[EVDL] Fw: The 1200 pound gorrilla... batteries, Ampabout an' Stuff

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob Rice" <[email protected]>
To: "Electric Vehicle Discussion List" <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, September 07, 2007 11:20 AM
Subject: Re: [EVDL] The 1200 pound gorrilla... batteries, Ampabout an' Stuff


>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Tom Shay" <[email protected]>
> To: "Electric Vehicle Discussion List" <[email protected]>
> Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2007 2:58 PM
> Subject: Re: [EVDL] The 10000 pound gorrilla... batteries
>
>
>> Batteries are the biggest obstacle to progress of electric vehicles.
>> That
>> was also true 100 years ago
>> and I expect it to be true 100 years n the future. I'm not discouraged.
>> but
>> regularly impresed and
>> encouraged by what people can do with electric vehicles in spite of the
>> problems and limitations
>> imposed by batteries
>
> YOU GOT THAT RIGHT!
>
> Hi EVerybody;
>
> No truer words were EVer spoken! Sorry for shouting, but, hell! As Tony
> used to say" the miricle battery is HERE" The Led Acids we all love to
> hate, the lousy range, or when it's cold HALF the range, messy, heavy and
> getting hidiously expensive. Eh?What's NOT to love? Sigh.
>
> OK we know what we havren't got, so we work around those, lighter,
> purpose designed vehicles, Sunrises, Freedoms, for now. Until the present
> regime is driven from Washington, and one that faces reality, takes over:
> There IS an energy chrisis, we must DO something "We have met the enemy
> and it is US" Double meaning here.The NMH battery is freed, Yada Yada
> Yada. You mean you DIDN"T See " Who Killed the Electric Car" ......SHAME
> on ya!
>
> So I drive my talk, as usual. Took an adventure with the Jetta, Wed.
> nite, made about a 40 mile run, Howthehell would I KNOW for sure? STILL no
> speedo, to a Supper Club I'm in in east Hartford. I was betting I could
> filch some electricity THERE?? The Marco Polo Restaurant on Burnside
> Ave( Yeah! PDXers WE have one too!) No Lite Rail Trax, sigh! Arrived,
> after a slowish trip as I tried to stay below 150 amps, going for distance
> here. Sniffed around the restaurant for an outdoor outlet. Boy! Some
> places just don't have any! Oh! What's THAT? A outlet buried, almost, in
> the mulch of their schrubbery! Meter it out. Dead as the proverbial
> doornail! OK admit defeat. pull around to the kitchen, go in and beg for
> power. Hah! Took awile to find anybody that spoke ENGLISH! The boss came
> out to see what the commotion was.Try it; ask for a plug in with somebody
> that doesn't speak ENGLISH<G>! HE spoke English just great. Asked to get
> some electricity. He seemed ...Huh? What? Well the car is ELECTRIC, no,
> not a hybrid!OK Sure, got an extension chord? Yup, NEVER travel without
> one! Sure! Did the show an'tell, he counts up 7 batteries, in front.
> That's all? No, the OTHER 13 are in the trunk! That always gets them! The
> language barrier came down as one of them took the cord and plugged it in
> behind the industrial size fridge. The Green box started doing it's thing
> at about 15 amps. " Thanks guyz" went in to dinner. Sorry I'm a tad tardy,
> had to provide for the Electric car, it needs to eat, too!"
>
> Oh maybe an hour and a half we broke up, and I went out to the car,
> surely expecting the power to be off, breaker tripped. Contingency plan;
> Drop into Bill Glickman's in Glastenbury, just south of Hartford. But,
> much to my surprise, the breaker held steady!!!! Car was charging along
> while standing still! And a hellova lot juicier! Unplug, Thanks too the
> Kitchen Staff. And go on my way. It;'s UPHILL out of Hartford on I-91, a
> long grind in an EV, just stay in the right lane, pissing off those clowns
> that try to pass EVERYbody in the right lane! You can feel the waves of
> hate when they have to slam on their brakes and go SLOWER than EVerybody
> else in the right lane. Right lanes in CT are fair game for a passing
> lane, local custom. There, you have been warned! Had threy just hung in
> the LEFT lane, behind the freight train size 18 wheeler, they woulda been
> on their way into orbit sooner?
>
> Coasted, well almost, into Middletown, and started on the BIG 300 amp
> hill leaving M'town south on RT 9 All my major hills are measured in AMPs
> 'round here<g>!Well, I didn't really have 300 amps to burn, at this point.
> So WAY over in the slow vehicle lane, keep it below 100 second gear, roll
> down the window and enjoy the night air. I think several glaciers passed
> me?But for every UP hill there is a DOWN hill! Wheeee! Got up to speed
> again, one last long pull down rt-81, down to 90 volts now. Pulled into my
> dentist's office in the strip maul, he has an outdoor outlet. He usually
> charges me TWICE when I'm getting my dental stuff done, tonite, only once,
> for about 15 minutes, I wanna get HOME, so on my 100 amp way. Not too many
> people to piss off at this time of night, ya can see them coming, at warp
> speed and clear up easily.Like freight trains and Amtrak, on the RR, no,
> not what YOU think? The Passenger train fits easily in the siding. Crates
> of crap for Wall*Mart MUST go through! You cool your wheels til then!
> That's why you use a calandar for timing trains on, say CSX, or BNSF.Same
> day service. No TGV service here! 357 MPH, as in France, no-sir-re! We're
> struggling to keep 1920's speeds alive on the rails in USA. Acela only
> strutts it's 150 MPH stuff in select places with overhead ' strench
> chords! And can only do 135 under 80 year old caternery between DC and
> NYC. And at 25 hz, to boot! Only on 60 hz do we "open up"25k volts, great
> fun, especially short circuses(circuits) after dark!
>
> Meanwhile, back on the highway, driftin; along, taking advantage of the
> laws of gravity, making decent speed, creep up the driveway, tired car!
> .Plugitin, crank the PFC -20 down to 10 amps, sloooow, easy charge.
> Badd-eries are warm, to hot. Charge them slowly. Not going anywhere til
> AM, no hurry. This is another issue with Led Acids. YOU hafta think a bit
> for them.IF you overextended them a little.
>
> Meanwile, my faithful Prius looks on, from it's garage/shelter.
> Relaxing, on call for the longer trips as needed. Haven't fired it up for
> about a week, or better, except to move it out of the garage to access
> other stuff. This is the was most American Sheeple should be doing
> too.Next day went to the Steel Store for some angle, flat and channel, for
> the "This Old Trailer" restoration project. A lite trailer full of Nicads
> for a Long Ranger trailer?Or to haul my Sunfish down to Wrong Island Sound
> for a sail? Of course ya gotta haul yur sailboat to water with an EV!?
> With Global Warming, maybe Killingworth will become a seaport, soon
> enough? Putting a trailer hitch on the jetta, for trailor festivities, and
> to haul the communal wood splitter a bunch of us RR guyz built up, and
> pass around. After all do you really need a 24/7 splitter. I'm waiting for
> the Briggs and Scrapiron to die, to convert the rig to electric.I don't
> think the other guyz are ready? They would run it down, not plugitin, or
> water thursty batteries.Takes dedication for any EV at present.Oh, not too
> hard to learn. Like sailboats: They work on known principles, you live
> with that, and be happy. Or, go buy a Chriss Craft, pay throgh the
> nose/wallet to drive it. Still, Taint sailing, like EV's, which requires a
> bit of skill, or a paid up membership in Sea Tow. Daze of chiverly at sea
> are about gone. Never any Sea Tow when I was a kid, in my deformative
> years; ya kept ane eye over the water, If anybody was disabled you just
> gave them a hand.(towrope) Many a power boat came back to port astern of
> my sail boat,long towrope, albiet a tad slower than they GOT out
> there.Sailboats, small ones, aren't much as tugboats<G>!
>
> Meanwhile back on dry land. The battery follies go on, I'm taking a
> wait-and-see if EEEstor or what EVer they call it ,can pull this off?
> BEFORE the Oil Cartel buys the rights, as they are lerking out there ready
> to pounce, like a cuyote in the woods and a new kitten in the yard! THIS
> is the issue, as we all KNOW what happened to NMH.Maybe an all out
> chrisis? What had Bin Ladin Been Up to of late. He is about to make some
> statement, my Radio sez? He aint Bin Sleepin'
>
> Meanewhile we;ll struggle along with Led Acids, sigh.......... for
> now.New Chemistries, Kelly Controllers? Anybody actually BUY one, yet?
> Tech issues have kept my Alltrax one away for now.
>
> See ya Sat?
>
> Bob, in Corrupticut.
>

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