• Re: the stores all take a

    From Rob Mccart@1:2320/105 to MIKE POWELL on Wed Feb 4 07:49:42 2026
    Sounds like a great deal. What scares me a bit about electric cars
    >> is I'm seeing all sorts of people online complaining that in less
    >> than 8 years they had to put in a new battery and it was costing
    >> almost as much as a new car, often at least $35,000, more for
    >> the higher end cars..

    If I were looking at "electric cars," I would be looking at a hybrid.

    They do sound more practical and, with a less than perfect system
    of charging stations in many areas, having the option of using
    gas instead sounds like a good plan..

    ---
    * SLMR Rob * 26% of Canadians can't read. The other 92% can't do Math.
    * Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)
  • From Rob Mccart@1:2320/105 to KURT WEISKE on Wed Feb 4 07:49:42 2026
    I'm seeing all sorts of people online complaining that in less
    > than 8 years they had to put in a new battery

    BMW does great thermal management and battery maintenance. People on some of
    >the BMW boards showed cars with limited degradation and 100,000+ miles.

    The wear out is probably linked more to battery age than the miles
    put on the car so you'd need to know both..

    Compare with a Nissan Leaf, they apparently have horrid battery management
    >and lose their collective chrarges after 5-6 years.

    And of course, one of the cheaper electric cars..

    Can't you switch over to more common makes of tires when they
    > wear out?

    There's only one model and brand of all-season tire that fits. :(

    Really? An odd size then.. Probably done purposely to sell their
    expensive tires.. Possibly new wheels could be purchased that
    are a more common size, but that's an expensive change.

    ---
    * SLMR Rob * We have all passed a lot of water since then
    * Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)
  • From Kurt Weiske@1:218/700 to Rob Mccart on Wed Feb 4 15:13:37 2026
    Rob Mccart wrote to KURT WEISKE <=-

    BMW does great thermal management and battery maintenance. People on some
    f
    >the BMW boards showed cars with limited degradation and 100,000+ miles.

    The wear out is probably linked more to battery age than the miles
    put on the car so you'd need to know both..


    Agreed, these were 2014/2015s, the first years the made the BMW i3.


    Can't you switch over to more common makes of tires when they
    > wear out?

    There's only one model and brand of all-season tire that fits. :(

    Really? An odd size then.. Probably done purposely to sell their
    expensive tires.. Possibly new wheels could be purchased that
    are a more common size, but that's an expensive change.

    Well, they don't get the money for the tires, Bridgestone does. I'm sure
    it's an engineer designing in a vacuum for lowest possible rolling
    resistance.

    Like the engineer that canted the spark plugs back 30 degrees on the Prius.
    If they'd canted them forward, changing them would be a breeze. As is, you need to take off the wipers, the wiper valance and other parts to get to
    them.


    ... Walk without rhythm and you won't attact the worm.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    * Origin: http://realitycheckbbs.org | tomorrow's retro tech (1:218/700)
  • From Rob Mccart@1:2320/105 to KURT WEISKE on Wed Jan 21 08:10:40 2026
    Do you leave the car running while
    using that or will it go for a while without killing the battery?

    With a hybrid, you leave it in "ready" mode, and the engine kicks over
    > when needed to keep the 12v battery charged. The last time I ran it,
    > the engine kicked over once every 15 minutes or so for a couple of
    > minutes. Over 3 days, I went through about a quarter tank.

    I assume you mean the gas engine started up every 15 minutes?

    I don't know if all are the same but, as I understand it, a Hybrid
    has just about the same battery capacity as a fully electric car
    but has a small gas engine in the system which doesn't run the car,
    it runs a generator to power the car and charge the main battery
    when power gets low.

    Is that close to right ?

    If so I would have guessed that the main battery would have powered
    your inverter for a lot longer than 15 minutes..

    ---
    * SLMR Rob * I'm in a class by myself... Everyone else graduated
    * Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)
  • From Rob Mccart@1:2320/105 to KURT WEISKE on Wed Jan 28 07:59:29 2026
    Yes. I had a plug-in Prius. I'd charge it at home on a 110 volt plug

    How long would it take to charge it up on a regular 110 volt system?

    About 4 1/2 hours on a plain old 110v plug.

    That's fast.. I've heard people complain that using a 220 volt
    line it can take all night to charge ones with bigger batteries
    I assume..

    They are a little cheaper than gas if you charge them at home
    but if you use the fast chargers the cost goes up enough to be
    higher than using gas for the same trip

    With my BMW, when I first got it, I found a home utility rate plan that
    > dropped the overnight price of electricity, and it was cheaper charging
    > at home than buying gas.

    Yes, we have time of day rates on our electricity here too.
    The cost at night compared to mid day is less than half the price.
    There's also what they call a Mid Peak rate falling between those.

    I missed my first gig at this company - we sold hybrid battery electric
    > solar systems, essentially a smart battery/solar combo that would
    > figure out whether to sell power back to the utility, run off of solar,
    > or charge the batteries, based on historical usage and weather
    > forecasting.

    We had 4 free chargers as a nice perk, running off of one of our own
    > systems.

    My sister is into that stuff. Not exactly the same but they have a
    roof full of solar panels and they sell the power created back to
    the utility at about 4 times the price per KWH than they pay to buy
    power from the utility. But it's an all or nothing thing, they don't
    keep some of that power and sell off the extra. It all goes to the
    utility and then they pay a power bill like normal..

    It's wasn't cheap though. I think she paid about $80,000 for the
    panels and computer equipment that runs it and tracks output.

    ---
    * SLMR Rob * And the wise mute said " "
    * Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)
  • From Kurt Weiske@1:218/700 to Rob Mccart on Thu Jan 22 11:30:29 2026
    Rob Mccart wrote to KURT WEISKE <=-

    I don't know if all are the same but, as I understand it, a Hybrid
    has just about the same battery capacity as a fully electric car
    but has a small gas engine in the system which doesn't run the car,
    it runs a generator to power the car and charge the main battery
    when power gets low.

    There's different tech out there.

    A hybrid has an electric engine and a gas engine running the
    drivetrain. One or both can move the car, but the electric has limited
    range. Braking and driving under a light load charges the battery.

    Plug-in hybrids have a larger battery, follow the same charging
    options, but you can also plug it in to AC power to charge at home or
    at a charging station. They typically have a small electric range, on
    the order of 10-30 miles. Great for long trips and short in-town
    errands - you run the errands on the latter, long trips on the former.

    Battery Electric vehicles are all electric. No gas engine.

    Range extender vehicles are battery electric vehicles with a small gas
    engine that acts as a generator to charge the battery. I had a BMW i3
    that had an electric battery worth 120 miles of electric range and
    another 80 miles with the gas engine charging the battery.



    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    * Origin: http://realitycheckbbs.org | tomorrow's retro tech (1:218/700)
  • From Kurt Weiske@1:218/700 to Rob Mccart on Thu Jan 29 10:36:03 2026
    Rob Mccart wrote to KURT WEISKE <=-

    About 4 1/2 hours on a plain old 110v plug.

    That's fast.. I've heard people complain that using a 220 volt
    line it can take all night to charge ones with bigger batteries
    I assume..

    Yeah, plug-in hybrids have smaller batteries.

    My BMW i3 had a relatively small battery for an EV, and it took around
    4 1/2 hours to charge with a small-ish, 16 amp/220 volt charger. They
    make 40 amp chargers, I'd assume you'd want that charging a Tesla.

    They have timers, and when you get a time-of-day utility plan, you want
    to wait. I told mine to charge at 12:00am, and it kicked off when the
    rates dropped.

    One wonderful thing about that car I miss - tell it when you leave in
    the morning, and it'll pre-heat the interior and the battery. Stepping
    into a warm car on a cold morning is WONDERFUL.

    My sister is into that stuff. Not exactly the same but they have a
    roof full of solar panels and they sell the power created back to
    the utility at about 4 times the price per KWH than they pay to buy
    power from the utility. But it's an all or nothing thing, they don't
    keep some of that power and sell off the extra. It all goes to the
    utility and then they pay a power bill like normal..

    It's wasn't cheap though. I think she paid about $80,000 for the
    panels and computer equipment that runs it and tracks output.


    People are making apartment-sized solar/battery arrays, small enough to
    put in a window or on a balcony, and with a smallish battery. Would be
    great for running electronics and keeping a battery for outages.



    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    * Origin: http://realitycheckbbs.org | tomorrow's retro tech (1:218/700)
  • From Rob Mccart@1:2320/105 to KURT WEISKE on Fri Feb 6 08:21:33 2026
    KW >the BMW boards showed cars with limited degradation and 100,000+ miles.

    The wear out is probably linked more to battery age than the miles
    put on the car so you'd need to know both..


    Agreed, these were 2014/2015s, the first years the made the BMW i3.

    So it sounds like they are standing up better than most.
    You sort of expect the more costly cars to have better parts..

    Really? An odd size then.. Probably done purposely to sell their
    expensive tires.. Possibly new wheels could be purchased that
    are a more common size, but that's an expensive change.

    Well, they don't get the money for the tires, Bridgestone does. I'm sure
    >it's an engineer designing in a vacuum for lowest possible rolling
    >resistance.

    Begging the question, would most drivers even notice ?

    Like the engineer that canted the spark plugs back 30 degrees on the Prius.
    >If they'd canted them forward, changing them would be a breeze. As is, you
    >need to take off the wipers, the wiper valance and other parts to get to
    >them.

    Ha.. Like the 8 cylinder AMC Gremlin X cars in the 70's. There was
    no way to change one or two of the spark plugs without pulling the
    engine from the car, although some clever people figured out that
    you could cut a good sized hole in the inner fender wells and pull
    the tire to get at those plugs..

    ---
    * SLMR Rob * There was a problem at the hospital..I've been recalled
    * Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)
  • From Rob Mccart@1:2320/105 to KURT WEISKE on Fri Jan 16 07:28:13 2026
    I got through that okay, and then at 7pm tonight my power
    went out for 5 1/2 hours

    It seemed to me that refrigerators used to be good, unpowered, for
    >around 12-14 hours if you didn't open it during a power outage. My new
    >fridge manual says 4 hours for the fridge, 12-14 hours for the freezer.

    If it drops to 50f in the house the fridge will last longer.. B)

    I assume you mean the freezer in the fridge?. If it's a simpler
    fridge the cold in the freezer would be bleeding down into the
    fridge below and I'd think the fridge should be okay a lot longer
    than the freezer compartment.

    I had the power go off for 27 hours last early winter and I was able
    to keep it up to about 60f during the day and it would drop to
    the high 40's at night, and I didn't have any problem with most of
    the stuff in the fridge.

    The biggest problem when it gets cold in the house even if you have
    power is the fridge won't run often enough to keep the freezer
    working right. Stuff in the fridge is fine but, i.e. the ice cream
    in the freezer melts..

    In cool but above freezing weather (50f?) I've had a Chest freezer
    last for 3 days.. As you said, just don't open them..

    We live in an area prone to falling trees, and have had our share of
    >outages. I've resorted to running an inverter off of my car, running an
    >extension cord from the carport to my kitchen, and running the fridge
    >every couple of hours. The nice thing is that our new hot water heater
    >is tankless, and I can run it off the same inverter - the electonics
    >need power, but the heating is all gas.

    In winter I can't get my car within 150 feet of the house, but I
    would wonder how much power you could get out of it. My car actually
    has a 110 volt outlet in it, but I doubt it could run anything of
    higher draw than electronic devices (Yes.. maximum 150 watts).
    I have a 300 watt inverter with my tools but, looking at my fridge,
    it would just *barely* run on that but it draws 400 watts starting
    up and it may not handle that..

    ---
    * SLMR Rob * Chicken Little only has to be right once
    * Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)
  • From Kurt Weiske@1:218/700 to Rob Mccart on Fri Jan 16 08:16:13 2026
    Rob Mccart wrote to KURT WEISKE <=-

    In winter I can't get my car within 150 feet of the house, but I
    would wonder how much power you could get out of it. My car actually
    has a 110 volt outlet in it, but I doubt it could run anything of
    higher draw than electronic devices (Yes.. maximum 150 watts).
    I have a 300 watt inverter with my tools but, looking at my fridge,
    it would just *barely* run on that but it draws 400 watts starting
    up and it may not handle that..

    I bought an 1100 watt inverter - it plugs directly into the battery
    instead of the lighter socket. My carport is right outside the kitchen,
    and the tankless water heater is on the outside wall of the carport.

    I asked my kids to plug something into the lighter socket in the car,
    they had no idea what I was talking about...



    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    * Origin: http://realitycheckbbs.org | tomorrow's retro tech (1:218/700)
  • From Rob Mccart@1:2320/105 to KURT WEISKE on Sat Jan 24 08:23:01 2026
    I don't know if all are the same but, as I understand it, a Hybrid
    has just about the same battery capacity as a fully electric car
    but has a small gas engine in the system which doesn't run the car,
    it runs a generator to power the car and charge the main battery
    when power gets low.

    There's different tech out there.

    A hybrid has an electric engine and a gas engine running the
    > drivetrain. One or both can move the car, but the electric has limited
    > range. Braking and driving under a light load charges the battery.

    Plug-in hybrids have a larger battery, follow the same charging
    > options, but you can also plug it in to AC power to charge at home or
    > at a charging station. They typically have a small electric range, on
    > the order of 10-30 miles. Great for long trips and short in-town
    > errands - you run the errands on the latter, long trips on the former.

    10 to 30 miles certainly limits those to light city use.
    I assume this one also has a gas engine, which would be a good thing.

    Battery Electric vehicles are all electric. No gas engine.

    Range extender vehicles are battery electric vehicles with a small gas
    >engine that acts as a generator to charge the battery. I had a BMW i3
    >that had an electric battery worth 120 miles of electric range and
    >another 80 miles with the gas engine charging the battery.

    Thanks for clearing that up. I'd heard about the gas engine powering
    a generator rather than the drivetrain and assumed that setup was a
    lot more common than it appears it is.

    ---
    * SLMR Rob * Smile... It doesn't matter why
    * Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)
  • From Kurt Weiske@1:218/700 to Rob Mccart on Sat Jan 24 09:59:20 2026
    Rob Mccart wrote to KURT WEISKE <=-

    Plug-in hybrids have a larger battery, follow the same charging
    > options, but you can also plug it in to AC power to charge at home or
    > at a charging station. They typically have a small electric range, on
    > the order of 10-30 miles. Great for long trips and short in-town
    > errands - you run the errands on the latter, long trips on the former.

    10 to 30 miles certainly limits those to light city use.
    I assume this one also has a gas engine, which would be a good thing.

    Yes. I had a plug-in Prius. I'd charge it at home on a 110 volt plug
    and be able to go to the store on electric, pick up kids from school,
    and so forth. When the charge drops, you're essentially driving a
    regular hybrid car.

    Drive down a big hill and you'd get a couple of miles of "free"
    electric range.

    Battery Electric vehicles are all electric. No gas engine.

    Thanks for clearing that up. I'd heard about the gas engine powering
    a generator rather than the drivetrain and assumed that setup was a
    lot more common than it appears it is.

    The only two I know of are the Chevy Volt and the BMW i3.

    Another interesting design is the Volvo VC90, a full-sized SUV. It
    started out as an AWD gas car. They took out the rear differential,
    replaced it with an electric motor, and put the batteries in the
    driveshaft hump. The gas engine drives the front wheels, the electric
    drives the rear.

    You can drive all electric, blended, or all gas. I wonder how they
    handle the change in handling going from rear to front wheel drive?






    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    * Origin: http://realitycheckbbs.org | tomorrow's retro tech (1:218/700)
  • From Rob Mccart@1:2320/105 to KURT WEISKE on Sat Jan 31 10:00:47 2026
    My BMW i3 had a relatively small battery for an EV, and it took around
    > 4 1/2 hours to charge with a small-ish, 16 amp/220 volt charger. They
    > make 40 amp chargers, I'd assume you'd want that charging a Tesla.

    Yes, some of those have a great range on a charge but you pay for
    it one way or another..

    My sister is into that stuff. Not exactly the same but they have a
    roof full of solar panels and they sell the power created back to
    the utility at about 4 times the price per KWH than they pay to buy
    power from the utility.

    The Utility has stopped paying that much for power now. My sister
    has a contract so her rates will stay but new people wanting to
    do that will get only 30 cents per KWH instead of her 80 cents.

    Buying power from them allowing for time of day costs from
    about 10 cents per KWH at night up to 20 cents at peak.

    People are making apartment-sized solar/battery arrays, small enough to
    > put in a window or on a balcony, and with a smallish battery. Would be
    > great for running electronics and keeping a battery for outages.

    Yes, they have various sizes of those available here, some to sit
    in the window of your car keeping the car battery topped up..

    ---
    * SLMR Rob * It's certainly not MY fault... I barely touched it
    * Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)
  • From Kurt Weiske@1:218/700 to Rob Mccart on Sat Jan 31 08:35:50 2026
    Rob Mccart wrote to KURT WEISKE <=-

    My BMW i3 had a relatively small battery for an EV, and it took around
    > 4 1/2 hours to charge with a small-ish, 16 amp/220 volt charger. They
    > make 40 amp chargers, I'd assume you'd want that charging a Tesla.

    Yes, some of those have a great range on a charge but you pay for
    it one way or another..

    The BMW was a deal - they've depreciated seriously. A great deal for
    the used buyer, not so much for the seller. The sticker on mine was
    $53K in 2018, I got it with 18K miles for $18K.

    Maintenance was a breeze - oil change every year, brake fluid and spark
    plugs every 2.

    What bothered me were the tires. No spare, different sizes on the front
    and back, and one manufacturer in that size. the tires were around $250
    a corner and wore out in 25-30K miles.

    I started doing long commutes and was worried that if I blew a tire on
    the not so well-maintained highway I drive, I'd need to tow it to a
    tire store, have them order a tire, uber back home and uber back to
    pick it up.

    I'm much happier having a spare with me.




    My sister is into that stuff. Not exactly the same but they have a
    roof full of solar panels and they sell the power created back to
    the utility at about 4 times the price per KWH than they pay to buy
    power from the utility.

    The Utility has stopped paying that much for power now. My sister
    has a contract so her rates will stay but new people wanting to
    do that will get only 30 cents per KWH instead of her 80 cents.

    Buying power from them allowing for time of day costs from
    about 10 cents per KWH at night up to 20 cents at peak.

    People are making apartment-sized solar/battery arrays, small enough to
    > put in a window or on a balcony, and with a smallish battery. Would be
    > great for running electronics and keeping a battery for outages.

    Yes, they have various sizes of those available here, some to sit
    in the window of your car keeping the car battery topped up..

    ---
    * SLMR Rob * It's certainly not MY fault... I barely touched it
    * Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)

    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    * Origin: http://realitycheckbbs.org | tomorrow's retro tech (1:218/700)
  • From Rob Mccart@1:2320/105 to KURT WEISKE on Sun Jan 18 09:20:12 2026
    I have a 300 watt inverter with my tools but, looking at my fridge,
    it would just *barely* run on that but it draws 400 watts starting
    up and it may not handle that..

    I bought an 1100 watt inverter - it plugs directly into the battery
    >instead of the lighter socket. My carport is right outside the kitchen,
    >and the tankless water heater is on the outside wall of the carport.

    Right.. that would work better. My 300 is direct to battery terminals
    as well but not high enough output. Do you leave the car running while
    using that or will it go for a while without killing the battery?

    I asked my kids to plug something into the lighter socket in the car,
    >they had no idea what I was talking about...

    Ha.. yes, I can see that.. It's all changing.. I mentioned I have
    a 110 volt outlet right in the car and I have USB ports front and
    back seats for charging and things like I can plug a flash drive
    into it with music on it and it will play through the stereo
    system's 9 (I believe) speakers. Things are changing..
    (And my car is a 2017!)

    ---
    * SLMR Rob * It's a shame that stupidity isn't painful
    * Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)
  • From Rob Mccart@1:2320/105 to KURT WEISKE on Mon Feb 2 08:45:43 2026
    The BMW was a deal - they've depreciated seriously. A great deal for
    > the used buyer, not so much for the seller. The sticker on mine was
    > $53K in 2018, I got it with 18K miles for $18K.

    Sounds like a great deal. What scares me a bit about electric cars
    is I'm seeing all sorts of people online complaining that in less
    than 8 years they had to put in a new battery and it was costing
    almost as much as a new car, often at least $35,000, more for
    the higher end cars..

    Maintenance was a breeze - oil change every year, brake fluid and spark
    > plugs every 2.

    I put on very few miles, 1200 to 1500 a year, so I also just do
    one oil change a year (even though they recommend 2) but I have
    it done at a Ford Dealership where they charge more but they do
    those 29 point service checks checking the whole car for problems.

    What bothered me were the tires. No spare, different sizes on the front
    > and back, and one manufacturer in that size. the tires were around $250
    > a corner and wore out in 25-30K miles.

    I started doing long commutes and was worried that if I blew a tire on
    > the not so well-maintained highway I drive, I'd need to tow it to a
    > tire store, have them order a tire, uber back home and uber back to
    > pick it up.

    I'm much happier having a spare with me.

    Can't you switch over to more common makes of tires when they
    wear out? I've always had a spare in the cars I owned but in recent
    years they usually come with those skinny little temporary tires..

    In all the years I've driven (55 years?) I've only had to change
    a tire 2 or 3 times..

    ---
    * SLMR Rob * Caught between a moose and a snowplow...
    * Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)
  • From Mike Powell@1:2320/105 to ROB MCCART on Mon Feb 2 10:03:15 2026
    The BMW was a deal - they've depreciated seriously. A great deal for
    > the used buyer, not so much for the seller. The sticker on mine was
    > $53K in 2018, I got it with 18K miles for $18K.

    Sounds like a great deal. What scares me a bit about electric cars
    is I'm seeing all sorts of people online complaining that in less
    than 8 years they had to put in a new battery and it was costing
    almost as much as a new car, often at least $35,000, more for
    the higher end cars..

    If I were looking at "electric cars," I would be looking at a hybrid.

    Mike


    * SLMR 2.1a * Is it OK to yell "MOVIE" in a crowded Fire Station??
    --- SBBSecho 3.28-Linux
    * Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)
  • From Kurt Weiske@1:218/700 to Rob Mccart on Mon Feb 2 15:31:32 2026
    Rob Mccart wrote to KURT WEISKE <=-

    Sounds like a great deal. What scares me a bit about electric cars
    is I'm seeing all sorts of people online complaining that in less
    than 8 years they had to put in a new battery and it was costing
    almost as much as a new car, often at least $35,000, more for
    the higher end cars..

    BMW does great thermal management and battery maintenance. People on some of the BMW boards showed cars with limited degradation and 100,000+ miles.

    Compare with a Nissan Leaf, they apparently have horrid battery management
    and lose their collective chrarges after 5-6 years.

    Can't you switch over to more common makes of tires when they
    wear out? I've always had a spare in the cars I owned but in recent
    years they usually come with those skinny little temporary tires..

    There's only one model and brand of all-season tire that fits. :(


    ... Before WW I, men could be drafted into the circus.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    * Origin: http://realitycheckbbs.org | tomorrow's retro tech (1:218/700)
  • From Kurt Weiske@1:218/700 to Mike Powell on Mon Feb 2 15:31:32 2026
    Mike Powell wrote to ROB MCCART <=-

    If I were looking at "electric cars," I would be looking at a hybrid.

    I still miss my Prius plug-in. Best of both worlds.


    ... The Tuba is technically a percussion instrument.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    * Origin: http://realitycheckbbs.org | tomorrow's retro tech (1:218/700)
  • From Kurt Weiske@1:218/700 to Rob Mccart on Mon Jan 19 09:31:06 2026
    Rob Mccart wrote to KURT WEISKE <=-

    Right.. that would work better. My 300 is direct to battery terminals
    as well but not high enough output. Do you leave the car running while using that or will it go for a while without killing the battery?

    With a hybrid, you leave it in "ready" mode, and the engine kicks over
    when needed to keep the 12v battery charged. The last time I ran it,
    the engine kicked over once every 15 minutes or so for a couple of
    minutes. Over 3 days, I went through about a quarter tank.


    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    * Origin: http://realitycheckbbs.org | tomorrow's retro tech (1:218/700)
  • From Rob Mccart@1:2320/105 to KURT WEISKE on Mon Jan 26 08:17:20 2026
    10 to 30 miles certainly limits those to light city use.
    I assume this one also has a gas engine, which would be a good thing.

    Yes. I had a plug-in Prius. I'd charge it at home on a 110 volt plug
    > and be able to go to the store on electric, pick up kids from school,
    > and so forth. When the charge drops, you're essentially driving a
    > regular hybrid car.

    How long would it take to charge it up on a regular 110 volt system?

    They had a story on the electric cars and one thing that came out
    was that they are not as efficient to run as they often claim.
    They are a little cheaper than gas if you charge them at home
    but if you use the fast chargers the cost goes up enough to be
    higher than using gas for the same trip.

    Drive down a big hill and you'd get a couple of miles of "free"
    > electric range.

    That much?.. That's something..

    Another interesting design is the Volvo VC90, a full-sized SUV. It
    >started out as an AWD gas car. They took out the rear differential,
    >replaced it with an electric motor, and put the batteries in the
    >driveshaft hump. The gas engine drives the front wheels, the electric
    >drives the rear.

    You can drive all electric, blended, or all gas. I wonder how they
    >handle the change in handling going from rear to front wheel drive?

    That's quite the thing.. I don't know you'd notice much difference
    switching from front wheel drive to rear wheel drive unless you were
    really pushing the performance or on slippery roads.

    The only real difference I notice is when trying to get out if
    you're trying to avoid being stuck in the snow.. B)

    I Much prefer rear wheel drive for high performance cars though.
    I had a 575hp Chevelle SS and you could use spinning the rear
    tires to help steer the car through tight corners and such..
    I suppose along those same lines, if you didn't know what you
    were doing, those spinning wheels might also steer you where
    you Don't want to go.. B)

    ---
    * SLMR Rob * * Make a cat float? You need a blender and ice cream...
    * Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)
  • From Kurt Weiske@1:218/700 to Rob Mccart on Mon Jan 26 07:46:07 2026
    Rob Mccart wrote to KURT WEISKE <=-

    Yes. I had a plug-in Prius. I'd charge it at home on a 110 volt plug
    > and be able to go to the store on electric, pick up kids from school,
    > and so forth. When the charge drops, you're essentially driving a
    > regular hybrid car.

    How long would it take to charge it up on a regular 110 volt system?

    About 4 1/2 hours on a plain old 110v plug.

    They had a story on the electric cars and one thing that came out
    was that they are not as efficient to run as they often claim.
    They are a little cheaper than gas if you charge them at home
    but if you use the fast chargers the cost goes up enough to be
    higher than using gas for the same trip

    With my BMW, when I first got it, I found a home utility rate plan that
    dropped the overnight price of electricity, and it was cheaper charging
    at home than buying gas. Our rates went up 15% in a year (gotta keep
    those shareholders happy!) and the calculus changed.

    Charging at work ended up costing about as much as gas, because they
    were charging more for power.

    I missed my first gig at this company - we sold hybrid battery electric
    solar systems, essentially a smart battery/solar combo that would
    figure out whether to sell power back to the utility, run off of solar,
    or charge the batteries, based on historical usage and weather
    forecasting.

    We had 4 free chargers as a nice perk, running off of one of our own
    systems.








    .

    Drive down a big hill and you'd get a couple of miles of "free"
    > electric range.

    That much?.. That's something..

    Another interesting design is the Volvo VC90, a full-sized SUV. It
    >started out as an AWD gas car. They took out the rear differential,
    >replaced it with an electric motor, and put the batteries in the
    >driveshaft hump. The gas engine drives the front wheels, the electric
    >drives the rear.

    You can drive all electric, blended, or all gas. I wonder how they
    >handle the change in handling going from rear to front wheel drive?

    That's quite the thing.. I don't know you'd notice much difference switching from front wheel drive to rear wheel drive unless you were really pushing the performance or on slippery roads.

    The only real difference I notice is when trying to get out if
    you're trying to avoid being stuck in the snow.. B)

    I Much prefer rear wheel drive for high performance cars though.
    I had a 575hp Chevelle SS and you could use spinning the rear
    tires to help steer the car through tight corners and such..
    I suppose along those same lines, if you didn't know what you
    were doing, those spinning wheels might also steer you where
    you Don't want to go.. B)

    ---
    * SLMR Rob * * Make a cat float? You need a blender and ice cream...
    * Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)

    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    * Origin: http://realitycheckbbs.org | tomorrow's retro tech (1:218/700)