Hi Listers,
Mark Moberg writes:
One of the problems with hydrogen is the "Hindenburg perception." Way too
many people have that image in their heads. But this show demonstrated that
hydrogen is really very safe. To begin with, despite the incredible
pictures, there were survivors of the Hindenburg: Being lighter than air,
hydrogen rises, away from the crash. Tell that to people in Pintos, who got
sloshed with gasoline before it ignited.. . . . . . . . .I've always felt
that hydrogen may well be the long-term fuel source.
Mark Moburg
MarkMoburg@mindspring.com
New York, New York
Mark - There is a firm in El Segundo that has a running hydrogen powered
Ford Ranger pickup that used a B&M supercharged, 16 to 1 compression ratio
2300cc four in it that will almost go as well as a stock gas version. You
can stick your nose in the tailpipe and inhale deeply. Just water vapor(and
no, you can't get high!). These guys have also developed a solar hydrogen
gas generator that "brews" fuel in the parking lot behind their offices.
The biggest power user is the pump that has to compress the fuel into the
tanks on the truck. About those tanks, that is a problem as they take up a
full half of the pickup bed so the truck will have a decent range. A truck
that one can brew fuel for and only spits out water vapor. Sounds almost
subversive!
As for the Hindenburg perception, My great uncle, Morris Feibusch, died in
the Hindenburg, and my father has always been a Hindenberg history buff. It
is known that the outside of the craft was covered with aircraft canvas
finished in numerous coats of nitricellulous lacquer. If you watch the
films of the crash, you will notice that the fire starts near the bottom,
burns up the sides and as the ship goes down, there are two big explosions
that come from the top and go straight up in the air as the hydrogen tanks
blow. Historians now feel that it was the paint that first ignited.
The guys who built the truck say that the main problem that they have
selling their idea is the Hindenburg perception! See you on the Funway! -
Rick Feibusch - Venice, CA
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