Electric vehicles during a disaster

[BravoXray]

18mpg on the highway. Over 700 mile range. I could drive from here to NYC non-stop. Had to pee when I got there.

Most vehicles a are bladder range limited, not fuel tank limited.

 

[Grumpycat]

As for charging, Tesla may suggest one thing, but science says another. I fill my gas tank when I go to Sams, regardless of the status. Never go below a 1/4, just in case.

Should I charge my Tesla every day and night? | Optiwatt

What are the pros and cons of frequent charging? We took a look at all the factors, so you don’t have to, and here is what we found.

getoptiwatt.com

So you read the article and didn't understand it.

Look again at the pretty graphic in the middle. The big AA battery which is red on the 0-20% end and red on the 90-100% end. Green in the middle. Representing wear for using the lithium battery in those ranges.

Now scroll down to the chart of DoD Full Life Cycle Equivalents. 60% discharge gets 900 Full Cycle Equivalents, 20% discharge gets double the effective life.

Perhaps in Gas Station thinking you do not understand EV drivers do not charge to 100% except in rare circumstances? I said that indirectly in my post. That for Saturday's trip I charged to 230 miles. I have a 265 mile battery. After the trip I reset the charge limit to 200 miles.

 

[Grumpycat]

I very rarely let my fuel tank get below 1/2. Even when I was travelling 500 miles to work I made it a point to gas at midpoint; mainly to support the state I was travelling through. As I get older though it doesn't make sense not to. Half a tank is about 200 miles, by then I'm ready to get out and stretch my legs anyways.

I get branded an "EV apologist" for such heresy! Learned before buying an EV that if I stop every 2-3 hours and do nothing but walk around the car then I am in much better shape after a 500 mile day.

On street motorcycle I have to stop for 5 minutes of every hour.

 

[Torvy]

So you read the article and didn't understand it.

Look again at the pretty graphic in the middle. The big AA battery which is red on the 0-20% end and red on the 90-100% end. Green in the middle. Representing wear for using the lithium battery in those ranges.

Now scroll down to the chart of DoD Full Life Cycle Equivalents. 60% discharge gets 900 Full Cycle Equivalents, 20% discharge gets double the effective life.

Perhaps in Gas Station thinking you do not understand EV drivers do not charge to 100% except in rare circumstances? I said that indirectly in my post. That for Saturday's trip I charged to 230 miles. I have a 265 mile battery. After the trip I reset the charge limit to 200 miles.

It seems you got distracted by the pretty pictures and didn't read the text. Try again.

 

[cqaigy2]

It seems you got distracted by the pretty pictures and didn't read the text. Try again.

Post the important text then. I got stuck on the pictures.

 

[ponytug]

Irony: Relying on electricity to operate gas pumps is the same as needing a gas generator to charge your EV.

X2 Try living somewhere that has unreliable power and you realize very quickly that gas stations are effectively dead in the water when the power goes out as so few of them have backup power.

I do have a hybrid. ...

I'm no engineer, but my son is. I don't think you are supposed to charge your EV until it is closer to empty. My understanding is that the battery will degrade if you do it like that. Of course, if you do it that way and then there is an emergency, you could get stuck.

There is a great deal of misinformation around on batteries, but as a general rule, don't do deep discharges to close to zero, and try not to charge all the way to 100%. With battery monitoring circuits, most of this goes on behind the scenes. Both of my hybrids from two different manufacturers have "Empty" set to be around 5%, and "Full" set to somewhere around 95%. The whole house batteries turn themselves off at 5%.
Many EV battery systems have cell level monitoring, and the ability to equalize the state of charge amongst all the cells in the pack for better longevity.
My bottom line: it is in the interest of vehicle manufacturers to have the whole charging process as painless as possible, and with modern electronics, I think it is.

Again, I ask, where are you going to charge it if you live in an apartment complex with 1000 cars in the lots?

I can't speak for other places, but there are many apartment complexes and businesses around here with EV chargers. I worked at one site that put in two charging spots that were promptly used all day by a series of vehicles. That expanded to four, and then to eight, and then had a solar roof put on the parking garage...you get the idea.

For me the big difference between the EVs and my ICE vehicles, is that I almost always refuel the EVs at home, and in normal usage, that's all I need. In times of emergency (that's the thread, right?) I can actually refuel at home, and I'm not dependent on grid power, or oil pipelines to get fuel. Both of which are likely to be in deep doodoo in my area after a big quake, which is our one of our most likely emergencies (followed by fire).

All in all, I think it is "horses for courses"; driving a '78 bronco at 80 probably isn't comfortable (never done that, but I have driven similar vintage vehicles quickly, and comfort didn't come to mind), and taking a Lamborghini four wheeling is asking for trouble. EVs may not work for everyone's use case, but my$0.02 is try it, you might be surprised. The old adage about walking a mile in someone else's shoes comes to mind...

All the best,

Peter

 

[MossRoad]

X2 Try living somewhere that has unreliable power and you realize very quickly that gas stations are effectively dead in the water when the power goes out as so few of them have backup power.

There is a great deal of misinformation around on batteries, but as a general rule, don't do deep discharges to close to zero, and try not to charge all the way to 100%. With battery monitoring circuits, most of this goes on behind the scenes. Both of my hybrids from two different manufacturers have "Empty" set to be around 5%, and "Full" set to somewhere around 95%. The whole house batteries turn themselves off at 5%.
Many EV battery systems have cell level monitoring, and the ability to equalize the state of charge amongst all the cells in the pack for better longevity.
My bottom line: it is in the interest of vehicle manufacturers to have the whole charging process as painless as possible, and with modern electronics, I think it is.

I can't speak for other places, but there are many apartment complexes and businesses around here with EV chargers. I worked at one site that put in two charging spots that were promptly used all day by a series of vehicles. That expanded to four, and then to eight, and then had a solar roof put on the parking garage...you get the idea.

For me the big difference between the EVs and my ICE vehicles, is that I almost always refuel the EVs at home, and in normal usage, that's all I need. In times of emergency (that's the thread, right?) I can actually refuel at home, and I'm not dependent on grid power, or oil pipelines to get fuel. Both of which are likely to be in deep doodoo in my area after a big quake, which is our one of our most likely emergencies (followed by fire).

All in all, I think it is "horses for courses"; driving a '78 bronco at 80 probably isn't comfortable (never done that, but I have driven similar vintage vehicles quickly, and comfort didn't come to mind), and taking a Lamborghini four wheeling is asking for trouble. EVs may not work for everyone's use case, but my$0.02 is try it, you might be surprised. The old adage about walking a mile in someone else's shoes comes to mind...

All the best,

Peter

Oh, I'm sure an EV would work fine for 95% of our daily needs. I have a 15 minute commute to work. Wife and I carpool on rare days she has to go in to her office. Most of our sight-seeing is under 200 mile round trips on weekends. That's not the issue.

The issue is that EVs are being pushed at a rate far faster than a huge majority of people can afford them (most people can't afford a new ICE car, let alone an EV), can't buy them used without battery issues, and even if they could afford them, have no place to charge them near where they live, and would require a large time investment doing so.

The demographic here on TBN is predominantly people that are financially secure, own homes, don't rent. That's the opposite of most of the rest of the population.

The ROI on electric vehicles for people that normally buy a decade old used car as their primary transportation and run it for 10+ years just isn't there yet.

 

[Grumpycat]

Again, I ask, where are you going to charge it if you live in an apartment complex with 1000 cars in the lots?

Same place I was my clothes. If I want washer and dryer hookups in my apartment then I rent an apartment with washer and dryer hookups.

I don’t have a swimming pool at my house. Clearly swimming is not a valid exercise because not everyone has convenient access to a swimming pool. But amazingly more apartment dwellers have access to swimming pools than homeowners.

If you chose to live in an apartment then you have made the choice to have some things and do without others.

Where pray tell does the apartment dweller keep their tractor? Horse? Chickens?

 

[cqaigy2]

Same place I was my clothes. If I want washer and dryer hookups in my apartment then I rent an apartment with washer and dryer hookups.

I don’t have a swimming pool at my house. Clearly swimming is not a valid exercise because not everyone has convenient access to a swimming pool. But amazingly more apartment dwellers have access to swimming pools than homeowners.

If you chose to live in an apartment then you have made the choice to have some things and do without others.

Where pray tell does the apartment dweller keep their tractor? Horse? Chickens?

A business opportunity there, I'll rent them space for their tractors, not doing the horses or chickens though.

 

[MossRoad]

Same place I was my clothes. If I want washer and dryer hookups in my apartment then I rent an apartment with washer and dryer hookups.
....

Right there's a perfect example.

You have to take your laundry down to the laundry room or laundry mat just like you'll have to take your EV to a charging station (gas station).