Electric Vehicles: What have you spotted?

[myglaren]

Just been for a long walk that was mainly through housing estates and beside link roads and over the AI (footbridge).
Nothing but the usual boring Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Nissan & Vauxhall crap.
1 Nissan Leaf

[Mandrake]

A twizzy at Millport ? Surely that's worth extra points. I'm still yet to see any twizzy in real life, I don't think there are many around in a cold rainy country like the UK!

[myglaren]

A Tesla S on the A1

Not this one:

[Peter.N.]

Oh dear! Carry a charger that's the way - no range anxiety.

Peter

[Hell Razor5543]

I regularly see a Twizzie when I am travelling to/from Aylesbury. It is at Aston Rowant, near to the cricket ground.

[white exec]

At least the generator came in a matching blue!

Can one Tesla partially charge another, I wonder? I remember there was some talk about being able to use electric vehicles as domestic power storage devices.

[Peter.N.]

You would get a bang if you connected those up the wrong way round.

Peter

[van ordinaire]

Me, I can't wait for the first major power-cut!

A Twizzle was, probably, the only electric car I'd consider - because it doesn't pretend to be anything other than a joke BUT now, there's the electric Mahari! Far & away a more sensible base vehicle than a Moke or whatever the Finns are playing with: Mk2 Escort?

[Mandrake]

Me, I can't wait for the first major power-cut!

Because petrol pumps and electronic payment systems at service stations can work without power right ? Oh wait...

[Mandrake]

Can one Tesla partially charge another, I wonder?

No. No EV's that I'm aware of can currently be used to charge another EV with just a cable, at least not at any useful speed.

Although an EV with a nice large battery that could do this would make a lot of sense as an AA vehicle for broken down EV's that have run out of charge. Instead of towing a trailer with a large battery or generator on it, just share some charge from your own vehicle - enough to get the stranded motorist to the nearest charger to finish topping up.

If done at rapid charging speeds it would take less time than setting up the vehicle for towing and then towing it to a charger which is what happens now. Some EV's dictate flat bed towing only, which could be very expensive so a top up charge to get to the nearest charger would likely be a lot cheaper than being towed too, not to mention less embarrassing.

I remember there was some talk about being able to use electric vehicles as domestic power storage devices.

Vehicle to Grid is supported by a few EV's (not many) which allows a plugged in vehicle at your house to act as battery storage for the house to provide somewhere for solar (or off peak) power to be stored, and then used during peak hours to run the house or return some power to the grid, however it requires expensive equipment at the house and to be honest I can't ever see it catching on, for a variety of reasons I won't delve into here.

Vehicle to Grid doesn't support charging another car directly from one car to another on the side of the road, as the hardware required to do vehicle to grid is installed at a house.

Another option is that a very few EV's, mostly ones that are announced but aren't on the market yet, are offering a household 230v socket that is good for up to about 3kW - mainly offroad/utility vehicles like the Bollinger B1. The idea being that when you're out in the country with your offroad vehicle you can plug your power tools, beer fridge etc into the car...

In principle that could be used to charge another EV, however it would be very slow (3kW only adds about 12 miles of range per hour charging) and the EV owner would need a "granny charger" to make use of it - this is the unit that lets you plug into a normal 3 pin socket. Most EV drivers don't carry this with them in the car and instead leave it at home, as do I. Having said that, the petrol generator charging that Tesla would have only been providing 3kW at most as well!

The best advice is just "don't run out", if you do, currently you're looking at being towed somewhere where you can be charged.

Hasn't happened to me yet in 24k miles and two years of driving and stretching my luck a few times. I have come very close once though!

[Gibbo2286]

Me, I can't wait for the first major power-cut!

Because petrol pumps and electronic payment systems at service stations can work without power right ? Oh wait...

My forecourt petrol pumps had winding handles for use during power cuts, I had to use them often.

[Mandrake]

Me, I can't wait for the first major power-cut!

Because petrol pumps and electronic payment systems at service stations can work without power right ? Oh wait...

My forecourt petrol pumps had winding handles for use during power cuts, I had to use them often.

And electronic payment systems ? Not many people buy petrol with cash anymore... I'm sure you're referring to days long before any sort of electronic payment of course.

[Gibbo2286]

Up to 1988 Simon and the buyer of my business continued with the pumps for about three years after that, not only did we have no electronic payment system we sold petrol by the gallon long after it all went over to litres, I could do the price conversion in my head.

Ps. Long after I left a former employee who knew how the pumps could be used came back a few times in the night and helped himself to petrol using the winding handle.

[van ordinaire]

Actually, "merchants" are supposed to have those mechanical devices that impress the embossed characters onto a greaseproof paper-like sales slip - but few of them have. GWR "Express Cafés" (that's buffet cars, for the unitiated) were cash only for months last year (& may still be) because of some technical hitch.

Pumps, of course, are a different issue BUT motorists have got through power cuts before, although, inevitably, some ran out when not within walking distance of a working forecourt - but the impact on electric cars will be more dramatic, & potentially chaotic, demonstrating once again that they are not viable as a universal solution.

Oh, & as for winding handles, that's exactly what the drivers of the 1st generation of electric cars did, using (I assume) some sort of manual generator.

[myglaren]

Been to collect daughter #3's Megan CC* (From central Newcastle at tea-time, wot fun)

A boring Leaf and an equally boring Tesla S.

*Her Fiesta was wiped out five weeks ago.