That’s the way it should be. But glaciers are shrinking faster than now than ever before.
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I wasn’t talking about the fires. There’s a lot of other problems with the batteries.
HUH? Where’d you hear that? I see LOTS of Tesla’s and other EV’s and plug-in hybrids here in the North East. No one I know ever heard of cold weather charging killing an EV battery. It does take longer to charge when cold.
It doesn’t because there is a heater to warm the battery first. Cell phones don’t have this feature, and some may not be advanced enough to block charging until the temperature is brought up.
You can store a lot of propane because it becomes a liquid under pressure. By the way, liquid propane is actually more dangerous than liquid nitrogen. Splash liquid propane on your skin and it’s instant frostbite, being about -43.6F. Even though liquid nitrogen is far colder, at -322F, having it splashed on your skin is not instant frostbite due to the Leidenfrost effect, which prevents it from wetting your skin.
I’ve never gotten this fear people keep spouting. It’s like people worrying about replacing their $10k gas engine in the car they just bought, but you never hear anyone complaining about that. I’m currently looking for a temporary vehicle to have in case my current lease runs out before my new EV gets ordered and delivered, and I’d like to be able to sell it for what I paid for it, or close to it, so that puts me into the territory of “how much will the engine cost to replace”. If I were to keep my Bolt for as long as I kept my CX-7 or Civic, I wouldn’t be worrying about battery replacement costs- atleast not the drive battery- the normal battery, yes.
There are a couple of Teslas out there with 1 millio miles on them and only their 2nd or 3rd battery. New York taxis with over 600k miles on them and on the original batteries. 350k-500k miles is what I’m hearing is the average expected lifetime for modern EV batteries.
I don’t plug my car in and run it, I only plug it in to recharge it. I unhook it from the cord before I do anything with my car. That sounds like the equivalent of running your vehicle while you’re filling your gas tank up.
Not all of us have the benefit of having a garage so we have clear windshields in the morning. I don’t like having to spend a lot of time scraping my windows- especially at 5am- so my remote start helps that a lot.
Yeah, winter does suck for recharging because the cold reduces range, even when not using the heater. I got a full charge at 197 miles yesterday, in the summertime I can get as high as 300 miles of range, and my lowest full charge was 150 miles last year when it was 0 degrees outside.
How does the dinosaur move “65” end? I hope it’s not a meteor surprise.
Depends on your definition of outrageously expensive. A 2023 Bolt starts at $26k, Ford Maverick has a hybrid engine standard(not sure about plug-in capabilities) and starts at $22k, Prius starts about $28k
If you’re talking about EV battery recycling, then there are several plants in the US that recycles those already. Tesla has a few, Ford has atleast 1, maybe 2, not sure about Chevy.
Anywhere where there is anything besides sunshine and warm weather, those e-bikes/trikes will have a smaller share than actual EVs.
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Common or not, there’s still no good way to put out EV fires:
Firefighters Still Aren’t Sure How to Quickly Defeat EV Fires (jalopnik.com)
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Have you tried to buy a Ford Maverick ? Everyone I looked at had ADP ( Additional Dealer Profit ) added to the sticker . Used ones are listed at over new sticker price.
Do you have any evidence for this? I really do not think this is true. There were some articles out there about high mileage Teslas, but they lied by failing to bring out the fact that the batteries had been replaced at least once for free by Tesla. Teslas used to have an unlimited mileage warranty.
There could be EVs out there with Lithium Iron phosphate batteries. These last much longer, as in cycle life, than regular lithium ion, but the range is something like 1/2 to 3/4 for the same battery size. They’re using them in China, but Lithium iron is mostly non existant in EVs in the US at this time.
IiFePO4 batteries are also more expensive but I understand they handle high and low temps better and have many more cycles. This is probably the way to go. I am seeing these batteries available for trolling motors, etc. as I think they can cycle deeper without damage. Another way to keep batteries working longer is to not discharge them too deeply but that limits your range. It is a trade off.
I am pretty much of the belief that most modern car engines will last the life of the car with good regular maintenance. Odds are something else will kill it before the engine dies. There are a few exceptions of course like the Chrysler 2.7 but most are not doomed like that one from the start. The body will rust out, the transmission will go out, etc. more likely before the engine dies unless abused/neglected.
I also understand that worn out EV batteries are commonly used as stationary power banks of sorts which is a good use for them. Once that use is spent, then they can get chemically recycled or however it is done. Eventually the battery tech will improve and the lifespan will increase.
It is like SSDs in computers. At first, some had few numbers of write cycles. They were fast but couldn’t be used in scenarios where a lot of writes occur. Now those concerns have all but been eliminated and there is no advantage to old mechanical drives in most use cases besides cost.
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I heard that in the 1970s about molten aluminum. I was told that if you wet your finger well you could drag it quickly thorough molten aluminum and not get burned. The moisture on your finger would vaporize and keep your finger from burning if you were fast enough. Fortunately I worked in a steel mill and didn’t have access to molten aluminum. No way I would have done it anyway unless I saw someone do it before me. Even then I likely would have said no thanks.
Yeah, liquid propane will freeze you badly. This isn’t a hazard people think about with flammable gases but is definitely one to worry about. I was talking to a fill place once. A tank came in that burst a seam during filling and they had to hit the stop button and just walk away until it had fully vented. They said it would about freeze you to death if you stayed near it.
Also, I just saw this news article. I do think a less combustible battery chemistry will have to be used for widespread adoption. Not all batteries are so volatile. The other issue is putting the fires out is so hard. Many parking garages have banned EVs because of this problem. I think the LiFePO4 batteries are a lot more stable although they are not as energy dense.
Tesla ‘spontaneously’ catches fire on California freeway, officials say | Fox Business
I’m only going by the Ford website, not by looking around at dealerships. The only thing I’m considering shopping for is a cheap vehicle to keep for a year just in case my lease runs out before the Silverado I have a reservation for doesn’t get built in time.
I’m assuming you’re old enough to know how to Google things for yourself- it’s how I found out about the taxis and Teslas, myself.
Oh wow, a company that replaced an EV battery under warranty, there goes your argument about having to worry about forking over $20k for a new battery.
Maybe I said this already. Maybe six months ago I stopped for gas enroute to South Dakota. The guy pumping gas across from me had a maverick so I asked him about it. He said he got it because the guy that was supposed to get it, backed out of the deal.it must have been fairly new because he was filling the tank. Incidentally this the same town as the guy that won the 57 thunderbird a couple years ago. A few people got all upset and called the raffle spam, even though it was a school fundraiser. I’m still glad I didn’t win it though. A car project is the last thing I need.
RE: Ford Maverick
I think the demand for the Maverick was so high along with the chip shortage, Ford stopped accepting orders over a year ago.
I saw one at my dealership a month or two ago, top of the line trim, $5000 ADP on the sticker.
Last week noted new small SUVs were starting to appear on the lot, a few Broncos and Mustangs too.
It seems the car shortage is easing a bit from what I can see. New cars aren’t so hard to come by and more models are available. I hear warranty claims can be a bear waiting for parts though.
The fires with EVs are definitely a concern. I suspect a less-volatile battery chemistry will have to be used, even if there is a penalty on the range. A laptop or a cell phone is one thing but these have WAY bigger batteries and a fire is a much bigger deal as explained here. Firefighters Still Aren't Sure How to Quickly Defeat EV Fires
Some US state laws seem designed to force people to buy only new EV’s soon. Are you concerned about not being able to buy gasoline as easily in the future? Maybe gas stations will become more rare and gas prices will increase a lot. Does that concern you? Thanks.
At my age, 13 years is soon, for a twenty-something, 13 years is a long way off.