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  #21  
Old 7th January 2022, 11:53
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I'm not a leccy but not being able to have a 32amp circuit seems a bit daft in this day and age of induction hobs, cookers and leccy showers.

Thought most houses were supplied with 80 or 100 amps. Might want to get that checked out, perhaps the fitter was having a bad day!

With bigger battery EVs a car charger at home would definitely be a bonus. I've just been charging at home on a 3 pin socket as the battery in my EV is only 30kWh so does just fine but would def look at getting a charger installed if I stepped up to 60kWh and above.
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  #22  
Old 7th January 2022, 20:24
Lucky@LeMans Lucky@LeMans is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mister Towed View Post
What a good idea, wish I'd thought of it!

The low power output of a lamp-post charger won't be an issue for most people who can leave their car to charge overnight.

The power supply infrastructure is an issue, though. I was looking at home charger options and it said you could have a fast charger installed so long as you had a 32 amp domestic supply, which is the same as you need for a modern electric range cooker. I live in a rural area and our house was built this century (2003).

When we needed a new cooker I prefer electric over gas, so I ordered a SMEG model that required 32 amps, assuming our supply would be suitable. Unfortunately, the electrician who came to install it told us that, even though our circuit breaker board says '32' on the one for the cooker, the network can't actually give us 32 amps*, so it had to go back and be replaced with a cheaper, less powerful model.
*I'm not a leccie so please feel free to explain that to me if you are wise in the ways of wiggly amps.

That also means we won't be able to have a fast charger installed, and definitely not two or three chargers.

As for getting our energy from our enemies, which brainiac thought that one up? Okay, at least the Russians and the Red Chinese are a long way away, but the French, they're right on our doorstep! I do have my suspicions that they may even be digging a tunnel under the channel...
The French were threatening us only a few weeks ago ! "Ve vill turns off zee lights int Jersey, give uz ze fishing lizenzes now " !!

Sorry if that sounds a bit German , I can't do a French accent !
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  #23  
Old 8th January 2022, 10:27
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Ha ha, I do speak a bit of French myself - know thine enemy is my mantra - and it came in quite handy for a bit of entente cordiale when I found myself working alongside a Squadron of Mirages in the Middle East. We were never sure if they were really there, though...

Back to EV's, I've just watched the latest episode of Fifth Gear Recharged (on Quest), where they tested electric delivery vans from VW and Mercedes Benz.

Long story short, both useless for the intended role - maximum 80 mile range, max speed 56mph (VW) and 50mph (MBz), with the Merc slowing to 20mph flat out up a modest hill with a 300kg load in the back.

They also drove the original Tesla Roadster, but left out the most crucial thing I would be interested in - what had 15 years of use done to the battery pack and range?

I find the show a bit irritating, they don't ask the important questions but always time the EV's they test, including the vans, around a half mile race track, which is totally pointless. As a potential EV customer, what I really want to know is can I drive from the East Coast of England to the West Coast of Wales without getting into a sweat about range. Still worth a watch, though.

Last edited by Mister Towed; 8th January 2022 at 10:33..
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  #24  
Old 8th January 2022, 12:59
Lucky@LeMans Lucky@LeMans is offline
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I haven't seen that episode of 5th Gear. I would have thought EV vans would work well because they have plenty of space for a big battery pack. But then again vans have a relatively small weight carrying capacity so you can only go so far with battery size. An 80 mile range would be a non starter for 99% of delivery firms, back to the drawing board then !

The Tesla batteries would be toast after 15 years even if it hasn't done that many miles. Lithium Ion cells need to be maintained at a certain voltage if in storage for a long time otherwise they degrade pretty quickly. Fully charged isn't good and neither is flat, they need to be just the right voltage. Fast charging the batteries will kill them quickly too but everyone wants the fastest charging possible. Also has the car been kept in very cold or very hot places, extremes of hot and cold will shorten the life of the cells. You wouldn't know how the battery has been treated when buying a used car .
At 15 years old will Tesla even support such a vehicle for spares and service ?

Last edited by Lucky@LeMans; 8th January 2022 at 13:29..
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  #25  
Old 8th January 2022, 14:18
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It's a dedicated EV series of 5th Gear called 5th Gear Recharged. It's on Quest (Freeview ch.12) at 6pm this evening (Saturday) if you wanted to watch one.

According to the experts at VW and Mercedes, the average daily useage of a delivery van is 70 miles, so an 80 mile range would be just about enough for many users, but it doesn't leave much margin for error.

The book I bought about converting classics to electric power says that the worst thing you can do with Lithium-Ion batteries is to run them flat, and the second worst thing is to charge them up to their full capacity. To me that suggests that 80 miles is nowhere near enough battery range to ensure you don't f*ck your batteries after a couple of months use.

I want an EV that is as cheap to buy as the equivalent petrol model, costs pennies to run, has a 10 year warranty on the battery and can go 400 miles on a single charge with the lights, wipers and heater all switched on. Until then, I think I'll stick with my Pulsar.
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  #26  
Old 8th January 2022, 14:46
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Scroll forward to 52mins 30secs for a Shelby Mustang vs G-Wiz drag race...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neUi37CLIFI
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  #27  
Old 8th January 2022, 17:44
Lucky@LeMans Lucky@LeMans is offline
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Hmm, a quick Google suggests a minimum daily drive for a delivery driver in a city is 80 miles. More rural locations appear to be closer to 200 miles a day.
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  #28  
Old 9th January 2022, 10:51
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lucky@LeMans View Post
Hmm, a quick Google suggests a minimum daily drive for a delivery driver in a city is 80 miles. More rural locations appear to be closer to 200 miles a day.
Yep, so an 80 mile range is completely indadequate for 99% of delivery drivers.

The issues with commercial vehicles and EV power really are weight and space. In order to put enough batteries in to move the kind of loads the van will get filled up with the kind of distance they need to go, the batteries will encroach into the load space and increase the weight to the point where you'll need an HGV licence to transport a single fridge.
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  #29  
Old 9th January 2022, 14:15
Lucky@LeMans Lucky@LeMans is offline
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We need to think smaller and lighter then EV's become more efficient. A typical EV car will do 90 - 130 mpg equivalent, an electric bike is closer to 2000 mpg . Something in the middle will work even if the load space is smaller and payload weight is less. There might be a magic size and shape .........
https://www.tukxi.com/for-sale.html
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  #30  
Old 9th January 2022, 18:54
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I love those little three-wheelers, they're great for getting stuff delivered down the narrow back streets in Italian towns and cities and they'd definitely work for short hop deliveries in our towns and cities with EV motors.

Years ago when we were operating out of Akrotiri in Cyprus, a Cypriot entrpreneur used to drive one down the flight line selling orange juice and doughnuts out of the side. The van was affectionately known as 'Grub-Bug'.

He was an absolute man mountain, Lord knows how he used to squeeze himself into the cab. He didn't need a jingle playing to let us know he'd arrived as he'd just bellow his catch-phases of Sexy Orange! and Sexy Doughnuts! as he drove along, and his voice was loud enough to carry even when we had a row of jet fighters running their engines up.

One year we arrived only to see Grub=Bug laying on its side in the scrapyard near the base looking all forlorn. That was a sad day
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  #31  
Old 12th January 2022, 18:19
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I'm doing some contract work at the moment, the place I'm at just took delivery of an eSprinter. Apparently it only has a 70 mile range !! They've got it on a lease arrangement because it was "cheap" ! I can only imagine it was cheap because nobody in their right mind wanted it.
It's like buying a conventional van with a two gallon fuel tank, you just wouldn't want it ! It will be like driving around with the fuel warning light on and wondering the WHOLE time where you can fill up !
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