More fun at the quick charge station

[ReinyDays]

I have had pretty good success with my electric vehicle. I still need a gas powered vehicle to be functional though....but I digress.

As many have already astutely pointed out the real problem with EVs is going to be fueling them up. Now I do most of that at home but once in a while I go for a commercial quick charge. EVGO has a pretty good system. The one closest to my house has six charging stations that offer the 600 volt DC leads for 45¢/kwh....not too bad.

These are 4 gauge wire leads that are very heavy and in the cold weather very stiff. A senior citizen would most likely be unable to muscle the thing into place.

The charging system is an online communications network that works like an ATM machine so no network ...no service. I ran into that today for the first time; Called EVGO and they walked me through the manual process. So I plugged in and still nothing.

Finally I decided it just wasn't going to work and moved to unplug. Uh-oh....the lead won't come out! Not good. I tried to work it with the charging machine but because it was offline I couldn't get it to release my car! Now I'm pissed! No charge and now I'm stuck!

I called EVGO again and they too were unable to unlock the lead. I tried from my car dash but it wouldn't release the lead. Finally an EVGO technician got on the phone and told me to take my key fob out....make sure the car was off and all doors and windows closed. Sequence one push on lock followed by five pushes on the unlock. It worked! I was relieved. The alternative was waiting for a mobile tech to come unhook me which may have taken hours. The customer service asked me if I wanted to try the adjacent machine. My response:

" Hell no!"....

Jo

I'd keep a piston-engined rig for things like hauling cement or running the 250 miles to the closest commercial airport ... use the golf cart for grocery shopping and visits to the aquarium store ...

Manufacturing the rig is the most carbon-intensive part ... not the fuel it uses ... if you own two rigs, you hate the environment ... or my friend in SoCal, 8 passenger rigs for a family of four ... it's how they procreate down there ...

I can imagine the folks at EVGO rolling their eyes "another Michael at station 43" ... I got the stripped down version of the Tacoma, none of that fancy-pants bullshit that just "brakes" or is too confusing ... it's a wheelbarrow, it only needs one goddam ignition coil, not four, stupid Japanese engineers ...

 

[Crick]

Manufacturing the rig is the most carbon-intensive part ... not the fuel it uses ...

For the entire truck or just its engine? Driving a 25 mpg truck for 120,000 miles will consume 161.68 MWh worth of gasoline. That is less energy than would be required to manufacture the entire truck, but if you're choosing between an ICE and an EV truck, the drivetrain is the only difference.

Energy Consumption Analysis for Vehicle Production through a Material Flow Approach

The aim of this study is to comprehensively evaluate the energy consumption in the automotive industry, clarifying the effect of its productive processes. For this propose, the material flow of the vehicles has been elaborated, from mining to vehicle assembly. Initially, processes where each...

www.mdpi.com

 

[Seymour Flops]

i asked a question related to what he was talking about.......its part of a thing called a conversation......

Yes, you are correct. I should have said "If you cannot even get to the charging station or operate it, it really doesn't matter how much it "would" cost.

 

[Harry Dresden]

Yes, you are correct. I should have said "If you cannot even get to the charging station or operate it, it really doesn't matter how much it "would" cost.

well i would think if you go electric you would learn how to operate the charging station.....

 

[jbrownson0831]

At this point it seems an EV can save you ~&1000.00 per year. In 10-20 years you make back the 2X cost difference? Is it worth it? By then you pay to install new batteries or you pay hazardous waste fees to junk it?

dont shoot me the messenger, i am brainstorming here.

Don't forget to factor in the cost of all your time wasted getting charging leads out, waiting for an open stawtion, waiting for the charge....

 

[Flash]

This is why an improved hybrid vehicle would be so much better.

It depends upon what kind of driving you do.

If you mostly do short trips in the city where you can recover some of the battery charge by the breaking mechanism then it might be OK. However, if you also take long trips on the highway you lose efficiency with the ICE engine because you are pulling more weigh because of the battery. Also, you will have to replace the battery unless you trade in the car at a frequent interval.

We will be buying a new car next year for my wife to use. We were thinking about getting a hybrid. However, the extra cost does not work out to be that more cost efficient over an ICE.

A plug in hybrid? Forget it it. They are significantly more expensive.

 

[JohnDB]

It depends upon what kind of driving you do.

If you mostly do short trips in the city where you can recover some of the battery charge by the breaking mechanism then it might be OK. However, if you also take long trips on the highway you lose efficiency with the ICE engine because you are pulling more weigh because of the battery. Also, you will have to replace the battery unless you trade in the car at a frequent interval.

We will be buying a new car next year for my wife to use. We were thinking about getting a hybrid. However, the extra cost does not work out to be that more cost efficient over an ICE.

A plug in hybrid? Forget it it. They are significantly more expensive.

You are not understanding what the new hybrids can do. Currently they are niche vehicles. But Edison Motors has the right idea.

A Drive-by-wire system hybrid drives like an ice, distance of an ICE, but has superior handling due to all wheel drive. And these type of vehicles get much superior mileage without expensive batteries to replace as often. The maintenance issues are currently the problem with them.

No help for you currently....could have been....but Biden wanted all electric EVs.

 

[Flash]

You are not understanding what the new hybrids can do. Currently they are niche vehicles. But Edison Motors has the right idea.

A Drive-by-wire system hybrid drives like an ice, distance of an ICE, but has superior handling due to all wheel drive. And these type of vehicles get much superior mileage without expensive batteries to replace as often. The maintenance issues are currently the problem with them.

No help for you currently....could have been....but Biden wanted all electric EVs.

I have no doubt that a good hybrid system could be engineered at a reasonable cost.

Yes, Potatohead's handlers demanded all EVs and now all we have are these terrible technology L-I batteries.

I suspect that most people that bought the L-I EVs in the last two to three years regret it. Like my son that spent $65K for a Tesla three years ago.

 

[Captain Caveman]

I have had pretty good success with my electric vehicle. I still need a gas powered vehicle to be functional though....but I digress.

As many have already astutely pointed out the real problem with EVs is going to be fueling them up. Now I do most of that at home but once in a while I go for a commercial quick charge. EVGO has a pretty good system. The one closest to my house has six charging stations that offer the 600 volt DC leads for 45¢/kwh....not too bad.

These are 4 gauge wire leads that are very heavy and in the cold weather very stiff. A senior citizen would most likely be unable to muscle the thing into place.

The charging system is an online communications network that works like an ATM machine so no network ...no service. I ran into that today for the first time; Called EVGO and they walked me through the manual process. So I plugged in and still nothing.

Finally I decided it just wasn't going to work and moved to unplug. Uh-oh....the lead won't come out! Not good. I tried to work it with the charging machine but because it was offline I couldn't get it to release my car! Now I'm pissed! No charge and now I'm stuck!

I called EVGO again and they too were unable to unlock the lead. I tried from my car dash but it wouldn't release the lead. Finally an EVGO technician got on the phone and told me to take my key fob out....make sure the car was off and all doors and windows closed. Sequence one push on lock followed by five pushes on the unlock. It worked! I was relieved. The alternative was waiting for a mobile tech to come unhook me which may have taken hours. The customer service asked me if I wanted to try the adjacent machine. My response:

" Hell no!"....

Jo

Thieves can often separate the owner from his/her charging cable via a club hammer -

Now thieves have a new target - your electric car's charger cable

Experts predict these thefts could soon dwarf the £10million-a-year cost of replacing more than 10,000 stolen catalytic converters.

www.thisismoney.co.uk

 

[jbrownson0831]

I have no doubt that a good hybrid system could be engineered at a reasonable cost.

Yes, Potatohead's handlers demanded all EVs and now all we have are these terrible technology L-I batteries.

I suspect that most people that bought the L-I EVs in the last two to three years regret it. Like my son that spent $65K for a Tesla three years ago.

...and new tires every year....

 

[JohnDB]

I have no doubt that a good hybrid system could be engineered at a reasonable cost.

Yes, Potatohead's handlers demanded all EVs and now all we have are these terrible technology L-I batteries.

I suspect that most people that bought the L-I EVs in the last two to three years regret it. Like my son that spent $65K for a Tesla three years ago.

The demand for EVs and the technology are not there yet. The legislative demand has not worked except to provide an ego stroke for the politicians.

ICE vehicles were not the first vehicles. An all electric truck was. But it didn't really work well without pneumatic tires and a short work period. Then they developed diesel engines and they worked well. So well that they built Hoover Dam. (It's where Bulldog trucks got their fame)

There are about 3 different types of hybrids. 2 based on Hydrogen and one based on a generator with a gasoline or diesel engine. The latter being the most reliable and cheapest at this point.

 

[skookerasbil]

Laughable....and now they are vandalizing them by sawing through the nozel wires....dUh...only the climate crusaders didn't see that coming.