Free time.

This semester I am taking it easy with only 4 classes, so naturally I have tons of free time for the next 3 weeks then all the projects and tests will hit. So, what I am I doing with all this free time? I am having fun. One of my favorite topics is alternative fuels and/or EVs (electric vehicles). I started the week looking at EVs and have come to the conclusion that it will take close to $6000 to convert a regular car that has already been aquired to be all electric with all new components. Being a Martin and a person that is not rich, there is a good posibility that I could cut that price down to $3500 by purchasing used parts and other discounted items. To tell you the truth, most EVs only get around 40 miles on a charge. I go more miles on Sundays when I go to church. If I were to have an fuel saving vehicle, I would have to have a electric deisel hybrid that had an batteries powering it most of the time with a diesel generator that would keep the batteries atleast half way charged while I am up and about. Hybrids are very, very expensive creatures. to convert a regulare compact car I would be looking at spending around $9000 if I were to buy everything outright and not buy any discounted stuff. I have seen plenty of kits to build EVs, but no Hybird kits, and definatly no hint of diesel hybryd kits. The reason I am for deisel is because on average, deisel motors last 10 times as long as gasoline engines if properly taken care of. A properly tuned diesel that has a constant load can be adjusted to run very very well at that rpm and load and get better fuel economy than a diesel that has a varied load and rpm, plus the unvaried rpm and load motor will last longer than the motor that is not constant. So, you may ask why is all this so expensive? I will tell you. It is because the oil industry owns many of the key patents to produce key items to make EVs and Hybrids work, or atleast that is what I have read on 3 diffrent websites. It is not that the components are not out there, alot of the parts are already installed and used of fork lifts and electric pallet jacks. RG Le Tourneau used Hybrid like equipment. The way that most of his heavy equipmet worked was by a huge diesel engine ran and powered huge electric motors that were built into the hubs and rims of the equipment. Fun Stuff. If you get a chance to read all about this hybrid stuff, I say go for it althought the stuff will more than you could probably afford. More Later. I am going to bed so that I might get some hw done tomorrow.