landroversforever Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Have a read here: http://www.theaa.com/breakdown-cover/news/aa-patrol-repairs-car-with-potato.html?AffinityID=MAFFILIATEWINDOW&ito=34934&awc=3938_1424273856_350bdcd63da8684709ec0a36677d87c8 The humble root vegetable came to the rescue when an old 1960s-vintage Land Rover on a farm in Hertfordshire failed to start due to a broken condenser, which is part of the ignition system on older vehicles. With no replacement part available, North-east London AA patrol Mario Papademetriou, 59, decided to fabricate one. Unfortunately, his first attempt using tin foil and silicone repair tape didn’t work so he was faced with a non-starting Land Rover and 12 miles to the nearest garage. Mario Papademetriou: “As the vehicle was on a farm, there were a lot of vegetables around, so I thought I’d try wiring up a potato with a couple of screws to act as a condenser. “Amazingly, it started instantly, so I followed the member to the garage and he said the vehicle had never driven so well!” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 ..well I never thought anyone could chip a 60's series .... ah my jacket (oops done it again) I'll be off now Steveb 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Well done AA patrol, bit of out of the box thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertspark Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Hats off to the man, thought would not have crossed my mind (ever!), wonder how many of his colleagues would have known that one or anyone on here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missingsid Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Top man, I understand the principal but would never have considered it. Given his name I wonder what his background experience was or maybe he is just a sientificly mined person? It does give us hope in these computer lead times though that this kind of thonking still exists. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 ..well I never thought anyone could chip a 60's series .... ah my jacket (oops done it again) I'll be off now Steveb I like that !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratty43 Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Absolutely brilliant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boydie Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 The potato was probably a Pontiac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shackleton Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Deadly ingenuity! Not convinced you'd get that from a younger generation, or the will to hang around trying to make a solution. What on a farm is conductive and has enough mass to draw current away from a set of points? I heard they were going organic condensers on the Series originally but in the end it was deemed too difficult to secure a spud to a dizzy long term. You hook Pontiacs up to other cars to help them die I think Iain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertspark Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 ... Does this mean that landrover has finally gone green? Or is it organic? Hat... Coat.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rangy35 Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Fantastic for the old fella. I WOULD NEVER PUT THAT TOGETHER. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I wonder what the mean time between failures is for spud based condensors in comparison to those made by Lucas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoSS Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Nice story but i think its a coincidence that it started with the potato in place. The capacitance of 2 screws separated with a large (for a capacitor) gap would be near zero. Oh i can't 'resist' it either - Did he get the 'sack' for stealing a potato? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GW8IZR Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I'm not entirely convinced, but Its not just a parallel plate capacitor, the dielectric constant for potato is quite high but more importantly dielectric loss is very high, in a quenching application this is more important. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMB Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I'm not convinced that removing the condenser completely wouldn't also have got him home. The main function is in suppressing points erosion - the coil is inductive, so breaking the current without a condenser would lead to arcing, loss of spark energy and eventual points failure. The secondary function is to provide a ringing circuit which provides a controlled rise time and consequently more effective ignition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Brock Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Just goes to show what you can do, when the Chips are down ................................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shackleton Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Oh groan, we're doing this are we? righto... what do you get if you cross a 60's Land Rover and a potato? Banger and mash (I win) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted February 19, 2015 Author Share Posted February 19, 2015 That joke was utterly terrible.... but I couldn't help myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 photo of the fix here https://www.facebook.com/1447202285536756/photos/a.1464996237090694.1073741828.1447202285536756/1551470998443217/?type=1&theater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g&t Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I'll have to tell this one to my neighbour - he's a patrolman for the RAC! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soren Frimodt Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Funny thing this. I've known the 'Potato as a condenser trick' since I was ~14 years old. Its sort of an Old Wife's Tale, told amongst the elder generation when they tell you about there Moped-ing days. have never seen it done in the flesh though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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