Lakeland Company Has New Solution for Refrigerated Transport

What's next, a wind generator on the roof of the cab for an APU?

 

Plz take this post down b4 the great state of California sees this and makes it mandatory.( like any other tree hugging pain in the arse California regulation to our industry) - I am in Cali now-:again!!! I am still looking for the rock to kick to make this sheet hole fall into the ocean.lol

 

On their website there is a radio interview they did recently on Sirius Radio Road Dog Trucking radio program, where they discuss the Wedway and explain what it is and how it works. Here's the link:

http://bit.ly/zKePSJ

 

The internal combustion engine is very efficient and cost effective compared to any other form of tech out there right now. As others have stated, that kinetic energy is not free, so the basis of this article stating it's a green technology is bumpkis. It will reduce fuel mileage and given the picture, produce an unequal drag on one wheel on the trailer, which spells disaster for tire wear, brake wear, and slick roads.

On the positive side, if they can get the weight down to equal a reefer unit and fuel, make the unit driven off both sides of the axle, and use less fuel than a standard truck and reefer setup currently, I could see it as a marketable idea. There has to be a savings for the risk and lack of infrastructure. UCF is known for it's Engineering school, so if anyone can make it work, they can. If they get it to work, I see it being a licensing idea sold to TK or Carrier to avoid the infrastructure issue.

 

The big question is, how will you sleep?
When I was pulling a reefer I could only sleep with the unit running.

 

Solar power batteries!

 

This was a good thought, but they obviously didn't do much homework. Laws of physics generally can't be broken and it will take the same amount of energy to produce the power needed for cooling no matter how you get it, through the wheels, from the truck or hundreds of pin-wheels mounted on the trailer. Then you have the issue of mandatory stops, which could be handled by plugging in to power sources, but what if you're 100 miles from the nearest truck stop and out of hours. Bottom line; if the engineers and Carrier and ThermoKing haven't worked it out, it's pretty doubtful that a donut fueled retiree will.

 

Um, apparently, the technology works perfectly. They just released their press release and have launched it commercially in Tampa. http://emeraldtechnologypartners.com/press-release-emerald-technology-partners-launch-wedway/

Also, they were written up in a recent article in Heavy Duty Trucking "In Florida, another firm is close to introducing its "Wedway" reefer system, which is powered by the trailer's wheels as they roll down the highway. Mike Quill, who sits on the board of directors of Emerald Technology Partners LLC, credits Brian Arnold, another director, for designing and developing the system.

Wedway uses "a mechanical interface that captures the rotation of the tire on the trailer," Quill said, declining to further describe that apparatus. This spins a generator that sends electricity to a battery for use by the electric-powered reefer. This replaces the diesel engine, and would be especially valuable in California with its strict anti-emissions regulations.

No fuel is needed by the reefer, and the amount of fuel used by the tractor is also reduced because a "patented tether device will be able to connect to the tractor to power the air conditioning and heating systems without idling the main engine" during rest periods, Quill said.

For extended stops, the system can be plugged into shore power, which keeps the battery charged. Standing alone, a "custom battery" will run the reefer for 36 hours, and there'll be an option for 72 hours of operation. The system is lighter than a diesel-powered reefer, adding pay- load capacity, Quill said. It is now being road tested. Without the en gine, Wedways would cut 63 billion pounds of CO2 emissions annually if extensively used by American truckers, he said in a radio inter view on Extreme Trucker earlier this year." From the December issue of HDT magazine.

 

Yes, you need to say more since they just released it to the market and already have a global food transport company on board running their reefers in central Florida. http://emeraldtechnologypartners.com/press-release-emerald-technology-partners-launch-wedway/