EV Owners Thread

[CXRAndy]

But if we are told we must go EV where does that leave caravaners, boaters, groundworkers, tree surgeons, horse riders, race car transport, mobile cafes etc etc.

At the current time, in an awkward place, more vehicles are coming. Electric transit like vans are already available. More specialised vehicles will be made.

But, life is going change re the driving you were used to, with internal combustion engines.

 

[CXRAndy]

They just plucked a date out of thin air without thinking now this new lot decided to bring it forward without thinking 🤔

Well you have to draw a line in the sand somewhere. Else apathy will dominate. Everyone now knows the change is coming.

 

[classic33]

At the current time, in an awkward place, more vehicles are coming. Electric transit like vans are already available. More specialised vehicles will be made.

But, life is going change re the driving you were used to, with internal combustion engines.

And a forty mile maximum range is useless for any business.

 

[CXRAndy]

And a forty mile maximum range is useless for any business.

If you're referring to Transit type vehicles, there are many now capable of well over 200 miles. Merc, Ford, definitely do have a larger battery version available to order.

2024 Merc Sprinter 278 miles with 113kW battery
2024 Ford Transit 249 miles.....90kW (I think) battery

There are several Chinese Brands, Farizon being one with matching range to the above two brands

More and more are coming.

 

[chris-suffolk]

Highly unsuited to towing, unless you go short distances, which is fairly rare, I would think.
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/electric-cars/top-10-best-electric-cars-towing
“The effort and energy needed to tow often reduces the usable range to under 100 miles in many cases.”

Many smaller or cheaper ones may not even allow towing.
As I said above, “ I can see they do not do everything for everyone” 🤷‍♂️

Thanks,

I tow from Suffolk to Scotland on well less than a tank of fuel currently. With a range less than 100 miles, I'd be stopping once every 1hour 45 or so, for how long? (an hour?) - just totally impractical. Turns an easy one day drive into 2, which means an overnight stop etc which adds cost and time not to mention hard to find many hotels/B&B that will take a car and large trailer.

 

[Gunk]

We are off for our first holiday in our EV tomorrow, down to Dartmouth for a week. Not many fast chargers in Devon but I’m sure we will manage, I’ll stick 100% charge in it at home this evening and top it up at Exeter. I’ve packed the Granny charger and an extension lead just in case but pretty sure we will be OK without it.

 

[CXRAndy]

We are off for our first holiday in our EV tomorrow, down to Dartmouth for a week. Not many fast chargers in Devon but I’m sure we will manage, I’ll stick 100% charge in it at home this evening and top it up at Exeter. I’ve packed the Granny charger and an extension lead just in case but pretty sure we will be OK without it.

Its better for the battery not to held at 100% for too long, Cant you set the charge timer to finish a little bit before you leave home. Also the battery will be warmer from the charging having just finished, improving range a little.

 

[Gunk]

Its better for the battery not to held at 100% for too long, Cant you set the charge timer to finish a little bit before you leave home. Also the battery will be warmer from the charging having just finished, improving range a little.

We are off early so should be fine

 

[Gunk]

I’ve also read that almost all EVs have battery management systems that prevent you from charging to 100% of the actual battery capacity. The 100% shown on the dash is the 100% that you can charge after the real limit has been placed. If that limit is 90% of the actual battery capacity, then charging to 100% on the dash is actually only charging to 90% of the battery capacity.

 

[chris-suffolk]

We are off for our first holiday in our EV tomorrow, down to Dartmouth for a week. Not many fast chargers in Devon but I’m sure we will manage, I’ll stick 100% charge in it at home this evening and top it up at Exeter. I’ve packed the Granny charger and an extension lead just in case but pretty sure we will be OK without it.

Given the number of people that holiday in Devon, I would have thought it would be teeming with public fast chargers. Or is it a classic chicken and egg situation, where they won't build chargers until people have cars, and people won't buy cars.......

 

[Gunk]

Given the number of people that holiday in Devon, I would have thought it would be teeming with public fast chargers. Or is it a classic chicken and egg situation, where they won't build chargers until people have cars, and people won't buy cars.......

There are plenty of chargers but all a bit slow, so perhaps it’s a national grid issue

 

[chris-suffolk]

There are plenty of chargers but all a bit slow, so perhaps it’s a national grid issue

And no doubt set to get worse if more people go over to EV. Unless there is a signifcant overhaul of grid capacity generally, the chargers will have to get even slower and so be spread even more thinly.

 

[CXRAndy]

Its a misconception about grid capacity. Something like 99% of EV owners charge at home overnight at 7kW max supply. This actually balances the national grid, with a steady constant power draw. Journeys away from home are extremely low, so though there is a spike in power demand, sites are designed and supplied by the necessary power.

However, I alluded to it previously, there will be an adjustment to driving especially longer trips. No longer will drivers be able to do non stop mega long stints, which is a good thing for road safety.

 

[icowden]

We are off for our first holiday in our EV tomorrow, down to Dartmouth for a week. Not many fast chargers in Devon but I’m sure we will manage, I’ll stick 100% charge in it at home this evening and top it up at Exeter. I’ve packed the Granny charger and an extension lead just in case but pretty sure we will be OK without it.

If it's near your planned route there is a great charging station in Buckfastleigh at Strawberry Fields Farm Shop. Loads of fast chargers and lovely food.

 

[Buck]

There’s a diminishing issue with away from home charging now. Lots of high speed chargers available on most routes and more in the pipeline.
For the infrequent times we all do long journeys, a minor inconvenience of charging away from home is something we will all need to get used to and plan for.

Its a bit like Moore’s law re EVs, batteries and charging. In 5 years time we will have seen another step forward in all of these including price, range and increasing acceptance amongst those who currently cant see it as viable at present.