Electric Vehicles in Winter. Why don’t people learn
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About every 4-5 years we have winter weather where I live that leaves hundreds of people stranded on the highway overnight. A number of them run out of gas because they keep their car running so they have heat.
Right now, a truck can distribute gas cans and get everyone moving the next morning pretty quickly, but I'm waiting for there to be a bunch of electric cars stuck with no way to get them moving. As a bonus, they'll be blocking the gas powered cars, preventing them from leaving too.
It will take people dying before the lesson is learned. Everything about electric vehicles is retarded.
Oh no, even when people die, no lessons will be learned. They'll just say that the 1000 deaths are nothing compared with the million death worldwide due to traffic.
As for retardation, not quite everything. I'm pretty sure there are enough engineers here who can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that electrical engines are less complicated and more robust than combustion engines. I'd be most concerned about the fire hazard.
the concept of a good EV exists. A good alternative engine in general exists... in the hands of a competent engineer and competent company.
but
what we get is what is only allowed by governments and pushed by their business partner scammers. we're not allowed good, functional products
This seems to be an issue that encompasses far more than vehicles unfortunately...
As long as the bearings remain properly sealed, an electric motor will usually run happily for years and years. And if it fails, it's often a simple (though expensive) component to remove and replace.
The problem is entirely with the batteries. The chemistry necessary to contain that much power makes them unstable as shit.
You'd think, but they don't work it that way. There are Teslas on the road that are on their 3rd motor in less than 100k miles. Apparently they're built to be swapped out like modules, with the batteries being more robust. One guy is on his 14th motor and 4th battery, though he's the current record holder for sheer mileage on the car. It seems like it depends a lot on the type of driving you're doing.
While a combustion engine is more mechanically complex than an electric one, electric motors are a pain in the butt to fix without specialized equipment, especially if the windings get messed up. For all intents and purposes field repairs are way easier on a combustion engine, especially since most issues can be solved by replacing a part. The battery fire hazard is the biggest concern with large electric motors, I agree.
ICEs are also old tech and have few surprises, unlike EVs which are designed by tech bros with proprietary electronics out the ass.
I worked at a country club when I was younger, and while the fleet of golf carts were electric, the utility carts were all gas powered.
The good thing about EVs in a blizzard is you can just dial the heat down so it'll last.
Like at 500 watts you're not going to die, 1000 watts of heat and seat heater and you'll be fine and it'll last a whole day or so.
Problem is EV drivers are entitled babies and will run it at full 7 kWh with the windows open and will need to get towed the next day.
Even if you turn cabin heat off and shiver in the cold, the EV still needs to heat its own battery to prevent the electrolyte solution inside from freezing.
The battery should be insulated and use a tiny amount of power to keep from freezing. Like how a water heater uses 50 watts to stay +70 F.
There's nothing inherent to even li-ion that requires much energy in winter to keep warm, it's just manufacturers squeezing efficiency like blood out of rock to get better official stats at standard temperature and pressure.
Same with retractable door handles. Oh they can claim 312 range instead of 310 whoop-de-shit.
But then you have the opposite problem in the summer, where you created an oven for the battery to cook to death under the sun. Worse case scenario, you trigger a fire with the trapped heat.
About the only good conditions for EVs to drive in are climate-controlled labs set at 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
To be frank, I don't think EVs are good tech, and they sure as hell aren't The Future™. But they're a solution in search of a government-made problem, and by God the government is going to solve it.
Why is turning the heat down in a blizzard a good thing again? Pay more for less!
Won’t you get condensation from breathing if you turn off cabin heating?
Have to wirelessly charge them all.