tiny engine that runs efficiently and produces enough meaningful electricity to make up for its weight is difficult. From a regulatory standpoint, yes, fuel systems would be regulated in this design.
- pitaj 8y agoThe engine wouldn't need to be especially efficient; it's purpose is to extend range, not to be the main charging apparatus.
- ghaff 8y agoNot portable generators--which you'd really want built in for various safety and venting reasons. But you're basically describing a plug-in hybrid. The case against these is that you still carry over at least some of the complexity/maintenance of having an ICE.
- semi-extrinsic 8y agoBMW i3 range extender does exactly this.
- driverdan 8y agoA small generator puts out less power than the car consumes. It would extend the trip but not solve the problem. As others have said, it's more practical to have a purpose built hybrid.
- bluGill 8y agoYou don't need much power to keep a car going on the freeway. If I can extend my drive from 200 miles to 700 miles before I have to stop and recharge - well that is as far as a human can drive in a day anyway (many humans have driven farther - it wasn't safe they were just lucky).
- dsfyu404ed 8y agoIt doesn't take much energy to keep a modern car moving at highway speed. With regenerative braking and a limited top speed a small generator should be able to keep the car moving well enough.