"Free Energy" Device in Speedway Demonstration
Published in IE Volume 8, Issue #45, September/October 2002
by Eugene F. Mallove

Just as this issue of Infinite Energy went to press, a potential record-breaking event by an electric vehicle at the Nashville, Tennessee SuperSpeedway on Saturday morning (September 7, 2002) disappointed Tennessee inventor Carl Tilley and about a hundred other people attending the admission-free gathering, when a wheel bearing in his electrically-converted 1981 DeLorean car failed. The Tilley Foundation had rented the new SuperSpeedway for an expected all-day run to crush the world record for an EV of 220 miles (by a retrofit Geo-Metro).

Tilley claims to have invented a device that recharges batteries on-the-fly in automobiles and in fixed installations, using no evident fuel or power source (except whatever energy may be accessible from the space vacuum). A photo of this device in Tilley's lab shows what looks like a very small electric motor with its output shaft penetrating an approximately one cubic foot metal box. Independent observers who have been to Tilley's facility say that this is the device that Tilley claims is also powering his building.

Tilley's car, retrofit with a conventional electric motor and controller (purchased from EV America of Wolfboro, New Hampshire), had to stop its planned multi-hundred mile demonstration after only about 18 miles of high speed driving (moving in the 70-90 mph range, observers estimated). Its left rear wheel bearing failed, making the car inoperable for more laps. An independent engineer from New York, who had driven to Nashville in his unconverted DeLorean, confirmed that DeLorean vehicles are particularly prone to such bearing failures.

Our colleague, engineer Jan Roos— who witnessed Saturday's demonstration— relates that Tilley and his associates promise another public demonstration soon, which will involve two vehicles: the DeLorean with new bearings on all wheels, and a retrofit SUV. They have also promised a demonstration of an electric-powered single-engine piloted aircraft, to be flown from Florida to somewhere in New England! Prior to the mechanical failure of September 7, the airplane flight was to have occurred before the end of October. Douglas Littlefield of Vermont, Tilley's spokesman, told me that they have obtained FAA approval for such a test flight.

Jan Roos inspected the vehicle as closely as possible, with its various compartments open, and found no evidence of any kind of auxiliary batteries or another concealed engine. Two of the compact Tilley devices, with drive belts attached, appeared to be near the engine, Roos said. In the rush to start the early morning, all-day run on Saturday, Roos was not able to measure the initial twelve 12-Volt Wal-Mart battery pack voltage. However, the voltage reading immediately after the car stopped was 137 V, measured by Roos' DVM. The pack recovered to 144.8 V within about 20 minutes. Chemical recovery of storage battery potential is a known phenomenon, of course. Tilley claimed to Roos that his device continues some of its recharge functioning after vehicle motor shut down. It is unclear what the average voltage of the battery pack would be during high-speed travel— assuming the recharging claims are valid at all.

Tilley and his associates claimed to Roos and others that the DeLorean had been driven 202 miles on a drive to Kentucky in the few weeks preceding the September 7 public test, which if true would be remarkable. Despite these dramatic claims, it is not possible at this time to draw conclusions about any anomalous performance of the vehicle. This must await further public demonstrations. It is noteworthy, however, that despite the embarrassing mechanical failure, there seemed to be no reluctance by the inventor and his business associates to promise further demonstrations— soon.

Prior to the September 7 test, Bob Batson of EV America in Wolfboro, New Hampshire told me that a 3,000 lb DeLorean equipped with twelve 12-Volt (130 Amp-hr) batteries would be expected to travel, at 60 mph, a maximum 52 miles, with an average stopping distance of 37 miles. This should put past and future claims by Carl Tilley and his associates in perspective.

Infinite Energy will provide continuing coverage of efforts to validate or disprove, publicly and privately, the very large claims of Carl Tilley and his associates.