Current Affairs

[david63]

I was gobsmacked last night when Question Time was civilised, even with Alex Salmond on the panel.

[oldbluefox]

Considering the make up of the whole panel I was surprised just how civilised it all was, as was the Portsmouth audience, compared to some audiences where the boo boys tend to detract from the issues on offer.. Some of the faux pas from the studio audience were very amusing and taken in good spirit by Rees Mogg in particular.

[allatc]

Gave up on QT some time ago.

[allatc]

BBC reports show room sales of new cars are down. Diesels down by 22% - shock horror. What did they expect after the castigating diesels have had in the last months. (UK Petrol car sales also down but exports holding up)

[towny44]

There was an interesting comment from a senior exècutative at a leading car sales firm the other day, he believes that the reason for the fall in sales is that the UK market has now peaked, with just about everyone who wants a car having one. That and the fact that cars today last far longer than they used to, is likely to mean a continued fall in sales for some years to come.

[Mervyn and Trish]

I saw that too Towny. Makes sense. Also made me wonder why we are constantly seeking growth in the economy. Why do we assume we'll need to buy more stuff this year than we did last?

[towny44]

I saw that too Towny. Makes sense. Also made me wonder why we are constantly seeking growth in the economy. Why do we assume we'll need to buy more stuff this year than we did last?

Wash your mouth out you naughty Merv, don't you realise that deflation is the enemy of the working man, well it probably is according to Jeremy and his Corbynista's.

[Frank Manning]

I' ve just bought a new diesel car. Politicians are snakes in the grass. Tell you one thing then you find that if there's an excuse for a new tax they contradict themselves.

[Stephen]

I' ve just bought a new diesel car. Politicians are snakes in the grass. Tell you one thing then you find that if there's an excuse for a new tax they contradict themselves.

You only just realised Frank.

[Frank Manning]

Well not really although one of my first girl friends said 60 years ago "You are very native". It was around 1985 that I really started to become seriously disillusioned with politicians. Thatcher and her "We are going to be a service economy."

I like my diesel though.

[Mervyn and Trish]

I like mine too Frank

[towny44]

I like mine as well, but I can't help feeling a bit of a pariah after the recent negative reports.

[oldbluefox]

I can't see that wood burners help pollution levels in our cities or do much to reduce CO2 levels.

[Frank Manning]

Ah wood burners. Highly carcinogenic combustion products. Back to coal! O h whoops we've closed all the mines.

[Mervyn and Trish]

I don't feel a pariah Towny. It's all knee jerk science. Today they're pushing us towards electric at a greater cost. I'd have to do a lot more miles than I do to recoup the cost in reduced fuel before I pop my clogs!

In 20 years after we've all been forced to electric they'll start worrying about the environmental cost of disposing of all that lithium.

Oh and let's never forget. 80% of the lifetime emissions of a car are associated with its construction rather than its fuel.

[towny44]

Thanks for that Merv, I feel much better now. However I think I might have time for one more car after this one and currently I do rather fancy a plug in hybrid, by the time I need it they could be even better value than at present.

[david63]

I do rather fancy a plug in hybrid,

Currently plug in hybrids are not that practical. Firstly you have to have a charging point at home which costs several hundred pounds and the infrastructure for charging away from home is pretty poor - there are several companies that offer the service but they are unique in that if you subscribe to one you cannot use another one. Having said that this situation should improve over the next few years.

I was reading an interesting report a few weeks ago which said that the present electricity network is totally incapable of supporting plug-in electric vehicles in the domestic environment - if there were to be six cars in one street all charging at once then it would bring the area down and if you use a high speed charger at home you would not be able to boil a kettle at the same time!

[oldbluefox]

What is the feasibility of developing nitrogen oxide filters if that is the problem? Why has LPG been ignored as an alternative fuel?

[Mervyn and Trish]

On the bright side I believe all electric cars have a towing point at the front and a tow rope supplied as standard! Happy to help with my diesel!

But like Towny, maybe hybrid next time if the costs have come down.

But this time a hybrid with the equivalent spec to my diesel was several thousand pounds more expensive, even second hand and one year old as my current car was. And performance nowhere near as good.

[Frank Manning]

Isn't hydrogen technology the only one capable of pollution free emissions? With regard to NOx, that is NO, it occurs either because there is nitrogen in the fuel, or more commonly because the temperature of combustion converts nitrogen in the atmosphere to NO. This readily reacts with oxygen in the atmosphere to produce NO2, which creates acid rain. With diesels it is high compression high temperature combustion hence a bit more NO than petrol, I believe. The biggest thing with diesels is particulates, which makes me wonder seriously about all these diesel buses and trucks. I haven't heard our MP's say much about them.

Worry about NOx really began in the 1980's, and after trying to produce low O2 low stack solids burners for 10 years we had to start slowing down the furnace intensity and recycling flue gases to keep the NOx down. I dont know how that pans out with a) lots of small furnaces in existence, b) stack solids, or c) with high hydrogen fierce burning as in some refineries. But I left in 1989 and haven't kept up with it much since.

Must stop. 'er in doors has instructed me to take her shopping. Pity it's a Sunday and I cant warn the bank manager.

[towny44]

I do rather fancy a plug in hybrid,

Currently plug in hybrids are not that practical. Firstly you have to have a charging point at home which costs several hundred pounds and the infrastructure for charging away from home is pretty poor - there are several companies that offer the service but they are unique in that if you subscribe to one you cannot use another one. Having said that this situation should improve over the next few years.

I was reading an interesting report a few weeks ago which said that the present electricity network is totally incapable of supporting plug-in electric vehicles in the domestic environment - if there were to be six cars in one street all charging at once then it would bring the area down and if you use a high speed charger at home you would not be able to boil a kettle at the same time!

Not sure about this David, my son is considering a plug in hybrid for his next company car and will have a high speed charger installed at home. I believe, from what he said, that this will be on a totally separate system to his normal domestic supply so I assume it will have no impact on his normal usage. I have read some articles about the possible impact of lots of cars charging at once, but I think these are a bit like the doomsayers of the impact of Brexit, full of hot air but little true facts.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Hydrogen is only emission free at the exhaust pipe.

However the Hydrogen fuel has to be generated by electrolysis, turning water into hydrogen and oxygen, the reverse of the process which powers the car, re-creating water as the exhaust product.

Electrolysis requires electricity, which has to be generated. So Hydogen fuel is only as clean as the electricity source used to make it. And has the same problem as electric vehicles. If it became the fuel of choice it would cripple the national grid.

There is another factor with carrying a tank of Hydrogen round too. Anyone remember the Hindenberg and the R101?

[Mervyn and Trish]

I do rather fancy a plug in hybrid,

Currently plug in hybrids are not that practical. Firstly you have to have a charging point at home which costs several hundred pounds and the infrastructure for charging away from home is pretty poor - there are several companies that offer the service but they are unique in that if you subscribe to one you cannot use another one. Having said that this situation should improve over the next few years.

I was reading an interesting report a few weeks ago which said that the present electricity network is totally incapable of supporting plug-in electric vehicles in the domestic environment - if there were to be six cars in one street all charging at once then it would bring the area down and if you use a high speed charger at home you would not be able to boil a kettle at the same time!

Not sure about this David, my son is considering a plug in hybrid for his next company car and will have a high speed charger installed at home. I believe, from what he said, that this will be on a totally separate system to his normal domestic supply so I assume it will have no impact on his normal usage. I have read some articles about the possible impact of lots of cars charging at once, but I think these are a bit like the doomsayers of the impact of Brexit, full of hot air but little true facts.

It still depends on the capacity of the main electricity cable connecting his home to the grid. Unless that is replaced too the problem remains

[Stephen]

Hydrogen is only emission free at the exhaust pipe.

However the Hydrogen fuel has to be generated by electrolysis, turning water into hydrogen and oxygen, the reverse of the process which powers the car, re-creating water as the exhaust product.

Electrolysis requires electricity, which has to be generated. So Hydogen fuel is only as clean as the electricity source used to make it. And has the same problem as electric vehicles. If it became the fuel of choice it would cripple the national grid.

There is another factor with carrying a tank of Hydrogen round too. Anyone remember the Hindenberg and the R101?

Could increase your top speed significantly and adestination arrival time if things go awry

[Frank Manning]

Hydrogen is only emission free at the exhaust pipe.

However the Hydrogen fuel has to be generated by electrolysis, turning water into hydrogen and oxygen, the reverse of the process which powers the car, re-creating water as the exhaust product.

Electrolysis requires electricity, which has to be generated. So Hydogen fuel is only as clean as the electricity source used to make it. And has the same problem as electric vehicles. If it became the fuel of choice it would cripple the national grid.

There is another factor with carrying a tank of Hydrogen round too. Anyone remember the Hindenberg and the R101?

Just goes to prove the old saying "there's no such thing as a free lunch." Now where did I put those elastic bands?.