Red Diesel

[Dr Jekyll]

Could I legally use red diesel to fuel a generator to charge my Tesla for road use? If I had a Tesla, and a generator, and some red diesel.

[bobtail4x4]

cant see why not, the genny can run on red or white.

you use it for other things too?

[MDMA .]

You can run a generator on red, but you'd need a big one, more than likely with pure sine output, good earth grounding which all seems like a waste of time. Just plug it in. Will be cheaper.

[Dr Jekyll]

MDMA . said:

You can run a generator on red, but you'd need a big one, more than likely with pure sine output, good earth grounding which all seems like a waste of time. Just plug it in. Will be cheaper.

So I couldn't run it in the boot of my Tesla then?

[MDMA .]

Dr Jekyll said:

So I couldn't run it in the boot of my Tesla then?

Just buy a hybrid

[codenamecueball]

Dr Jekyll said:

So I couldn't run it in the boot of my Tesla then?

I imagine that will be a very short drive for you and your family...

[Dr Jekyll]

codenamecueball said:

I imagine that will be a very short drive for you and your family...

I can appreciate there would be safety issues. I'm just intrigued by refuelling my home made hybrid with red diesel arguably legally.

[Countdown]

MDMA . said:

You can run a generator on red, but you'd need a big one, more than likely with pure sine output, good earth grounding which all seems like a waste of time. Just plug it in. Will be cheaper.

Would the electrical output of a generator using red diesel be different to one using white?

I assumed the OP was asking about the legalities of using red diesel rather than white. I would have thought that the leccy coming out would be the same using either fuel.....?

[anonymous-user]

I think the moment you have the generator in use in the car whilst the car is on the road, you might be on the wrong side of the law.

I think lawyers could make a strong defence, but HMRC may well confiscate your car in the meantime

How much would it cost in red diesel to charge a tesla compared to domestic electricity anyway? Let alone a free supercharger session!

[anonymous-user]

JPJPJP said:

I think the moment you have the generator in use in the car whilst the car is on the road, you might be on the wrong side of the law.

I think lawyers could make a strong defence, but HMRC may well confiscate your car in the meantime

How much would it cost in red diesel to charge a tesla compared to domestic electricity anyway? Let alone a free supercharger session!

Not to mention the fact that the car can’t be driven while it’s plugged in.

[MDMA .]

In the OP, i just thought he meant could he run a genny on red to charge a car. Only later mentioned having it in the boot.
Hope he's not a real Doctor!

[Willy Nilly]

Per KW/Hr, I would expect that it would be considerably more expensive to charge the batteries with a generator than buying the stuff on draft off the grid.

[MDMA .]

Willy Nilly said:

Per KW/Hr, I would expect that it would be considerably more expensive to charge the batteries with a generator than buying the stuff on draft off the grid.

But we're finding a solution for a problem that doesn't exist

[citizensm1th]

MDMA . said:

Willy Nilly said:

Per KW/Hr, I would expect that it would be considerably more expensive to charge the batteries with a generator than buying the stuff on draft off the grid.

But we're finding a solution for a problem that doesn't exist

from a mind that dosen't ...........ohhh never mind

[gazza285]

You can charge it, but you wouldn't be allowed to drive it while it was on charge using red, even if it was possible.

[caziques]

i would suggest that if the car was parked on private property it wouldn't be an issue.

Red and white diesel are identical petroleum products, a generator is say 30% efficient.

A litre of diesel is 10kWhrs. So if diesel is 45p a litre - and you get 3kWhrs of electricity out of it, that's 15p per kWhr.

A 3kW generator would add 15-20 miles of range to a Tesla per hour (and cost 45p).

Seeing as you can draw 13 amps or 3.3kW from a standard UK plug, much easier to run an extension lead to charge an EV rather than use a generator.

[Rubin215]

caziques said:

i would suggest that if the car was parked on private property it wouldn't be an issue.

Red and white diesel are identical petroleum products, a generator is say 30% efficient.

A litre of diesel is 10kWhrs. So if diesel is 45p a litre - and you get 3kWhrs of electricity out of it, that's 15p per kWhr.

A 3kW generator would add 15-20 miles of range to a Tesla per hour (and cost 45p).

Seeing as you can draw 13 amps or 3.3kW from a standard UK plug, much easier to run an extension lead to charge an EV rather than use a generator.

How long is your extension lead though?

Some of these EV thingumibobs can go 180 miles or so...

[donkmeister]

gazza285 said:

You can charge it, but you wouldn't be allowed to drive it while it was on charge using red, even if it was possible.

This.
The motive energy source is the red diesel. Whether you have a mechanical transmission, an electric transmission or a hydrostatic transmission makes no odds.
If i put red diesel into a car with a non-locking torque convertor, there is no mechanical linkage between the engine and wheels, but that doesn't mean i can legally use it on the roads.

[gmaz]

codenamecueball said:

I imagine that will be a very short drive for you and your family...

The concept worked fine in the Hammerhead Eagle i-Thrust

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/top-ge...

[Wait Here Until Green Light Shows]

You will need a quite sizeable (read: massive) generator to get anywhere near what you get at forecourt supercharging stations (480v 400Kwh)
UK 13A wall sockets can only charge at up to 22 miles per hour.