Large electric motors, batteries and vehicles

[Funkworks]

I cringe to think of what an adapter that could let one charge a CHaDeMO car at a Tesla Supercharger would cost (or one that worked for CCS combo, for that matter) if such a thing exists.

Even having access to the Tesla network is probably not enough incentive for me to go road tripping with our 2016 Soul EV, even though it has its new battery now and should be able to pretty easily 100 miles on a charge come summer. I sure am glad to have it back. It was a bummer having to buy gas once a week or more when the Soul was between becoming pretty much unusable and the new battery arriving and getting installed.

You can bet I'll be taking a little better care of this battery than I did the first one, even though the replacement was free under warranty. No more charging to 100% every night....

I think Tesla will indeed be allowing non-Tesla cars to use their Level 3 network eventually. They do in some countries to see how it goes. The adapter I picked is expensive because it's the smallest one. I want to keep it hidden in the glove box. Bigger, cheaper ones are available for less for those with a Tesla charger in their garage. Size doesn't matter when left in garage.

I charge to 100% each day with no problem yet so I think it depends on each car's battery management system. While my car displays "100%", I know there's a buffer. I find it strange that Tesla suggests 80% or 95% or so, they could also easily have a buffer and tell a white lie. (I rented a Model 3 for a week earlier this year so I know a bit about how they work from the inside).

 

[BEC]

Yeah, I think Tesla is basically being forced to allow non-Teslas use SuperChargers in Europe — kinda like the whole "everyone will use USB-C to charge their phones" mandate that's coming.

I started to notice range loss/battery health deterioration in the Soul after we'd had it for about 4 1/2 years. It went down to about 75% state-of-health in the six months or so after that, held near there for another seven or eight months, then started down again. It got below the 70% state-of-health warranty threshold late this spring but we weren't able to get it tested correctly by the dealer until early July. The new battery finally showed up in November. Once the dealer had the new battery, we had the car back in a very short time.

I have seen much advice about not charging lithium ion batteries to 100% and leaving them there for any length of time (days or more), so we are now charging to 80% every night and will charge to 100% before trips that require it. And we'll see how that goes. It will be some time before we'll be able to tell if this regimen helps and by then we may well have gotten something else, though our tendency is to keep a car pretty much until it is all worn out or for decades, whichever comes first. And we really really like the Soul — it is the perfect package for us for almost all uses we have for a car.

 

[KC3KNM]

https://evtolinsights.com/2022/12/b...d-successful-flight-across-america-876-miles/

 

[Greg Furtman]

https://evtolinsights.com/2022/12/b...d-successful-flight-across-america-876-miles/

Very cool.

 

[Cape Byron]

Been thinking about transitional technologies between recycled dinosaurs as fuel and EVs. Found this interesting article.

https://carbuzz.com/news/stock-mazd...tm_campaign=carbuzz-facebook&utm_content=post

 

[Funkworks]

Been thinking about transitional technologies between recycled dinosaurs as fuel and EVs. Found this interesting article.

https://carbuzz.com/news/stock-mazd...tm_campaign=carbuzz-facebook&utm_content=post

I'm not sure what a sustainable fuel ICE can do that an electric motor can't do better, but maybe I'm missing something. Mind if I bring this over to the "Thermodynamics!" thread? Thermodynamics and ICE go hand in hand (fossil or not). Unless someone starts a thread on biofuels or something. I just have to stick to the topic here to prevent messes.

(the future, like the present, is certainly electric for me )

 

[Cape Byron]

I'm not sure what a sustainable fuel ICE can do that an electric motor can't do better, but maybe I'm missing something. Mind if I bring this over to the "Thermodynamics!" thread? Thermodynamics and ICE go hand in hand (fossil or not). Unless someone starts a thread on biofuels or something. I just have to stick to the topic here to prevent messes.

(the future, like the present, is definitely electric for me )

Move away.

The subject is really transition: How do we get from where we are now to an all electric future. Transitional technologies are incredibly important when dealing with vehicles for which there is no EV replacement due to range, cost or practicality. Australia's biggest selling car, the Toyota Hilux, has no direct EV equivalent at this point in time which is available in the quantities required to service the market. Range is also a major issue with EVs in rural Australia. It's a freakin' big place.

 

[Funkworks]

Move away.

The subject is really transition: How do we get from where we are now to an all electric future. Transitional technologies are incredibly important when dealing with vehicles for which there is no EV replacement due to range, cost or practicality. Australia's biggest selling car, the Toyota Hilux, has no direct EV equivalent at this point in time which is available in the quantities required to service the market. Range is also a major issue with EVs in rural Australia. It's a freakin' big place.

No the subject of this thread is not “transition”, it’s batteries and electric motors, which existed long before anyone brought up transitions.

I come across many news stories about Australia. I can post them but I can’t tell if they’re for you. I just randomly pick what gets my attention for one reason or another.

 

[jderimig]

There is no such thing as sustainable ICE fuel now. Production of sustainable fuel (biofuel, hydrogen etc) are energy sinks. The production of those consumes more energy than they can ever get back (2nd Law of Thermodynamic thing). As there is currently no excess of carbon-free power generation any diversion of those scant energy sources to produce synthetic fuel at 30 to 70% round trip loss has to be made up with 100% fossil fuel. The result in a net increase of CO2.

The only thing that ICE can provide better than electric motors is transportation in under developed areas. About 2 Billion people on the planet do not have access to electricity. They are not going to use EV's for quite a while. If we want to bring those populations out of poverty it will be with fossil fuels.

 

[Funkworks]

I can start thread on biofuels but I probably won't be keeping up to date on the topic. Maybe I'll try growing my own fuel when I'm retired and have time to get into gardening . Hm ... growing biofuels to run an ICE wheelchair?

A bike that can be converted into a snowmobile in an hour:

https://combatebike.com





A few links on regenerative braking:









Australian Kia GT6 review:



An early 2022 article about 4WD EVs in Australia:

https://thedriven.io/2022/01/12/when-will-i-be-able-to-buy-an-electric-4wd-in-australia/

 

[jderimig]

My wife's new Ram 1500 pickup has a mild hybrid system. Generator instead of alternator, 48V battery pack behind the rear seat in the crew cab. It has regenerative engine braking when light braking is applied and the generator/motor gets the truck going from engine off stops and assists with acceleration below 2000 rpm. Pretty cool.

Does that get me junior membership in the EV vehicle club?

 

[boatgeek]

My wife's new Ram 1500 pickup has a mild hybrid system. Generator instead of alternator, 48V battery pack behind the rear seat in the crew cab. It has regenerative engine braking when light braking is applied and the generator/motor gets the truck going from engine off stops and assists with acceleration below 2000 rpm. Pretty cool.

Does that get me junior membership in the EV vehicle club?

Even a baby step is a step in the right direction!

Before long, you'll be rocking the solar panels-backup battery-full EV lifestyle.

[edit] Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.

 

[Funkworks]

Does that get me junior membership in the EV vehicle club?

It's pretty easy to post something in a thread that relates to the topic and criticizes constructively. I see it all the time on most other TRF threads. If you want a break from all the ICEs you see everywhere all the time, I'm looking forward to your posts.



Hoping one of these will be my last stop before I go :

https://bestreviews.com/health-wellness/mobility/best-electric-wheelchairs

 

[jderimig]

Even a baby step is a step in the right direction!

Before long, you'll be rocking the solar panels-backup battery-full EV lifestyle.

[edit] Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.

I am noodling plans for a backyard pavillion build with a couple flush mounted solar panels on the roof to power it (lighting, fans, inverter light duty outlets). Thinking of making my own battery pack that I can build into one or more of the columns. My goal is nice architectural integration.

 

[boatgeek]

I am noodling plans for a backyard pavillion build with a couple flush mounted solar panels on the roof to power it (lighting, fans, inverter light duty outlets). Thinking of making my own battery pack that I can build into one or more of the columns. My goal is nice architectural integration.

Is it within range to connect it to your house's power? If you can conveniently connect to the house, you can dispense with the battery and take full advantage of the solar panels. If not, a remote system makes sense.

 

[jderimig]

Is it within range to connect it to your house's power? If you can conveniently connect to the house, you can dispense with the battery and take full advantage of the solar panels. If not, a remote system makes sense.

Yes I can connect. I am thinking of 2 phases of construction to make it easier. Running service from the house to the Pavillion is not that big of a deal, but adds more complexity to the project. Phase 1 make it standalone, the batteries are not that big of a deal. Phase 2 (if it makes sense, tie it two the house. But I think I only need 2 or 3 panels to power the pavillion for everything it needs, running that into the house is probably in the noise of power consumption there.

 

[kuririn]

Interesting article from Motor Trend:
https://www.motortrend.com/features/truth-about-electric-cars-ad-why-you-are-being-lied-to/

 

[Greg Furtman]

I am noodling plans for a backyard pavillion build with a couple flush mounted solar panels on the roof to power it (lighting, fans, inverter light duty outlets). Thinking of making my own battery pack that I can build into one or more of the columns. My goal is nice architectural integration.

I'm in the process of designing & building a EUV. I've bought many of the components for the drivetrain and fabricated the steel components for the chassis. This has taken me longer than I had hoped.

Originally I was going to use lead acid golf cart batteries. But since the prices drop in LiFePO4 batteries I am going to go that route since it will cost me about the same but give better range. Lots of good tutorials on YT about doing this.

 

[KC3KNM]

I'm in the process of designing & building a EUV. I've bought many of the components for the drivetrain and fabricated the steel components for the chassis. This has taken me longer than I had hoped.

Originally I was going to use lead acid golf cart batteries. But since the prices drop in LiFePO4 batteries I am going to go that route since it will cost me about the same but give better range. Lots of good tutorials on YT about doing this.

Definitely post some pictures if you’d like, it sounds like an interesting project!

 

[Greg Furtman]

This is both informative & entertaining!

 

[Funkworks]

Hey! I was just watching that and came here to post about it and D’OH! You beat me to it!

 

[Funkworks]

Not sure how many there are of these. One more in Australia, and another in Hawaii for sure, but no official videos for those I think. I just wanted to see them all together in post.

Tesla Megapack at Soldotna, AK



Tesla Megapack at Boulder City, NV



Tesla Megapack at Lessines, Belgium



Tesla Megapack at Oxnard, CA



Tesla Megapack at Angleton, TX



I might try to find out how many there are from other companies.

 

[Greg Furtman]

@Funkworks I wasn't sure where to put this so I came here. This is cool.

 

[KC3KNM]

@Funkworks I wasn't sure where to put this so I came here. This is cool.

I dig both their channels, they've always got some really cool topics and projects going.

I'm sure this has been posted before, but the Truckla from Simone was a super cool ptoject and fits pretty well here.

 

[Greg Furtman]

I dig both their channels, they've always got some really cool topics and projects going.

I'm sure this has been posted before, but the Truckla from Simone was a super cool ptoject and fits pretty well here.

I thought Simone's Truckla construction was genius. She's very talented. I have a Truckla t-shirt.

 

[Funkworks]

@Funkworks I wasn't sure where to put this so I came here. This is cool.

Haven't watched yet but I suspect it's a fusor. "Anybody" can build one at home, but nobody will get more energy than they put in. I don't think there's enough going on in fusion to make a thread about it here. Not that there isn't any, but it's not very tangible for mainstream.

https://www.instructables.com/Build-A-Fusion-Reactor/
Here's something I came accross this morning, but it has yet to be confirmed, and even if it is confirmed, it will still a lab thing for many years, and maybe forever, but that's what exploration is about: finding out how far we can go.

The fun thing about batteries is that they allow many tangible products, immediately, and many more we have yet to see or imagine. The action is happening now.



There's a thing going on with charging plugs. The "Combined Charging Standard (CCS)" design has been standardized in Europe, and Tesla would like their "North American Charging Standard (NACS)" to be in fact "standard" in North America. Aptera is the only non-Tesla car maker that has confirmed they will use NACS.

The better choice is pretty obvious to me, but CCS keeps coming up up with non-technical argument.



https://teslatap.com/articles/supercharging-ccs-and-chademo-dc-fast-charging/

 

[BEC]

Haven't watched yet but I suspect it's a fusor. "Anybody" can build one at home, but nobody will get more energy than they put in. I don't think there's enough going on in fusion to make a thread about it here. Not that there isn't any, but it's not very tangible for mainstream.

https://www.instructables.com/Build-A-Fusion-Reactor/
Here's something I came accross this morning, but it has yet to be confirmed, and even if it is confirmed, it will still a lab thing for many years, and maybe forever, but that's what exploration is about: finding out how far we can go.

The fun thing about batteries is that they allow many tangible products, immediately, and many more we have yet to see or imagine. The action is happening now.



There's a thing going on with charging plugs. The "Combined Charging Standard (CCS)" design has been standardized in Europe, and Tesla would like their "North American Charging Standard (NACS)" to be in fact "standard" in North America. Aptera is the only non-Tesla car maker that has confirmed they will use NACS.

The better choice is pretty obvious to me, but CCS keeps coming up up with non-technical argument.

View attachment 550590

https://teslatap.com/articles/supercharging-ccs-and-chademo-dc-fast-charging/

The only advantage I can see for CCS is that at least you have only one (well, sort of) plug instead of two relative to the J1772/CHAdeMO situation on cars like my Soul EV or prior-to-the-current-generation Leaf. The Tesla design certainly seems to do the job of CCS in a MUCH more elegant package, and for them, it is also both a DC and AC charge connection.

I have also read (but not looked closely at the details) that the CCS standard in Europe is somehow different from CCS in North America.

 

[KC3KNM]

The only advantage I can see for CCS is that at least you have only one (well, sort of) plug instead of two relative to the J1772/CHAdeMO situation on cars like my Soul EV or prior-to-the-current-generation Leaf. The Tesla design certainly seems to do the job of CCS in a MUCH more elegant package, and for them, it is also both a DC and AC charge connection.

I have also read (but not looked closely at the details) that the CCS standard in Europe is somehow different from CCS in North America.

AFAIK they're the same outside of US CCS1 using the J1772 for AC and the EU CCS2 using the type two Mennekes connector.

 

[BEC]

AFAIK they're the same outside of US CCS1 using the J1772 for AC and the EU CCS2 using the type two Mennekes connector.

Thanks. Now I'll go look up "Mennekes connector".

Added: Ah, I see now. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_2_connector

 

[Funkworks]

... The Tesla design certainly seems to do the job of CCS in a MUCH more elegant package, and for them, it is also both a DC and AC charge connection...

That's partly what convinced me to get an adapter to plug a Tesla cable into my Hyundai's J1772. "How can I improve my car? By having a Tesla port". So I got as close as I could. Now if ever I get a 240V home charger (which I don't really need because I don't do more than 20 miles a day), it will be Tesla's. I can wait a decade, but that's what I'm steadily heading for.

Somewhat off-topic, but I just realized James Bond needs an EV. Not even a rumor about this I know of, but I can't imagine this not happening.