Rami Bedewi Achieves One Gallon Challenge
The Georgetown Prep senior drove his homemade hybrid electric vehicle more than 230 miles on a little more than one gallon of gasoline on Monday, March 12, traveling from New York to Prep’s campus, where he arrived to a hero’s welcome that included a local TV news station. “My goal is completed,” Rami told WUSA 9 of the challenge he undertook more than a year ago. Rami is the nephew of President Nabil Bedewi.
Almost 12 hours later, he rolled onto campus, where students, faculty, and Prep’s Board of Trustees—which had just concluded a meeting—surrounded him with cheers of congratulations. Prep’s baseball, lacrosse, and rugby players abandoned their practices and literally sprinted to greet him.
As euphoric as the closing scene was, Rami’s trip was not without its travails.
Even with the help of vehicle escorts driving in front and behind him, Rami described getting out of Jersey City’s gridlocked traffic as a “nightmare.” Soon after he entered Delaware, the state police pulled him over. Once Rami produced the Virginia-issued license and permit for his custom vehicle, his drive resumed. All along the way, he attracted curious looks from passing motorists and bystanders.
Fatigue and the duration of the trip forced Rami to stop more often than planned, and he ended up needing a total of 1.25 gallons of gas, but the drive was a tremendous finish to his One Gallon Challenge.
http://www.gprep.org/RelId/728279/InfoGroup/3947/ISVars/default/One_Gallon_Challenged.htm
The One Gallon Challenge drive took place on March 12, 2012
The following are facts about the drive:
Started at 5:30 AM in Jersey City, NJ, by Liberty Park.
Arrived in Georgetown Prep in N. Bethesda, MD 12 hours later (this included a few stops on the way).
The major cities passed through included Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore.
Top speed was around 42 mph but I tried to maintain a speed of around 30-35 mph the entire way.
The drive out of Jersey City was a bit difficult with lots of traffic lights, stop signs, and construction. The first 15 miles or so were very slow and took over an hour and a half and used up a lot of energy.
The vehicle drove very well and there were no incidents. There were strong head and side winds especially over bridges and once I left Wilmington, daylight savings time kicked in and I had to use all the lights (headlights etc.) for longer than originally planned. The fuel needed to power the lights in the morning is equivalent to about 15 miles of range.
The Yamaha generator seemed to be heating up too much and there was significant gas evaporating and spillage through the gas cap. It is clear that it was not intended for mobile applications. It is hard to estimate the fuel lost but the chase vehicle team members complained of strong fuel smell at lights and stop signs.
Fuel economy analysis:
Overall the vehicle used up a little over a gallon for the 231 mile trip. The gauge is not very accurate but it is somewhere under 1.25 gallons. This translates to 184 miles per gallon.
The four factors described above contributed to the extra gas needed, but otherwise the vehicle would have definitely achieved the one gallon goal.
It should be noted that the battery was still fully charged when I arrived at Prep, which would have given me an additional 70 miles or so. Technically I did not need the extra 1/4 gallon if I drove the final 47 miles from Baltimore on pure battery only.