Compressed Air Cars

accountingbod

Hello everyone

Just been reading up on cars that run on compressed air. It seems there are some prototypes and the like about but nothing mainstream that has hit the UK that i can see.
Do you think this tech is viable? Anyone seen anything like this in the UK?

To me it seems like an excellent solution for people who do a shortish commute each day.
Not sure what all the safety issues are concerning storing compressed air onboard but the Honda Air concept was looking at the actual chassis being a means for storage which is an interesting idea.

vax2002

When it goes wrong, as it will, the driver and its passengers will be just about vaporised.

accountingbod

lol vax... yeah i did wonder what may happen as a result of an accident... shame though... seems like such an elegant idea.

s_b

i think this compressed air idea has been blown up out of all proportion

accountingbod

i agree. there just isnt enough weight behind it...

almillar

There was some dude in France, like, 10 years ago now, driving around in a little plastic car with an air compressor as an engine - as in he wasn't carrying around a tank of compressed air, he was actually using a grand version of those wee things you plug into the ciggie lighter to pump your tyres up, as an engine!
Obviously very slow, and really, really lightweight, but a manufacturer could make it much more efficient. What if one of these was installed, with plenty of sound insulation, into an electric car and was able to top up the batteries when needed? It would give electric vehicles infinite range (maybe at a lower power) and also provide some heat for the air con!

kaya

car engines are really just big air pumps anyway, we get our "air" from mixing fuel, air and a spark

bob_a_builder

he was actually using a grand version of those wee things you plug into the ciggie lighter to pump your tyres up, as an engine!

Whoa there , not April 1st yet

accountingbod

i like the idea of some french dude running his car of a ciggie lighter!
In effect, isn't this really all quite similar to blowing up a large balloon, tying it to a fairy liquid bottle on wheels and watching it speed down the track? (Just a bit more compressed and technical like)

Dave_C_2

Some quick sums:
A SCUBA tank holds about 2000 litres of compressed air
A one litre (1000cc) engine at 2000 rpm shifts 2000 litres of air/fuel mixture per minute
So a compressed air engine uses a scuba tank full of air per minute.
For an hour's motoring you need 60 scuba tanks.
Which will weigh a lot, use up a lot of space and need filling every hour.
Then there's the cost of running the compressor.

Now at 40mph at 40 MPG one gallon of petrol/diesel will last an hour. It takes up a lot less room and the fuel tank can hold a few hour's worth of driving.

No contest

Dave

Mr_Toad

Seen this on a documentary some times ago. The French car had a range of 200 miles at speeds of up to 60 mph and I seem to remember that to refill the air tanks took minutes rather than the hours it take to recharge batteries on electric vehicles.

Also on the same program there was an Aussie compressed air forklift truck that used air powered rotary engines.