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Off topic, EV vehicle opinions…

Supervstech said:
Now, if only they could build a battery to handle a work van loaded with 2 to 4K in tools and parts to get 400miles a day and charge in 6 hours (about the max time the van is parked)
I spend over 600 a week in diesel fuel...
I drive a LOT! Averaging 250 a day...
Click to expand...
That sounds like a job for Doc Brown. Or maybe Elon someday, but not today. And probably not tomorrow.
 
Hedges said:
Your system will have a watts and watt-hour limit. Planned mileage is quite low, and Tesla's battery will hold multiple weeks usage.
10 kWh/day would be 70 kWh/week, about twice what you need?
Slowest 120V charger, enabled as a dump load based on system SoC or timer during the day. I suppose car can be programmed to not top off, so it doesn't spend its life at 100%.

Lot of money tied up in a battery on wheels sitting around; if that mileage is spread over all the days and not just a Sunday drive, the car's battery is 10x what you'll be making use of. Neighborhood electric vehicle?
Click to expand...
Well , thanks …that make sence in many ways…As far as not driving a lot, the closest town to me is about a mile wide… the next biggest is about 2 miles wide…there only so much to see and do without going to the big city’s 40 to 60 miles away.… BUT, I don’t wish to get stabbed or beat up and robbed while walking into a pizza joint , NOR do I wish to go to jail for defending my self either.. it’s a paradoxical existence we have allowed the country to degenerate into,

in the rural area I live there’s only so many cow pastures you can go look at with Amazment…

the electric car tied into with the solar generation for the RV and tool shed allows me the freedom to not depend on others “as much” while times are good and not at all if times are bad…
I still have a Newish Ram 2500 4x4 and a small Hyundai AWD if I need an ICE vehicle to drive for some reason…offroad and around the mountain land …but with out petrol they become pretty chicken coops.

It is my plan to have more capability than I need for powering things,,ya never know when it will come in handy..
You make perfect sence about the wasted excess of power I would have with the tesla, but at a certain age , money sorta becomes usless once your basic needs are met, unless you spend it on somthing that brings someone/ somthing happiness.

Ya can’t eat money, or screw it …it makes a poor spice for cooking and drinks and no one takes a single cent with them in the end… may as well spend it…!!!

Imagining , developing and putting into action ANY project is a wonderful thing..
it doesn’t have to make economic sence, it just needs to be fun, possible and hopefully serve someone a good purpose…

one day I won’t be here to imagine and implement anything … so while I am here , it’s what I do.

PS….. im probably Gona go with the Y , not the truck…
truck may draw to much attention anymore… the Y just sorta blends in ….

J.
 
Supervstech said:
if only they could build a battery to handle a work van loaded with 2 to 4K in tools and parts to get 400miles a day and charge in 6 hours (about the max time
I drive a LOT! Averaging 250 a day...
Click to expand...
Ford's E-Transit does 125 miles on a charge, or 186 miles with the bigger battery. After that it's 17 mpg. The new battery tech promises to be faster charging.

Rivian has an electric Van, it's the one Amazon is using. 150 mile range, not sure if it has gas too.
 
Supervstech said:
Now, if only they could build a battery to handle a work van loaded with 2 to 4K in tools and parts to get 400miles a day and charge in 6 hours (about the max time the van is parked)
I spend over 600 a week in diesel fuel...
I drive a LOT! Averaging 250 a day...
Click to expand...
At that point you are limited to charging. Off the shelf chargers are only going to really get up to 48a at 240v. Unless you have superchargers available.

Now that I think of it, I wonder if you could have 2 separate chargers, charging the pack simultaneously.

In all reality, 250 miles/day, and even with a super low efficiency of say 400Wh/mile, that's only 100-120kWh battery pack. I don't think it's unattainable.
 
Now that I think of it, I wonder if you could have 2 separate chargers, charging the pack simultaneously.
Click to expand...
So remember that the EVSE is basically just a ‘smart’ extension cord but really does nothing to the ac power passing through it other than turn it on or off. The vehicle’s onboard charger is the one converting that to DC and feeding it to the battery, and controlling the current rate based on the ‘available power’ from the EVSE.

Whether a vehicle has an onboard charger that can handle more than a typical household >50a circuit can support would depend on a bunch of factors, such as:
  • What max charge rate the battery pack itself can actually accept in ideal conditions within the set parameters, which may be set heavily in favor of long pack life rather than the cell manufacturer’s stated limits.
  • Thermal management limits of the pack.
  • Thermal management limits of the charger.
So it’s gonna be case by case. Fast charge rates are a priority for everyone now so the chances get better every day, but on an older car, especially one that doesnt liquid cool the pack or the charger, the odds are slim that it can use any more than what a house circuit can give.

I think the j1772 was designed for a max of 80a across the 240vac lines. In order to do faster charging than that i think youd typically be talking about DC charging, where instead of having the car do ac to dc conversion and stepping up voltage in its onboard charger, that stuff is done externally by the ‘charge station’ and all the car has to do is communicate what power it can currently accept and then deal with the heat generated by putting that into the pack.
 
svetz said:
Ford's E-Transit does 125 miles on a charge, or 186 miles with the bigger battery. After that it's 17 mpg. The new battery tech promises to be faster charging.
Click to expand...

Does Ford have a Hybrid transit in the US? I find a short range (26 mile electric) one in UK, only ICE or electric not both as hybrid in US.

www.drivingelectric.com

Ford Transit Custom hybrid van review | DrivingElectric

The Ford Transit Custom plug-in hybrid van offers around 26 miles of electric driving range and nearly 92mpg fuel economy
www.drivingelectric.com www.drivingelectric.com


Oh, this one says Hybrid. Article over 2 years old, maybe not happening in 2023 after all?

www.drivingelectric.com

New 2023 Ford Transit Custom to offer electric and hybrid power | DrivingElectric

The next generation of the mid-size Ford Transit Custom van will get a fully electric, zero-emissions version
www.drivingelectric.com www.drivingelectric.com
 
JWLV said:
Don't know if you checked your NV Energy bill lately, the rate is now 0.16160/kw. That's 20% higher than a year ago. They predicted the increase several years ago when Warren Butthead's Berkshire Hathaway acquired NV Energy. And now it all makes sense. He paid 23% over the stock value for NV Energy at the time. Now we see him getting it all back with a 20% increase in electricity rates. And I bet it'll continue to go up and top off at around 30%. Seems like a lot of companies are using the pandemic, inflation, employee shortage as excuses to raise prices. If that were true, then why are they making record profits? I'm no CPA, but isn't profit usually the result of charging more for something where the cost is lower or remains the same?
Click to expand...
Here when it went up 30% last tear it was blamed on our govt sending the natural gas to Europe.
 
Lt.Dan said:
At that point you are limited to charging. Off the shelf chargers are only going to really get up to 48a at 240v. Unless you have superchargers available.

Now that I think of it, I wonder if you could have 2 separate chargers, charging the pack simultaneously.

In all reality, 250 miles/day, and even with a super low efficiency of say 400Wh/mile, that's only 100-120kWh battery pack. I don't think it's unattainable.
Click to expand...
The electric box truck I bought has a 100mile range limited to 45mph, and it has a 180kWh battery...
To do what I get from diesel would be a minimum 360kWh battery...
Now imagine the voltage needed, and charge rate needed to recharge a 360kWh pack in 6 hours...

Crazy...
 
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Hedges said:
Does Ford have a Hybrid transit in the US? I find a short range (26 mile electric) one in UK, only ICE or electric not both as hybrid in US.
Click to expand...
Oops... this indicates it might not be out yet (ref):
Ford will first begin sales of the combustion versions of the Transit Custom in early 2023, then also introduce the EV and PHEV later on in the year.
Click to expand...
 
Supervstech said:
The electric box truck I bought has a 100mile range limited to 45mph, and it has a 180kWh battery...
To do what I get from diesel would be a minimum 360kWh battery...
Now imagine the voltage needed, and charge rate needed to recharge a 360kWh pack in 6 hours...

Crazy...
Click to expand...
So...
I need a charging station capable of 60kW rates...
Looks like tesla is releasing a 387kW station standard soon...
To support their semis.
 
EastTexCowboy said:
Then you get those who have 8 open gas pumps but they go to the one that has the only open diesel pump then look at you like you're crazy when you're parked waiting behind them. When I'm driving my wife's Expedition I always try to leave the diesel pumps open unless it's the only one left. I suspect they don't even think about it, but we who drive diesels think about it.
Click to expand...

Had this issue when I was regularly driving my diesel swapped Yota. Add to that, here in Oregon we're too dumb to pump our own fuel, and having to argue with attendants that yes, it is indeed a diesel..........

I pump my own fuel about half the time anyway, law be damned. Not waiting for the attendant to get done updating their FB status, and finish their cigarette 100ft from the pumps, to get fueled and get gone.
 
Supervstech said:
So...
I need a charging station capable of 60kW rates...
Looks like tesla is releasing a 387kW station standard soon...
To support their semis.
Click to expand...
The power levels are just insane compared to typical, home main panels.
387kw / 240v = 1,612a! Wow....

I know, focusing on numbers with no context is the bugaboo of a small mind... but truly the overall grid is going to have to expand tremendously for wide-scale adoption of EV all around. Even regular car fast-charging can reach the 800a @ 240v level.
 
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OffGridInTheCity said:
truly the overall grid is going to have to expand tremendously for wide-scale adoption of EV all around.
Click to expand...
It'll happen. Just like more people in the world are hooked up to clean water supplies than ever before, by the simple expedient of letting people who want to sell water hook the people who want to buy water up to water supplies.
 
OffGridInTheCity said:
The power levels are just insane compared to typical, home main panels.
387kw / 240v = 1,612a! Wow....

I know, focusing on numbers with no context is the bugaboo of a small mind... but truly the overall grid is going to have to expand tremendously for wide-scale adoption of EV all around. Even regular car fast-charging can reach the 800a @ 240v level.
Click to expand...
No freaking way in a home 240V panel.
They have to be fed with industrial 20KV to be reasonable...
Even standard 13.8kV would require massive feeders to work...
 
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timselectric said:
The battery is the most expensive and important part of an EV. I look at them as batteries on wheels. Unless you have a good lead on a great used battery. I would be leery.
Just my opinion. I don't actually own an EV, yet.
Click to expand...
But you will… and then we will all learn from your experience… then we won’t have to… that’s why we all love ya… ?…J.
 
SparkyJJO said:
Here when it went up 30% last tear it was blamed on our govt sending the natural gas to Europe.
Click to expand...
I read an article i found pretty compelling that said that the only reason we have cheap natural gas in USA is because we have limited LNG refining capacity, which equates to a limited capacity to export it via ship to places with higher natural gas prices. As that capacity grows, more of our domestic production will be sold into places with much higher prices, causing our own prices to go up as well.

So, i think in the absence of govt setting export limits we are doomed to seeing prices increase drastically as more LNG refining capacity comes online.
 
JWLV said:
Don't know if you checked your NV Energy bill lately, the rate is now 0.16160/kw. That's 20% higher than a year ago. They predicted the increase several years ago when Warren Butthead's Berkshire Hathaway acquired NV Energy. And now it all makes sense. He paid 23% over the stock value for NV Energy at the time. Now we see him getting it all back with a 20% increase in electricity rates. And I bet it'll continue to go up and top off at around 30%. Seems like a lot of companies are using the pandemic, inflation, employee shortage as excuses to raise prices. If that were true, then why are they making record profits? I'm no CPA, but isn't profit usually the result of charging more for something where the cost is lower or remains the same?
Click to expand...
Completely agree.

My off grid is producing around 22-24kw per day. Need to add another 6 panels to get it to 33. I should have around 15kw extra to dump into the car or run a window AC.

I use ever single Kilowatt hour of extra energy I produce vs. getting it from Warren Buffett. The NV Energy deal is really sad how they've treated potential solar customers.

WB is all about the profit. Doesn't really care about anything else but that. His purchase of NV energy is a case study.
 
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