Electric cars should be competing against gas cars

Discussion in 'Peak Oil' started by Kingfish, May 20, 2011.


  1. Gator 45/70

    Gator 45/70 Monkey+++

    Hmmm..I run boat's on the water all the time with no headlight's...
    You would indeed be suprised to know just how far you can see in the dark...just say'n
     
  2. Cbr6fs

    Cbr6fs Monkey+


    How many other boats do you come across pulling out of T-junctions?

    I'd also bet big money the sides of the river bank are a LOT high than roadside kerbs ;)
     
  3. Gator 45/70

    Gator 45/70 Monkey+++

    A boat coming at you throw's a certain amount of water tail out to the side's...So a running boat is the easiest object's too see...River bank's.???
    I've been running in the marsh and bayou's... and how many other boat's do i come across at night or early morning..Depend's.. 1st day of duck season going to Lake Theriot...Perhap's a good 50-75 boat's..all running without headlight's...You really should get out there and see for yourself...

     
  4. Tikka

    Tikka Monkey+++

    Too many barely get by with lights; add a cell and it can be catastrophic .... lol
     
    Gator 45/70 likes this.
  5. irayone

    irayone Monkey+

    It will never happen. There have been many companies to produce an electric car. They have been bought out and shelved by the government. Canada made the Zenn car. The Zap car is no longer made. The petro chemical companies are in bed with the auto industry and the government unions etc are in bed with labor. If you can make an electric car some form of government will have a safety issue or make up some design excuse or pay you millions to go away.
     
  6. Quigley_Sharps

    Quigley_Sharps The Badministrator Administrator Founding Member

  7. Kingfish

    Kingfish Self Reliant

  8. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

  9. Kingfish

    Kingfish Self Reliant

    How Much Does It Cost to Charge an Electric Car? - Planet Green

    There are many more web sites that explain it but the fact is electrics are much cheaper to drive. Most Americans would save about 240.00 per month on fuel costs. The Problem is however the cars are still over 20 grand for the good ones. What is needed is a small electric that goes 100 miles on a charge and has top speed of 50/60 mph like the Think city and Leaf for about 12 grand. When that happens Ill have one. Right now conversions are doing well. Ranges vary from 25 to 75 miles but most dont go over 50 mph. There are several classified boards where you can purchase them for under 10 grand. Kingfish
     
  10. Kingfish

    Kingfish Self Reliant

    Electric Car Cost Per Mile | Environmental News, Articles & Information | Global Warming News | EcoWorld

    Here is another site with formulas and cost comparison. Unless we get a gas engine that gets 96 mpg Electric is cheaper to drive. The cost of Batteries is the achilles heel of the electric car. This must be figured into cost which is why I favor conversions of small gas cars which are already paid for. Give a car a new life with batteries and electric drive. There are many conversion companies popping up as I type this. Kingfish
     
  11. Quigley_Sharps

    Quigley_Sharps The Badministrator Administrator Founding Member

  12. Tikka

    Tikka Monkey+++

    The same as gas or diesel engines electric cars need an infrastructure to support using them.
     
  13. VisuTrac

    VisuTrac Ваша мать носит военные ботинки Site Supporter+++

    What does it cost to charge up this here 'electrified car'

    well, in the simplest of terms,

    V*A = watts. so in looking at the Think, 230*16 amps = 3680 Watts. or 3.7Kw.
    electricity is typically purchased in Kilowatts-Hours

    We pay .15 per per Kwh here. According to the specs, it takes 11 hours to charge.

    Think
    3.7Kw*11 hours * .15 dollars/KWH ~ $6.00

    the Leaf is a little bit better
    3.5kw*7 hours * $.15/KWK ~ $3.68

    Let's look at distance
    Leaf 138 miles at 38 mph spring/fall flat straight road 3.6 hours drive time
    Leaf 68 miles at 49 mph summer rural 1.4 hours drive time
    Leaf 62 miles at 15 mph winter stop/go 4.0 hours drive time
    Think didn't have specs for distance/speed, but it should be pretty close to the same.


    And you need to get your power from the grid. Unless of course your solar array and battery bank can output and replenish 41,000 Watts a day, every day that you want to drive. You are going to need a huge freaking solar array and storage system to capture that many watts in the few hours (2-6 hours) as the sun does not shine all day everyday.

    for those in an urban setting Maybe even suburban, this would be a huge cost savings as long as you aren't in a rush to get anywhere. He harder you press the loud peddle (oops, i guess that only applies to dino fueled vehicles) the more limited your range is.

    Rural? I think not. How far is it to town from where you are? How far is it to your BOL? It had better be within travel range or half the travel range if you need to get back home.

    If you need to go more than 100 miles, You are pretty much out of luck with one of these.

    I am more interested in Diesel, Biodiesel, WVO or straight ethanol as a fuel source. I could make my own biodiesel or WVO myself given a little bit of time to gather necessary supplies. Then we'd not be reliant on the grid nor foreign fuel supplies.

    just my two cents and 512mile per tank at 55mph (32mpg)dinofueled 4 doored ignorant bliss. But if i drop on the narrower tires, inflated to 42psi and run at 45mph i can go 620 miles per tank (almost 39mpg) or just drive like normal and go 425 miles (26.5mpg) back and forth to work and such.
     
  14. Quigley_Sharps

    Quigley_Sharps The Badministrator Administrator Founding Member

    You ever wonder what the arguments were against the first gas powered car in the days of the horse and buggy?

    As demand increases there will be new technologies invented or discovered. It amazes me the new technologies coming forward every month.
    Personally I am going to run mine on alcohol LOL
    [alllies]:D
     
  15. Cbr6fs

    Cbr6fs Monkey+

    I really really hope that people do start buying more electric cars.
    If only for the simple reason that it leaves more petrol for me to burn ;)

    I don't really care if i would say $240 a month or $500 a month, the fact still remains that an electric car would be no good for me.

    One more thing that needs adding onto that price though is battery replacement.
    As i said before the cells used will deteriorate from the second they're produced (or in some cases the second they have received their first charge).

    Oddly enough the cell capacity doesn't tend to reduce much with age, but the cells ability to provide power (C rating) both in bursts and consistency are dramatically reduced.
    So although the capacity stays roughly the same, you'll need to be using more throttle to get around the older the packs get.
    Until they start failing and need replacing.

    So you also need to factor in at the very least $3000 to $4000 every 3 to 5 years (depending on usage) on top of that price.
    Some companies are offering batteries on a lease as a solution, others you will need to buy outright yourself.
    Which ever way it still needs adding to the running costs.
     
  16. Tikka

    Tikka Monkey+++

    Electric cars need a lot more range and known quality AWD before I could consider one.
    Same as the IC engine; electric vehicles will begin in the cities.
     
  17. Kingfish

    Kingfish Self Reliant

    Its a no brainer for me. I am 6 miles from a grocery store and 20 miles from a city. My wife is a nurse and drives 12 miles one way to work . She currently drives a truck or our Chevy Aveo at 14 or 35 mpg. I can have her drive a think to work her 3 day week on one charge per week. It cost her truck 80 bucks to fill now. It cost the Aveo 40.00 to fill. At 100 miles for even 10 bucks is far cheaper. Also something you guys have not touched on is the Chargers. Yes it hits peak 16 amps during the first hour of charging then goes into a buffer at less then half that and a float until it tops off. Also charging it short term takes less power as the you plug it in at say 60 % full and it is done in a couple hours. These new cars are not going to replace gas cars overnight but they will eventually do it. Im not going to fight this as I really want a self reliant car that is not tied to big oil or big anything for that matter.

    As solar charging goes why on earth would anyone plug into an array converted to 120 then back to 48 or 72 volt? Nope you need a car with multiple battery packs. One is in the car and one is on the charger. Just like my cordless drill. And comparing them to gas stations(infrastructure) Im laughing right now. If I had a gas station at home ? I wouldnt need one out there. You fill up at home . To me that is the biggest downfall of gas cars. You have to go to a station just to fill it. Ill plug in at home thank you very much. I could care less if they dont build public charging stations.

    Im not looking for a long range electric car. 90% of our miles are local travel. Store, work, Grand Kids. All close range stuff. Im looking to cut my consumption of Gas and save money. Im tired of being ripped off by Oil traders or Governments or whoever the cause is. Its nonsense. Im really done with Gasoline. Kingfish
     
    hank2222, beast and VisuTrac like this.
  18. Kingfish

    Kingfish Self Reliant

    What has me going is the fact that two kids in Ontario built an electric car conversion for less then 1000 dollars. 997.00 to be exact. If you read the entire work up of this car and what they did its amazing. so they get 27 miles to a charge and it goes 34 mph. My wife could drive that car back and forth to work. Improve the range with better batteries and the speed with a little bit bigger motor and its all I need.

    The Nissan Leaf is 33 grand and the Think City is 20 grand. 13 grand difference and these two cars are almost identical in range and speed. This is the thing that has me angry. Big companies wanting to rake us over the coals for a car that barely does 4 times what the forkenswift did for a grand. A 100 mile range car should cost about 8 grand maybe 10. Im looking hard at conversion kits right now. Ill find a small gas powered car in good condition and get it converted into an electric drive with a 40 mile range at 40 mph. Thats about what we need here. I have found a company that sells the motor and transmission already coupled for about 2200.00 (automatic trans). The kit comes with motor mounts for the car you are converting. From there you need a controller and Batteries. Most use a separate 12 volt battery for the accessories. I have found over 30 cars already done(converted) from 4500.00 to 15 grand. Some are quite fast and have good range others more moderate in both speed and range.

    Kids today are the cutting edge. They dont take no for an answer and they will make the breakthroughs that most of us dinosaurs are unwilling to attempt. The net is full of success stories of small companies and people who have built working models. Motorcycles, cars, trucks, boats etc. All running on electricity and many are charging them using small solar chargers(trickle chargers). If you have 48 volt system use a 48 volt set of panels and charge controller. It is being done right now. Kingfish
     
  19. Clyde

    Clyde Jet Set Tourer Administrator Founding Member

    Still waiting for the fred Flintstone powered model!
     
  20. beast

    beast backwoodsman

    weld 2 bikes together side by side
    put a couple seats between
    remove the pedal chains and chainrails
    there ya go fred, have at it :p
     
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