Electric Cars

FarmerPug · Post by **FarmerPug** » Sun Jan 09, 2011 9:17 pm

if you could pull out the batteries and swap them that would be the solution.

Post by **DaiRees** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 11:54 am

No it wouldn't! How are you going to carry a couple of hundred kilos of spare batteries?

mjb · Post by **mjb** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 12:48 pm

DaiRees wrote:No it wouldn't! How are you going to carry a couple of hundred kilos of spare batteries?

One of the ideas I think has been thrown around has been to replace recharging (as in at service stations, not at home) with replacement. Your batteries get slid out and a new tray gets slid in, which the garage then charges separately. If a battery tray standard could be worked out (unlikely) then it should be easy to either have someone at a garage trained to use a trolley to swap packs, or even have a machine do it.

This would be VERY good for the consumer as batteries have a limited lifespan, and changing them could be quicker than filling a tank of petrol. However it ain't going to work because that would mean someone else would end up paying for replacing the battery packs, battery packs would have to be standardised (what about big or performance vehicles? what about innovations in battery technology?) with a standard for fitting, and there's nowhere enough demand at the moment...

Post by **Doggy** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 12:51 pm

No chance of calling the AA for some more AA's, then?

Post by **DaiRees** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 1:03 pm

mjb wrote:One of the ideas I think has been thrown around has been to replace recharging (as in at service stations, not at home) with replacement. Your batteries get slid out and a new tray gets slid in, which the garage then charges separately. If a battery tray standard could be worked out (unlikely) then it should be easy to either have someone at a garage trained to use a trolley to swap packs, or even have a machine do it.

This would be VERY good for the consumer as batteries have a limited lifespan, and changing them could be quicker than filling a tank of petrol. However it ain't going to work because that would mean someone else would end up paying for replacing the battery packs, battery packs would have to be standardised (what about big or performance vehicles? what about innovations in battery technology?) with a standard for fitting, and there's nowhere enough demand at the moment...

I agree that would be a workable solution of how to make electric cars feasable, but there's still the problem of where the power comes from to recharge those batteries. Unless it's from renewable or sustainable sources then you aren't really gaining anything, just moving the pollution source from one place to another and adding the enormous environmental impact of producing the batteries and disposing of them at end of life.

Post by **steve_earwig** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 2:33 pm

What's the life expectancy of these battery packs and the cost of renewal compared to, say, a horse?

In fact...
Horse - low initial purchase price (£1,500-2,500), moderate maintenance costs, (vet's bills, suppliments etc.), moderate running costs (grass, straw hay, oats, shoes etc. + £300 a year insurance - total about 1,500 a year), useful waste products (especially if you grow rhubarb), low power (typically 1HP), low speed (top speed 30mph), fair range (100 miles+ in a day), biodegradable.

Battery car - huge initial purchase price (the Mitsi iMiEV, which the Peugeot Iron actually is, costs £38,699), low maintenance (no oil or anything to change), massive running costs (factoring in a battery change), toxic waste products (used batteries that will need expensive disposal/recycling), modest power (Iron = 64bhp), modest speed (Iron top speed = 80mph), poor range (Iron = 80 miles), will require expensive recycling at the end of its life.

Post by **Welly** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 3:12 pm

I like horses.

Post by **steve_earwig** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 3:44 pm

bur you couldn't eat whole one?

Post by **Welly** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 4:41 pm

I'd buy an electric horse for travelling to work, why haven't they thought of that?

FarmerPug · Post by **FarmerPug** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 5:11 pm

an electric horse that original, patent that idea now quick before someone steals it.

Post by **Doggy** » Tue Jan 11, 2011 6:04 pm

Better patent time travel first....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsAO1xgkNeQ

rwb · Post by **rwb** » Tue Jan 11, 2011 8:43 pm

Look at you posh lot wanting a horse. My boss got a mule for free.

Post by **steve_earwig** » Tue Jan 11, 2011 9:37 pm

Can those big tortoises carry people about? I wouldn't mind one of them and they eat kitchen scraps...

Post by **Doggy** » Tue Jan 11, 2011 9:54 pm

rwb wrote:Look at you posh lot

We've been accused of many things, but posh?

Busman · Post by **Busman** » Tue Jan 11, 2011 10:08 pm

steve_earwig wrote:Can those big tortoises carry people about? I wouldn't mind one of them and they eat kitchen scraps...

What speed would you expect to achieve?

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