Towing a Tesla with a rope to charge

Cujet said:
I still like the idea of a range extender. However, the BMW i3 really highlighted the reality of such a situation when inferior equipment and design is used. Some owners would deplete their battery, then try to continue down the road, using the enging/generator combo. What resulted was a top speed of 40mph down the highway, and 60 miles of addl range, ugh. Of course, all it really required was to start the engine well before the battery was depleted.

What's really needed is a "task specific" engine/generator combo. One that is mega-powerful, clean, light. A gas turbine could fill this requirement.
Click to expand...

A microturbine with a really high end stator and DSP converter was what I always though would be the ultimate secondary on an EV.

Could theoretically run on anything - gas, diesel, jet a, a still in your backyard.

Air cooled, one moving part, would be awesome maybe a lil loud..
 
You can buy a (battery based) range extender for Nissan Leafs. I saw them in a video from western Europe, Holland or Denmark probably. They come in various sizes and would take up some of the trunk space, but if extended range was your primary requirement, bolting in a bigger battery would be one way to do it.

Some of the early Leafs had very little range to begin with and have lost some of that, so they're almost useless now. The other strategy with these early Leafs is to swap out the original battery for a more recent and much longer range version.
 
ecotourist said:
You can buy a (battery based) range extender for Nissan Leafs. I saw them in a video from western Europe, Holland or Denmark probably. They come in various sizes and would take up some of the trunk space, but if extended range was your primary requirement, bolting in a bigger battery would be one way to do it.

Some of the early Leafs had very little range to begin with and have lost some of that, so they're almost useless now. The other strategy with these early Leafs is to swap out the original battery for a more recent and much longer range version.
Click to expand...
Whats a leaf battery swap cost?
 
UncleDave said:
Whats a leaf battery swap cost?
Click to expand...
I'm not an expert on Leafs or the price of their batteries. I bought a Tesla for a reason.

But lots apparently - if you can even get one. A recent story in our area was that a Leaf owner was trying to buy a battery and neither the dealer nor Nissan would talk to him.

Even a used battery out of a recent (wrecked) Leaf is apparently very expensive. The only consolation is that you could buy a pristine older Leaf with its range down to almost nothing (30 miles or so) for almost nothing. And if you own a pristine older Leaf with its range down to almost nothing, there is an option.

And it sounds as though the recent longer range batteries can be swapped into older Leafs.
 
Last edited:
Here's a nice video on the installation of a kit providing a new battery and a range extender for an older Nissan Leaf. The final product looks very good. This was their first time installing this kit and it took them 2 days, so it's not a simple bolt in job.

 
UncleDave said:
A microturbine with a really high end stator and DSP converter was what I always though would be the ultimate secondary on an EV.

Could theoretically run on anything - gas, diesel, jet a, a still in your backyard.

Air cooled, one moving part, would be awesome maybe a lil loud..
Click to expand...
Honeywell developed a gas turbine APU for very light jets. Although to the best of my knowledge, it never sold. If I have the data correct, it's a 12 inch cube, with air bearings and an shaft-integral high frequency, high voltage generator that makes 10,000W. While that seems way too low for automotive uses, the shaft HP produced by a small gas turbine is pretty epic and even something this small can produce much more power than that. They use APU's for air conditioning "bleed air" and most of their power goes into producing airflow.

Using an exhaust heat exchanger and catalyst could make it near silent, much like a modern turbocharger.

 
So let me get the question out of the way: why are we towing it with a rope to charge when you can just put it on a flatbed truck with an inverter plugged in between the alternator of the flatbed truck and the charging port of the EV on the bed?
 
Last edited:
atikovi said:
In the video he mentions 65,000 watts or something. He goes from 15% charge to 50% in that 20 minute tow which is almost as fast as a super charger.
Click to expand...
I call that shenanigan. Maybe if you have a dead battery in a Nissan Leaf that has only 20 miles of range you can charge 15-50% in 20 mins. A fresh Tesla with 300 miles of range will not go from 15-50 in 20 mins unless it is dragging the tire to smoking hot on both the tow truck and the Tesla.
 
ecotourist said:
Here's a nice video on the installation of a kit providing a new battery and a range extender for an older Nissan Leaf. The final product looks very good. This was their first time installing this kit and it took them 2 days, so it's not a simple bolt in job.

Click to expand...

I was looking at Leafs about 3 years ago and the low range / out of warranty worn out ones were as low as $5500 at one point, with about 7 or 8 (forgot) bars of battery capacity left. The cost to replace battery + the worn out Leafs were about $11k total. At that point the purpose of these cars were really either as a homeless shelter parked next to a charger all day, or an old people grocery getter needing only 5 miles each way for another 5 years (assuming going from 50 miles to 5 miles will take 5 years of deterioration), or a new driver's first car going between home and high school, not much loss if you crash it.

Putting a new battery no matter how much upgrade into Leaf is a waste, they are not correctly design and a new battery without liquid cooling will still die very quickly.
 
PandaBear said:
I was looking at Leafs about 3 years ago and the low range / out of warranty worn out ones were as low as $5500 at one point, with about 7 or 8 (forgot) bars of battery capacity left. The cost to replace battery + the worn out Leafs were about $11k total. At that point the purpose of these cars were really either as a homeless shelter parked next to a charger all day, or an old people grocery getter needing only 5 miles each way for another 5 years (assuming going from 50 miles to 5 miles will take 5 years of deterioration), or a new driver's first car going between home and high school, not much loss if you crash it.

Putting a new battery no matter how much upgrade into Leaf is a waste, they are not correctly design and a new battery without liquid cooling will still die very quickly.
Click to expand...
Agreed. A Leaf down to a range of 50 miles wouldn't have much value except as a grocery getter. A first car for a new driver is an interesting idea too. An opportunity would be to salvage a 50 or 62 KWH battery out of a wreck and "bolt" that in. The value of the battery probably defines the minimum value of a wrecked Leaf.

Anyway, that's why I bought a Tesla. I've read that limo companies are putting 400,000 (fast) miles on them with only minimal degradation of the battery and very few repairs either. Whether the same is true for 200,000 miles over 20 years remains to be seen.
 
Cujet said:
Honeywell developed a gas turbine APU for very light jets. Although to the best of my knowledge, it never sold. If I have the data correct, it's a 12 inch cube, with air bearings and an shaft-integral high frequency, high voltage generator that makes 10,000W. While that seems way too low for automotive uses, the shaft HP produced by a small gas turbine is pretty epic and even something this small can produce much more power than that.
Click to expand...
That's about 43 amps at 230 volts, roughly what a typical good Level 2 charger uses; it should work ok given reasonable time, less than full overnight. It's about 13 HP which should get one between locations, perhaps slowly:unsure:.
 
madRiver said:
Seems like a near future tow truck will also carry a decent efficient genset (PTO?) to do emergency charges as part of roadside assistance.
Click to expand...
Most likely would be a rental option to have a tow truck + generator so people can tow their EV one way on road trip, then return the tow truck afterward, maybe 1 ev + 1 crew cab with a towing dolly per family is the ideal combo.
 
UncleDave said:
Whats a leaf battery swap cost?
Click to expand...

I can't find a price. There are two versions (A or B) for all 1st generation models, and all I see is "part unavailable". How many of these are needed? Never mind - 24.

https://parts.nissanusa.com/a/Nissa...3/ELECTRIC-VEHICLE-BATTERY/ZE0_US_291A_6.html
https://parts.nissanusa.com/p/Nissa...-Motor-Battery-Pack/89591000/295B9-3NA9A.html
https://parts.nissanusa.com/p/Nissa...-Motor-Battery-Pack/89595367/295B9-3NA9B.html

3722205_1.png


ZE0_US_291A_6.jpg


I found this one currently at $387.96. So 24 of them is probably over $10K including tax.

https://www.nissanpartsdeal.com/parts/nissan-battery-sub-assy-main-b~295b9-3na9b.html
 
PandaBear said:
So let me get the question out of the way: why are we towing it with a rope to charge when you can just put it on a flatbed truck with an inverter plugged in between the alternator of the flatbed truck and the charging port of the EV on the bed?
Click to expand...
Likely more for being YT clickbait than any other realistic/practical factor. There will always be that one person that questions 'what if?!?' and they just have to try it and publicize it. IMBHO it simply returns to the basic fact that it will still require fuel burning in some form to create electricity for most uses.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Nick1994
Genesis A/C Temp Issues/Fluctuations
Replies
4
Views
159
AZjeff
wwillson
GM Super Cruise - 15,000 mile review
2 3 4
Replies
72
Views
8K
MCompact
R
My 10,000 mile review of the 2024 Tahoe
2
Replies
26
Views
8K
redhat
dja4260
2024 RAM 2500 quick review
2 3
Replies
56
Views
14K
NYH
M
2023 Wrangler JL 2.0 rental review
2
Replies
33
Views
2K
D60
Back
Top Bottom