Electric cars-Conversions

[CitroJim]

It was more of a personal preference of the cyclists involved rather than a budgetary issue.

That makes a lot of sense... Especially for a proper pro who will have definite preferences...

[NewcastleFalcon]

Now this doesn't look like a method of "refuelling" battery vehicles that is going to work on a big scale...



Quite a good wiki page on charging stations. Found the section on "battery swapping" interesting including this snippet

from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charging_station
The concept of an exchangeable battery service was first proposed as early as 1896, in order to overcome the limited operating range of electric cars and trucks. It was first put into practice between 1910 and 1924, by Hartford Electric Light Company, through the GeVeCo battery service, and was initially available for electric trucks. The vehicle owner purchased the vehicle, without a battery, from General Vehicle Company (GeVeCo), part-owned by General Electric,[42] and the electricity was purchased from Hartford Electric through the use of an exchangeable battery. Both vehicles and batteries were modified to facilitate a fast battery exchange. The owner paid a variable per-mile charge and a monthly service fee to cover maintenance and storage of the truck. During the period of the service, the vehicles covered more than 6 million miles.

Regards Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

The new year has already seen its first conversion on the FCF



Regards Neil

[CitroJim]

The new year has already seen its first conversion on the FCF



Regards Neil

And infinitely rechargeable too

No electricity needed, just cakes and flapjacks

[myglaren]

The new year has already seen its first conversion on the FCF



Regards Neil

And infinitely rechargeable too

No electricity needed, just Baked beans and Brussels sprouts

FTFY

[CitroJim]

FTFY

Jet powered! Funnily enough I'm having Brussels for dinner tonight

The amount of beans I eat (not of the tinned and baked variety) I should be able to generate enough thrust to go supersonic...

For me they're an excellent source of protein...

[Old-Guy]

In the 1950s, mains electricity hadn't come to our rural hamlet so our wireless depended on a trio of glass-cased, 6V, lead-acid 'accumulators'. One being charged at the electrical shop in the village 3 miles away, one waiting to be used/charged, one in use. Every week, my mother would take a flat one in the front basket of her bicycle to the shop and bring back a re-charged one with the shopping - in those days, the grocer, green-grocer, butcher, baker, fish-monger, etc all had 'van rounds' so there was no need for her to transport lots of shopping. If you (or a kind neighbour) had a telephone, orders could be placed for next-, or even same-, day delivery. Provided you were a good customer, delivery was free.

[CitroJim]

in those days, the grocer, green-grocer, butcher, baker, fish-monger, etc all had 'van rounds' so there was no need for her to transport lots of shopping. If you (or a kind neighbour) had a telephone, orders could be placed for next-, or even same-, day delivery. Provided you were a good customer, delivery was free.

I can just remember those 'van rounds' as a little boy... Most of them really were little shops on wheels. I particularly remember the ironmonger's van with its large paraffin tank used to dispense into customers supplied containers... The tap for which looked like one you'd normally see on a water butt...

Amazing how today the 'van round' is definitely back with us except the essential difference is that one van now carries everything and delivery is not always free.

[Old-Guy]

How could I have forgotten the iron-monger's 'van'? The one that visited us was coach-built (probably pre-war) and the tap on the paraffin tank was a proper brass one with a little drip-tin suspended from it. Paraffin was the essential fuel for lighting - mostly Aladdin wick-type lamps though our principal light was from a Tilley pressure table lamp, carried carefully from kitchen to sitting room after supper. I still have the Tilley in full working order, and with all the necessary accessories. It hasn't been pressed into service since January 1981, but it might well be needed again.

[CitroJim]

Paraffin was the essential fuel for lighting - mostly Aladdin wick-type lamps though our principal light was from a Tilley pressure table lamp, carried carefully from kitchen to sitting room after supper.

And heating too when I was a kid... Fond memories of Tilley lamps and various types of paraffin heaters...

I only need a whiff of paraffin fumes to be instantly transported back 50 years Sometimes the 1.9TD smells a bit of paraffin and I live it!

Dad and I used to take a Tilley lamp when night sea fishing and a Primus stove for making tea and cooking on... I used to use a Primus for heating up motor bike chain grease too... The stuff in a big round tin you melted over a stove and bathed the chain in it...

I guess that's all very obsolete now. These days I lube my bike chains with clever high-tech 'dry' lubricants...

[Gibbo2286]

The smell of a paraffin heater always reminds me of being in the air raid shelter with German bombers overhead.

[Mandrake]

Ford getting serious about electric vehicles ? (Or at least talking the talk...)

http://arstechnica.com/cars/2017/01/for ... -cop-cars/

[Mandrake]

Solar power getting cheaper and predicted to be cheaper than coal generation within a decade ?

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... s-to-solar

[Gibbo2286]

Solar power getting cheaper and predicted to be cheaper than coal generation within a decade ?

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... s-to-solar

This is interesting too:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38391034

[CitroJim]

This is interesting too:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38391034

Especially if you enjoy a bit of baking!!!

Seriously though, that's a good start to the solution to a big problem...