Electric Cars - the discussion continues.

[nomadpete]

Thanks everyone.

 

 

[Bruce]

I think it might be cheaper to sit the insulated tank on the ground and have an electric pump suck water from this tank and push it into (either ) the solar heater or the combustion wood burner coil. If this were all to be un-pressurised, I don't see the need for any automatic valves for protection.

 

What I haven't figured out yet is just how to use this hot water.. As the setup is now, the pressure-pump starts and sucks from the main tank and feeds the cold taps as well as the infeed to the gas hot water heater. The output from this heater supplies the hot water, and when you have a shower, you use a mixture of both. Both hot and cold from the same pump.

 

It is only if the hot water tank was pressurized from this pump too that the output could be joined in to the hot water line... but this is in conflict to what I said at the start...

 

 

[Marty_d]

Interesting foray up some side roads... but anyhow, on the original topic:

 

Are electric cars viable for regional Australians?

 

Hydrogen-powered trucks getting 2000 km on a tank is news to me.

 

 

[red750]

Back to electric cars...or at least vehicles. (typing when you posted, Marty.)

 

All-electric pickup

 

 

[octave]

Back to electric cars...or at least vehicles. (typing when you posted, Marty.)

All-electric pickup

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMfxJEfb4lw:666

 

 

[spacesailor]

How about a picture[ATTACH]50009._xfImport[/ATTACH] the type I drove as a boy !, only a Red one in the UK.

 

spacesailor

 

[red750]

The thing that occurred to me with the Rivian - what happens when you get a flat tyre and the tray is full of gear/cargo?

 

 

[Litespeed]

Exactly the same as any ute with petrol, except when you get the shires there is no petrol to burn the bugger

 

 

[red750]

Pardon my ignorance, but how many utes access their spare by lifting the tray floor. If you are on your own on a country road, with,say, a cement mixer or an engine in the back, how do you unload and load it yourself? I guess if you are carrying that sort of stuff, you could put the spare in the front trunk and the jack etc in the tunnel behind the rear seat.

 

 

[Bruce]

How big is the fuel tank on those hydrogen trucks? and is it in gas or liquid form?

 

 

[facthunter]

I doubt you can liquify hydrogen easily.It also leaks through some metals being the simplest element there is. The original basis of everything in the universe. Plenty said the car will not replace the horse. Remember. Nev

 

 

[octave]

How big is the fuel tank on those hydrogen trucks? and is it in gas or liquid form?

Here is an interesting clip from "Real Engineering" which discusses the pros and cons of hydrogen vs battery. Japan seems to favour hydrogen and has petrol stations that dispense hydrogen.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7MzFfuNOtY:783

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

I think it might be cheaper to sit the insulated tank on the ground and have an electric pump suck water from this tank and push it into (either ) the solar heater or the combustion wood burner coil. If this were all to be un-pressurised, I don't see the need for any automatic valves for protection...

Bruce I doubt you could design a system that doesn't need some sort of pressure relief. If you are relying on an electric pump to circulate the water, when the power fails (and it always will) your heat source overheats. Perhaps not a meltdown like Chernobyl, but not good.

 

Simpler to have the tank above the heat source and rely on thermosyphon. It's worked for centuries without electricity.

 

 

[Bruce]

Thanks, old K. Yes it sure is functionally better to have the tank high. It is the building of an elevated tank platform that is costly.

 

These days, pressure water supply systems do not use elevated tanks.

 

They don't even use compressed air tanks, they just use pressure-sensors driving the pump . Way cheaper....

 

Good point though about what happens if the fire is burning and the power fails.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

When our neighbourhood suffers power cuts, sometimes for a whole day, our house is the only one with running water, hot water and cooking facilities.

 

Building cheap is short-term thinking.

 

 

[facthunter]

Yes real fun being under a shower with water pumps cutting in and out. A lot need a fast use rate setting to bring on the hot . What a waste of energy and water THAT is. Most domestic water supplies use elevation for pressure.. It's the only RELIABLE way. Nev

 

 

[spacesailor]

"When our neighbourhood suffers power cuts, sometimes for a whole day, our house is the only one with running water, hot water and cooking facilities."

 

Our house too,!

 

Gas for cooking & hot water, and batteries plus inverter for that TV, to see & hear that it's a power-cut. LoL

 

spacesailor

 

 

[nomadpete]

I'm Thankful that gravity is self funded, and not controlled nor supplied by the government. That's the only reason it works every day

 

 

[Marty_d]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMfxJEfb4lw:666

Rivian Says "No Thanks" To GM Overture | CleanTechnica

 

Looks like there's plenty of interest in the Rivian "skateboard" setup by large car producers - they were in talks with GM but apparently want to keep their options open.

 

I don't really like the front end, but for a 7-seat electric SUV with a range the same as my diesel Santa Fe, I'd learn to live with it!

 

[ATTACH]50014._xfImport[/ATTACH]

 

[Old Koreelah]

Some great design ideas, but ugly American styling.

 

(I bet it has the “grunt” that Scomo talks about)

 

Looks like it does everything you need. I’d love one.

 

 

[octave]

I agree, by traditional standards, not so pretty. EVs don't need the front grill although some vehicles have a fake one. Modern lights are also getting smaller due to advances in light technology. I suspect that what we find attractive in a car will change with new technology. I suspect that the modern TV or sound system would have seemed unattractive back in the days when these came in a wooden cabinet.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

...ah, wooden cabinets, when things were made to last. We still have a 1960s TV that was still working.

 

Might put our Apple TV box and a flat screen in it...

 

 

[storchy neil]

well please explain the battery disposal when it is no longer serviceable what are the contents of battery ?

 

copper is reguired how much ? neil

 

 

[Bruce]

How do they dispose of the lead in batteries right now? I reckon they recycle it, and will do so with the lithium too.

 

 

[octave]

well please explain the battery disposal when it is no longer serviceable what are the contents of battery ?copper is reguired how much ? neil

Sigh, I am sure we have had this conversation before.

 

Firstly EV batteries are lasting longer than many people think. Before recycling is considered these batteries have a second life in stationary power applications as they still have plenty of life left.

 

Bloomberg - Are you a robot? : Where 3 Million Electric Vehicle Batteries Will Go When They Retire

 

How long are Tesla batteries lasting?

 

How Long Will A Tesla, LEAF, Or Other EV Battery Last?

 

what are the contents of battery ?

I see that you are not very knowledgable about this technology.

 

The materials in aTesla are:

 

Graphite (Anode)

 

Lithium (Electrolyte)

 

Nickel (Cathode)

 

Plus copper and plastic.

 

Here is how Tesla is intends to deal with this problem.

 

 

Whilst it may be true that EV battery recycling is in its infancy as batteries do get to the end of their life the cost of recycling will drop. These materials are simply too valuable to throw away. We all got our home PCs before we had the means to economically recycle their components. This is the way progress happens.

 

The Chinese are well ahead with this.

 

China Sets Up EV Battery Recycling Scheme | OilPrice.com

 

Neil, I suspect that your concern is not really about recycling car batteries but that it is more to do with your conservatism. I don't particularly have any interest in changing your mind because regardless of your discomfort with change that change is happening anyway. I guess you will just have to learn to live with it.