production salt-water pwrd car

[bit]

Purely aside from how way cool this car is, can you imagine a salt-water powered DC3 retro-airliner, or this NASA concept airliner, that guarantees if it crash-lands you won't be burned alive by all the spilled fuel?

[SeraphimLabs]

Its not sea salt. Or anything remotely common or cheap.

Its an exotic chemical salt that makes this work, and the article grossly understates this fact.

Though it is certainly one of the more interesting energy solutions, its not going to be cheap or widespread unless the method of making the salt solution it consumes can be done on the cheap and has no lasting environmental consequences if it is spilled.

[Stoic Joker]

At least it's an 'Eco Friendly' car that can make it past 60 in less than a half an hour.
0-60 in 2.8 seconds
Top Speed 217
Horse Power 920

Now they're making sense...instead of the complete emasculated weed-whacker powered Toyota Prius crap.

@SephimLabs - Can you link us to the fancy salt specifics? I saw no mention of it in bit's article - Which I believe was your point..

[bit]

Its not sea salt. Or anything remotely common or cheap.

Its an exotic chemical salt that makes this work, and the article grossly understates this fact.

Though it is certainly one of the more interesting energy solutions, its not going to be cheap or widespread unless the method of making the salt solution it consumes can be done on the cheap and has no lasting environmental consequences if it is spilled.

-SeraphimLabs (December 09, 2014, 03:05 PM)

That's too bad.
There are some designs that run on water, but one inventor was poisoned and his plans confiscated by the govt., and no other breakthroughs have reached the street level market.
Some high school kids came up with a Diesel that got 200mpg, and I guess big industry swooped on them and not another word was heard.
Some guy in Japan keeps promising a water-powered power generator, but so far it's just 'promises promises'.
I guess the 'car of tomorrow' is very aptly named; it's 'always tomorrow'.

[Renegade]

I guess the 'car of tomorrow' is very aptly named; it's 'always tomorrow'.

-bit (December 14, 2014, 12:56 AM)

The price tag says "never" for most of us.

[MilesAhead]

That's too bad.
There are some designs that run on water, but one inventor was poisoned and his plans confiscated by the govt., and no other breakthroughs have reached the street level market.
Some high school kids came up with a Diesel that got 200mpg, and I guess big industry swooped on them and not another word was heard.
Some guy in Japan keeps promising a water-powered power generator, but so far it's just 'promises promises'.
I guess the 'car of tomorrow' is very aptly named; it's 'always tomorrow'.

-bit (December 14, 2014, 12:56 AM)

The Man in the White Suit with Alec Guinness as the naive wannabe scientist covers the territory in a funny way.  A classic.

[bit]

Then there is the spark plug racket, with the outdated 'finger' sparking design which is the only available design for automotive use, versus the magnitudes superior small plane spark plug which fires from all around a slotted circular rim and does not foul or burn out.

When I saw the documentary on the light bulb cartel and how they pressured all manufacturers to limit light bulb life to something like 3000 hours, I used to wonder how they could engineer that.
Then one day it came to me in a flash; just make sure a precise, miniscule amount of an oxidant like oxygen is left in the bulb where there should be a pure vacuum, and the tungsten filament is toast.
In the documentary, it showed an old light bulb that has been shining for close to 100 years by now.
I've wonder, how could you make a hand-blown glass light bulb like that.
But now we have LCDs which are even better, if only the price will come down to sensible levels.
I got an LCD replacement 'bulb' (it's not actually a bulb) for my cheap 2 D-cell flashlight.
It didn't fit, so I took a 1/2 inch bolt, put the end in a propane torch flame, and pressed it into the light bulb socket and reshaped it.
Chances were 10-to-1 I'd goof it up, but I managed to get a perfect fit, and now my flashlight is 2x or 3x as bright as before and the batteries go on forever without going dead.

[bit]

I posted here in DC about a year ago that my bathtub faucet washer seats, made of brass, would corrode and leak about once every month or two.
Regular as clockwork; every month or two, a leaking faucet.
I mention this here, because we're into 'planned obsolescence', and it would be so nice to have stainless steel faucet washers, but no, they gotta be cheap brass that causes problems.
I would have to shut off the water, dismantle the faucet handles, unscrew the faucet washer seats, which are threaded brass rings with recessed square inside holes for installing or removal.
Each $(%&^%# brass ring would be pocked with corrosion bumps, and have a slit worn through from inside to outside of the seat face where it mates with the rubber washer.
Once a leak starts dripping, the water just corrodes a neat little path through, leaving a tiny slit just like a hacksaw slot.
Then the chewed up brass washers would also have ruined the rubber washers, requiring new ones.
The plumbing industry had a real racket going, all at my expense.
So back then about a year ago, I got a brain storm.
I resanded the slot out (again, for the umpteenth time), and then I tried a new idea; I heated up the brass ring on a full size soldering iron, then puddled a ring of lead-free solder onto the brass facing.
Don't try it with a propane torch; the flame will oxidize the surface and the solder won't stick.
To avoid getting the solder on the threads of the brass rings and ruining them, I used micro-fine electrical soldering wire with its own built-in flux.
In fact, hit it with a propane torch first, to form an oxide coating that will prevent the solder bonding into the threads and ruining the brass washer.
Then sand the mating face to form a golden-colored pure brass finish to safely bond the solder only where you want it.
That gol-darn solder had an amazing tendency to create a high spot on one side and a low spot on the other every time, and almost drove me nuts.
It took me an hour, but I finally managed to compensate for this, get a good uniform layer, and sanded it down to a smooth finish, giving me two brass faucet washers each with a beautiful flat silvery-looking solder facing where it mates with the rubber washer.
Well, I am pleased to announce that ever since then, over one year now, both brass faucet washers do not leak to this day.
That solder plating works beautifully.

[app103]

I used to have the same problem with my kitchen faucet, having to constantly replace the washers...until about 10 years ago when my new landlord replaced the faucet with one of these:



I don't know what brand he bought but it only cost him $20 and I have not had to change a washer, since.

He explained to me that the need to constantly replace the washers was caused by a worn seat, and the faucet I had was so old that it was impossible to find replacement seats for it. Therefore either he replaces the whole faucet or I would have to continue to keep replacing the washers on a regular basis, and eventually even that would not work any more, and the faucet would end up leaking, even with brand new washers installed. So, he can either replace the faucet now, or later. He chose now, and 10 years later, I am so glad that he did.

[MilesAhead]

Chances were 10-to-1 I'd goof it up, but I managed to get a perfect fit, and now my flashlight is 2x or 3x as bright as before and the batteries go on forever without going dead.

-bit (December 15, 2014, 08:40 PM)

Aside from the planned obsolescence, how about the "gotcha" booby traps for would be do it yourselfers?  One example is the Venetian blind.  It is held into the wall bracket with this flimsy plastic Chinese puzzle sliding panel  It's deliberately designed to be broken by the uninitiated.  I ran into this on my bedroom window.  It was just as well since for a fraction of the cost I bought a section of heavy dark drape and a no screws adjustable curtain rod.

Hidden fasteners really piss me off. 

[MilesAhead]

I used to have the same problem with my kitchen faucet, having to constantly replace the washers...until about 10 years ago when my new landlord replaced the faucet with one of these:

-app103

It's too bad I wasn't skilled in stuff like plumbing and carpentry when I lived in the condo.  My neighbor I shot 8-ball with used to be an apartment Super.  He knew all the right stuff to get like bathroom faucets that did not leak, what brushes and cleaners to use to clean window screens.  How to fix ceiling fans. Just about any odd job in a dwelling he knew the right parts, tools and cleaners to use.

[bit]

I used to have the same problem with my kitchen faucet, having to constantly replace the washers...until about 10 years ago when my new landlord replaced the faucet with one of these:
 (see attachment in previous post)
I don't know what brand he bought but it only cost him $20 and I have not had to change a washer, since.

He explained to me that the need to constantly replace the washers was caused by a worn seat, and the faucet I had was so old that it was impossible to find replacement seats for it. Therefore either he replaces the whole faucet or I would have to continue to keep replacing the washers on a regular basis, and eventually even that would not work any more, and the faucet would end up leaking, even with brand new washers installed. So, he can either replace the faucet now, or later. He chose now, and 10 years later, I am so glad that he did.

-app103 (December 16, 2014, 12:48 AM)

Yes, it's very nice-looking too.

Hidden fasteners really piss me off.  

-MilesAhead (December 16, 2014, 05:37 AM)

^agreed.