Cars & Bikes, Driving & Riding

Postby **offsides** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 4:02 pm

That's why I've said the person who invents a way to store or deliver electricity outside of the current understanding of a battery is going to be the first self-made trillionaire off of an IP.

yep

Postby **offsides** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 4:10 pm

I don't know much about electrics so help me out. Can't ever see it happening, but if I was to buy an electric, what do I have to have at my house to charge it. If I have to install something, how much does it cost?

Postby **Factorial** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 4:14 pm

I don't know much about electrics so help me out. Can't ever see it happening, but if I was to buy an electric, what do I have to have at my house to charge it. If I have to install something, how much does it cost?

You could send off all your cars to have their antiquated IC engines replaced with battery power.

Postby **dodint** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 4:18 pm

I don't know much about electrics so help me out. Can't ever see it happening, but if I was to buy an electric, what do I have to have at my house to charge it. If I have to install something, how much does it cost?

The smart play for new construction is to wire in a 240v 50 amp charger whether you are going to need it or not. That's my plan with my current renovations. Or at least I will have the plug in the right place and see if the cost of Level 2 chargers fall over time.

If you wanted a Level 2 charger right now it would cost about $1,000-1,500 to install one. You can buy them at home improvement stores like Home Depot.

Or just use the existing 120v and charge slowly.

Postby **offsides** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 4:44 pm

So, someone that rents an apartment without a garage is out of luck with electrics? Maybe they could put a solar panel on it and slow charge.

Postby **dodint** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 4:46 pm

Many parking garages have chargers in them.

Rednecks that roll coal like to park in them so they can pwn the libtards.

Postby **offsides** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 4:52 pm

I don't know much about electrics so help me out. Can't ever see it happening, but if I was to buy an electric, what do I have to have at my house to charge it. If I have to install something, how much does it cost?
You could send off all your cars to have their antiquated IC engines replaced with battery power.

Yeah, in about 10 or 15 years IC engines will be hard to find, except on big trucks. Can't see big tractor trailers going electric for a while. In 50 years IC engines will be history and laughed about. Sure glad I will miss that.

Postby **tifosi77** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 4:56 pm

Source of the post But the fact that it takes actual hours to reach that charge
Super chargers are more like 20 minutes.

And if you live in an area where you can get electricity cheaper during non-peak hours (in some places, it's free), you charge at home for a minimal cost while you sleep.

Charging while at work or sleeping at home isn't a factor for me, as that's dead time for the car, anyway. It's more of an issue when you're road tripping.

Superchargers are getting more common, but they're still sorta few and far between in most of the country. There are only around 1,400 Supercharger locations around the US, vs nearly 170,000 gas stations. And it feels almost like 1/3 of them are in CA. (That's not accurate, just making a joke)

Postby **robbiestoupe** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 5:00 pm

Source of the post But the fact that it takes actual hours to reach that charge
Super chargers are more like 20 minutes.

And if you live in an area where you can get electricity cheaper during non-peak hours (in some places, it's free), you charge at home for a minimal cost while you sleep.
Charging while at work or sleeping at home isn't a factor for me, as that's dead time for the car, anyway. It's more of an issue when you're road tripping.

Superchargers are getting more common, but they're still sorta few and far between in most of the country. There are only around 1,400 Supercharger locations around the US, vs nearly 170,000 gas stations. And it feels almost like 1/3 of them are in CA. (That's not accurate, just making a joke)

That's one of the few issues I have with electrics. I would have to plan every single trip around super charger stations.

Postby **Shyster** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 5:38 pm

IMO the big advantage of Tesla is the Supercharger stations, which are limited to Teslas only. While they are still relatively sparse, they are significantly ahead of what the competition can offer. There are other manufacturers like VW, Hyundai/Kia, Nissan, etc. that are starting to put out EVs that have range comparable to Tesla models, but they don't have anywhere near the infrastructure that Tesla does, and even when you can find a non-Tesla charging station, they usually are much slower than the charging speeds offered by the Superchargers. Kia has an EV coming out (the Niro EV) that would be right up my alley, but it would be a pain to take anywhere because the non-Tesla chargers that are available mostly suck.

Still, the vast majority of my driving is on trips of probably 30 miles or less. I'm seriously considering an EV when I decided to replace my current car, which won't be for a number of years yet. I figure if I need to make a longer trip, such my occasional trips to argue appeals in Harrisburg, I'll just rent something.

Postby **DigitalGypsy66** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 7:32 pm

My friend's Leaf took about eight hours to charge at one of the municipal EV stations from nearly dead. This was after one of the hurricanes that passed through here a couple of years ago - he couldn't charge it at home.

Postby **NTP66** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 8:02 pm

Source of the post But the fact that it takes actual hours to reach that charge
Super chargers are more like 20 minutes.

And if you live in an area where you can get electricity cheaper during non-peak hours (in some places, it's free), you charge at home for a minimal cost while you sleep.
Charging while at work or sleeping at home isn't a factor for me, as that's dead time for the car, anyway. It's more of an issue when you're road tripping.

Superchargers are getting more common, but they're still sorta few and far between in most of the country. There are only around 1,400 Supercharger locations around the US, vs nearly 170,000 gas stations. And it feels almost like 1/3 of them are in CA. (That's not accurate, just making a joke)
That's one of the few issues I have with electrics. I would have to plan every single trip around super charger stations.

I agree, this would annoy me to no end. I’d pay up for a good charger at home, but the technology hasn’t evolved enough for trips away from home yet (in this area).

Postby **tifosi77** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 8:46 pm

Two other good things about the Superchargers is that more and more of them are solar powered, and they are free to use for Tesla owners. You only have to pay if you squat on a spot beyond your charge time.

Postby **offsides** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 10:30 pm

Seems weird to me to have Tesla only gas (electric) stations. Hopefully other EV manufactures come up with some kind of standard that any car can charge at.

Postby **Factorial** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 10:38 pm

Seems weird to me to have Tesla only gas (electric) stations. Hopefully other EV manufactures come up with some kind of standard that any car can charge at.

The government should step in a advocate a standard. Silly that charging stations would have proprietary connectors.

Postby **offsides** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 10:57 pm

I agree with some kind of standard for charging, but I hate to get the government involved. They do crap like 55mph speed limit, 5mph rubber bumpers and ethanol. Although the air bags and emission standards are good things.

Postby **mac5155** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 10:58 pm

Wasn't there an advocacy for post offices to be EV charging stations a while back?

Postby **Factorial** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 11:00 pm

Wasn't there an advocacy for post offices to be EV charging stations a while back?

Postby **offsides** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 11:09 pm

Wouldn't charging places need to be huge? Each car would have to be there a while, not just 5 minutes like a gas station. Maybe restaurants, movie theaters and gyms should install a bunch of chargers.

Postby **mac5155** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 11:12 pm

Or... Every gas station could install a few...

Postby **dodint** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 11:14 pm

Charge by the minute?

Postby **mac5155** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 11:17 pm

Or by the KWH

Postby **offsides** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 11:18 pm

Or... Every gas station could install a few...

That might work, but would you pull behind an EV and wait maybe 20 minutes to start charging and then sit in your car for another 20 minutes while you charged? I would want to go somewhere with available chargers and something to do for a while.

Postby **Factorial** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 11:20 pm

Postby **NTP66** » Tue Mar 19, 2019 6:50 am

It should be like the railways, where there's a common standard that everyone follows (track width being the most obvious). I don't believe any of that is government regulated. The proprietary connector thing is crap.