Electric Vehicles (EV) Thread

Driving and riding in Hua Hin and Thailand, all topics on cars, pickups, bikes, boats, licenses, roads, and motoring in general.
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StevePIraq
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Re: Electric Cars

Post by StevePIraq »

Here's a question for anyone who has knowledge of electric cars.

How do you start a fully electric car that has a flat battery, can it be jump started from a standard 12V car?
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Re: RE: Re: Electric Cars

Post by hhinner »

StevePIraq wrote:Here's a question for anyone who has knowledge of electric cars.

How do you start a fully electric car that has a flat battery, can it be jump started from a standard 12V car?
You'd need to charge the battery. How would a jump start work anyway? It's not as if it has another engine or motor that uses another fuel that can keep going after being started.
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Re: Electric Cars

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But how do you charge it if totally flat and you are in the middle of Isaan. I guess you would have to be towed to somewhere that has an adequate facility
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Re: Electric Cars

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Spare short range booster battery in the boot, along with the spare wheel?
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Re: Electric Cars

Post by Dannie Boy »

Most (if not all) fully electric cars operate at high voltage (Tesla operates at about 300V) so carrying a spare 12V booster is not an option
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Re: Electric Cars

Post by STEVE G »

Clearly you need a charging network in place before electric vehicles are practical for longer journeys.
It was the same when petrol cars appeared 100 odd years ago, you can find old letters to newspapers saying that they'd never replace horses because you could only buy petrol in the pharmacy.
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Re: Electric Cars

Post by oakdale160 »

A friend of mine recently drove his Tesla from Austin, Texas to Washington DC which is 1500 miles. With careful planning and reference to an app that showed available charging points he had no problem.
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Re: Electric Cars

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From what I understand, and that is not very much, there are two ways to charge the battery. The car has a built in charger that can be connected to a standard 110 / 220 volt outlet wherever that may be. However, using this method could take up to 4 days to fully charge a low battery, or a couple of days to get it up enough to drive to a charging station.

The second method is to use a "charging station", which is just a BIG battery charger. From dead flat evidently the more advanced batteries can be charged to full in 1 hour or so. However, to do this, these chargers require a substantial AC supply, usually 3 phase 380 /440 volt. I guess that there may be a compromise system for home use where there is no 3 phase supply, which is probably the most common as it would be used for "commuter" type owners to top up overnight.

Media reports suggest that Tesla as one example, are actively investing in a network of charging stations, but this of course is in the US, where the market is much more advanced.

I have no idea if any standardisation between manufactures regarding type of plugs, voltages etc., is being followed, but it needs to be!
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Re: Electric Cars

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Perhaps in the future there will be such a thing as a self perpetuating charge, perhaps there is now and I'm simply not aware of it. I'm not talking about a hybrid engine, but let's say friction created by the turning wheels generating a charge that's fed back into the batteries. I don't know if they can ever achieve an equal out/equal in ratio but as we know, technology advancements are sudden and surprising. Pete :cheers:
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Re: Electric Cars

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PeteC wrote: Wed May 30, 2018 2:30 pm Perhaps in the future there will be such a thing as a self perpetuating charge, perhaps there is now and I'm simply not aware of it. I'm not talking about a hybrid engine, but let's say friction created by the turning wheels generating a charge that's fed back into the batteries. I don't know if they can ever achieve an equal out/equal in ratio but as we know, technology advancements are sudden and surprising. Pete :cheers:
Well, that already happens now. Regenerative braking has been used for years. An example is the F1 cars that charge a battery that in turn can be used to drive an electric motor to boost the horsepower at a critical moment on demand.

But it is the old story of not getting something for nothing, and the conservation of energy where it is just converted into a different form, including heat losses. It will never be an equal in/out ratio. KERS, as it was called, was an earlier form in F1 cars, which stands for "Kinetic Energy Recovery System". At one time I was involved in the development of a similar system on oil rigs, where the aim was to harness the kinetic energy of the lifting system being wasted through heat of a friction brake, into useful braking energy. :cheers:
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Re: Electric Cars

Post by hhinner »

Maybe hydrogen based fuel cells will eventually be the way to go. However, if networks of battery charging stations are set up i suspect that there will be some resistance from the recharging companies to converting to hydrogen refueling.
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Re: Electric Cars

Post by oakdale160 »

The level 1 charger, plug into the household plug (10-12hurs) sells for a few hundred $ in US & Canada. The level 2 (6 hours) for about $1000. In many places, there is a govt rebate in Ontario, Canada 50% 0f cost and installation cost.
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Re: Electric Cars

Post by StevePIraq »

So it seems if you lose all you battery power and you are in the middle of nowhere in Isaan then you have to be towed to a hotel and book a room while the battery is charging, assuming you have your own cable. Not a very convenient way of travelling. I know in developed countries things will be different but in places like Ting Tong Land electric cars are purely for city use
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Re: Electric Cars

Post by Dannie Boy »

StevePIraq wrote: Thu May 31, 2018 1:51 pm So it seems if you lose all you battery power and you are in the middle of nowhere in Isaan then you have to be towed to a hotel and book a room while the battery is charging, assuming you have your own cable. Not a very convenient way of travelling. I know in developed countries things will be different but in places like Ting Tong Land electric cars are purely for city use
I think it will be the same - if you breakdown in the middle of nowhere say in the Beacon Beacons in South Wales, you will need to be towed to the nearest rapid charging point or hotel for the night.

On the subject of charging points in Hua Hin, I called into the electricity shop on Phetchkasem Road to pay the electric bill the other day, and they have a charging machine available - I didn’t look to see what it’s rating is or what the charges might be, but good to see they are ahead of the game.
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Re: Electric Cars

Post by hhinner »

Here's a video clip about the PEA charging station in Hua Hin. Supposedly to be installed all over the country as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKw0GsdGknI
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