Tesla Range Extender

nwdiver

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2015
Location
Texas
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI (sold); 2012 Tesla Model S
I'll keep my TDIs - 600+ mile tank range on the 2000 Beetle (5 speed manual), 400+ mile on my 2015 Golf (with DSG).
I did enjoy only needing to fill up with fools fuel once every 2 weeks when I had my Jetta. But topping up daily for ~free in my drive way is so much better.
 

where2

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 29, 1999
Location
North Palm Beach, FL, USA
TDI
One '13 JSW_TDI & One '04 Variant_TDI
I did enjoy only needing to fill up with fools fuel once every 2 weeks when I had my Jetta. But topping up daily for ~free in my drive way is so much better.
I was down to only refueling my 2004 Jetta Wagon TDI once a month (vented), but for my daily driver having a solar array on the house and an e-Golf in the driveway is the cat's pajamas. ;)
For long road trips, we still have the wife's JSW_TDi + a 5x8 utility trailer with disc brakes.
 

Andyinchville1

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2016
Location
Virginia
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI wagon, 5 sp, 226K miles
I think 1854sailor is right about somebody figuring out a hack to allow on the move charging. It is sure to get addressed by the manufacturers once range extenders are commonplace. I'd expect charging ports will be added at the rear of vehicles for that purpose.
I read that there is a company that is making (or will make) a genset that goes in the frunk (front trunk) of the tesla to allow remote charging and I think range extension ....

With teslas becoming more popular I wonder if some business minded person will put a high output genset in the back of a pick up truck to offer charging to people where they will be for awhile (if they choose not to seek out a charger for whatever reason... basically for convenience or to prevent a possible emergency (like running out of juice on the road in stead of a tow just get charged on the side of the road....

If I were in a bigger town I would consider this (at least place ads out to test the market )..... maybe 1 800 got charge (play off of 1800 got junk)..... Hmmmm I LIKE it! ;-)
 

turbobrick240

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Location
maine
TDI
2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
That german Tesla hybrid was just using a Model 3 as a test mule. They are trying to license their genset to other manufacturers. The guy behind it worked for Felix Wankel* in rotary development many years ago. That unit put into a small trailer has potential.

* not necessarily a ringing endorsement:
jalopnik-wankel was a hateful nutjob
 
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nwdiver

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2015
Location
Texas
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI (sold); 2012 Tesla Model S
I read that there is a company that is making (or will make) a genset that goes in the frunk (front trunk) of the tesla to allow remote charging and I think range extension ....

With teslas becoming more popular I wonder if some business minded person will put a high output genset in the back of a pick up truck to offer charging to people where they will be for awhile (if they choose not to seek out a charger for whatever reason... basically for convenience or to prevent a possible emergency (like running out of juice on the road in stead of a tow just get charged on the side of the road....

If I were in a bigger town I would consider this (at least place ads out to test the market )..... maybe 1 800 got charge (play off of 1800 got junk)..... Hmmmm I LIKE it! ;-)
Tesla already has that covered; It's a trailer mounted 3MWh battery with 8 charging bays. They deploy it to bottlenecks during peak travel times like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

 
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kjclow

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 26, 2003
Location
Charlotte, NC
TDI
2010 JSW TDI silver and black. 2017 Ram Ecodiesel dark red with brown and beige interior.
Do they roll it our fully charged, or is there a way to hook it into the power supply of whereever they drop the unit? I read an article not that long ago (link from here maybe) about the diesel powered generators in the Australian outback. They dropped them about every 300 miles where there is no electircal grid to power from.
 

turbobrick240

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Location
maine
TDI
2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
They deliver the megapacks fully charged. I imagine they'd be connected to the grid where feasible. Without a grid connection, 3 MWh is enough to charge about 60 Teslas. The diesel generators make sense in extremely remote areas like the Australian outback. Eventually, the goal is to have wind/solar charge storage batteries at those remote charging stations. The percentage of energy the Tesla fleet currently gets from diesel generators is pretty much negligible.
 
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jackbombay

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 12, 2002
Location
Diesel knows best
TDI
A4 Jetta
The percentage of energy the Tesla fleet currently gets from diesel generators is pretty much negligible.
Its amazing how excited and happy tesla haters get because a tesla
occasionally gets charged by a diesel generator, the joy that Elon Musk has
brought to these people is virtually immeasurable!
 

1854sailor

Resident Curmudgeon
Joined
Aug 10, 2004
Location
Westerly, RI
TDI
2015 Golf SE SportWagen, 2015 Golf SE Hatch Back.
Can you please resize that photo? It's three screens wide...

Tesla already has that covered; It's a trailer mounted 3MWh battery with 8 charging bays. They deploy it to bottlenecks during peak travel times like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
 

Andyinchville1

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2016
Location
Virginia
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI wagon, 5 sp, 226K miles
Can you please resize that photo? It's three screens wide...
Big pic for a big set up .... wow :-O

definitely beats my pick up truck charger for maybe 2 cars (one on each side of the pick up)

I guess the next really big thing would be a mini nuclear power plant ! BUT on a more ecologically minded practical level, maybe set up a bunch of stationary bikes to turn generators to make the power to charge a tesla .... charge the owners to huff and puff their way to fitness and a full charge .... hmmm It's green and about good health ...
 

nwdiver

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2015
Location
Texas
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI (sold); 2012 Tesla Model S
BUT on a more ecologically minded practical level, maybe set up a bunch of stationary bikes to turn generators to make the power to charge a tesla
Fun Fact: A 65" x 40" solar panel produces more power in full sun than the average human can sustain for more than a few minutes (~300w) ;)
 

jackbombay

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 12, 2002
Location
Diesel knows best
TDI
A4 Jetta
Fun Fact: A 65" x 40" solar panel produces more power in full sun than the average human
can sustain for more than a few minutes (~300w) ;)
With summer bike fitness I can do ~300 watts* on my bike for ~40 minutes, but I have to disable the alarm bells in the engine
room to do that, a tactic reserved only for short time trial/hill climb rides, I've heard from some guys that when you go really super
stupid hard your vision can start to falter, I've not gotten that, but it wouldn't surprise me if I get there at some point.

This really highlights how much power there actually is in sunshine, and it REALLY highlights just how much we take for granted
being essentially surrounded by unlimited power, be it a wall outlet or a gas pump, or sunshine.


*Thats according to Strava's algorithms, I don't run a power meter, but the strava estimations are supposed to be quite close
(within a few percent) according to bike geeks that have checked its accuracy with power meter equipped bikes.
 
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tikal

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2001
Location
Southeast Texas
TDI
2004 Passat Wagon (chainless + 5 MT + GDE tune)
No hate (fear) here for many TDI owners and enthusiasts!

Its amazing how excited and happy tesla haters get because a tesla
occasionally gets charged by a diesel generator, the joy that Elon Musk has
brought to these people is virtually immeasurable!
That maybe the case. But there are TDI owners (like myself and others) that see (in this decade) the light duty diesel + electrical vehicles as an environmentally exciting and synergistic way to fulfill the transportation needs of their families.

Maybe we are more quiet than other posters in this forum but we are here :)
 

jackbombay

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 12, 2002
Location
Diesel knows best
TDI
A4 Jetta
That maybe the case. But there are TDI owners (like
myself and others) that see (in this decade) the light duty diesel + electrical
vehicles as an environmentally exciting and synergistic way to fulfill the
transportation needs of their families.
I am in full support of electric vehicles!

I look forward to the day I have one in my stable!

I just like making fun of the haters a bit here and there, you have to admit its
kind of beautiful, and ironic, that it is Elon who essentially brings all the haters
so much joy.
 

where2

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 29, 1999
Location
North Palm Beach, FL, USA
TDI
One '13 JSW_TDI & One '04 Variant_TDI
Fun Fact: A 65" x 40" solar panel produces more power in full sun than the average human can sustain for more than a few minutes (~300w) ;)
Yep, that's why I have had 20 of those 65"x40" panels on my roof since 2013. The sun comes up, they work, same thing tomorrow. I have another 20 in my garage on a pallet (behind the VW Corrado) to go in my backyard (my 2-story house is out of roof space for additional solar panels).
Based on the short time I've owned my e-Golf (5 months), my average monthly driving requires 5 PV panels worth of energy. The 5 additional PV panels with their micro-inverters came with a price tag of a whopping $1350 (plus racking). That same money would have bought me ~21,214 miles worth of Diesel at current prices near me of $2.80/gal and 43mpg.

I love my TDIs, but using PV to power an EV is like getting free bio-diesel without the headaches that running B100 had.
 
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