As I said in an earlier post Rob, I only drive once a week or less.  When I have a medical appointment and when I go to the supermarket.

I fill up my Prius twice, or maybe three times a year.  The fuel tank holds lass than 12 gallons.  So even when gasoline gets up to 5 dollars gallon I am spending less than 200 dollars a year on fuel.

If I had an electric car that sat idle most of the time would I have to have it plugged into a charger all the time?  If I didn't how long would the battery hold a charge?

Noel 

50 minutes ago, Rob_Ainscough said:

Rob.

Rob - I really appreciate you (and others) taking the time to report your personal experiences with these still new technologies.  There are a lot of myths and much apparent intentional misinformation and having actual people report actual experience helps the innocent bystander who just wants a better life a great deal.

I did a lot of research before starting my battery backup system but until I actually did it on my own, I still found it hard to believe that I could run my house fridge off of a 50 pound battery for nearly two days if I had to.

Actually, with the original car being electric like the Model T was (I think), its really not new at all, just sidetracked.

Edited March 16, 20224 yr by sightseer

Rob, at my age I'm not looking for long term investment into a 100 year old house.

6 minutes ago, Rob_Ainscough said:

Standard 12V car battery will last about 6 months disconnected.  So the limitation would be the standard 12V car battery (not the main drive battery) required to turn on the electronics needed to turn on the EV and drive away.

That's my hybrid.  I turn on the 12 volt battery and then back out of the driveway on the main drive battery.  But as soon as I get up to speed on the street the ICE takes over until there is enough charge on the main drive battery to run on it.  The range of the main drive battery when I drive around town is about 8 or 10 miles at 35mph.  That includes pulling away from stop signs and lights without 'gunning' it.  If I pull away fast the ICE takes over until the acceleration is over.  Then it goes back to battery.

There is a drivng technique to switch from the ICE to main drive battery by accelerating for a few seconds and then letting my foot off the accelerator,  Then it immediately switches to the main drive battery if there is enough charge.

Accelerating from a stop both the ICE and main drive battery are working together.

Noel

 

 

On 3/15/2022 at 2:27 PM, birdguy said:

Not for me Ted.  I'm scared to death of motor scooters and motorcycles.

That link was for a 4 passenger "golf cart" type vehicle. Not something that would be street legal in any case. 😉

5 hours ago, n4gix said:

That link was for a 4 passenger "golf cart" type vehicle. Not something that would be street legal in any case.

I saw 'Cushman' and assumed it was a scooter Fr Bill.  But I would reject it for the same reasons I would reject the scooter.

Noel

18 hours ago, Rob_Ainscough said:

Don't be fooled by prices at the gas pump, energy is heavily subsidized in the US and there is only one place the money comes from to subsidize and that is US taxpayers.  EESI and other organizations report (in detail) on exactly who gets what when it comes to taxpayers money used to subsidize energy (covers everything from source to cleanup, oil being the most heavily subsidized).

Are you trying to get this thread locked, Rob?

Although I am against most subsidies, there are actually reasons why they exist for both oil and renewables.

Dave

5 minutes ago, dave2013 said:

Don't be fooled by prices at the gas pump

Since I have no idea who gets what all I am interested in is how the price of anything affects my budget.  How that money I spend on oranges, a new shirt, salt for my water softener, bacon and eggs, my electric bill, my house payment, how much I pay the my handyman for taking care of my yard and fixing my roof, or what I pay at the gas pump, or the sales and income tax I have to pay is divided up is of little interest to me since I have no control over it.  My interest lies in how much money I get every month and how much have to pay out and how much is left over.  All the rest I leave to people like you, Dave, to worry about.

Noel  

I just went to the Ford website and they advertise a 2022 Maverick pickup starting at $20,000.  I didn't know you could get any new vehicle that was either all electric or hybrid for that price.  It looks like it might the "EV Ranger"

@birdguy  Noel - reading your posts makes me think you never plug in your hybrid??  is that how your vehicle works?

Edited March 17, 20224 yr by sightseer

I've got one of the Ford Lightnings on order and it ain't going to be twenty grand.  🤣

On another note I just put almost 200 gallons of diesel and ten gallons of DEF in my RV.  It's all a matter of perspective.  😉

@sightseer  The Prius Hybrid recharges through regenerative braking and when the small gasoline engine is running.

19 minutes ago, sightseer said:

Noel - reading your posts makes me think you never plug in your hybrid??  is that how your vehicle works?

No Dave, I never have to plug it in.  You see it has both an electric motor and an ICE.  The ICE charges the drive battery when it needs charging.  It doesn;t need to be plugged in.

Noel

FYI:

The Prius ICE is a 1.8 liter 121 hp DOHC engine.

The Prius electric motor is 44 hp and generates 258 pounds of torque.

It's advertised to get 54 MPG.  I average about 48 in the winter and about 56 in the summer.

Noel

 

1 hour ago, birdguy said:

All the rest I leave to people like you, Dave, to worry about.

I didn't post the statement "don't be fooled by prices at the gas pump", whatever that is supposed to mean.

Oil is traded globally and is purchased with contracts for an agreed upon price.  It's all about supply and demand, you produce less and demand stays the same, price goes up.

In a truly free market with competition, other producers would jump in and produce and sell more thereby lowering the price.

It's pretty simple, really. 

Dave

There is no shortage of Energy in the world just that supplies are not back up to pre-Pandemic flows and OPEC don`t want to increases supply's a shortage brings more for less, what other industry makes bigger profits for shortages !!!.  

nevermind - probably too far off topic.

Edited March 17, 20224 yr by sightseer