Could you charge an i3 by towing it?

[RossP]

This idea just popped into my head and it's a pretty pointless topic really...

But I was thinking that an i3 would make a good car to tow behind a camper van. Potentially could you recharge the i3 battery while it was being towed (on an a-frame)?

[kambites]

I suppose there's no theoretical reason why not, but you'd have to have it turned on and I dread to think what it would do to the economy of the towing vehicle.

[rohrl]

If you fitted a magnet on the end of a pole then bolted it to the front bumper you could sneak up behind a lorry on the motorway. Hitch yourself on to it and you get a free tow as well as a recharge.

[Benj1984]

If it uses the a similar electrical system to hybrid toyota/lexus then no. They can't be towed any faster than walking pace as it ruins the motor generators.

[Benj1984]

If it uses the a similar electrical system to hybrid toyota/lexus then no. They can't be towed any faster than walking pace as it ruins the motor generators.

[joewilliams]

Even if the electrical system on the car could take it, think about where the power to turn the generators is coming from.

[The Moose]

Surely it'd use a st load of petrol to tow the thing to charge it up?

You can't get energy "for free" so it'd have to come from somewhere - maybe just smoke around in a normal petrol powered car?!

[Debaser]

You can charge a Leaf by towing it.

[The Moose]

Debaser said:

You can charge a Leaf by towing it.

What about lots of Leafs??

[Steffan]

I do think that the practical answer is no, not at reasonable cost or speed. As others have said the towing speed would not be suitable on the roads and the car generators will burn out. In theory I suppose you could run a charging cable from the towing vehicle direct onto the car itself bur again the losses etc on towing would make this prohibitive I think. Charging in the normal way strikes me as preferable.

[Slow]

Think he meant for people going camping where they tow smart cars and things behind?

[ADEuk]

How much fuel would a small petrol/diesel generator need to fully charge one?

[rohrl]

ADEuk said:

How much fuel would a small petrol/diesel generator need to fully charge one?

Not very much as it could run constantly at it's most efficient speed not being linked to the speed of the roadwheels. You've just invented the Fisker Karma btw.

[Debaser]

Forgot the link earlier..

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1060638_can-yo...

[Mave]

Surely easier to connect the battery of the i3 to the towing vehicle electrically?

[RossP]

It wasn't really a serious suggestion as being the best way to charge it. I just wondered if it would be possible.

[Gilhooligan]

Possible. But the conservation of energy suggests it's not a great idea.

[anonymous-user]

Assuming the car was correctly turned on, and on "drive" then towing the car at any speed above the min regen speed will charge the battery. Of course depending on the torque calibration the system may limit the amount of regen to prevent the system over heating etc

[Bobley]

Some car towing frames include a mechanism to activate the brakes on the towed car. Conversely you could use a load cell in the tow hitch to activate the accelerator too?

Why not ditch the mechanical tow hitch completely and connect the CAN bus together over Bluetooth and use the active cruise radar/electric steering and just tell the I3 to follow closely behind?

[Steffan]

It is clearly possible to arrange a method of towing an i3 which would produce a charge in the batteries of the car. Whether this would be worthwhile is another question. I do not think it would be worth the effort required because there are a number of existing ways to charge such a car. The losses inherent in the system proposed for this purpose seem to me to be self defeating.