Steam power... - Page 4 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

Isaac Zachary · 03-30-2022, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piotrsko

You don't need huge quantities of batteries unless you want lots of range

The thing with batteries is yes and no.

Having owned a 24kWh Nissan Leaf and fully understanding the range limitations I still felt range anxiety. The thing was most days it was fine. Then one day someone would be like "wanna go out?" and name a place that was just out of range for the little amount of electricity left on the Leaf on that particular day and hour. With no place to fast charge it made it to where I couldn't just drive somewhere I hadn't planned at whim, even if it wasn't all that far.

For an example, the Leaf had a 80% range option I would use if I didn't have a long way to drive the next day. So that would give me about 60 miles range with no heat or A/C, plenty for around town. So I'd do about 20 miles durring the day but use the heater or A/C, especialy the A/C on the way back home. So that ended up using about 30 miles range leaving me with 30 miles. Then getting home some friend or family memeber would ask to go to a store or restaurant or something that was 15 miles away with no place to charge at the destination... This would put me at a chance of running out of juice on the road, or at least very close. The car would start flashing lights and things that it was going to run out, and I'd make it back home with the guess-o-meter showing flashing bars. Ah, but on the way back someone would want an icecream... "NO! I don't have enough range!"

Since a car like a 24kWh Leaf would do well for 90% of my driving, having something like the range extender on the BMW i3 would make a lot of sense to me. It doesn't have to be a full fledged engine. A single or twin cylinder that produces some 25hp would do. Something that could just keep the battery from discharging anymore on that last leg of a long day.

Isaac Zachary · 03-30-2022, 11:35 PM

That was one thing I really wanted to mod on the Leaf, a range extender.

There was no reason it couldn't work. But I finally chickened out. I figured if I was going to be burning gasoline I might as well as burn gasoline. The main thing that really got me was when Nissan leaf batteries went from $5,000 to $8,000 a pop. It was at that point I decided to sell the Leaf and get a gas burner again.

Piotrsko · 03-31-2022, 11:21 AM

I don't agree. If I don't feel the ranger can make it somewhere and back on the available range, it doesnt go there, I do a different mode of transport. Hard and fast rule, labels me antisocial. YMMV.

Isaac Zachary · 03-31-2022, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piotrsko

I don't agree. If I don't feel the ranger can make it somewhere and back on the available range, it doesnt go there, I do a different mode of transport. Hard and fast rule, labels me antisocial. YMMV.

Hard and fast rule, or reality. If it can't make it it can't make it. Or you try and it doesn't make it, which happened to me once.

But it sure got old pretty quick. A short range EV can follow a set route and schedule very easily, but with very little flexibility.

You forgot a tool at home? Oh well. You'll bring it tomorrow to work.

You wife wants a romantic dinner? Oh well. You'll do that on the weekend if you can stay home all morning.

Your son wants you to take him to baseball practice? Oh well. Let some other guy that's taking his son and owns a car that can go farther than to the other side of town only once a day come pick your son up along his way.

Piotrsko · 03-31-2022, 04:05 PM

Well kinda, but, no. I take one of my other long range fueled vehicles. The ranger is 20 out and back, flat and level no freeway, less for hills. The F250 does 600 mi, the Golf does 800. Plenty of fuel

I lived in the PJ's once, decided that wasn't the way to live, (although I enjoyed it) and took steps to preclude the future return. Couple of take out dinners is my AAA 100 mile towing subscription, there's a full set of common tools in the F250, the Golf has the DIESELGATE fixit guarantee for 2 more years. Everything else is paid for.

The ranger has a quick disconnect towbar for those oops moments, so yes I can make the unequivocal statement...my carpenter tool belt has everything I could need to build a house, so no lost hammer, the last going out dinner was a pizza joint about 3 months ago and I.moved to be across the street from the park when my kids were young. YMMV

Isaac Zachary · 03-31-2022, 05:49 PM

I think my problem was the EV I got was the in-new-condition nice leather, heated seat plush car with an awesome stereo, whereas the alternative car was the cramped, loud and smelly 1985 rust bucket VW diesel with rust holes through the floor board, torn upholstery and broken door handles and about 40hp, if that, as it took about 2 minutes to get to 60mph.

Everyone couldn't understand why I'd want to take the nice semi-used Leaf to work and then take everyone else out to farther out places in the ol' diesel.

If I could have had a cheap 30 year old crappy EV to commute to and from work and take family and friends places out of the normal commute in the nice newer ICE, things would have made sense for everyone.

cRiPpLe_rOoStEr · 04-02-2022, 02:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piotrsko

I don't agree. If I don't feel the ranger can make it somewhere and back on the available range, it doesnt go there, I do a different mode of transport. Hard and fast rule, labels me antisocial. YMMV.

Sometimes it becomes the difference between life and death...

Piotrsko · 04-02-2022, 11:14 AM

O

Quote:

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Sometimes it becomes the difference between life and death...

Only on the outbound trip unless you are required to aquire some exotic compound and administer it promptly to more than 1 additional person back at the starting point in which case there are other considerations. Once again I have numerous other modes of getting there in Assorted multi passenger conveyances of varying capabilities not including neighbors and passerbys and commercial entities. Probability of them all not being successful in such a task is small and most services that I could possibly need are within 2 mile radius. A lot can be said about walking to shopping in a walmart during a monster snowstom

Sufficient planning for worst case scenerios in advance helps but gets you labeled as weird. I have a cord of dry stacked firewood in an all electric house which does have a brick chimney

JSH · 04-04-2022, 12:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piotrsko

... the Golf has the DIESELGATE fixit guarantee for 2 more years....

Have you tried to use that Dieselgate warranty? I have twice with nothing to show for it but a diagnostic fee. They claim the mechanic cannot replicate the intermittent power loss under acceleration. Carvana is picking up the car Friday and paying us $2,000 more than we paid 4 years and 35K miles ago.

Piotrsko · 04-04-2022, 11:04 AM

Haven't used it because nothing has broken, as expected. I have tangled with my local dealer previously so it goes to Cali or Vegas for repair to a dealer that is known compliant. 3 things could be an issue: fuel pump, dpf, egr. You get warnings far in advance on all 3 unless you Italian tune it constantly.