Electric Cars -- anyone own one?

[Brians356]

Let the market decide.

But we're not letting the market decide. You must know that. Without government incentives artificially lowering EV prices, only a tenth as many would have been sold. And they're still expensive. That's why only people with plenty of disposable income can buy one. Honda just announced they are abandoning their joint project with GM to develop an "affordable EV". QED
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[Brians356]

I think ultimately the answer lies in fusion,

Why do you act like nuclear generation isn't already solved, skipping over it to the impossible dream, fusion? For 60 years now fusion has been "only 10 years away from production". A year ago "net power" was achieved for the very first time - for a fraction of a second. There's something in the water up there in Seattle.
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[Brians356]

We have electric locomotives, electric boats/ferries, electric submarines. People don’t even think about those machines.

None of those are electric vehicles. That's why people don't think about them.
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[GotRDid]

 

[Brians356]

I love paying $10 to “fill up”.

Two questions:

How much do you pay per KWh (kilowatt-hour) of electricity?

How many miles does that $10 worth carry you?
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[ebb]

Battery technology needs to improve? Till you can charge one totally from a solar panel or plug one into a hydroelectric dam you are still are burning fossil fuel. When I was in school all I heard was how bad nuclear was, now its great and green. The scientist that make this stuff up have no clue. But you are right about an electric motor, they run cool compared to ICE, and the heat that is generated in an ICE is just wasted. I don't think many are really against EVs, but the way they are now, with poor batteries, that almost nobody recycles, that take forever to recharge, that cost way too much, have poor resale value. that catch fire and can't be put out, ECT, ECT. So tell the truth, One day EVs will be great, but not in the foreseeable future.

 

[brcman]

A relative of mine has a Telsa T-3 and it is about 4 years old or a little more. Before it was 1 year old the battery died while on a trip. Tesla replaced it free. I just heard today at a family get together they had another battery that died, this car has 220,XXX miles on it. They must have purchased some sort of extended warranty because the battery was "free". I guess my question is what does Tesla and other EV makers actually do with the old batteries- do they replace some of the cells and return it to service in another car? Or, do they go into a battery recycle center? This is a TRUE story and a serious question.

 

[brcman]

OK- I googled it up and this is what I found-

‍The battery pack is one of the biggest and most toxic components of a Tesla vehicle. So, where do Tesla batteries go at the end of their service life?

Tesla uses lithium-ion batteries, which have a great energy potential but also plenty of hazardous downsides. These batteries can explode when punctured, and they're made with rare and toxic materials that shouldn't be dumped in landfills. Since most companies don't care what happens to their batteries, what stance does Tesla take on this growing issue?

Tesla takes responsibility for its used and degraded battery packs. The company will recycle 100% of its batteries that return to the factory worn out. Its extraction processes can make 92% of the valuable materials useful again.

Furthermore, around 10% of the material extracted from the batteries goes back into the production of new vehicle components. This number will likely increase as engineers refine the complex processes required to recycle lithium-ion batteries.

We sourced the information used in this article from Tesla itself, news releases on the topic, environmental watchdogs, and sources that are knowledgeable about battery recycling programs and manufacturing.

 

[markT]

Two questions:

How much do you pay per KWh (kilowatt-hour) of electricity?

How many miles does that $10 worth carry you?
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[markT]

^^^But here’s the issue. How long do the batteries last? What’s the maintenance? Etc etc?

 

[Mudeat]

But you are right about an electric motor, they run cool compared to ICE, and the heat that is generated in an ICE is just wasted.

Where did the electric power come from to run the motor? A diesel powered generator? A coal or gas fired power plant? A nuclear reactor? A hydro-electric power plant where the sun lifted the water vapor to condense and flow down? A solar cell were the sun’s radiation from a thermo nuclear reaction provided the energy? Everything is powered by heat flowing.

 

[ebb]

Mud did you not read what I posted ? We are in total agreement, there is no free lunch. All of this is really cool if you are blind to the fact that the power has to come from some where. It is getting to where the truth is coming out and I see things that make me believe will make my head explode. The leader of BLM has endorsed Trump. Not only that he has told the world that the current Dems are racist. I never thought I would live to see the day.

 

[jackieschmidt]

None of those are electric vehicles. That's why people don't think about them.
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That’s right. All are generating plants which use the generated electricity to power electric motors.

The vast majority use Diesel Fuel as the primary energy source.

 

[Brians356]

That’s right. All are generating plants which use the generated electricity to power electric motors.

And they're really hybrids, in a broad sense not much unlike a Prius.
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[hpshooter]

And they're really hybrids, in a broad sense not much unlike a Prius.
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With the exception of not having a battery to power the drive motors.

 

[Brians356]

With the exception of not having a battery to power the drive motors.

Really? Which one has no drive battery, a Prius or a Locomotive?
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[D Coots]

View attachment 1500793

Huh....15 mpg/100 miles@$3.50 per gallon is 23 bucks....And $37.11 to charge ev for same to SUPPOSEDLY SAVE THE PLANET?

Not on my planet.

 

[hpshooter]

Really? Which one has no drive battery, a Prius or a Locomotive?
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locomotive

 

[D Coots]

The First Self-Propelled Scraper

Although not as successful as other LeTourneau designs, the first self-propelled scraper featured technologies that would years later become industry standards.

www.oemoffhighway.com

Electric powered equipment is nothing new. I was in Vegas in 1994 at the Concrete and Aggregate show. Caterpillar unveiled the 988F Rubber Tired Endloader. Over 100,000#, 8 cubic yard bucket, and a Joy Stick to steer and manage bucket controls. I bought a 95 model for a little over 400k, great machine. I had a Cat rebuild done on it once at around 115k hours. I sold out almost 5 years ago and I saw a guy that operates it now and he said it it approaching 50k hours. Solid as a rock...
At Vegas that year John Deere unveiled their Electric end loader of the same size. No tranny and Electric powered planeteries . Never got a chance to demo one and never heard good or bad about them. I knew every limestone producer in Iowa back then and no one had purchased one.
I'm sure there are more Electric powered construction equipment available today.

 

[Brians356]

locomotive

Right you are, and thanks for reminding me. I read up on modern D-E locomotives last year, but forgot most of it already! There are also modern Diesel-Hydraulic locomotives using torque converters rather than electric motors, but they're mostly in Europe, and mostly for shunting.
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