Idly musing about life at work the other day, electric cars came up, and their range. We struck upon a solution. A trailer. A trailer with a diesel generator on it, the electricity going back to the car. Could we run it on red diesel, and not have to pay the congestion charge?
It would have to be some generator ...
Isn't that essentially what a self-charging hybrid has, but carried on board?
I think you'd face the argument that the red diesel is in breach of the requirement[1] that it not be used "as fuel for a road vehicle" (subject to the exceptions for tractors etc). It is after all just an articulated diesel-electric.
[1] s.12 Hydrocarbon Oil Duties Act 1979
I was wondering why the EV charging socket that cost the customer £300 last week is powering a car that can do about a maximum of 20 miles when using it's batteries before the ICE kicks in.
Make that 12 miles if the AC or heaters are on.
It is, but by having a trailer you'd only need to cart the genny around for long journeys. For town driving, battery power would normally be okay.
A friend of mine rigged up a small trailer upon which was a petrol generator to be towed behind (and trickle charge) an electric mobility scooter and won his argument (can't remember whether ploddery or tax) that the scooter was at all times powered bby its internal battery
If the battery being charged wasn't directly providing energy for motive power I can see the argument. As soon as they are linked to powering the motors it becomes a diesel powered hybrid.
They aren't nearly so crude.
That very much depends on whether you are a farmer or not, but I have heard that the Red Diesel exception is one of the things that might be withdrawn to tackle global warming. Does any other country have such a scheme?
I don't somehow think your plan would work as towing a trailer would I imagine reduce the range and sitting on the e road running your generator might be seen as actually powering the vehicle. I do wonder how long it will be before many generators, compressors and the like are regulated. These things sit there often for hours running doing nothing and are hardly pollution free. Brian
We have to do something to avoid the problems caused by "greens".
Just how much driving do you do in the congestion zone? Are you a cab or something?
how outlandish ...
Electric cars can't be driven whilst the charge lead is plugged in shit-fer-brains. The solution is a plug in hybrid.
The range extender on a BMW is a separate generator and engine that does charge the battery while you are driving.
Its mounted under the bonnet somewhere.
Its not a hybrid you can't power the car from the generator.
it's still a "cheat" that likely to see it designated as "not an electric vehicle" by those people offering discounts for such
who cares?
Would that apply if you drove on electric only, parked, started the generator and left it charging the battery for the journey home?
SteveW
Possibly not.
But finding somewhere to park /in/ the CC Zone with an unattended diesel generator running could be interesting.
Quite. I have to laugh at all these ways of getting round the CC, but unless travelling through it (in which case why not go round it) how do you get round the costs of parking in it?
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