The all things EV chat thread

[road2ruin]

I find parcel shelves a waste of time and effort

The kias one is made of a material that you can fold up and store which is useful so it's put away for good. It has privacy glass so noone can see into it anyways , lot more space without it

The first thing I have always done with parcel shelves is to put in the garage! Like you I have privacy glass so no one can see and having the parcel shelf thing just reduces space.

 

[cliveb]

The parcel shelf in an estate is retractable, so if you need extra height for luggage you can leave it off.
But no way am I leaving my golf clubs on display. (My car has clear glass).

 

[PJ87]

The parcel shelf in an estate is retractable, so if you need extra height for luggage you can leave it off.
But no way am I leaving my golf clubs on display. (My car has clear glass).

Yes the Alhambra had one. Very useful, less useful when having to move it though to move from 7 to 5 seats but still good

It also had the glass so was always used but privacy glass solves it for me, both have it and it's great for the kids keeps their eyes protected a bit

 

[Robster59]

Interesting article here on an alternate solution for Hydrogen fuelled vehicles.
Is NamX about to become the Tesla of Hydrogen?

 

[cliveb]

Interesting article here on an alternate solution for Hydrogen fuelled vehicles.
Is NamX about to become the Tesla of Hydrogen?

Presumably their capsules are a high tech hydrogen equivalent of the calor gas bottle. The fact that they are easy to distribute would solve the problem of creating a refueling infrastructure.

Of course it could only take off if they can persuade the entire car industry to standardise on a capsule format. And something gives me the feeling that achieving that could be somewhere between very difficult and impossible.

And what about where the hydrogen is going to come from? We all know that green hydrogen is a very inefficient use of renewable electricity, while brown and blue hydrogen are terrible for the environment.

Perhaps natural hydrogen could be used? Apparently there's enough of it to last centuries:

'There is enough natural hydrogen underground to meet all demand for hundreds of years', says US government agency | Hydrogen Insight

Geologists expect 'gold rush' for natural H2 resources, conference told

www.hydrogeninsight.com

That said, it's not a renewable resource. And I suspect the report may well be from an organisation with a vested interest. So take it all with a pinch of salt.

 

[Hobbit]

Presumably their capsules are a high tech hydrogen equivalent of the calor gas bottle. The fact that they are easy to distribute would solve the problem of creating a refueling infrastructure.

Of course it could only take off if they can persuade the entire car industry to standardise on a capsule format. And something gives me the feeling that achieving that could be somewhere between very difficult and impossible.

And what about where the hydrogen is going to come from? We all know that green hydrogen is a very inefficient use of renewable electricity, while brown and blue hydrogen are terrible for the environment.

Perhaps natural hydrogen could be used? Apparently there's enough of it to last centuries:

'There is enough natural hydrogen underground to meet all demand for hundreds of years', says US government agency | Hydrogen Insight

Geologists expect 'gold rush' for natural H2 resources, conference told

www.hydrogeninsight.com

That said, it's not a renewable resource. And I suspect the report may well be from an organisation with a vested interest. So take it all with a pinch of salt.

If it’s coming in capsule form and you’re down to a 10th of a capsule but need a top up, do you surrender a capsule with that 10% left or do you top up?

 

[Robster59]

If it’s coming in capsule form and you’re down to a 10th of a capsule but need a top up, do you surrender a capsule with that 10% left or do you top up?

That's the problem of anybody who buys any kind of gas in a cylinder tbh. However, as this runs on multiple cylinders then I would hope that they would drain one at a time so that they only have to replace the empty ones.

 

[jim8flog]

I see you selected auto.

When I posted my comments about the closeness of prices it it was coming from my point of view of having had automatics as my main car for over 40 years.

 

[Mudball]

Power outage in the area… car is sitting unplugged on the driveway.. don’t fancy plugging it in and then blowing the fuse/car if/when power returns.

Luckily it has 75% charge so not too concerned about filling the tank tonight

 

[ColchesterFC]

Power outage in the area… car is sitting unplugged on the driveway.. don’t fancy plugging it in and then blowing the fuse/car if/when power returns.

Luckily it has 75% charge so not too concerned about filling the tank tonight

I'd never considered that as an issue with EVs. My mum lives in a rural area and occasionally they'll have power cuts lasting 24 to 48 hours. If they came home to a powercut to find that their car hadn't charged and were relying solely on a EV to get them to the nearest town to buy food they'd be screwed. I know in the grand scheme of things it's not a big problem for most people but on an individual level it is concerning.

 

[PJ87]

Power outage in the area… car is sitting unplugged on the driveway.. don’t fancy plugging it in and then blowing the fuse/car if/when power returns.

Luckily it has 75% charge so not too concerned about filling the tank tonight

It won't blow the fuse when it comes back on, it's not instant 7kw

It's just like when your charger turns on at x o clock

 

[Deleted member 35577]

Doing a long journey with a mate next week and he has offered to take his Tesla. Interested to see how much planning we have to do.

Well it was a very interesting experience. We left his house with 100% and drove 95 miles on a mixture of A roads and motorways then stopped for a top up at a Tesla charger. 22 mins to get back up to 99%, we literally had to gulp our coffees down to get back to the car before idling charges kicked in. Then carried on to our destination before returning the next day. On the way back we stopped at the same place, this time just to top up enough to arrive home with about 20% to spare. Took 9 mins and we just waited in the car.

So would I buy an EV? I would def consider a 2nd hand Tesla. Still not convinced about any other brand because the Tesla charging network is streets ahead of the public charging network. I suggested stopping at other chargers, he said not worth the hassle of having to download and register apps, slower charge rates etc and also fewer chargers at each location. I'm still not 100% convinced but it was very educational and provided food for thought.
His car is a standard range Model Y. Very comfortable, enough performance for most people, great sound system and all the tech you could ever want.

 

[Mudball]

Well it was a very interesting experience. We left his house with 100% and drove 95 miles on a mixture of A roads and motorways then stopped for a top up at a Tesla charger. 22 mins to get back up to 99%, we literally had to gulp our coffees down to get back to the car before idling charges kicked in. Then carried on to our destination before returning the next day. On the way back we stopped at the same place, this time just to top up enough to arrive home with about 20% to spare. Took 9 mins and we just waited in the car.

So would I buy an EV? I would def consider a 2nd hand Tesla. Still not convinced about any other brand because the Tesla charging network is streets ahead of the public charging network. I suggested stopping at other chargers, he said not worth the hassle of having to download and register apps, slower charge rates etc and also fewer chargers at each location. I'm still not 100% convinced but it was very educational and provided food for thought.
His car is a standard range Model Y. Very comfortable, enough performance for most people, great sound system and all the tech you could ever want.

Europe did force Tesla to open their charger network to non-Tesla. So it will be interesting to see takeup. I havent downloaded the app yet or checked pricing. In a few months, off to the Cornwall... 2 EVs - one Tesla and a non-Tesla, so will be an interesting comparison.

 

[PJ87]

Well it was a very interesting experience. We left his house with 100% and drove 95 miles on a mixture of A roads and motorways then stopped for a top up at a Tesla charger. 22 mins to get back up to 99%, we literally had to gulp our coffees down to get back to the car before idling charges kicked in. Then carried on to our destination before returning the next day. On the way back we stopped at the same place, this time just to top up enough to arrive home with about 20% to spare. Took 9 mins and we just waited in the car.

So would I buy an EV? I would def consider a 2nd hand Tesla. Still not convinced about any other brand because the Tesla charging network is streets ahead of the public charging network. I suggested stopping at other chargers, he said not worth the hassle of having to download and register apps, slower charge rates etc and also fewer chargers at each location. I'm still not 100% convinced but it was very educational and provided food for thought.
His car is a standard range Model Y. Very comfortable, enough performance for most people, great sound system and all the tech you could ever want.

Tesla are leagues ahead. It's not just the charge network it's the ease of use.

The ability to just plug in the car and it charges the credit card directly rather than faffing with touching one

 

[Mudball]

Tesla are leagues ahead. It's not just the charge network it's the ease of use.

The ability to just plug in the car and it charges the credit card directly rather than faffing with touching one

Isnt the electroverse from Octopus fairly similar (though you need to touch it)

 

[PJ87]

Isnt the electroverse from Octopus fairly similar (though you need to touch it)

Almost. But you need an app or card

But it does come off your account balance which is good

 

[jim8flog]

99%, we literally had to gulp our coffees down to get back to the car before idling charges kicked in.

This is a very important consideration. Idle charges are extremely high compared to charging cost.

 

[Deleted member 35577]

This is a very important consideration. Idle charges are extremely high compared to charging cost.

5 mins free then £1 a minute.....ouch!

 

[cliveb]

This is a very important consideration. Idle charges are extremely high compared to charging cost.

I should bloody well hope so!
Given the lack of charging infrastructure at present, leaving a car plugged in after it's finished charging must be one of or possibly the most inconsiderate thing you can do with an EV.

 

[PJ87]

5 mins free then £1 a minute.....ouch!

Very important. Teaches people manners . Our nursery does the same £1 per minute your late. Other people suffer from selfish actions