Hydrogen powered Ranger

[97RangerXLT]

H2X Reveals Hydrogen Fuel Cell-Powered Ford Ranger

H2X Reveals Hydrogen Fuel Cell-Powered Ford Ranger...

www.ford-trucks.com

I have always thought fuel cells are better zero emissions choices over electric or hybrid, and the technology has been around for a long time. We just need the infrastructure in place to support it

AJ

 

[Dirtman]

94 horsepower... is that even street legal!?

You better bring some wood screws cause that thing will blow your doors off!

 

[Roert42]

Does it have to be extremely ugly to get the hydrogen fuel cell?

 

[RonD]

Hydrogen power still has the "Hindenburg" as the bad example of when things go wrong they can go VERY WRONG, and its been added to in recent years

A June 3rd, 2019 explosion at a Hydrogen producing chemical plant in Santa Clara County, Calif. this past wekend has the drivers of hydrogen fueled vehicles going nowhere fast.
Flames bursting out of Air Products chemical facility shook buildings and residents at least five miles away from it.
Hydrogen fueling stations across the Bay Area were down Monday following the explosion.

A hydrogen refueling station exploded and stood in flames yesterday in Sandvika, Norway, which could make June 10, 2019 the day when the perception about hydrogen stations and hydrogen fuel cell cars, in general, will forever change.

Same as Nuclear power has Chernobyl, Fukushima, and 3-mile Island to deal with

"Other than that, how did you enjoy the Play Mrs. Lincoln?"

 

[sgtsandman]

I think the other issue with hydrogen is cost. Generating hydrogen for fuel is still pretty expensive last I saw. More energy goes into making the hydrogen than what it puts out in power.

On paper, it’s the ideal fuel source as far a emissions but hasn’t worked out so well in practice yet.

 

[RonD]

Yes, current cost to make Hydrogen in volume is $5-$6 per kilogram, then producer sells it for say $8-$9/kg delivered
"Filling station" sells it to end user for $9-$10/kg, EDIT, just looked and 1kg at filling station can be up to $16/kg

1kg gets you about 60miles, so about $0.17 per mile
Gasoline at $3.50/gal is about $0.14 per mile(at 25mpg)

 

[Dirtman]

I think the other issue with hydrogen is cost. Generating hydrogen for fuel is still pretty expensive last I saw. More energy goes into making the hydrogen than what it puts out in power.

On paper, it’s the ideal fuel source as far a emissions but hasn’t worked out so well in practice yet.

I forget the YouTube channel but there's a crazy Australian guy who talks about cars and whatnots down under, he's hilarious and insane but extremely smart. He did several very detailed and sciency videos a while ago about hydrogen cars. They aparently tried really hard to start some kind of infrastructure for hydrogen in Australia and it was a disaster (not the Hindenburg kind). Not only is the cost and power required to make it kinds nuts, but the actual production process isn't exactly "green" either so it just shifted pollution from the tailpipe to the production plant.

I don't understand why we don't have more natural gas vehicles, gasoline engines are quite easy to convert to natural gas and natural gas/propane burns much cleaner. I'm no scientist but that seems like a logical stop gap between gasoline and whatever technology comes next.

 

[Dirtman]

The channel is "John Cadogan" or at least that's the guy's name in the videos...

Edit - channel is "Auto expert John Cadogan" its NSFW, no gross stuff but he curses non stop.

 

[Roert42]

I would be down for running a propane car. little more in depth process to refill though, not as easy as put the nozzle in the whole and squeeze the trigger.

I would be curious to know how efficient propane is vs gasoline for power wise. That would be a big determining factory I think.

 

[Blmpkn]

I would be down for running a propane car. little more in depth process to refill though, not as easy as put the nozzle in the whole and squeeze the trigger.

I would be curious to know how efficient propane is vs gasoline for power wise. That would be a big determining factory I think.

Propane has 25% less energy per gallon compared to gas, so not quite as efficient.

BUT.. its apparently equivalent to 104-112 octane so..

 

[Roert42]

Propane does not cost 25% less then gas, at least around here. $3.25 gal for propane vs $3.50 for 87.

 

[Dirtman]

Propane has 25% less energy per gallon compared to gas, so not quite as efficient.

BUT.. its apparently equivalent to 104-112 octane so..

Yea that's the thing, to make propane work super efficient you need high compression.

But I've taken apart propane engines on equipment like forklifts that have had no maintenance in decades and you open them up and they are immaculate. Propane doesn't dilute the oil, doesn't build up carbon on anything, it's not just clean outside it keeps the engine clean inside.

And as for refilling. How hard is it to go get a BBQ tank for your grill? Same process filling a propane vehicle, either just drop the tank and swap it out real quick or they plug it in and fill it on the vehicle. I filled propane tanks as a kid, trucks like roach coaches had the propane tanks under the frame for the grills, it took 2 minutes to fill them. Just hook the line up and hit the switch...

 

[sgtsandman]

I forget the YouTube channel but there's a crazy Australian guy who talks about cars and whatnots down under, he's hilarious and insane but extremely smart. He did several very detailed and sciency videos a while ago about hydrogen cars. They aparently tried really hard to start some kind of infrastructure for hydrogen in Australia and it was a disaster (not the Hindenburg kind). Not only is the cost and power required to make it kinds nuts, but the actual production process isn't exactly "green" either so it just shifted pollution from the tailpipe to the production plant.

I don't understand why we don't have more natural gas vehicles, gasoline engines are quite easy to convert to natural gas and natural gas/propane burns much cleaner. I'm no scientist but that seems like a logical stop gap between gasoline and whatever technology comes next.

From what I've read, storage in the vehicle is the issue. Not only does the tanks tend to not be friendly to install without taking up a lot of room, installing them so they don't burst in a collision is the other issue.

I've been told that in many locations, the gasoline tank can be removed and the natural gas or propane tanks can be installed in their place. Other places, due to the cold, need to be started on regular fuel before switching to LPG or NG. When I was still in middle and high school, our bus garage used propane but had to use gasoline to start them up and then switch over. The drivers had to remember to switch back before shutting off the buses. Not long after I graduated, they stopped using propane converted buses.

I have noticed in cold weather, propane stoves and lanterns have an issue with gas flow. I've been told that generators that are setup to run on propane have a similar issue.

 

[fastpakr]

That's interesting. Propane as a stove fuel is effective in cold temperatures. Winter blend fuel canisters typically run higher percentage mixes of propane (vs butane). Though when it gets really cold (close to zero and below) you do start seeing liquid fuel stoves get used a lot more.

 

[RustyShackleford94]

You can pull up to any tractor supply and get propane filled. I considered buy a dual fuel f250 at one point and propane doesnt make the power that gas does. I quit reading there.

Also i wanna see the crash test videos of hydrogen powered vehicles.