Electric car thread

[old man emu]

I didn’t realise that my off-handed comment would cause so much interest. It’s more than I get for some of my serious posts. 😀

 

I have a tad under 1/4 acre to mow, which I can do in just under two hours. I use a petrol mower. Pushing it around gives me a bit of exercise. I’ve only mowed a couple of times since last Spring because the hot weather stopped the growth (I can’t afford the electricity to pump the water to irrigate my ground.) 

 

Regarding the quality of ride-ons, it is said that in the cheaper ones, the drive gears are not metal, but polymers of some kind, which means that can fail before the mower itself is worn out. 

[facthunter]

Don't buy a pretend TRACTOR, Get the real thing. A zero turn hydro drive and the V twin vertical shaft motors are  smooth and sophisticated. The only thing about Batteries would be the weight. Soil compaction and bogging. Steep slopes are a problem for all. I mow steep slopes straight down them, slowly. .  Nev

[old man emu]

I’d say that an EV mower’s battery and motor would probably be lighter, or equals in weight to an ICE with battery and fuel.

 

There is a only one thing I have against an EV mower, and all battery-powered devices in general, is that once the stored energy has been used, it takes more time to replenish the energy than simply pouring a liquid into a tank. 

 

It’s OK if the job has been done and the battery can be being charged when it is not required to complete a job, but running out of power in the middle of a job is like getting a Three-Cornered Jack in your underdaks.

[onetrack]

SWMBO bought a little (16") battery electric mower off eBay about 5-6 years ago, and she loves it, and it's never given any trouble. Nice and light and highly suitable for our handkerchief-sized lawns.

It takes a bit of forethought to ensure the battery is charged prior to using it, you can't just cut the grass on a whim, that's about the only drawback.

[Jerry_Atrick]

8 hours ago, Marty_d said:

Maintained?

Our ride on was inherited from my father in-law when he popped his clogs about 10 years ago.

I use it about 3 times a year during summer. Fill the tank every 2 years. Still starts first time.  Never even looked at the blades, except to remove a length of aluminum bar that someone had left in the paddock and that the mower turned into a pretzel.

My mower gets a pretty hard workout.. I can't compare Tassie, but a plot I had on the Mornington Peninsula, which is a pretty fertile part of Victoria is a desert compared to prodution to here. If I manage to keep the grass trimmed every week during the spring and summer months, it is a minimum 3 hour job - every week. And our grassy areas (can't call them lawns) are the antithesis of a lwan bowls green - sloping, bumpy, full of all sorts of crap. As I haven't tended to it for about 3 weeks studying for an exam (of which I have done better), all Saturday will be on the thing. Dog loves it though.. He rides on my lap when cutting and races to the area I dumpt the cuttings. 

 

Also, its warranty was based on an annual service - the warranty was 5 years and has just run out. 

 

And, they don't make 'em like they used to. But I still don't want to prematuerly have to buy another one.

[Jerry_Atrick]

5 hours ago, facthunter said:

Don't buy a pretend TRACTOR, Get the real thing. A zero turn hydro drive and the V twin vertical shaft motors are  smooth and sophisticated. The only thing about Batteries would be the weight. Soil compaction and bogging. Steep slopes are a problem for all. I mow steep slopes straight down them, slowly. .  Nev

Mine is a hydro drive., but not zero turn. On my property, not having a zero turn is not a bad thing.. there isn't too much where I have to reverse and forward because of it and there's not too much I have to get the push mower or strimmer out for that the ride on can't handle.

[Jerry_Atrick]

1 hour ago, old man emu said:

There is a only one thing I have against an EV mower, and all battery-powered devices in general, is that once the stored energy has been used, it takes more time to replenish the energy than simply pouring a liquid into a tank. 

Except for the chipper and ride on, all my stuff is battery (or mains) powered - chain saws, strimmers, blowers, hand tools, etc. I just buy a spare battery or two. The ride ons seem to have swappable batteries, and that one at $10K comes with a spare, too. You just keep the spare charged, and when the cuirrent one goes flat, its quicker and cleaner than refuelling the tank. 

 

I would never go back to petrol garden tools.. 

[facthunter]

It's danger

OIus toput petro

l 

into

 a hot Mo

wer.   That's how my posts are often I'm leaving this one to show it. Great isn't it? I reck

on i's the keybpard. Nev

[kgwilson]

One of my neighbours has an electric push mower & the good thing is he can mow at any time and not annoy anyone as the only noise comes from the spinning cutting blade which is not much. He has had it for 5 or 6 years and says he will never go back to petrol. He has a spare battery but can get his suburban block lawn mowed with one of them. he just swaps them after each mow & the just used one is put on charge. It usually still has some charge left.

[facthunter]

They start much easier too. A bit of W D underneath now and again and a blade touch up is all they need. Always have the Blades really sharp (and straight) on any mower. It reduces the Power needed a lot and does a much better lob, particularly with onionweed.  Nev

[pmccarthy]

When a group of Spanish journalists embarked on a 2,500-kilometer journey across Europe, their mission seemed clear: test the viability of electric cars on long-distance trips. But after their trek from Berlin to Madrid, the team returned with an unexpected conclusion. 

 

One major factor they couldn’t ignore: the time spent waiting for the vehicles to recharge was often far longer than the time it would take to fill up a diesel car at a fuel station.

 

When the journey came to an end, the team sat down to crunch the numbers. According to data from the European Union’s official fuel price reports, the costs associated with recharging the Teslas were significantly higher than refueling a diesel vehicle. Over the course of 2,500 kilometers, recharging the electric vehicles cost them €53.62 more than if they had fueled a comparable diesel car. This cost discrepancy grew even more when comparing the electric vehicles to a gasoline car, with the electric vehicles’ total fuel cost exceeding the gasoline vehicle’s by €136.61.

 

The study underscored a stark reality for electric car enthusiasts: while electric vehicles are often advertised as more affordable to fuel, long-distance trips could incur unexpected costs—particularly if fast-charging options like Tesla’s Superchargers are used.

 

After Driving 2,500 Kilometers in Electric Car, they Reached an Irrefutable Conclusion: “Diesel” Is Still King on the Road

 

[octave]

PM I have seen countless articles like this. Journalist drives........ and finds that.........

 

Sometimes these journalists make expensive choices in the route of recharging facilities in order to prove a point.  Do you notice this article gives very few details or route or Kwh cost or even charging times.  Because of this it is difficult to draw any conclusions.

 

I have some personal experience.  In April, we did a road trip the length of NZ North Island with my son in his Tesla. I know what it cost and I know what charging stops were made and for how long. 

 

This article goes on to sing the praises of diesel in a way that makes me wonder who is behind the article.  Even at best, this article makes the claim that it believes diesel is best for LONG DISTANCE.   

 

My son charges his car once or twice a week for the work commute.    It costs 5 cents a kWh to charge at home overnight.  The power in his location is exclusively hydro, so relatively clean.  Now, if it could sound like my son is a smug EV driver who hates IC cars,  this could not be further from the truth. He loves cars of all sorts but accepts change.   He owns a Tesla 3P,  Honda S2000,  Mazda Lantis (which is purely a motorsports car), and most recently has acquired a Porsche Cayenne (an older one).  As he says, he "loves his IC engines" but he "accepts that things are changing."

 

Back to diesels. Diesels are terrible in the city for emissions. Diesel exhaust

 

To summarise, I think you would surely agree that the article is very short of facts and figures, the authorship is unclear and it obviously flies the flag for diesel.    Even if the conclusions are accurate, so what? It at best compares one particular type of journey, which for many people is rare.  To draw conclusions, you would think that they would have quoted the kWh price of charging rather than just saying Tesla Superchargers are expensive.   Perhaps they compiled tables of data, but it would be nice if they shared this information.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[octave]

This is worth watching.  It critiques another clip that compares an EV and an IC  on a road trip and points out how dishonest it is.  This clip does contain facts and figures so it can be fact-checked.

 

 

 

 

[Jerry_Atrick]

The other thing to point out is good luck taking your diesel car to major European cities. Because of the desire to rid the road of these most toxic ICE engines, you will find that many have or are introducing charges to traverse their cities. In London we have the ULEZ charge, which is £12.50 per day. Birmingham and Bristol have introduced their own version as well. I am sure others have do., Google "cities in Europe with an emissions charge" and the AI generator will list quite a few. 

 

Add the cost of that to youe fuel.. as well as the cost of maintenance compared to EVs, and you will probably find any small saving that could be achieved using diesel over EVs will evaporate quickly. Not to mention the very public health costs associated with the respiatory diseases that flow. 

 

 

[spacesailor]

My cheap electricity has gone from 32 c p Kwh.

and is going ( according to Red energy ) , 39.somthing , per Kwh .

So 40 cents per kwh to charge an ev will not be that cheap .

(  40 c, p,kwh into a 60 kw battery.  tesla S 85 kw )

spacesailor

Edited June 23 by spacesailor

[nomadpete]

So thats about $24 to fill up a 60kw battery.

 

If you go 350k on it, that's 6.8 cents per k.

 

My mitzi does .09 litre per kilometer. Thats roughly 17 cents per k.

 

Just on fuel alone, the electric car would run at less than half the cost of my petrol car.

 

Then factor in the six monthly engine service, which the EV doesn't need. And a periodic auto transmission service that an EV doesn't need. 

[facthunter]

Iran Can't block electricity at the Gulf of Hormuz and you can get electricity very cheap at the right time.  Electricity is not imported. Nev

[onetrack]

Personally, I look forward to the day when we can tell the Middle East to shove their oil where the sun doesn't shine. Petrodollars go to finance Middle East weapon expenditure on a huge scale.

[Siso]

we probably could know if we had the will to develop our own resources.

[facthunter]

Non Polluted fresh water is worth More than Oil. Nev

[Siso]

So we make it someone else's problem. a bit selfish and we have better environmental and HSE practices than some other country's that supply us as well.

[facthunter]

We have Pretty good resources with Solar and Wind and Tidal. Not so good for storing water. Pumped Hydro is a proven way of storing energy even though the Snowy has met some problems with the type of rocks  to bore holes through. Nev

[Siso]

But not reliable though. ho hum

[facthunter]

You're just brimming with information.  People are installing Batteries too. They supply power Almost instantly. Quick response is one of the Most IMPORTANT requirements to Manage a system. Nev

[Siso]

Having worked for a renewable company for over 10 years and now working at a synchronous plant I know a bit but some people aren't interested in information they may not agree with.