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

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!

Hoi 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 noight 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 keek 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 disabbled you just gave them a hand. 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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