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writing:using_every_part_of_the_car [2025/11/11 13:36] – JacobCoffinWriteswriting:using_every_part_of_the_car [2026/08/04 22:59] (current) – JacobCoffinWrites
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   * Depending on the vehicle, its frame (if it has one), axles, and wheels can be used to make a trailer, cart, or similar. (I’ve definitely seen trailers that were just the back half of a pickup truck with a tongue and hitch welded on.) Bonus: the bearings in car wheels tend to be better than those used in regular trailers.   * Depending on the vehicle, its frame (if it has one), axles, and wheels can be used to make a trailer, cart, or similar. (I’ve definitely seen trailers that were just the back half of a pickup truck with a tongue and hitch welded on.) Bonus: the bearings in car wheels tend to be better than those used in regular trailers.
   * The transmission from a vehicle could be rigged up to a wind/water mill to adjust rotational velocity of a sawmill or other industrial application. Certain power tools, like lathes, also sometimes use vehicle transmissions: https://www.practicalmachinist.com/forum/threads/truck-transmission-for-lathe.240574/   * The transmission from a vehicle could be rigged up to a wind/water mill to adjust rotational velocity of a sawmill or other industrial application. Certain power tools, like lathes, also sometimes use vehicle transmissions: https://www.practicalmachinist.com/forum/threads/truck-transmission-for-lathe.240574/
-  * Unordered List ItemSteel leaf springs can be removed from their bundles (they’re long, flat pieces of steel stacked and bound together with strips of steel) and are favorites of blacksmiths for making swords and knives because of the type of steel used.+  * Steel leaf springs can be removed from their bundles (they’re long, flat pieces of steel stacked and bound together with strips of steel) and are favorites of blacksmiths for making swords and knives because of the type of steel used.
   * Earthships can be made with stacked tires packed with rammed earth: https://earthship.com/systems/garbage-management/   * Earthships can be made with stacked tires packed with rammed earth: https://earthship.com/systems/garbage-management/
   * Old automotive engines can be used in chemical reactors that turn waste methane (from landfills etc) into methanol: https://news.mit.edu/2024/emvolon-turns-automotive-engines-into-green-fuel-chemical-plants-1119   * Old automotive engines can be used in chemical reactors that turn waste methane (from landfills etc) into methanol: https://news.mit.edu/2024/emvolon-turns-automotive-engines-into-green-fuel-chemical-plants-1119
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        * Some caveats: suitable vehicle generators and [[https://www.mdpub.com/Wind_Turbine/|motors]] will likely work better, and to get an alternator to work you may need to either include a power source of 12v to excite the alternator, or to to replace certain internals to include permanent magnets. You’ll need to mess with the gear/pulley ratio to get the right (high) speed too.        * Some caveats: suitable vehicle generators and [[https://www.mdpub.com/Wind_Turbine/|motors]] will likely work better, and to get an alternator to work you may need to either include a power source of 12v to excite the alternator, or to to replace certain internals to include permanent magnets. You’ll need to mess with the gear/pulley ratio to get the right (high) speed too.
   * The electronics in most cars are usually all designed to run off 12 volts, which can be very convenient for a household with solar panels depending on their setup. If a household has a low-voltage DC battery bank (some do, some don’t) then dropping the battery voltage a few times to power car parts comes with a smaller efficiency loss.   * The electronics in most cars are usually all designed to run off 12 volts, which can be very convenient for a household with solar panels depending on their setup. If a household has a low-voltage DC battery bank (some do, some don’t) then dropping the battery voltage a few times to power car parts comes with a smaller efficiency loss.
-  * These 12 volt electronics include things like the cab lights, headlights, radio/entertainment system, backup/surround cameras (perhaps for a security system?), all of which could be placed in a home on a circuit providing the same power they’d get in a car.+  * These 12 volt electronics include things like the [[https://www.4x4community.co.za/forum/showthread.php/260128-Water-Wheel-Alternator-power/page2|cab lights]], headlights, radio/entertainment system, backup/surround cameras (perhaps for a security system?), all of which could be placed in a home on a circuit providing the same power they’d get in a car. 
 +  * The 12v "cigarette lighter" sockets [[https://permies.com/t/smartest-solar-power|can be used as outlets on a 12v circuit]] in order to more easily use off-the-shelf 12v devices. Given the hassle of removing a car dashboard these sockets are probably more of a bonus a salvager might get while harvesting more important stuff rather than the motivation to pull the cab of a car apart.
   * LED headlights make for decent grow lights. Different models hit different parts of the spectrum, but generally they’re sturdy, run cool, and don’t take much power. They might not be as fine-tuned for plants as a dedicated product but they’re common and probably not being used for much in a solarpunk society.   * LED headlights make for decent grow lights. Different models hit different parts of the spectrum, but generally they’re sturdy, run cool, and don’t take much power. They might not be as fine-tuned for plants as a dedicated product but they’re common and probably not being used for much in a solarpunk society.
       * Alternative use: outdoor lights, indoor spotlights, light on a wagon, rickshaw etc.       * Alternative use: outdoor lights, indoor spotlights, light on a wagon, rickshaw etc.
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   * Catalytic converters might be useful for other kinds of filtering? Maybe not in wood stoves though: https://permies.com/t/96864/Misusing-car-parts-cleaner-cooking   * Catalytic converters might be useful for other kinds of filtering? Maybe not in wood stoves though: https://permies.com/t/96864/Misusing-car-parts-cleaner-cooking
   * Certain vehicle exhaust parts can be used to make [[https://permacultureprinciples.com/post/rocket-stoves/|rocket stoves]]: https://permies.com/t/15611/Auto-exhaust-muffler-pipe-parts   * Certain vehicle exhaust parts can be used to make [[https://permacultureprinciples.com/post/rocket-stoves/|rocket stoves]]: https://permies.com/t/15611/Auto-exhaust-muffler-pipe-parts
 +  * This [[https://mjbauer.biz/Build_the_REMI_mk2.htm|DIY Electronic Wind Instrument]] uses an electronic pressure sensor to detect the player's breath. Some of the datasheets for these components include 'Automotive Applications' in their lists of the components' uses. So it seems likely that these could also be recovered from cars by knowledgeable salvagers.
         https://permies.com/t/129517/Homemade-Wood-Stove-Propane-Tank         https://permies.com/t/129517/Homemade-Wood-Stove-Propane-Tank
  
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   * Concrete can be cut/broken up and reused https://slrpnk.net/post/11909269   * Concrete can be cut/broken up and reused https://slrpnk.net/post/11909269
  
-Last but not least, with Internal Combustion Engine cars, there’s always conversion to run on [[https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2010/01/wood-gas-vehicles-firewood-in-the-fuel-tank/|woodgas]] for some limited uses, or [[https://fortune.com/2022/12/25/convert-vintage-classic-muscle-cars-into-electric-vehicles-ev/|conversion]] to [[https://www.swtimes.com/story/special/2019/11/17/they-turn-old-hotrods-into/2270831007/|electric]]. And if all else fails, you can always melt them down for your society’s steel manufacturing needs – electric arc furnace smelters running off a green grid, recycling, are about as close to zero emission steel as you’re likely to get, and the metal is already refined so I think you could get pretty tight control over the quality on the output.+Last but not least, with Internal Combustion Engine cars, there’s always conversion to run on [[https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2010/01/wood-gas-vehicles-firewood-in-the-fuel-tank/|woodgas]] for some limited uses, or [[https://fortune.com/2022/12/25/convert-vintage-classic-muscle-cars-into-electric-vehicles-ev/|conversion]] to [[https://www.swtimes.com/story/special/2019/11/17/they-turn-old-hotrods-into/2270831007/|electric]]. And if all else fails, you can always melt them down for your society’s steel manufacturing needs – electric arc furnace smelters running off a green grid, recycling, are about as close to zero emission steel as you’re likely to get, and the metal is already refined so I think you could get pretty tight control over the quality on the output. [[https://interestingengineering.com/energy/switzerland-solar-furnaces-recycle-luxury-steel|The first solar steel recycling facilities]] (which use mirrored solar concentrators to use sunlight directly) are coming online now, so that may be a more practical option than I originally thought. This would be great because using solar heat directly saves lossy conversion to electricity and back.
  
 But I hope you’ll consider some of the above possibilities too. The parts are out there, we might as well use them. But I hope you’ll consider some of the above possibilities too. The parts are out there, we might as well use them.