Electric Vehicles

[Trebuchet]

I've replaced my mower with one powered by biofuel.

It has the bonus of keeping those pesky neighborhood kids off my lawn.

I got a Ryobi one a couple of years ago. It will reliably cut 95-98% of the lawn on one battery charge. But it came with two and it takes only a minute to swap. I usually need a breather by then anyhow.

I'm trying to talk myself into one. Unfortunately there's nothing wrong with my existing electric mower... other than the fact that I don't enjoy lugging the cable around to plug it in.

I've had it for at least 15 years. My cheapskateness tells me that I don't want to pay for a new one if the mower batteries don't last 15 years.

For things like mowers and my power tools (which get infrequent use), I wish I had a smart battery conditioner. I fear that if I just leave the battery on charge after every mowing that it won't last long.

How much mowing (in minutes) do you do? I have two unimpressive lawns, so I can finish in about 20 minutes of runtime per week (and another 10 minutes of unbundling, moving, and rebundling the power cord).

I don't think the battery life is that big a concern in the age of Li-Ion and smart batteries and chargers. It takes me probably 40 minutes or so to do my patch of green, a bit more if I do the parts outside the main yard. Those don't need it so often.

 

[BowlOfRed]

I don't think the battery life is that big a concern in the age of Li-Ion and smart batteries and chargers. It takes me probably 40 minutes or so to do my patch of green, a bit more if I do the parts outside the main yard. Those don't need it so often.

I'm not worried about the capacity (I have a small lawn), I'm worried about the smartness of the chargers and the downtime.

My cordless tools are also Ryobi, and they don't get a ton of use. Maybe a weekend project twice a year, plus a few other times to use the cordless drill. Both batteries that came with the kit (maybe 6-7 years ago) are basically dead.

 

[zooterkin]

We now have a second EV; a VW E-Up! (the point of exclamation is part of the name). We just need to get the EV charger connected up, and we can use cheap tariffs on Octopus.

We had to pay up front for the charger to be fitted; at the point when it was going to be connected to the mains, the electrician discovered the earth value was out of range, so he called the DNO (responsible for the physical supply, not the people we pay for the electricity). They came out and said it wasn't their responsibility. We got them to come back again, and a different person came out who not only said it was their job to fix it, but happily dug a hole in our drive and bonded the earth. This left a hole in our brick paved drive, which filled up with the recent rains to give unexpected water feature. Another crew came back to put some earth in the hole, and we're now waiting for a third, specialist, crew to come back and relay the bricks properly. We're also waiting on the original electrician to return and just connect the wires up to make the charger work. After that, everything should be lovely...

 

[jadebox]

I'm not worried about the capacity (I have a small lawn), I'm worried about the smartness of the chargers and the downtime.

Most of the more expensive tools come with chargers that are smart enough to stop charging the keep the battery topped off without any harm to the battery. But some cheaper chargers can damage a battery if you leave on the charger too long and often after the battery is fully charged. Check what the instructions for the charger say.

 

[jadebox]

Just bought another EV. In this case I've replaced a petrol powered mower with a rusted through deck with a battery powered one.

I have been meaning to stage a photo of our EV collection, but haven't had the chance. We have a Hyundai Ioniq 5, a golf cart, a large mobility scooter that looks like a Vespa, and two small mobility chairs.

The golf cart and "Vespa" were recently upgraded to lithium batteries.

I have somewhat seriously looked at replacing our lawn tractor with a battery powered one. But the darn thing just keeps working no matter how much I abuse it.

 

[P.J. Denyer]

Just bought another EV. In this case I've replaced a petrol powered mower with a rusted through deck with a battery powered one.

It's got good reviews, we'll see how it performs when mowing season starts.

I got a battery mower last year as a freebie on the Vine Program (push not ride on) and I really like it. I've only got small lawns, tiny in fact, but I was was using a petrol mower because corded lawnmowers are such a faff, especially if you have a couple of little bits outside the garden boundaries to do. But the battery mower is great, very quick to set up and take down, light, packs up small for storage and I don't have to worry about letting it cool before packing it away. It's a 36v (2x18v battery) Flymo and the power seems adequate for the start of the year, 'I should have done this a while back' cut although if you've let it get out of hand battery life does suffer.

 

[P.J. Denyer]

I'm not worried about the capacity (I have a small lawn), I'm worried about the smartness of the chargers and the downtime.

My cordless tools are also Ryobi, and they don't get a ton of use. Maybe a weekend project twice a year, plus a few other times to use the cordless drill. Both batteries that came with the kit (maybe 6-7 years ago) are basically dead.

Oddly the best power pack I've ever bought was a REALLY cheap cordless drill from Aldi. I've had it well over a decade and really regret not getting a second battery for it but both the battery and the drill itself just keep on going. It doesn't get anything like professional use of course, but I've used it on wood, metal, concrete (not very successfully but that's why I have a corded SDS), built a deck with it, driven thousands of screws, run sharpeners, water pumps etc with it and it's my 'go to' drill although I have corded drills when the task is too much for cordless and it still keeps going. I still have the original packaging and I keep meaning to email the manufacturer to see if they still make a compatible battery, otherwise I might open it up & solder in new cells when they finally fail.

 

[8enotto]

I run Ryobi 18 v batteries in a small chainsaw. One original and one knockoff. Definitely different in how they charge and discharge but both adequate for general yard use. My drill and trimmer are B+D 20v, it is five years old and the other new old stock at three years old, bought last year on clearance.
Both 1.5ah batteries are going strong and allow me to do the regular areas around the house on one battery. The drill gets better mileage on a battery even in cement.

I prefer Ryobi over the other. Charges faster, bigger ah ratings are selling points.
The trimmer is wimpy homeowner grade, but works. The drill is a bit worn and still strong.
The Ryobi chainsaw is new. Never runs out of torque but can overheat a battery pretty quick if pushed.

Each has limits that can be reached but overall it's pretty good technology for the price. A lot of small projects have been knocked out around the house with them. Makes for a happy wife here.
And I get to play with tools.

 

[Fast Eddie B]

I had a friend that swore by DeWalt and belittled Ryobi. So much so that he made a little “ptooey” spitting sound whenever he said “Ryobi”.

From memory, I’m trying to recall the Ryobi tools we currently own…

Drill
Impact Driver
Flashlight
Sheet metal “nibbler”
Sawzall
Radial saw
Bucket “mister”
“Dustbuster”/floor vacuum combo
Small “pruner” chainsaw

I may be forgetting some. Point? To date, I’ve never had one fail. The batteries do fail on occasion, and are not cheap to replace. Hint: If you wait for sales, sometimes you can get a tool or tools with a fresh battery for about the price of a battery alone.

A neighbor and I have a “co-op” where we split the cost of new tools. For that, we’ve started buying the EGO brand, and so far have a chainsaw, string trimmer and blower. Not cheap, but well made. Going back to the 2-stroke string trimmer, hedge trimmer and chainsaw feel like a step back to more primitive times.

 

[8enotto]

The batteries can be recovered from dead by pre-charging them off a good battery. It happens when they run to dead. Just enough juice for the charger to see battery again. It's on yt vids.

 

[bruto]

I've had some luck with recharging or precharging batteries that would not take a charge in the normal way, but it varies. I have lots of older 18V DeWalt stuff from various sources. Not only do the batteries vary but the chargers too. I have a completely non-regulated power supply with which I can sometimes rejuvenate an old battery, but one has to be very careful not to cook it.

I also have a couple of Ryobi things, and their batteries have done all right. The main difference here is that Ryobi are a good bit less expensive.

If you get really into this, and have a bunch of old batteries, it can be worthwhile to open them up and check individual cells. Its often just one bad one, and you can either replace it or bypass it.

 

[Filippo Lippi]

What do you get the man who has everything?

A rechargeable electrical device that can both trim and blow string. "Never be caught with a piece of unblown, overlong twine"

 

[Roger Ramjets]

On a slightly different note, because I take a keen interest in electric vehicle developments my YouTube page is full of videos trashing EVs. The FUD is getting ridiculous now, so much so that I am ignoring the 'suggestions' and just sticking to the few channels I have subscribed to.

Social media is the pits, not the technology but the people who frequent it. You can almost smell the fear in videos produced by Luddites desperately trying to avoid change. The comments are worse of course. They also spew their vitriol and repeat the same old tired talking points in the comments on neutral sites too.

If it was just a few nutcases I wouldn't mind, but anti-EV videos are getting millions of views after just a few hours. It seems that a large section of society have added EVs to their list of things that threaten their precious 'freedoms'. Many of them are global warming deniers too, because it's 'inconvenient'. Unfortunately these people vote and influence government policy, resulting in stuff like this email I just received:-

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi
Electric vehicles need to pay RUC from 1 April 2024

Everyone who uses our roads pays their fair share toward the cost of their upkeep. Petrol users pay through tax at the pump, and diesel users pay in advance by buying RUC.

Electric vehicles including plug-in hybrid vehicles haven’t had to pay RUC, but due to a change in government policy, they’ll need to from 1 April 2024.

More about RUC

When you buy RUC, you pre-pay for the distance you’re going to travel, in units of 1000km.

For an electric vehicle, you’ll pay $76 per 1000km plus an admin fee. For a plug-in hybrid vehicle you’ll pay $53 per 1000km plus an admin fee.

This will more than double my cost per km.

They say it's only fair that EVs pay their 'share', but is it?

Changes to road user charges will see EV owners paying more, climate expert says

Consultant Christina Hood of Compass Climate said it was fair to start charging EVs to use roads, but the way it was being done would unfairly penalise people buying electric cars.

The difference comes about because EVs (like diesel vehicles) are charged per kilometre, while petrol cars pay tax per litre of fuel. That means very efficient petrol cars can have an advantage over EVs of the same size...

As an example, Hood compared two very similar cars: a new Kia Niro, non plug-in petrol/electric hybrid and the Kia Niro full EV.

She found that on the petrol version, the government collects $39 per 1000km in taxes, based on the car's fuel economy of 4.4litres per 100km and taxes of 89c a litre, including GST.

The fully electric vehicle pays more than $80 per 1000km in road user charges - twice as much as the like-for-like petrol vehicle

That's perverse. EV haters are probably jumping for joy now as they have even more ammunition to hurl at us.

 

[Lplus]

On a slightly different note, because I take a keen interest in electric vehicle developments my YouTube page is full of videos trashing EVs. The FUD is getting ridiculous now, so much so that I am ignoring the 'suggestions' and just sticking to the few channels I have subscribed to.

Social media is the pits, not the technology but the people who frequent it. You can almost smell the fear in videos produced by Luddites desperately trying to avoid change. The comments are worse of course. They also spew their vitriol and repeat the same old tired talking points in the comments on neutral sites too.

If it was just a few nutcases I wouldn't mind, but anti-EV videos are getting millions of views after just a few hours. It seems that a large section of society have added EVs to their list of things that threaten their precious 'freedoms'. Many of them are global warming deniers too, because it's 'inconvenient'. Unfortunately these people vote and influence government policy, resulting in stuff like this email I just received:-

This will more than double my cost per km.

They say it's only fair that EVs pay their 'share', but is it?

Changes to road user charges will see EV owners paying more, climate expert saysThat's perverse. EV haters are probably jumping for joy now as they have even more ammunition to hurl at us.

So why aren't you and all the other EV lovers out there making youtube videos about how good EVs are in the cold and how easy it is to charge and so on?

I'm afraid saying "It's the future so suck up the problems and inconvenience and fire ferocity" isn't likely to go down well with those who don't actually care if it's electric or not but want something they can rely on in all conditions.

 

[dirtywick]

on an even more slightly different note, the only time i've ever seen the term fud used is when bitcoin scammers are assuring everyone it's not a scam

my opinion is you shouldn't tie yourself to a product. when i buy something and someone else buys the same thing, there's no "us"

 

[8enotto]

Ev is still a novelty for most of us. I still can't afford even a glorified golf cart version but am eager to try when possible. My foray into Egarden care is even on the lame side of things. But i love it already.
In a decade we should have several types of battery tech, a decent and somewhat standard charging network and safer overall.

Edison has already gone into conversion of existing vehicles and it looks good for them. Maybe others will follow and it won't be a Tesla or a Chinese option anymore, it could be a Corvette or anything.

 

[jadebox]

So why aren't you and all the other EV lovers out there making youtube videos about how good EVs are in the cold and how easy it is to charge and so on.

There are a lot of good videos that discuss the reality of EV ownership, but they don't get the clicks and views that the ones trashing EVs get.

I am sure there were far more ICE vehicles stranded by the cold than EVs and I suspect that ICE vehicles are more likely to have issues in extreme weather if only because they are more complex. But YouTube videos and news stories about stranded ICE drivers don't attract clicks like ones bashing Teslas.

 

[bruto]

I must confess that some of my concern here is a desire to be a technologically up to date luddite.

What I would go for in no time would be an electric version of something lie my 1985 Honda Civic hatchback. There was a light, small but spatially efficient car with crank up windows, no AC, no traction control or ABS, no connectivity, no maps, no power locks, etc. Just a really economical little car that performed well enough.

I know these days we have to have ABS and stuff, but really I don't need AC, power this and power that, and all that extra complication. I don't want a computerized car with a touch screen, and I don't want to have to connect to some server, or to be tied to some provider. I keep cars a long time and I don't want the possibility of my car being bricked like a John Deere combine because I tried to fix it myself or because my internet connection glitched out again. I don't want to have to call a remote technician to open the door when the battery dies. I can back into a parking space without a camera, and drive down the road without a lane change sensor, and stop in traffic without a proximity alarm. I also don't need the thing to be quicker and faster than I can use, just so I can say it is. Goes at legal speeds anywhere? Check. Gets up to speed more or less as quickly as other things? Check.

I want an electric car that just goes, and has lights and heat when I need them. Unfortunately, I don't think anyone is going to make that unless I make it myself.

 

[bruto]

There are a lot of good videos that discuss the reality of EV ownership, but they don't get the clicks and views that the ones trashing EVs get.

I am sure there were far more ICE vehicles stranded by the cold than EVs and I suspect that IVE vehicles are more likely to have issues in extreme weather if only because they are more complex. But YouTube videos and news stories about stranded ICE drivers don't attract clicks like ones bashing Teslas.

I imagine you are right, and many ICE vehicles won't start on a very cold morning, for example, whereas an electric car has no reason not to start. As long as the range is there, and the heat works, you're well off. I think at least some of the range anxiety comes from people who are not used to having to think continually about things. Most ICE cars have more than enough range to get where ever you're going and if not to get to a convenient gas station, so people don't pay attention. Wait until the tank alarm goes off, and you have something like 40 miles to go and find a gas station. Electric charge requires a regression in planned maintenance that some people, I think, balk at.

 

[Fast Eddie B]

What I would go for in no time would be an electric version of something lie my 1985 Honda Civic hatchback

For us it would be an electrified version of our 2005 Honda Element, used primarily for mutant rodent transport: