Here in lies a scattering of some ideas I have from time to time
stable pontoon/yacht using off the shelf components
Biggest problem I faced was huge expense to obtain a stable craft to size I want that can be made super lightweight for travel over land
What I propose is to use lengths of standard plastic stormwater pipe & fittings.
The keel would have an elbow each end with cap containing tap, perhaps a screwcap, but has to be air/water tight as this is the ballast/keel & will be filled with dense salt water.
one end of this keel would have air fittings in order to afix a compressor to pump saline water out via a hose attached to inside base of pipe and tap at other end.
This wont enpty all the keel but should be sufficient to lighten it substantially without having to tip hull completely over which would be the alternate method if you had screw type caps on each end under these fittings.
Next we lay the same pipework either side of the keel till you have the hull size desireed creating similar air/pipe work as in the keel to allow filling with freshwater instead for use as drinking water.
The outer pipework containing either hydrogen or air to assist stability.
The very outside of this pipework being exposed to water could then be sprayed with fibreglass resin or other suitable protecting agent to prevent plastic receiving brunt of forces & to seal any possible gaps between pipework.
I believe you can get these storm water pipes in lengths of 6metres from most hardware outlets, but with joiners/clever thinking you could create longer craft then this with joiners offset to ensure solid construction with a certain degree of flex.
Solar follower
Unlike most which use 2 directions for positioning panel/whatever I propose a rotating follower spinning at the same amount as the planet unless on a moving platform in which case it'd rotate in accordance with the moving platforms direction as well as the earths rotation with one arm to adjust slope of itam to be pointing towards sun in order to take advantage of far easterly(sunrise)/westerly(sunset) @ 90degrees orientatation or almost flat depending on location/season at midday.
I believe such a unit would have fewer parts to wear out & require less energy to operate in order to focus whatever onto the sun/moon.
power storage & use
The intent is to use Hydrogen & oxygen from seawater until enough water is generated to enclose our system.
We shall never release either though except as water or we risk bubbling off the water from the rock we live on & turning it into Mars or worse.
Start off by having a network of pipes filled with coolant(glycol/water mix or maybe something more toxic, needs experimentation) being heated with solar or excess heat from other devices in use.
This coolant is delivered to the base of a salt water evap tank.
The purpose of this tank is to gather pure water free of all the salts/other chemicals found in seawater.
The salt generated from this tank should be pure enough to use in cooking.
It need be only large enough to generate enough water/salt to live off of course as once the base water for our power is generated we shall no longer need it for anything else.
Next we split this water using our photovoltaic cells, wind turbine or other passive generators power output.
We collect & compress both hydrogen & oxygen into their respective tanks.
We can now run both these to either an Internal Combustion Engine or fuelcell stack for safe use in generating heat/power/movement with the only exhaust being water which should in theory be pure enough not to cause any sort of corrosion/oxidation.
Community Cooking spotshull from scrap
For a while now I've been thinking bout joining cut up Aluminium cans for use in constructing a lightweight but reasonably durable/easy to fix hull for use on my trike/other things.
The problem was how to join my nicely cut up tin cans together?
Then Brett a supplier of ev kits for cycles mentioned something about making fairings, etc for cycles using flywire & fibreglass
Hence my answer.
Cut up the cans so each lies flat with advertising facing up, butted to one another.
put a strip of flywire, chickenwire or other material across the join.
Fibreglass the lot in place
Improving photoVoltaic panel output
Ever felt the underside of a solar panel producing panel in direct sun?
Noticed how the output of these panels reduces as the thermostat increases?
My idea is to try & bring the output lost from this phenomenum back to the panel while using that wasted energy to produce water.
How you might ask?
Ever notice the puddle of water under your car/aircon unit while it's operating?
This is due to the waterin the heated air condensing as it hits the colder pipework
Basically what is required is a bunch of coolant filled pipework under these optimally configured panels running up to a tank embedded within & out the top of an old kero fridge with the pipework coming out the top of the solar panel going through the heating chimney of kero fridge & pipework leading from the storage tank above the kero fridge passing back through the cooling area & to the base of the solar panel
In theory the coolant as it heats & expands under the panel will rise up through the chimney of the kero fridge causing the mixture within to expand & gain it's cooling properties before reaching the storage tank where the mixture just converted within the kero fridge cools it to begin the process again as it settles back to the base of the solar panel.
Around the sides & base of this fridge I expect water to be generated which can be channelled into a tank and/or treated for drinking.Upshot of this process is the photo Voltaic array should remain within optimum operating temperature & perform better without using any of the electricity generated from the pv.
Disadvantages I foresee include a bulkier install probably not suitable for roof installs if your panels are atop flimsy buildings I hear about being blown away in storms every year.
Salt Water/Hydrogen battery
Start with a column of water connected between two sealed tanks of water at differing heights.
At the top of the highest tank place a fuelcell to convert the hydrogen back to water
At any point below the level of the salt water have a pair of electrodes
The cathode releasing Hydrogen back through the salt water & the Anode releasing the Oxygen outside
The object here is to allow you to collect enough hydrogen to operate independently of fossil fuel by allowwing as many inputs as you like & using gravity via displaced water to move the hydrogen to the accummulation point where you desire the power.
It is not thought to give any better performance then traditional batteries or indeed save on energy losses, but hopefully it's more efficient then transferring electricity via wires & if setup correctly perhaps the elevated salt water can spin a turbine albeit slowly as it moves down with gravity allowing the hydrogen to gather at the top of the stack.
Due to the explosive nature of hydrogen when mixed with oxygen/air & a spark I'm uncertain what will occur with hydrogen rising through large volumns of water flowing down, but lightning & explosions come to mind
In theory the water side of the system is enclosed meaning that so long as no extra NaCl is added you wont get a buildup of salt on the Cathode/Anode, but given the oxygen is travelling outside this system it's possible that carbon & other contaminates will be introduced to the system & thereby coating the electrodes
If carbon & other contaminants enter at the top of the tank to the reformed water & provide you electricity, your water may go black & start growing algae. possibly hindering the electrolysis & blocking any gravity turbines.
After recently acquiring a trike, I've decided to build a human/electric powered land/water vechile
This vechile shall be recumbent in nature like my trike but have a hull with retractable wheels, retractable hydrofoils & an inflatable skirt
For flat relatively smooth surfaces like a road, the wheels would be employed.
For rough undulating surfaces like the edge of a lake, a beach, rooted cycle ways, the skirts & two high volumn fans would be engaged
For the smooth ocean/lakes the fans & hydrofoils would be employed
Alternative to the skirts would be to use some aerodynamic container(s) containing enough water to make the craft neutrally buoyant in air when converted to Hydrogen
Using rubbish construct battery banks that when charged are neutrally buoyant unlike your standard metal based batteries
I intend to use fruit juice containers filled with salt water & an Aluminium can as my electrode for the creation of Hydrogen via electrolysis
To reclaim the power from the Hydrogen I intend to use either stainless steel(knives & other cutlery are commonly thrown away) or rubbish nickel
This allows me to dump all my power into these batts in parallel via electrolysis & link them in series via the catalyst to step up the voltage from multiple cells
So if I only get 2volt's from each batt hopefully after joining 12batts together I get 24volts.
Area takenup is probably fairly similar to your standard 2volt cell, but wieght should only be about 2kilo's when discharged or much lessif charged allowig discharge & recharge to happen simultaneously
Continuing on the theme of recycling other peoples rubbish into something useful, the goal is to utilise old tyres which might have tread left on them but have suffered some other problem like a stake through the tread/side.
Starting with the largest possible diameter wheel with little or no tread pattern cut the sidewall off completely & remove the tread in one continuous piece to be used as the base of the track, the bigger diameter the long the track requiring fewer tyres.
The using the smallest diameter, but widest possible tyres, cut them in half across the tread for attaching to previous mention track.
The second lot of smaller diameter tyre should be attached to the larger diameter track using very large headed bolts, with the nut end on the inside of the track so they remain undamaged from debris the track might encounter & attached in locations to prevent damage from the driving Rims also.
The top portion of the track should be completely enclosed & utilise pipework alongside it to allow the rolling half of the track not being used for propulsion to compress water captured to be used in jet style to assist propulsion when being used in water.
My rotor idea consists of at least one rear back pedal braking wheel, some microwave Oven covers or old washing machines and half a bike frame
anchor bike frame on it's side(, makes no differrence which) to the ground & cut the top half of the frame which holds the rear axle onto it
Attach back pedal wheel to the frame leaving the top of the axle to spin free
anchor bits of microwave/washing machine onto the rim of the wheel leaving enough room for a piece of pipe to reach down & steady the top of the axle.
depending on the weight of your rotor you might need to place bearings between the frame & the Rim to support the weight/keep it running true.
In theory you shouldn't need any bearings except in gusty wind which might catch the rotor & the bearings should prevent same from bending your axle & wrecking the rotor.
some of you may be familiar with the tent camper I recently acquired which has also appeared on New Inventors giving you some indication as to it's prototype status.
My current idea is to incorporate some highly durable plastic bladder(s) filled with hydrogen to offset the wieght of this trailer & the solar panels/other construction I intend to take in order to replace the crappy, difficult(for me) to erect tent which sits atop it.
I've already replaced at least one of the wheels I lost due to design flaw & use of nylock nuts on an axle that spins & loosens the nuts at speeds in excess of 20kph & am hoping by turning it into an almost buoyant in air trailer that the existing wheels will become superflous & only needed when enduring rough terrain or under a load that exceeds it's buoyancy.
The manufacturer of this product has already rejected my hints at desiring some sort of assistance in fixing it's faults because it was a prototype and pretty much placed the blame for it's faults on me instead, so rather then arguing with him or going the litigation path I've decided to give no recommendation for his product, despite the high number of people who interrogate me about it & instead will try to correct & improve upon the concept and build my own open source model eventually in the hopes that others will do likewise & leave me alone.
pollution reduction/infrastructure improvement
Apply a tax to all fossil fuels for the purposes of improving infrastructure for cyclists, wheelchair users & pedestrians.
It doesn't seem fair that users other than those of fossil fuels are paying taxes to subsidise the scams & infrastructure they are not entitled/able to use whilst also being forced to suffer the pollution consequences.
Ideally a rail path system implemented next to a multi use path would be the best alternative offerring a good cross section of use for all except those who pollute the planet with noise/heat/toxins.
This rail system would allow cyclists/wheelchairs suitably fitted with appropriate guide wheels to traverse smoothly at speed without endangering path users whilst still being able to use the path next to it in event of failure/blockage/other problem.
Larger multipeople carrying platforms like traditional electric trains would be required to have appropriate safety items fitted to catch anything within it's path via a multiple use inflatable device similar to the single use counterparts used in the wasteful pollution vechiles.
It should not be that difficult to implement the appropriate slow down/detection mechanisms however to render such collissions very unlikely however during construction of such tracks in case sumone using the path wanders onto the track.
Added benefits long term include :
A reduction in road toll
A reduction in people requiring medical/obesity intervention
A reduction in noise/toxin/heat pollution
A drop in prices for appropriate cycles/wheelchairs
A drop in the wastage currently linked with shoving half tonne+ vechiles through our precious environment
Less roadkill, human & otherwise
The ultimate in user pays for destroying the environment doubling each year till the brain dead finally get the message
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