Mark J Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 1 hour ago, JohnG said: As in, best suited to city driving compared to ICE vehicles, or best suited to city driving rather than highway driving? I mean to say they are best suited to destinations close to your home base. These could involve highway or side street driving, but the round trip should be less than your range. My wife's BMW i3 has a range on batteries of about 80 miles in the summer. From flat to fully charged (240V) takes 4 1/2 hours. So while you could in theory drive to a destination 80 miles away to a known charging station you need to plan to be there for 4 1/2 hours. Charging stations are becoming more numerous, but they aren't going to be as numerous as gas stations for a long while. The only charging station you can truly count on is the one in your garage. So for trips within say 30 miles of home the i3 is great. We live in the Chicago metro area; 30 miles will get us to a lot of stores/friends/destinations. Teslas go farther and may charge faster, but all the same calculations apply. Now that said, a nice thing about electrics is the "tank" is always full. You always plug the car in when your home so when you go out to the car, it's charged. Run an errand, come home, the battery is only partially discharged. It will recharge in an hour or two while you do whatever it is you came home to do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 @Mark J thanks! I thought that’s what you meant but wasn’t sure. Good info. We aren’t planning to do any traveling in the electric vehicle, really just for commuting and shopping without the kids. Longer trips will be in our “kid carrier” anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 Then I think you will be happy with that plan. A couple of provisos for anyone thinking of going electric. The range is going to be effected by severe cold (not so much a NC thing, but I live in the north). Don't worry, the grocery store that was 3 miles away in the summer is still only 3 miles away in the winter. Second you absolutely need a 240V circuit in the garage (or wherever you park). There is no realistic way to charge these things on 120V. Before you go out to buy one make sure you can get enough juice out there, and I believe that Tesla wants a 50 amp circuit (other vehicles draw 30). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Chestnut Posted June 21, 2020 Popular Post Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 So today I got to give Megan's grandfather Dave a great father's day present. He spent his working life driving truck and farming neither jobs are very easy and it took a toll on him. Dave is in his late 70s and has COPD that basically keeps him in a chair all day every day as a result he doesn't have the ability to maintain his house as well as he may well like. So yesterday I went over and replaced their sliding glass door. The old door was rotten through, there were leaks to the inside and it was about to fall apart. It indeed did break apart when we removed it. I, with some help from my soon to be father-in-law, installed a new vinyl slider in just a few hours. The fun part was getting to answer Dave's questions about my battery powered track saw. He'd never seen anything like it in the world and "how does that cut siding when there is no blade in it?" were his exact words. I brought the saw over to him showed him how it worked with the plunge action retracting the blade for safety and other reasons. I also showed him how the track works to get perfectly strait cuts with easy layout. It was interesting how he immediately grasped the benefits of the system and was excited at how some small changes made a simple circular saw better. Hope everyone has a good Father's day. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 Here's a link to a thread I posted when we first bought the electric. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeslayer Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 You’re a good man Drew and a very nice thing you did for him, I’m sure he appreciates your time and skill and above all friendship, well done sir! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chip Sawdust Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 11 hours ago, Coop said: Chip, I don’t own a rifle and know nothing about them but do own several hand guns and shotguns. A friend of mine who recently passed, was in the Korean War and left several books on the war behind which I acquired. They all mentioned the BAR and those that carried them were the elite or maybe I should say, fortunate. Are the modern day models, similar to the ones used then? In name only Coop. It can’t be made full auto, but is a semiautomatic. With a three round magazine in what’s clearly a hunting rifle, my state calls it an assault rifle for having that semiautomatic action. Browning’s line of semi rifles all carry the name BAR, a bit of a misnomer as that stands for “Browning Automatic Rifle.” The line was introduced back in 1967; this model they started making in 2017. The original BAR was introduced in 1917 I believe, so made it into WWI. A faster rate of fire was built in before WWII, and although the military BAR was used in Nam, it’s been phased out for a long time now. I recall reading what the Germans thought when they heard a BAR. Its sound did strike fear into their lines. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 Lots of good info, @Mark J!. Our new house has two 200 amp panels and neither one is even half full (I have no idea why they did this, but I do appreciate it!), so we should be good on the power front. Where I’d set up the charger is in the same area where I want to build my shop, so running the 240v wiring and a subpanel will be two birds with one stone. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeslayer Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 A friend of mine ran a BAR in WW2 in Europe, he told me that he put a longer sling on it to kneel on when in full auto fire to keep the muzzle from rising up, greatest generation that guy loved to talk to him. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 11 hours ago, Mark J said: I mean to say they are best suited to destinations close to your home base. These could involve highway or side street driving, but the round trip should be less than your range. My wife's BMW i3 has a range on batteries of about 80 miles in the summer. From flat to fully charged (240V) takes 4 1/2 hours. So while you could in theory drive to a destination 80 miles away to a known charging station you need to plan to be there for 4 1/2 hours. Charging stations are becoming more numerous, but they aren't going to be as numerous as gas stations for a long while. The only charging station you can truly count on is the one in your garage. So for trips within say 30 miles of home the i3 is great. We live in the Chicago metro area; 30 miles will get us to a lot of stores/friends/destinations. Teslas go farther and may charge faster, but all the same calculations apply. Now that said, a nice thing about electrics is the "tank" is always full. You always plug the car in when your home so when you go out to the car, it's charged. Run an errand, come home, the battery is only partially discharged. It will recharge in an hour or two while you do whatever it is you came home to do. How much of a rise does your home electric bill get? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeslayer Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 My son has a BMW i3 @Mark J I believe he told me he can charge it at a BMW dealer for free, quick charge 440v, cool car to drive and astounding acceleration 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 I was looking at car chargers, for the rental house, and was surprised to see a very large selection on Home Depot's online site. They even had some refurbished ones. A lot of the people renting lake houses to work from during the off season drive electric cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 19 minutes ago, RichardA said: How much of a rise does your home electric bill get? I couldn't really tell you. I bought the car about the same time as I put a 240V heater in the shop along with a 3HP dust collector. So I'm writing bigger checks to ComEd, but I don't know for what. Wife never goes to the gas station, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 11 minutes ago, treeslayer said: ... and astounding acceleration The performance aspects of electric assist are amazing in acceleration aren't they Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 12 minutes ago, Tom King said: I was looking at car chargers, for the rental house, and was surprised to see a very large selection on Home Depot's online site. They even had some refurbished ones. A lot of the people renting lake houses to work from during the off season drive electric cars. That's not a bad idea. Be aware that Tesla uses a proprietary plug. I believe every other maker uses the industry standard plug. Most EVSE appliances have one type of plug or the other, but someone out there may make a unit with both. Or an adapter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 Electric motors produce their rated torque from zero speed, much like the old steam piston Stanleys did. Big affect on performance. I think a steam xar would be fun to drive, except for the 30-minute startup time! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 Yeah even the base model Tesla had incredible acceleration from any speed. A friend went with me on the test drive and I’d occasionally stomp on the accelerator when he was leaning forward playing with settings and it would put him back against the headrest every time 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 56 minutes ago, Tom King said: A lot of the people renting lake houses to work from during the off season drive electric GOLF CARTS Just made that true for my area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Gary Beasley Posted June 21, 2020 Popular Post Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 2 hours ago, wtnhighlander said: Electric motors produce their rated torque from zero speed, much like the old steam piston Stanleys did. Big affect on performance. I think a steam xar would be fun to drive, except for the 30-minute startup time! Seen this? One of the most advanced steam car of the day. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 Enjoyed that video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 2 hours ago, Gary Beasley said: Seen this? One of the most advanced steam car of the day. Man i could spend hours watching his show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick S Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 I ordered an E-bike last month, due here in a couple of weeks, mainly to get a little more exercise, rehab my 50-years-ago-football-injury-bone-on-bone arthritic knee, hoping to put off a replacement for as long as possible and have a little fun outdoors. Tops out at 28 mph with a range of 25 - 45 miles. We are semi-rural, but have a grocery store, our family doctor, our vet, pharmacy, True Value Hardware and a couple of restaurants within 3 miles of here. Anyone else e-biking? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted June 22, 2020 Report Share Posted June 22, 2020 I have never heard of one Mick. I googled it and it looks like it’s electric self propelled or you can pedal it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted June 22, 2020 Report Share Posted June 22, 2020 That was a cool video Gary. Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chip Sawdust Posted June 22, 2020 Report Share Posted June 22, 2020 3 hours ago, Mick S said: Anyone else e-biking? I've looked into them recently but decided I still have some muscle miles left on my old bike, which I call Traveler At some point however, I think I'll try one. I'd like to get one built in the states. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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