Electric Vehicles
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Today I had the experience of sitting between two people who were comparing their anxieties about having recently lost another bar on their Leaf’s battery health. His has dropped to 11 and the hers has dropped to 8. I can’t be arsed finding out what they started with but she sounded concerned, especially when he told her that they are 9 grand plus labour to replace. Interestingly neither owner knows what exactly happens to th old battery pack. They are just sure they’ll be recycled, somehow.
The whole conversation didn’t put my doubts to bed.
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@JC said in Electric Vehicles:
Today I had the experience of sitting between two people who were comparing their anxieties about having recently lost another bar on their Leaf’s battery health. His has dropped to 11 and the hers has dropped to 8. I can’t be arsed finding out what they started with but she sounded concerned, especially when he told her that they are 9 grand plus labour to replace. Interestingly neither owner knows what exactly happens to th old battery pack. They are just sure they’ll be recycled, somehow.
The whole conversation didn’t put my doubts to bed.
What were you attending to find yourself in such a position? Some sort of festival celebrating vegan BBQ food?
I have to admit that almost all of my skepticism around EV is from my iphone. I'm still not convinced battery tech is good enough to accurately predict range etc. I genuinely think I'd be panicky at 50% of battery gone.
I'll be happy to be proven wrong as times goes on.
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I wonder how long before the Aus Govt introduces a kilometre road user tax like NZ does with diesel. No doubt they will have to do something as more electric cars come on line their tax from fuel will shrink. They have to pay for roads somehow.
Also I wonder if you will get large supercharging rest stops with associated Mcdonalds etc to replace the Servos.
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@MajorRage said in Electric Vehicles:
@JC said in Electric Vehicles:
Today I had the experience of sitting between two people who were comparing their anxieties about having recently lost another bar on their Leaf’s battery health. His has dropped to 11 and the hers has dropped to 8. I can’t be arsed finding out what they started with but she sounded concerned, especially when he told her that they are 9 grand plus labour to replace. Interestingly neither owner knows what exactly happens to th old battery pack. They are just sure they’ll be recycled, somehow.
The whole conversation didn’t put my doubts to bed.
What were you attending to find yourself in such a position? Some sort of festival celebrating vegan BBQ food?
I have to admit that almost all of my skepticism around EV is from my iphone. I'm still not convinced battery tech is good enough to accurately predict range etc. I genuinely think I'd be panicky at 50% of battery gone.
I'll be happy to be proven wrong as times goes on.
The chemistry in portable device batteries is a bit distant from cars.
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@NTA said in Electric Vehicles:
The chemistry in portable device batteries is a bit distant from cars.
... and that's where the research and technology is. Keeping the batteries in optimum condition, cooled appropriately, and charged right. It's pretty impressive, and there are a heap of advances continuing to incrementally improve them, every year.
Thing is, it doesn't matter what individuals really think in the short term. If EVs get to the right performance and price point, it'll be like incandescent lightbulbs - you can have one if you really want, but everyone buys LED because they're cheaper to run and last longer. I think that tipping point is approaching rapidly, which is a good thing.
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@NTA said in Electric Vehicles:
@MajorRage said in Electric Vehicles:
@JC said in Electric Vehicles:
Today I had the experience of sitting between two people who were comparing their anxieties about having recently lost another bar on their Leaf’s battery health. His has dropped to 11 and the hers has dropped to 8. I can’t be arsed finding out what they started with but she sounded concerned, especially when he told her that they are 9 grand plus labour to replace. Interestingly neither owner knows what exactly happens to th old battery pack. They are just sure they’ll be recycled, somehow.
The whole conversation didn’t put my doubts to bed.
What were you attending to find yourself in such a position? Some sort of festival celebrating vegan BBQ food?
I have to admit that almost all of my skepticism around EV is from my iphone. I'm still not convinced battery tech is good enough to accurately predict range etc. I genuinely think I'd be panicky at 50% of battery gone.
I'll be happy to be proven wrong as times goes on.
The chemistry in portable device batteries is a bit distant from cars.
Genuine question ... how much different? I don't read as much car mags as I used to, but it's not that long ago since regularly reading that car batteries are basically a few thousand laptop batteries stuck together.
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@MajorRage it's a common misconception. They share a lot in terms of form factor (physical
structuredimensions) but the cycle count and dis/charge properties - differences in power and energy - are significant. Cost changes accordingly.
BU-205: Types of Lithium-ion
Become familiar with the many different types of lithium-ion batteries: Lithium Cobalt Oxide, Lithium Manganese Oxide, Lithium Iron Phosphate and more.
That page has a fairly good summary of the different types of lithium.
Note: Cobalt is one of the biggest sticking points in battery manufacture, as it is found in some places with low ethical standards (African countries where child labour happens etc). Therefore the race is on to get Cobalt out of the mix.
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@MajorRage No I’m actually working with these people and like them. Even though he’s an accountant with ethnic tats, a beard, ear gauges, a keep cup with short-long-blacks seemingly permanently affixed to his right hand and a dubious craft beer habit. She’s fine, just a hippie with an interesting past.
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Spent the morning with my old man who wants an EV. He spent a lot on PV solar which are turning out to be more efficient than expected and the power companies are aholes buying back price wise. So he wanted a powerwall / storage to start with and now onto the car - which seems more sensible in a way. The car should soak up surplus power.
Has anyone driven the Audi e-tron or Jaguar i-pace? Similar price i.e. outrageously expensive - to Tesla X5.
I'm going to go with the oldie to drive the first 2 (driven Tesla) but opinions on here are welcome.
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Probably picking up one of these for my upcoming daily commutes, at 45kph assisted it's going to be pretty much as fast as a car, with the traffic.
https://www.torpedo7.co.nz/products/APB1EN9AA/title/2019-quick-e--e-bike
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@Machpants said in Electric Vehicles:
Probably picking up one of these for my upcoming daily commutes, at 45kph assisted it's going to be pretty much as fast as a car, with the traffic.
https://www.torpedo7.co.nz/products/APB1EN9AA/title/2019-quick-e--e-bike
Nice bike. Not sure I'd trust those 7 inch rotors to stop me quick enough at 45kph though!
One of the things to watch for as E-bikes get more oomph is that the construction and other spec is simply a copy of a pedal bike which doesn't have constant force going through it. Little brake pads and rotors are a prime example. Also, if being used for commuting expect road muck (diesel etc) to get those rotors greasy.
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@gt12 said in Electric Vehicles:
That’s cool. How long until they can get it up to 6-700? Then, I’d be a buyer. Right now, they are all juuust outside the range we need (450 km but also traffic for considerable periods).
Miles? Maybe another 5 years depending on the model. Tesla already have cars doing 600km and their Roadster 2.0 is spec'd to 1000km
