How long before Compact Diesels are obsolete?

[grsthegreat]

Consider if you will ....

Smallish combustion engine to power a generator that powers what does the work. Same as locomotives that haul freight cross country.

look inside a locomotive. The engine is huge compared to the batteries. No such thing as a perpetual motion engine.

 

[grsthegreat]

I agree. Electric tractors make the most sense. Be a bunch quieter, too.

Would love to have one, as my solar panels are on the roof of the carriage house where the tractor is parked. In most cases, the tractor's "fuel" will cost me nothing.

Will need a bunch more panels and batteries to eliminate my diesel generator though.

Ralph

i had one customer that had to go solar due to remoteness of property. Hed already spent over $40k on system and i was bidding on generator to back it up...another 9k. This was for a small 1400 sf home and shop. He said it was marginal power supply at best. On cloudy, snowy days....not good. Thats what the gen would be for. He wished he went for the $60k package to have more power.

Sad thing was, as i was leaving his place about a half mile away they were installing power poles. Apparently another neighbor was bringing in power. I bet he would be able to get power pretty soon as alot of new properties were being developed near him. Solar is nice in sunny climates...not do much in idaho.

 

[CobyRupert]

.....As others have said, we don't have the electrical capacity to generate enough electricity to charge all those batteries. It would require coal and nuclear and they have been framed as dirty electricity. So where does the raw power come from? Then the power distribution over the grid is another problem....

Nationally, coal supplies 23.5% and nuclear supplies 20%. Like renewables, and natural gas, the source of YOUR electricity varies widely depending on what part of the country you’re in.
(Note: I assume solar is under represented in this data as this is “utility scale” sources.)

 

[Snobdds]

In Wyoming, we have had a boom of big tech companies building huge data storage facilities for their platforms. Why? Cheap energy. We use coal to power these facilities.

We also have the world's largest supercomputer. Why? Cheap energy.

The world is still powered largely by cheap power.

Don't be fooled by amazons commercials of wanting to save the planet. Their entire business is fueled by cheap, coal based power.

 

[Mat4644]

Long before Elon and Tesla and it's video of it's electric truck pulling a piston truck GE made a video in the 70s of the Elec-Trak pulling a John Deere backwards. Pulled it backwards even loaded with 3 people.

Elec-Trak: A New Concept in Home Ground-Care - YouTube

 

[Snobdds]

Long before Elon and Tesla and it's video of it's electric truck pulling a piston truck GE made a video in the 70s of the Elect-Trak pulling a John Deere backwards. Pulled it backwards even loaded with 3 people.

Elec-Trak: A New Concept in Home Ground-Care - YouTube

View attachment 674898

Yes, direct drive electric motors have an advantage in their ability to supply instant torque. But you know, they only win for about a minute before the battery dies at full power with that old lead acid battery. Then the gas powered tractor will be dragging a dead machine for hours later.

 

[Mat4644]

The biggest customer for the GE Elect-Trak were widows such as my Aunt that didn't want to mess with a gas engine. On full charge they were acceptable but full charge didn't last long with the golf cart batteries.

 

[CobyRupert]

In Wyoming, we have had a boom of big tech companies building huge data storage facilities for their platforms. Why? Cheap energy. We use coal to power these facilities.

We also have the world's largest supercomputer. Why? Cheap energy.

The world is still powered largely by cheap power.

Don't be fooled by amazons commercials of wanting to save the planet. Their entire business is fueled by cheap, coal based power.

All true!
Amazons business model is also based on transporting some widget made so cheaply on the other side of the world by some polluting industry and slave labor that they can still pay for all the fuel that gets burnt delivering it to you.
How green! There kumbaya commercials showing a couple solar panels and a dad with his daughter saving the planet are ridiculous.

 

[Snobdds]

All true!
Amazons business model is also based on transporting some widget made so cheaply on the other side of the world by some polluting industry and slave labor that they can still pay for all the fuel that gets burnt delivering it to you.
How green! There kumbaya commercials showing a couple solar panels and a dad with his daughter saving the planet are ridiculous.

Yes, they say they will be carbon neutral by 2025. Yet, they just built a second huge facility to keep up with demand. One of the biggest transfer stations in the world is being built as we speak. All being supplied by a power plant taken out of moth balls to provide the energy. The plant is supplied by wyoming coal and Warren Buffet trains.

 

[MiserableOldFart]

Maybe I should have explained that by "obsolete," I didn't mean you are going to junk your current tractor and buy an electric one, but that sales of new tractors would supplant diesels as the new norm.
There is no reason why current diesels shouldn't be around for many years..