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I actually have that idea to offload the alternator. A buck converter is surprisingly cheap and easy to build. At those voltages, over 90% efficiency is not unreasonable and 95% or more is possible.
BTW, universal input power supplies that operate on 100-240v AC will almost always work without modification on 150-370v DC. Some Prius owners used that approach to operate various equipment on-the-go.
I have thought about building a circuit to provide just enough boost to allow a 12v deep cycle battery (11.5-12.8v) to charge a regular car battery (13.8-14.4v), but such small boosts are tricky to design. I'll send a message to an engineering friend of mine, however. (She knows a lot about switching power supplies.)
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If America manages to eliminate obesity, we would save as much fuel as if every American were to stop driving for three days every year. To be slender like Tiffany Yep is to be a real hypermiler...
Allie Moore and I have a combined carbon footprint much smaller than that of one average American...
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