Tesla / Energy Discussion

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  • aroundlsu

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    Im assuming all the chargers you’ve handled are pretty new and/or well cared for. Do you have any safety concerns at this time with the charging cables or stations themselves?

    I've been handling the chargers for about 5 years (this Tesla is my second electric car). The Tesla installed superchargers are always in good shape and well maintained. Sometimes a stall will be out of order but that's indicated on the car computer screen. If you try to use that charger the charge port on the car will flash red instead of green. Sometimes there will be a line to wait to charge. Again, you'll know before you get there as the computer will tell you it's currently full. I've very rarely had to wait but it does happen sometimes.

    The destination chargers can be more hit or miss. Those are usually installed on their own breaker box somewhere near the chargers and the employees at the hotel/restaurant never know anything about it. I've turned on and reset breakers myself at destination chargers many times. The bigger issue is regular gas cars (ICE cars) parking in the spot and blocking access to the charger at a hotel all night. The cords are usually long enough I can work my way in and make it work but sometimes I've been completed screwed by a vehicle blocking access. Now a days I call ahead to the hotel and ask them if the charger is working and if it's accessible currently.

    Public chargers can be even more interesting. The ones in downtown Baton Rouge are definitely getting a little wore out and ragged. They likely don't have as many safety features as a Tesla branded charger. I plugged into a a public charger in downtown Biloxi once and it nearly fried the car as all kinds of errors popped up and the car went into a reset. So obviously I avoid that one from now on and in general I'll avoid the public chargers as I rarely need them with my Model S.

    The Superchargers are your best best for safety and reliability. The destination chargers are usually OK but you should call ahead first if you really need the charger to continue your trip.
     

    RaleighReloader

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    There's a very good chance that my next vehicle will be an electric car. The Chevy Bolt EV looks OK, but I lean more towards the Tesla, which seems to be a little more fully featured. And the assertion that they aren't safe is ridiculous; Tesla consistently has some of the highest safety ratings in the industry.

    Tesla has an excellent trip planning map feature on their website, which will allow you to enter your starting point and ending point. It all give you directions, tell you when to stop and how long you'll need to charge for, etc.

    https://www.tesla.com/trips

    Just for comparison sake ... a trip to my parents house would take 27 hours in a Tesla, as opposed to 20.5 hours of driving in a gas vehicle. And it's worth noting that that 20.5 hours doesn't include stopping for fuel, so in reality it's probably closer to 22 hours or so. Given that I like to stop periodically and stretch my legs (this would add at least a couple of hours to the gasoline trip), I could easily make that trip work in a Tesla, and in reality it would be pretty close to the time taken for the gasoline trip.

    In terms of cost: the one-way trip in my GMC truck would cost about $156 in fuel. In a Tesla I estimate the cost to be $93, based on using their superchargers. Neither of these costs include wear and tear, but suffice to say that the per-mile cost of my GMC is higher than the Tesla.

    And yes, I know that I could buy a more efficient car and get per-mile costs that are much closer to the Tesla. But then I'm back to being tethered to a vehicle with an internal combustion engine, a transmission, etc. The mechanical simplicity of the electric car means that I should have much lower long-term maintenance and repair costs.

    Mike
     

    aroundlsu

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    Just for comparison sake ... a trip to my parents house would take 27 hours in a Tesla, as opposed to 20.5 hours of driving in a gas vehicle. And it's worth noting that that 20.5 hours doesn't include stopping for fuel, so in reality it's probably closer to 22 hours or so. Given that I like to stop periodically and stretch my legs (this would add at least a couple of hours to the gasoline trip), I could easily make that trip work in a Tesla, and in reality it would be pretty close to the time taken for the gasoline trip.

    Mike

    If you factor in that you can eat Breakfast lunch and dinner while charging then the time difference gets even less. If you plan to stop and sleep overnight just plan to stop at a hotel with a charger. Now the time difference is probably zero.
     

    RaleighReloader

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    If you factor in that you can eat Breakfast lunch and dinner while charging then the time difference gets even less. If you plan to stop and sleep overnight just plan to stop at a hotel with a charger. Now the time difference is probably zero.

    That was my point; sorry I didn't make that clearer.

    The 20.5 hours assumes zero stopping time for gas, food, pee breaks, stretching one's legs, etc. If I'm doing those things while the car is charging, then I won't be losing any time to charging.

    Mike
     

    DAVE_M

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    Funny how someone that actually owns one can come in and disprove a lot of myths. Amazing.
     

    LS1RX7

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    Yes but unless he has invented perpetual energy it’s stop will be frequent or lengthy. I don’t want to be a curmudgeon on this one but unless it’s powered by unicorn breastmilk it’s near impossible it can do what they claim and the way they stacked the deck on the Fake tug-o-war they did should tell you something. I’m not opposed to battery powered cars per se but I use battery banks at camp and charging speed and demand are huge limitations.

    The electricity required to power a monster that can tow 14,000lbs and weight 10,000lb for 500 miles is far more dangerous than an internal combustion engine.

    But let’s say you can comfortably and safely move 24,000lbs with 400HP (have fun).

    But for kicks and giggles

    400HPh = 298KWh (this is just a conversion)
    If you travel 500miles at 60mph that’s 8.33hours. So...
    298KWh x 8.33 = 2,483.33KWh

    Now I’m a bean counter not an electrical engineer, but as mentioned I dabble in understanding electrical usage and requirements. And I’m assuming an average of 400HP demand on the motor.

    Now the audience participation portion of the show, do me a favor and grab your most recent power bill, and report back your KWH usage and the price.

    Now all that said I want them to figure out how to do it effectively and affordably because electric motors are friggin sweet and blisteringly fast, but I’m not counting on it.


    But I like this guy because someone needs to do the things that people say can’t be done.

    But it doesn't take 400hp to keep it moving, or even get it moving for that matter. Your 400hp gas motor is idling down the interstate at 10% throttle to stay moving, and probably less than 50% throttle in most cases to get moving. Same would go with electric. Once the load is up to speed it isn't difficult to keep it moving.
     

    Magdump

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    Im saying they are really slick cars but as a primary or secondary vehicle it’s not for me. The charging requirements and high voltage on board are drawbacks in my opinion. It works fine for some folks and that’s great but ignoring those drawbacks doesn’t make them irrelevant.
    You might find the drawbacks aren’t as significant as you believe, especially the safety aspects (or lack thereof) That you describe. I’m pretty sure electric car manufacturers have considered more than you think. We can thank lawsuit attorneys for that. As far as having an electric as your only transportation, I can see how a few factors would make that impractical, depending on where you live, your travel requirements, etc. then again, there was a 6 year period in my life where my only transportation was a motorcycle and I did just fine.
     

    davidd

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    One argument I hear is that the safety concern is not with the vehicle frame/build (traditional vehicle safety), but with the immense amount of energy stored in a very small place (the car battery). Remember the Samsung phones with the batteries that "blew up" in people's pockets? Lithium/Ion batteries can't be shipped on airplanes? It's a valid concern.

    https://lmgtfy.com/?q=tesla+catching+fire

    It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. The smaller you make a battery, and the more juice you store, the harder it is to separate positive and negative inside the battery. Add in a crash that crushes the battery. That space gets smaller really fast.

    Does that mean I will never own an electric car? Nope. But it does mean I'm mindful on the concerns and the engineering involved.
     
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    RaleighReloader

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    You might find the drawbacks aren’t as significant as you believe, especially the safety aspects (or lack thereof) That you describe. I’m pretty sure electric car manufacturers have considered more than you think. We can thank lawsuit attorneys for that. As far as having an electric as your only transportation, I can see how a few factors would make that impractical, depending on where you live, your travel requirements, etc. then again, there was a 6 year period in my life where my only transportation was a motorcycle and I did just fine.

    Electric cars have actually existed for almost as long as gasoline cars have. The problem back then, of course, was battery life ... and we've come a long way there, especially in the past 20 years.

    We also take for granted the risks of carrying many gallons of a liquid that, as it evaporates, becomes highly flammable. More than a few cars have burned to the ground because of a fuel leak, not to mention the risks of having that much gasoline in a high-impact collision. Manufacturers have done a great job of minimizing these risks, but they're still there.

    In truth, there's going to be a risk with any vehicle that has to store its own energy or propellant. But I don't believe that it's any higher with the current crop of electric cars than it is with the current crop of gasoline (or diesel) cars.

    In terms of whether an electric car can be one's primary transportation—there are too many factors there to make any broad, sweeping generalizations. My daily commute is around 10 miles each way, so an electric car would more than suffice for that. On the weekends I like to wander, but I'm almost always going to be within a few hundred miles of home—which means that a car with a full charge would probably be more than sufficient for a days worth of wandering. And for longer trips, I just don't believe that needing to stop and charge would be much of a problem (and even if it is, I only do trips of that length a handful of times every year). And we'd always have my wife's Jeep to fall back on.

    Mike

    Mike
     

    Bangswitch

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    One argument I hear is that the safety concern is not with the vehicle frame/build (traditional vehicle safety), but with the immense amount of energy stored in a very small place (the car battery). Remember the Samsung phones with the batteries that "blew up" in people's pockets? Lithium/Ion batteries can't be shipped on airplanes? It's a valid concern.

    https://lmgtfy.com/?q=tesla+catching+fire

    It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. The smaller you make a battery, and the more juice you store, the harder it is to separate positive and negative inside the battery. Add in a crash that crushes the battery. That space gets smaller really fast.

    Does that mean I will never own an electric car? Nope. But it does mean I'm mindful on the concerns and the engineering involved.

    One argument I hear is that the safety concern is not with the vehicle frame/build (traditional vehicle safety), but with the immense amount of energy stored in a very small place (the car battery). Remember the Samsung phones with the batteries that "blew up" in people's pockets? Lithium/Ion batteries can't be shipped on airplanes? It's a valid concern.

    https://lmgtfy.com/?q=tesla+catching+fire

    It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. The smaller you make a battery, and the more juice you store, the harder it is to separate positive and negative inside the battery. Add in a crash that crushes the battery. That space gets smaller really fast.

    Does that mean I will never own an electric car? Nope. But it does mean I'm mindful on the concerns and the engineering involved.

    Great points. People have said that gas is more dangerous but that’s not true in order for gas to have the kind of energy potential we are discussing you have to make it vapor. Electricity just needs a completed circuit. That could be in the batteries as you described pretty well of or a pinhole in a conductor jacket.
     

    Bangswitch

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    You might find the drawbacks aren’t as significant as you believe, especially the safety aspects (or lack thereof) That you describe. I’m pretty sure electric car manufacturers have considered more than you think. We can thank lawsuit attorneys for that. As far as having an electric as your only transportation, I can see how a few factors would make that impractical, depending on where you live, your travel requirements, etc. then again, there was a 6 year period in my life where my only transportation was a motorcycle and I did just fine.

    Look I’m not saying they don’t have all kind of safety features but the energy of electricity is way more volatile than a tank or pressure line of liquid gasoline.
     
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    DAVE_M

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    Look I’m saying they don’t have all kind of safety features but the energy of electricity is way more volatile than a tank of pressure line of liquid gasoline.

    Protected battery modules are not unrestrained electricity. Just like gasoline powered vehicles have safety measures and devices, electric vehicles do as well.
     

    Bangswitch

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    But it doesn't take 400hp to keep it moving, or even get it moving for that matter. Your 400hp gas motor is idling down the interstate at 10% throttle to stay moving, and probably less than 50% throttle in most cases to get moving. Same would go with electric. Once the load is up to speed it isn't difficult to keep it moving.
    I think I spoke to that some where along the way and I when with an average over the 500mile trip. But having longed thousands of miles with trailers behind me needing 10% would be a downhill proposition may need a tailwind too.
     

    Bangswitch

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    Look I’m saying they don’t have all kind of safety features but the energy of electricity is way more volatile than a tank of pressure line of liquid gasoline.

    Its worth noting I intended to say ‘I’m not saying’.

    Yes I know they have safety features probably arc flash arresters and that stuff but its also worth noting idle speed current draw would but you in the ground.
     

    DAVE_M

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    Its worth noting I intended to say ‘I’m not saying’.

    Yes I know they have safety features probably arc flash arresters and that stuff but its also worth noting idle speed current draw would but you in the ground.

    It sure would.

    Gasoline vapors next to an open flame would do that same.
     

    AustinBR

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    With the right A/F mixture sure.

    You might have said this earlier...but have you ever been in a Tesla?

    I still think that a big selling point is that you either like their futuristic minimalistic stuff...or you don't. In my case, I like Teslas, but I also like SUVs for practicality. I'm not the biggest fan of the Model X.

    Next vehicle will likely be Lincoln Aviator, Yukon Denali, or possibly an Escalade...but tbd. I also like sports cars, but they aren't very practical for icky weather or roadtrips with friends.
     
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