Electric Vehicles

[LSP_Ray]

My 60 month battery had one, too, so I was able to get it replaced free, but as I found out they only do that once so if my new battery gives out early again I am out of luck.

The Bolt has a warranty, too, but I don't know how long it is. I think the EV batteries are sealed differently, and/or of a different type so we shall see.

[DeanKB]

6 minutes ago, LSP_Ray said:

My 60 month battery had one, too, so I was able to get it replaced free, but as I found out they only do that once so if my new battery gives out early again I am out of luck.

The Bolt has a warranty, too, but I don't know how long it is. I think the EV batteries are sealed differently, and/or of a different type so we shall see.

Funnily enough, the Kona also has a normal 12v car battery, but it feeds off the EV battery when it needs to.

[GusM]

We have 2 Toyota hybrids, which replaced 2 previous ones, and they are great but l wouldn't think of going full EV. Even this week where it's been -5C here most mornings it's been noticeable how detrimental that's been to battery performance. 

[DeanKB]

Seems pretty clear, if you live in a cold-, or big-country, an EV won't really cut it outside of urban areas. But if you live in a tiny little wet country, EV's are a decent option for some people.

[LSP_Kevin]

OK folks, I've just had to give this topic a bit of a prune, despite my earlier request that we stay on topic. One more strike and it goes into lockdown.

Kev

[JeepsGunsTanks]

Thanks for keeping the thread alive; it's been interesting. 

[Kagemusha]

Let's turn it down a notch or three fellas, it's an interesting conversation, as a cyclist I'm very much in favour of EV's, during lockdown when there were virtually no cars on the road you could really notice the difference in air quality, but it's early days for the technology with a long way to go to catch up with petrol/diesel, and maybe in time hydrogen might be the most successful of all.

[JeepsGunsTanks]

1 minute ago, Kagemusha said:

Let's turn it down a notch or three fellas, it's an interesting conversation, as a cyclist I'm very much in favour of EV's, during lockdown when there were virtually no cars on the road you could really notice the difference in air quality, but it's early days for the technology with a long way to go to catch up with petrol/diesel, and maybe in time hydrogen might be the most successful of all.

 

 

Do you E-bike?

 

They are getting pretty common around here. No rules about using them on dirt trails in parks yet, I think. They look pretty fun. 

[Out2gtcha]

Actually I've seen a few signs up against e-bikes on certain trails, but can't remember where.

[JeepsGunsTanks]

2 minutes ago, Out2gtcha said:

Actually I've seen a few signs up against e-bikes on certain trails, but can't remember where.

 

Fun police are fast. I have to look at the signs at the local trails more carefully. Marin County, in Cali, has hundreds of little trails all over the place. 

[LSP_Ray]

I can see where the E-bikes would be fun, but apparently you need to be careful about the batteries, or at least those who work on them. Just read a report that NYC fire dept responded to several hundred fires caused by E-bike battery explosions, with several deaths over the last year. Apparently, many were caused by incompetent repairs or replacing with cheap batteries.

[Kagemusha]

28 minutes ago, JeepsGunsTanks said:

 

 

Do you E-bike?

 

They are getting pretty common around here. No rules about using them on dirt trails in parks yet, I think. They look pretty fun. 

 

No, just a road bike with flat handlebars, I live on the edge of the Pennines and it's really hilly round here, so I get a good workout, but I don't do bad weather, which is all we've had for months, surprised I don't have webbed hands and feet. I wouldn't discount getting an e-bike when I'm older, but you should always buy a reputable brand - there have been fatal fires started when e-bike batteries have become enflamed, I personally wouldn't charge anything with a lithium battery, be it an electric tooth brush etc., when I was out of the house or asleep.

[ScottsGT]

My sons boss has a Mustang Mach E that he drove last winter from Charleston up here to Columbia to get some custom interior work done.  Due to bumper to bumper traffic and running the heater to keep warm, he couldn’t make it to his destination a hundred miles away and had to stop and get a tank full of electrons.  
 

Another forum I’m on a guy bought a new Tesla. He loves it. Took it on a road trip that was just over 1000 miles.  He said the trip took him 6 hours longer than it did in his old ICE car because of charging stops.   Due to this alone, I think Toyota hit the nail on the head with their new designed hybrids.  
 

My feeling is that battery powered cars are great in city environments where you’re not driving real far and it also keeps the smog down in those concentrated areas.  If I lived in a place like that, I’d have one.  Another issue I’ve heard is due to weight, some parking garages are banning them.  
Personally, I don’t think we’re there yet with battery technology, but without the necessity of better batteries, we would never get there. It’s going to take a while for the tech to catch up with the idea.  But how many times have we seen cities having power outages from heavy air conditioning use during the summer?  It’s going to take a lot to get the grid and infrastructure there to support large cities with a majority of electric cars.  

[ScottsGT]

37 minutes ago, LSP_Ray said:

I can see where the E-bikes would be fun, but apparently you need to be careful about the batteries, or at least those who work on them. Just read a report that NYC fire dept responded to several hundred fires caused by E-bike battery explosions, with several deaths over the last year. Apparently, many were caused by incompetent repairs or replacing with cheap batteries.

I think it’s either Denver or Colorado Springs where my son lives, he was telling me they have scrap yards full of e-bikes that no one will attempt to fix or swap batteries.  They put the yard way out in the middle of nowhere. 

[thierry laurent]

I'm wondering how they do in Scandinavia and more particularly in Norway. They have a huge number of EV whereas the country is not small and the weather not really hot most of the year. It is true they do not have problems of available electricity but the weather is what it is.