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Cali says don't charge your car

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Range is still a big deal. I regularly get in the truck and drive 900 miles. Can't do that in 10-12 hours in a Tesla.


That's the big thing holding them back. They have the performance until you get into real racecars, but you have to set your course by charging stations, and have something to do for 2-3 hours until your next 300 miles.
Not sure what route you are driving where you can hold 90 miles per hour for a continuous 10 hours, or even 75 miles per hours for 12 hours without stopping so its difficult to compare to 1000 mile test that Car and Driver did last year with a Tesla long Range.

"While Superchargers could be finicky in their early days, the current equipment is more dependable than a gas-pump credit-card reader. The network is also dense. The Model S once passed four Supercharger stations before stopping. It arrived back at the office after 16 hours and 14 minutes of driving and charging. Google Maps says this trip is just 50 minutes shorter without a single stop." - "https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a36877585/ev-1000-11-electric-cars-long-distance-race/"

This would passage would indicate that they lost 50 minutes total time to recharging over the 1000 mile journey that they completed in 16 hours and 14 minutes. I suspect their driver was not following all speed laws at all times as their logged recharging was 1 hour and 36 minutes, but considering your statement regarding 90 miles per hour, I don't think this was a consideration of yours either. Regardless it shows an impressive capacity to carryout long range travel that defies your assumption of waiting 2-3 hours between 300 mile journeys.
 
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Some amps / time / mileage numbers to ponder

A Quick Guide to How Much Current You Need for Each Charging Speed​


Required Circuit / Breaker RatingCharger AmperageEstimated Driving Range Added Per Hour of Charging
20A16A12 mi (19 km)
30A24A18 mi (29 km)
40A32A25 mi (40 km)
50A40A30 mi (48 km)
60A48A36 mi (58 km)
70A/80A50A37 mi (60 km)
 
Honestly all this "head in the sand" shit on this thread is astounding. Its as if by continuing to ignore the achievements and capabilities of EV's it will somehow make us right to state that EV's aren't here to stay or a very real part of our future.

If you are just looking for an excuse to hate EV's, just stick with saying you don't like relying on electricity.
Its about the only reason to dislike them that doesn't have an achievable engineering solution in the near future.
 
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Honestly all this "head in the sand" shit on this thread is astounding. Its as if by continuing to ignore the achievements and capabilities of EV's it will somehow make us right to state that EV's aren't here to stay or a very real part of our future.

If you are just looking for an excuse to hate EV's, just stick with saying you don't like relying on electricity.
Its about the only reason to dislike them that doesn't have an achievable engineering solution in the near future.
I don't hate EV's....
The niche vehicle that would interest me is something similar to a side-by-side ATV EV, or even a snow machine..... That would (should) bypass the off road requirements of spark arrestor's, etc.... A heavy battery would be a drawback. Ability to recharge while on top of a mountain pass in the winter would be a plus... A stealth like transport while hunting would also be another plus.
Just some thoughts
 
I don't hate EV's....
The niche vehicle that would interest me is something similar to a side-by-side ATV EV, or even a snow machine..... That would (should) bypass the off road requirements of spark arrestor's, etc.... A heavy battery would be a drawback. Ability to recharge while on top of a mountain pass in the winter would be a plus... A stealth like transport while hunting would also be another plus.
Just some thoughts
I didn't think you hated them. Others in this thread are bordering on an irrational bias in their assessments of EV's.

The advancements in EV's have been remarkable over the past 15 years. It seems that every 3-6 months we read about them surpassing some new milestone. It is a viable tool, but like every tool it is not the answer to every situation.

The reason's I appreciate EV's has nothing to do with being environmentally conscience. For many applications they are simply the best most cost efficient tool for the job.

I personally like what is happening with EV tech, because it is yet another emerging industry that American ingenuity and entrepreneurial endeavor is leading.
 
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I haven't compared EV to gas but I know this, charging stations where I live are almost non existent. And electricity costs from Consumers Energy are the third highest in the nation. It MIGHT be as expensive to charge an EV as it is to drive a fuel efficient gas vehicle. Plus, something that is still an unknown for northern states is will the batteries even fully charge on an Arctic cold night? And throw in the energy used to heat the interior in the winter and I'm pretty certain you'll eat in to it's range significantly. EV owners in Denver might be able to comment on how cold weather affects EVs.
 
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With regards to range, I have a few friends that own Teslas and others, they tell me that you just have to plan your trip differently

Instead of this thought that you can cover long distances in a short amount of time if you combine speeding with super fast pit stops, you plan a more leisurely drive with frequent charging stops at super charger style chargers where an hour of charge can buy you a lot of miles. They make it sound more like having social hour at the charging station, and where you may have stopped once or twice for gas you stop 5-6 times to just add some juice along the way (never going too low and never getting a full charge either)

I am happy with the way I travel and don't want the changes. I can get 500 highway miles on a tank in my camry. I don't eat or drink much when I know I am traveling 1000 miles, and have pit stops down to minutes. I mostly travel up and down the eastern states and never even have to think "Will there be a gas station" cause there are always gas stations.

I hate "the drive" and just want to fucking get there without diddling around like a little bitch all day.

I can see the utility of an EXTRA vehicle being electric, but would rather not waste the money having a second car around for shorter trips.

All my friends that have EVs, also own another car that is NOT an EV ;)
 
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Not sure what route you are driving where you can hold 90 miles per hour for a continuous 10 hours, or even 75 miles per hours for 12 hours without stopping so its difficult to compare to 1000 mile test that Car and Driver did last year with a Tesla long Range.

"While Superchargers could be finicky in their early days, the current equipment is more dependable than a gas-pump credit-card reader. The network is also dense. The Model S once passed four Supercharger stations before stopping. It arrived back at the office after 16 hours and 14 minutes of driving and charging. Google Maps says this trip is just 50 minutes shorter without a single stop." - "https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a36877585/ev-1000-11-electric-cars-long-distance-race/"

This would passage would indicate that they lost 50 minutes total time to recharging over the 1000 mile journey that they completed in 16 hours and 14 minutes. I suspect their driver was not following all speed laws at all times as their logged recharging was 1 hour and 36 minutes, but considering your statement regarding 90 miles per hour, I don't think this was a consideration of yours either. Regardless it shows an impressive capacity to carryout long range travel that defies your assumption of waiting 2-3 hours between 300 mile journeys.


That's if you happen to find supercharger stations. We have some quick chargers spread around, but no superchargers yet.

I set the cruise at 85 and roll. 1, 10-15 minute break for gas and a pee in the middle.


EV's aren't bad, they just need better batteries.
 
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Somewhere above, someone suggested taking some of the discussions over to the "Solar" thread. I could not find it. So, with that thought, here is one more "camp" on solar in housing. I have heard of power companies back charging home owner's who feed power back into the grid here in the US. I also hear of states taxing the income of a homeowner who makes money feeding the grid. Everything solar related is tying back to itself. Generation, consumption, regulation, battery disposal fees and taxing.

 
Somewhere above, someone suggested taking some of the discussions over to the "Solar" thread. I could not find it. So, with that thought, here is one more "camp" on solar in housing. I have heard of power companies back charging home owner's who feed power back into the grid here in the US. I also hear of states taxing the income of a homeowner who makes money feeding the grid. Everything solar related is tying back to itself. Generation, consumption, regulation, battery disposal fees and taxing.

It makes sense that if I create more solar than I use then I can sell it back but the infrastructure isn’t free to maintain. If I’m hooked in I should pay fees the the utility companies who keep the whole thing in good shape.
 
It makes sense that if I create more solar than I use then I can sell it back but the infrastructure isn’t free to maintain. If I’m hooked in I should pay fees the the utility companies who keep the whole thing in good shape.

Except it's ass backwards because they already bill all their customers, INCLUDING those with solar, for the upkeep of the grid as part of the charge for electricity. So trying to double charge them is bogus.

This is more of a push back because the stupid government idiots tried to mandate that the utility companies pay some high fixed rate for the home generated electricity.

Instead, they should just throw it out on the open market, people get paid the going open market rate that moment for electricity generated, so if they are only generating in times of low demand, they get paid very little as compared to those who can generate during high demand periods.
 
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The 100KWh Tesla model s has an effective range of 300 miles. It’s EPA rated for 400 but that’s in ideal conditions.

Anyway, it makes no sense to say all of those vehicles would have to fully charge from zero during a single night.

let’s assume you’ve got a regular mid sized sedan that can move 300 miles on a full tank and a Tesla model S. Same car, different fuel source inside the car itself.

We can all agree that much of the electric power comes from fossil fuels.

Here’s the real question- how can we truly figure out how much oil was used to move both cars? I want to include refinement and delivery of the gas plus costs to maintain the gas station. Do the same for creating the electric and running the lines to the house that charge the Tesla.

I don’t know enough about electric generation or loss via power lines to really get a good answer myself. But I can tell you the math says the Tesla is cheaper to run per mile if you just bounce it against the price per mile using gas.

What is the cost of replacing the batteries once they die?
Yeah, I have to change oil and filters and supply the engine with diesel.

Is that Tesla gonna make it to 300,000 miles? My truck passed that a long time ago. I'll keep driving it and bank on the diminishing operating costs as I laugh at the idiots backed into the charging station that sits next to the $6.00 coffee shop.

Gotta do something for the next 90 minutes. Might as well spend more money...
 
I would say an all electric car makes more sense if you are a 2 car household.
Where your electric car can easily take care of all your daily / weekly driving needs and every couple evenings you plug it into the charge socket at home.
Then for longer trips or anything special you have a second vehicle that is some sort of Gasoline / Diesel fuel powered, perhaps is a hybrid or plug in hybrid etc.