How do you like your VOLTS?

[Frankn]

Well they are all over the place now. Many variations of THE ELECTRIC CAR. The big problem with electrics is when you have to cough up thousands to replace the battery pack in 5 to 10 years.I like the Chevy Volt. You charge it up and when the charge is gone you can keep going on the small motor/generator. This setup gets rid of the biggest problem, getting stuck somewhere with your battery down. Sure it had a problem. They crash tested it ,it passed, and the battery caught fire the next day when they ran it. They hadn't noticed that the crash had damaged the battery cooling line. But this would never happen unless you had an accident and they missed the damage to the cooling line. Th big problem with the Volt is the price, over $40,000. Frank

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[Dave44]

Well they are all over the place now. Many variations of THE ELECTRIC CAR. The big problem with electrics is when you have to cough up thousands to replace the battery pack in 5 to 10 years.I like the Chevy Volt. You charge it up and when the charge is gone you can keep going on the small motor/generator. This setup gets rid of the biggest problem, getting stuck somewhere with your battery down. Sure it had a problem. They crash tested it ,it passed, and the battery caught fire the next day when they ran it. They hadn't noticed that the crash had damaged the battery cooling line. But this would never happen unless you had an accident and they missed the damage to the cooling line. Th big problem with the Volt is the price, over $40,000. Frank

There is one more problem. If you buy one, you get a tax deduction, (subsidy). I have to pay you for it.

[jeff of pa]

Don't forget the Cost of Electricity is sure to rise,
Once over 50% of the Vehicles run on Electricity
& Ports are set up.

Unless Your fortunate enough to put
out $50,000 Plus in advance
for your own solar Factory

Then you just have to pay at the Ports,
Probably $50.00 a full charge,
till all cars are Electric then $150.

[davest]

any idea what it costs to completely fill an F150 with 87 octane nowadays?

[Dave44]

any idea what it costs to completely fill an F150 with 87 octane nowadays?

I do not think you appreciate the magnitude of your question Davest. Ever heard of rolling blackouts? Ever heard that power companies are sometimes in deep trouble, (not enough generation)? Do you think electricity is always going to be cheap?( The administration said that you can USE coal, but will you go bankrupt if you do.)

And, I have a ram 3500 diesel. Guess what it costs to fill up? And I get to pass it to you, my customer! ( when I get to have a customer, that is) The question now is, should I eat that cost and go bankrupt because I am looking out for you?

[Frankn]

You think you have it bad. My motorhome is built on a dodge 3500 with the 305HP diesel. It is beefed up to 12,000# rating with 4X4. I use on site when cache hunting. It only gets 13.5 MPG on average. Frank

[jeff of pa]

we should be Drilling More Oil, Digging more Coal,
Supporting Fracking, Windmills & Solar Energy.
& trying to use Salt water.

and finding ways to use them all
for Automobiles & Home use.

the Competition would hold Prices down

So would a Cheaper way to feed Animals

[davest]

jeez, J of Pa says it would cost 50 bucks to charge a Volt at a port, I ask how much it costs to fill an F150 and it's like

I kicked your kitty when I was just comparing costs.

BTW, Duke Energy and Florida Progress are trying to merge creating one of the largest electic companies in the U.S.,

when this finally gets done, can anyone else spell "ENRON"?

BTW,BTW, BTW: Florida Progress recently tried to duct tape a repair to its Crystal River Nuke plant instead of bringing

in a licenced contractor to do the job properly. Now their insurance company won't pay for the duct tape repair and

Fl. Prog. is billing us. They are also billing us for a new nuke plant that may or may not be constructed and the money

they are now collecting WILL NOT BE RETURNED TO THE RATE PAYER IF THEY DECIDE NOT TO BUILD ONE. Ain't life

grand.

You'd have to ask the folks in Penna. where fracking is going on if they want more of it.

[FarmerChick]

isn't speed a problem on the electric?

don't they go too slow for a 65/70 highway?

don't know, not sure


I camp and require big trucks. When retired I will be owning a toyhauler or draggin a vehicle behind me when vacationing.
I guess electric car would be nice then. Plug into campground electrical which is free included into my site cost.

I am not buying anything 'kinda still new'. They need to work out the bugs in these vehicles. if you wait a bit something better should come along.

[werleibr]

Here is the thing. Everyone thinks these electric cars are not the thing to do, we need to stick with oil and gas based cars. Well here is a little insider info from oil companies, Peak was hit sometime 2007/2008. I had gotten to see the info that Shell, BP, and Exxon had. Does this mean much, yes it showed that the amount of oil left has crossed the hump and is going down. Their estimates gave us about another 150 years of oil, 50 of which would be able to supply demands of today. Any way there is so much that electric vehicles can do that no one realize. I am going to break down some misconceptions about the electric vehicles and give some things that would help this country out.

1) it was stated

I camp and require big trucks.

Guess what they have electric trucks. Medium Duty Truck, Class 4, 5, 6 (GVWR 15,000-25,950 lbs) to be exact.

2) It was stated

don't they go too slow for a 65/70 highway?

The truck just referenced goes 60, The larger vehicles go slower than the 65/70 however, many of the cars that everyday people would use range a max speed of 60 mph to 155 mph. SO no they do not go too slow for the highways. But what they do have is a limited range for now going from 50 miles per charge to 300 miles per charge.

3)It was stated

There is one more problem. If you buy one, you get a tax deduction, (subsidy). I have to pay you for it

Guess what, so where the larger vehicles a few years back... Guess what else is a tax deduction, getting new windows for your home...

4)It was stated

Don't forget the Cost of Electricity is sure to rise,
Once over 50% of the Vehicles run on Electricity
& Ports are set up.

Now lets not forget that gas prices are goingto rise also as the demand stays high and the supply runs dry.

5) Dave you go off about rolling black outs and "passing the cost" onto others, rolling blackouts. Well guess what there is a solution for that and it shall be put forth in just a little bit.

Now how can we get the range out of our Electric vehicles (EVS) for those long trips, and how can we cut the cost of having to put a demand on the power grid Here is a simple yet Drastic way, and well in my own opinion will never get government approval because of the power companies themselves having a big pull in DC. So here it goes...

A great way to get some distance out of the EVS is to do something so similar to what gas stations do it is not funny. Instead of setting up charging stations and having to wait the 4 to 8 hours to get a charge to continue, we set up Battery Swapping Stations. At these stations you "sell" your dead battery to the Battery station, and they "sell" you a fully charged one. A robot comes in takes out your old batter and installs a new one (Technology has already been developed for this). You now have a fully charged battery and are on your way, while the Battery station takes you old battery, fully discharges it, then recharges it, then "sells" it to the next person. This is much like a gas station.

Next thing we do is get away from depending only on the power companies for the electricity we need. We need to get solar cells, personal windmills, and some other forms of homemade power. This is how the alternative energy would be best suited, not these Large power plants or large wind farms, but set up to what a house would need and if they don't supply all the necessary power that they consume, the house can still buy from the power company. These major power companies should be structured to supply the electrical needs of the business enterprise more than the home enterprise. Setting up homes to be self sufficiant at power production is what is needed to help keep costs down.

Then with more research and development we can get better and better batteries.

That is in my opinion how we can get the alternative energy going.

[Jason in Enid]

any idea what it costs to completely fill an F150 with 87 octane nowadays?

I just paid about $70 to fill my F-150 and it was almost empty. But I can travel 500 miles on a tank, or I can tow my boat to the lake. I also have PLENTY of room for my family of 4 with all our luggage in the back. A volt can't do any of that.

[jeff of pa]

the reason Vehicles can go 140MPH is
any electric vehicle that can only Travel 60MPH max would
probably never make it to the Switchback here.
unless they start at the top

[FarmerChick]

300 miles on a charge. not far enough for me at all.

filling up a tank takes 10 minutes and on my way, how long to charge?

if everyone who only needs a regular small electric vehicle to drive around their hometown, go for it.
leave the extra gas for my big rig (joke of course)

[werleibr]

300 miles on a charge. not far enough for me at all.

filling up a tank takes 10 minutes and on my way, how long to charge?

if everyone who only needs a regular small electric vehicle to drive around their hometown, go for it.
leave the extra gas for my big rig (joke of course)

And that is exactly how they should be used right now. for the city driving folks or ones who do not have to commute very far, which is a majority of people.

[FarmerChick]

I would agree for sure.

IF I WAS in a city situation and not a farmer, I would absolutely consider a hybrid or electric if I had a normal life that didn't require big toys, big equip for the farm, towing capacity and all that.

when I drive hwy I always see one person in a vehicle usually, 2 sometimes. rare you see more than 2 unless a family is truly going somewhere.

if the majority of people who own a smaller vehicle would turn over and buy those cars, it would be staggering the amt. of saved fuel etc. well, now to convince them!

[Frankn]

The battery swap idea is in place already. Do you own stock in Better Place?
The slow charge problem is being worked on. They are refining a capacitor charge system where you charge the capacitor instantly and as you drive the capacitor bleeds into the battery bank. Not quite ready yet.

Lets see, you buy the Volt,$40k, you buy solar for the home, $30K. Now was that cheaper than petrol ? remember solar panels only last about 25 years before serious power output drops. Frank

[Dave44]

I never really make myself clear werl, you should know that and anticipate it. Where will the energy come from to stop the rolling blackouts? Think about the eco terrorists while you do this. I will wait----------> over there.

And I am all for city folks using them, as long as you don't force your world on us. But you guys already have golf carts, what else do you want?

[cheese]

I drive a dodge diesel too, an older mechanical injection one. I bought a pre-1998 one specifically for the mechanical injection, which is more dependable and gets 22-26 mpg, depending on highway or in town. The newer computer controlled ones don't get that kind of mileage. Plus I can run this one on almost anything (oil, mineral spirits, veggie oil, etc...) with minor or no improvising. Still, that 35 gallon tank is a hurtful thing to have to fill up.

[werleibr]

I never really make myself clear werl, you should know that and anticipate it. Where will the energy come from to stop the rolling blackouts? Think about the eco terrorists while you do this. I will wait----------> over there.

And I am all for city folks using them, as long as you don't force your world on us. But you guys already have golf carts, what else do you want?

I know you don't make yourself clear He he.. and how can you stop the rolling blackouts, not rely on the energy grid. Make your own. to get all your power from solar would be around $20k to $30k Now add wind mills with it o reduce the number of solar cells so that you can produce power on long bouts of cloudy days. That is how you avoid the rolling blackouts.. and if more people are off the grid and the main power companies are producing power only for the work centers and their would be no need for rolling blackouts.

and not trying to force my world views on you, just trying to educate you.. I come from a farming community and worked on the farm. I grew up, went to school and had to move closer to the city for work. Not to many engineering jobs out in the boonies.

Yes the cells will degrade with time, but with a payback period of before they go bad, and then you upgrade before they go bad. Second as the years go on the solar cells will become more efficent and cheaper. Remember the first automobiles were expensive also, takes some time and refinement...

[Dave44]

OKAY, So if I spend 20 to 30 K every few years it will pay off in the long run? How long is that run?
Why don't we keep what we have while we develop something that may be viable? Oh yeah, population control.

Honestly, I don't think I can afford 20 to 30 k every now and then. I do not have the room for 30 acres of panels. I do not have a spare warehouse for all the batteries and the electronics to convert them to usable power. I do not have the EPA endorsed dump to put all the batteries in when they no longer work.
Star Trek really is science fiction. But I would love to see viable alternatives. When it does not cripple us or send us back to the stone age. I have an affinity for electricity, heat, A/C, and running water.