On Tue, 18 Sep 2007 14:38:43 +0000, Larry wrote:

Joe wrote in news:1190122674.465569.282800
:

Harrington's early calculations suggested the sailboat could reach 6
knots under fuel cell power, but his tests revealed a top speed of
just 1.5 knots. Future tests will incorporate larger fuel cells.




Just like cars....there's no place to STORE super-high-pressure hydrogen
gas bottles that weigh too much, is there? If you took out the diesel
fuel tank from your sailboat, the little one that runs the diesel, and
replaced it with hydrogen cylinders, how far would it travel on gas
stored in the same space? Will it go 20 miles? at 1.5 knots that's over
13 hours. Will it produce full power for 13 hours on cylinders that take
the same space as the diesel tank in a sailboat?

No, it won't, and never will, no matter how greenie feeley good it is.

Then there's this other problem:
http://www.hydrogenassociation.org/n...92h2future.asp
"At $4/gallon for gasoline, hydrogen’s break-even cost is $8/kg."
"Renewably produced hydrogen and oxygen would be cost competitive with
gasoline at about $6 per gallon."

http://local.google.com/answers/threadview?id=704915
"The price of hydrogen gas in steel cylinders costs about $100/kg."

At $100/kg, you could run a sailboat 1.5 knots for about the same price
as buying diesel for a SHIP! The ship has bigger heads and lot more
creature comforts.

Can you say "crazy" without laughing?


Larry


If I remember, Mercedes actually built a hydrogen powered car some 20
or 30 years ago. From what I read the engine functioned pretty well
but the storage of high pressure hydrogen proved to be an
unsurmountable problem. Apparently hydrogen being the lightest
molecule will leak right through most metal tanks.



Bruce in Bangkok
(brucepaigeATgmailDOTcom)