• peoplebeproblems@midwest.social
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    16 days ago

    I am so glad other people with ADHD can see the insight into trains of thought. Which makes me wonder why we don’t have more vehicles run on Diesel generated Electric power.

    • grue@lemmy.world
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      15 days ago

      Which makes me wonder why we don’t have more vehicles run on Diesel generated Electric power.

      I’ve wondered that too (especially as the owner of a diesel car). My best guess is that hybrid drivetrains come at a price premium compared to plain gasoline engines and Diesels also come at a price premium compared to plain gasoline engines, so trying to put both on the same car would incur a double price premium and not enough people would want to pay it.

      • Death_Equity@lemmy.world
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        15 days ago

        It’s just a diesel range extender, they wouldn’t have to use all that big of an engine. Just like on locomotives, the diesel is just is a generator to power electric motors. No integration into the drive line, the diesel has a generator on it that feeds the batteries.

        One guy put a diesel engine in a Tesla as a range extender and it had a range of over 2,500 miles. It got like a 400mpg.

    • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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      15 days ago

      A second engine costs more, weighs more, needs more support, and makes everything harder to repair.

      Basically, internal combustion to the wheels is cheaper for the car builders and good enough.

      • Death_Equity@lemmy.world
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        15 days ago

        Diesel electric, not diesel hybrid.

        Diesel generates power that charges the batteries. It would be more expensive than a normal ice car, but it would have thousands of miles of range and get 8-10x the range per gallon.

        • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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          15 days ago

          Afaik the only difference at the general level is whether the IC engine connects directly to the wheels or not. A hybrid can run on either engine. A diesel electric uses an IC engine to create electricity for an electric engine. So you still need at least two engines, it’s just wildly more efficient. And quite a bit more expensive to produce.

          • bamboo@lemm.ee
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            12 days ago

            Wait why would you need two engines? Or are you counting the diesel generator as one and the electric motor as one?

            • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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              12 days ago

              Yup. A diesel generator is an engine. It’s just hooked to an alternator instead of a transmission.

              • bamboo@lemm.ee
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                12 days ago

                Yeah I wasn’t confused by the diesel generator, but typically electric motors are smaller and simple enough that they’re not considered an engine.