xkcd

8773 readers

9 users here now

A community for a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

1103

xkcd #2948: Electric vs Gas (xkcd.com)

submitted 4 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

733 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Alt text:

An idling gas engine may be annoyingly loud, but that's the price you pay for having WAY less torque available at a standstill.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[+] [email protected] -16 points 4 months ago (4 children)

Yeah they're great. Just gotta pull out a diesel generator to charge them when it's minus 40

[–] [email protected] 18 points 4 months ago

Probably easier than thawing the gasoline in the ice engine, which freezes at -40. And your diesel generator won't run either unless you kept it plugged in to keep the fuel from turning to gel (that process starts at -10).

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago

As a person who got trapped because our family's diesel car got gelled in cold weather, I'm not sure your generator is going to help.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

To be fair the comic said nothing of batteries. Case in point: there are "gas engines" that are basically a generator connected to an electric motor because it's more efficient than just using an ICE. The generator is optimized for small constant torque and the electric motor delivers as much torque as the system demands.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago

Don't forget to plug in your block warmer so you can start up your diesel generator in the cold.