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Post by JerryScript on Nov 20, 2014 13:05:00 GMT -5
Just ran across this article about a new small rotary engine that could be used in scooters within 2-3 years. The X-Mini  A few specs: -4 lb core weight -3 chambers which balance out vibrations -only two moving parts -small 6.6"x6.2"x5.4" -currently at 3.5bhp, plans to punch it up to 5bhp More info in this article: Liquid Piston Unveils X Mini Engine |
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Post by tvnacman on Nov 20, 2014 13:50:45 GMT -5
I had trouble catching Mazda XR7'S back in the day . I was pushing a 5.0 Ho I had to out drive to them .
John
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Post by bnc on Nov 20, 2014 15:42:58 GMT -5
Around here, Tesla's and Nissan Leafs are becoming pretty common. I see four or five every day. One of my best friend's now owns two electric cars. The electric car business is driving down the cost of batteries so I suspect that will be the future.
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Post by scooter on Nov 20, 2014 16:31:08 GMT -5
Just ran across this article about a new small rotary engine that could be used in scooters within 2-3 years. The X-Mini A few specs: -4 lb core weight -3 chambers which balance out vibrations -only two moving parts -small 6.6"x6.2"x5.4" -currently at 3.5bhp, plans to punch it up to 5bhp More info in this article: Liquid Piston Unveils X Mini EngineCouldn't they make it a little smaller? hehehe That looks like a game changer. |
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Post by spandi on Nov 20, 2014 17:09:09 GMT -5
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Post by JerryScript on Nov 20, 2014 17:26:37 GMT -5
Having ridden electric bicycles for three years, I can tell you that they are not worthwhile until battery tech makes a couple more big steps. With SLAs you must recharge immediately after use or they die a quick death. With LiFePO4, you must have the added expense of a balancing board. Either way, I went through more in the cost of batteries yearly than the entire cost of the electric bikes. Till battery tech makes some huge improvements, I'll stick with ICEs.
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Post by wheelbender6 on Nov 20, 2014 19:03:26 GMT -5
That little rotary engine is cool. Imagine having an engine in your scooter that has little more vibration
than an electric motor. I love the location of the 3 spark plugs.
Spandi- I'd rather have a Hydrogen fuel cell powered scooter. I think you posted a link to a prototype Hydro powered scooter a while back.
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Post by spandi on Nov 23, 2014 3:08:34 GMT -5
That little rotary engine is cool. Imagine having an engine in your scooter that has little more vibration than an electric motor. I love the location of the 3 spark plugs. Spandi- I'd rather have a Hydrogen fuel cell powered scooter. I think you posted a link to a prototype Hydro powered scooter a while back. Thanks. That's where I see the future heading, in another ten or twenty years the only place you'll see an IC engine is in a museum or a gasoline buff club get together. (Like you see with steam powered cars and farm implements now)  |
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Post by shalomdawg on Nov 23, 2014 15:04:59 GMT -5
howdy, interesting, they would certainly make a good add on power for a standard bicycle or tricycle. i'd also be interested if they can run an intershaft and stack them. if you put ten in a row you have a little more hp than my bv350. i expect sizing up would be more efficient because of the problem of phasing ten of them . still it is interesting. thanks for the thread
lotsa miles and smiles to ya
ken
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Post by xyshannen on Nov 23, 2014 19:50:33 GMT -5
Having owned 2 first gen Rx-7s I can tell you rotary engines are not without their problems. I would love to see what this design gets in MPG.
Jerry, Just curious as to where you were getting LiFe Po4 batteries that did not come with a balancing board already installed. I don't think I've seen a ready made battery pack sold without one. Until my scoot I rode nothing but my ebike for almost 5 years and in that time only had to buy 2 batteries. The second one I bought simply because I wanted higher voltage. The first pack still had many cycles left on it when I retired it.
Hobby grade LiPos are showing more and more promise as being a reliable means of power for electric vehicles. Year after year they get more and more stable and are now to a point that as long as you do some basic pre checks of the cells they are almost 100% safe.
Really the only down side to an ebike is not being able to ride 2 up and range. But at roughly 30-40 miles per charge, range isn't a huge issue.
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Post by JerryScript on Nov 24, 2014 14:19:15 GMT -5
I'm drawing a complete blank on who I ordered those LiFePO4 batteries from without a BMS. I used individual cell chargers once a week, which worked fine for about 1.5 years, then one of the cells had an issue, and it very quickly degenerated the rest. BMS is IMHO an absolute necessity on LiFePO4. The reason I took a chance on them is they were only $120 each for 12v 20ah 4-cell batteries, cheapest at the time (most were in the $200-300 price range back then). This was back when Ping was considered the best for custom e-bike builds. BTW- I rode an eZip Mountain Trailz for 4 years, loved everything but the cagers not paying attention to me thinking I would be as slow as other bikes.
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Post by xyshannen on Nov 25, 2014 12:53:27 GMT -5
Yah I don't know how long I would have put up with using individual cell chargers. That had to be a pain. My packs both came with a BMS and a one plug charger that did the whole pack.. I did pay quit a bit more for my packs. The 65 volt was a lil over 800 shipped.
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Post by earlwb on Nov 26, 2014 23:23:23 GMT -5
It has me wondering if it is just another rotary engine like they had years ago. Fuel economy wasn't a strong suit with the engines. They did run good though. I think the old Sears Lawnmower with a rotary engine was pretty neat. I would have bought one for sure, but I was in the military at the time and had no need for a lawnmower. Norton made a motorcycle for a short while using a rotary engine too. Mazda of course made cars for a number of years using rotary engines. There were a couple of companies that made model airplane rotary engines too, OS and Ericksson.
When I was a kid, many years ago, I remember reading in Popular Science or Popular Mechanics about a unique rotary engine that was going to revolutionize the world. Helicopters with a engine the size of a hat box, etc. But I don't remember anything ever happening with it.
But it would be pretty interesting to see it in a scooter or motorcycle though. I can see them using motorcycles as many states don't have strict emissions laws and regulations for them.
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Post by JerryScript on Nov 29, 2014 22:30:55 GMT -5
Had time to look into this engine a bit more. It is really promising in it's design goals and potential. Here's a link to LiquidPiston's webpage about it, with videos showing the combustion sequence in a slow-mo graphic and a 20,000fps real time video with the engine cover replaced by quartz so you can see the combustion occuring: X Mini Gasoline Engine PrototypeIt's an inside-out wankel design, with only two internal seals, eliminating the need for fuel/oil mixing that makes the wankel undesirable in today's eco-conscious world. It uses no valves, instead only having ports in the chamber walls that are uncovered by the rotating shaft. It fires three times per revolution, another improvement over the wankel's once per revolution, giving it a much higher torque potential. It is balanced so that those three fires per revolution counteract each other, preventing vibration, making it almost vibration free. The design allows for an increased combustion period over almost all other engine designs, allowing for more expansion, meaning you get more energy out of the same amount of fuel. Speaking of fuel, it can be configured to run on various fuel types, including gas and diesel. I hope it lives up to the hype! There will be a need for a good, small, relatively high powered ICE engine for a long time no matter how good electrics become. |
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Post by ricardoguitars on Nov 30, 2014 0:28:47 GMT -5
I like that it doesn't need a computer attached to work (and mostly fail), like most modern engines  |
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