Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!iuvax!cica!ctrsol!emory!stiatl!john
From: john@stiatl.UUCP (John DeArmond)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Electric cars?  Start with wheelchairs.
Message-ID: <6579@stiatl.UUCP>
Date: 22 Aug 89 22:20:35 GMT
References: <3659@internal.Apple.COM> <5481@ttidca.TTI.COM> <3706@internal.Apple.COM> <21503@cup.portal.com>
Reply-To: john@stiatl.UUCP (John DeArmond)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Sales Technologies Inc., "The Procedure IS the product"
Lines: 20

In article <21503@cup.portal.com> wordy@cup.portal.com (Steven K Roberts) writes:
>I can't help but wonder why nobody ever mentions solar power in 
>discussions like this.  The Solarex SX-LITE panels weigh about 2
>pounds and put out 18 watts, at a retail cost of $175 or so.  Admittedly
>this is not cheap, but that's 1.2 amps per panel of charge
>current (they're scaled for direct connection to 12V batteries,

For the same reason nobody mentions a squirrel in a cage or a crank generator
or dry cells. None of these have within an order of magnitude of the needed
current to charge these batteries.  

Hmm, letssee... typical deep discharge 12 volt battery is 100 amp-hours.  At
1.8 amps charging, one would need about 55 hours of sunlight a day (assuming
100% effeciency) to recharge the thing.  Funny, I misplaced my collection
of 72 hour days.  All I have now are 24 hour one.  Won't work.

-- 
John De Armond, WD4OQC                     | Manual? ... What manual ?!? 
Sales Technologies, Inc.    Atlanta, GA    | This is Unix, My son, You 
...!gatech!stiatl!john    **I am the NRA** | just GOTTA Know!!!