[Mike 108]

- Wind power (i.e. during forward motion of the car)?

Last year I saw a canal boat with a small windmill/vane type thing attached to a small mast at the front of the boat. There it was spinning away (with not much wind). I could see a cable running down the mast and into the cabin.

I shouted across to the owner and asked what it was for and he said it charged his battery up.

You sometimes see similar things on the roofs of local authority vans, or police vans, presumably used to either send fresh air into the van, or take stale air out.

If electricity was generated whenever the thing was spinning, you could perhaps be feeding a 'trickle charge' into your battery (for use with the water pump) whenever you were driving (or were stationary, if the wind was blowing).

I will try and look into it - but has anybody else got any thoughts about the possibilities?

Mike

[Frank pole]

You can go solar! there`s a van near to where I live has 2 x 25 watt solar panel`s on top of his van  ( 57 plate transit )- only half inch thick so you cant even see them unless you are looking down on the van - you can even buy solar panels on flea bay now! He says that he gets enough power to work all week! but I dont know how busy he is.

[Mr Cleannclear]

Make sure you have beans for tea the night before , then if theres no wind you could use bean power

[Mike 108]

 

[AuRavelling79]

Forgetting the solar option for a mo'

Your alternator draws on the engine to charge the van battery. If you use it to charge your system battery then it will use a small amount of engine power.

If you put a "windmill" on your van then it will be slightly harder for the engine to push along as it's aerodynamic efficiency will be degraded. So it isn't "free" power.

The question is: does the engine take more power to drive the alternator or to drive the windmill? I don't know but wonder if there is much in it.

....

Now if you have a windmill on your house roof trickle charging your battery over night then that is "free". But is it worth the outlay?