Yesterday. Would you buy and EV?

[Jstpssng]

I think for certain applications they would be good. Certainly a believer should be willing to buy one and make it work. They seem well suited for somebody who is growing in a high hoop greenhouse… in that case though I would imagine that it’s mostly smaller equipment like walk behind rototillers, if not hydroponic.

30 years ago a battery operated drill was expensive. Now they are the norm, and I wouldn’t dare guess when the last time was I dug out my corded drill.

I used to pick up a copy of Mother Earth News occasionally. One issue featured somebody who had converted a Farmall Cub to electric. That was well over 20 years ago. Again, a small time user; but let the believers support the tech and if they are right, the rest of us will come on board.
Solar powered tractor, anybody?

 

[RolandW]

I think for certain applications they would be good. Certainly a believer should be willing to buy one and make it work. They seem well suited for somebody who is growing in a high hoop greenhouse… in that case though I would imagine that it’s mostly smaller equipment like walk behind rototillers, if not hydroponic.

30 years ago a battery operated drill was expensive. Now they are the norm, and I wouldn’t dare guess when the last time was I dug out my corded drill.

I used to pick up a copy of Mother Earth News occasionally. One issue featured somebody who had converted a Farmall Cub to electric. That was well over 20 years ago. Again, a small time user; but let the believers support the tech and if they are right, the rest of us will come on board.
Solar powered tractor, anybody?

Yes, I suspect that absent government coercion, electric vehicles and tractors would not be more than a niche market – at least in my lifetime.
The problem with comparing this to power tools is that they have been electric all along, so the evolution to battery power makes sense. Not many gas-powered drills out there. I love my cordless drill and circular saw. Who uses corded anymore?
It's appropriate that you use the term "believers." This is a religion. They have been hypnotized by their climate-change masters. But they will never settle for being free to put their own money where their mouths are. They want to take civilization as we know it down with them.

 

[GB540]

For a utility tractor, that does 10-minute tasks and doesn't get far from the buildings? No brainer, I'd buy an EV in a minute. This is the kind of service that is a T4 emissions nightmare and where an electric would excel.

Now... keeping ground worked ahead of a planting crew, rolling 24 hours and three counties away? Diesel will remain king here for the foreseeable future.

 

[Jstpssng]

Again, it seems like a diesel/electric hybrid would be the way to go. Just as they do with locomotives.

 

[CH4Ohio]

At least the tractor could pull a large solar array around behind it. Might take 40 acres to turn it around and would likely crawl at 1/4 mph, but seems completely plausible.

 

[bsekf]

The motor on an EV tractor will have to be cooled and that will involve moving parts.

EV anything will not become popular until they can compete with ICE price wise. Or, we are forced.

 

[5030]

The motor on an EV tractor will have to be cooled and that will involve moving parts.

EV anything will not become popular until they can compete with ICE price wise. Or, we are forced.

You are being forced by fuel prices.

 

[ljjhouser]

Yesterday, NOPE. Today, Still no. Tomorrow, Maybe. But always less likely if I am told I have too. I guess my opinion might change when Air Force One is electric and the six new jets purchased for congress to use are all electric.

 

[RolandW]

Many interesting ideas here. But I'm afraid that lurking behind some of them is the assumption that experts should decide what the best solutions are and then impose them on everybody by force.
Scarcity is a fact of life in this world. The only way to make sure that resources are used to the greatest benefit of the general population over the long haul is through unhampered markets.
If someone has an idea for a planet-saving car or truck or tractor, great! He should bring it to market by risking his own wealth, or that of voluntary investors. Then see if customers find enough value in it that they are willing to pay for it with their own money. Value has nothing to do with what the inputs cost; it exists only in the mind of the consumer.
The miracle of capitalism is a boon to human flourishing. It has lifted billions out of grinding poverty. It's why some countries are much wealthier than others. Without voluntary trade and the division of labor, none of us would have the luxury of sitting here pecking out our ideas on computers or phones. If we had been born at all, we would be spending every waking moment trying to find enough food to keep from starving to death. It is baffling to me that more people don't understand this, and want to leave all important decisions to the experts (but only the experts who agree with them). I blame government schools.

 

[meackerman]

just wish every one would come to their senses and realize it cannot happen "overnight", or as fast as they are trying to push them on to us.

how is the person making minimum wage or just above, who barely pays their bills, going to afford to go out and buy a $40k+ EV? just not going to happen in any significant numbers. And no I'm not knocking on those people, I was one of them at one point in my life....just pointing out reality.