Other Vehicles You Are (Fo' Real) Contemplating...

[7milesout]

It'd be far more interesting to do errands & run them around in an old Leaf & charge at home.

By interesting do you mean, it would be a challenge in instances whether or not you made it back home?

[7milesout]

it doesn't drive anymore...

I must not be keeping up with your van thread well enough. I thought it was going, but just with some problems to iron out.

[Fummins]

I must not be keeping up with your van thread well enough. I thought it was going, but just with some problems to iron out.

It was going great. Days after I got back from the camping trip I took it on the transmission started taking a poop. Basically undrivable right now, last time I tried it out it got stuck in 3rd gear lol

I don't know if it's an easy/cheap or expensive pita problem so I'm gonna limp it over to a transmission shop and let them take a look. I figure some of the money I just saved by not buying a 40k tesla or 20k clapped out Bolt can go towards getting the damn van going again.

I'm missing out on a lot of perfectly good beer drinking by a fire weather right now!

[Eggman]

Your points are very valid, all I'm addressing is the fact that people completely ignore/forget that with EVs, there are still huge emissions, just of different kind. Mining is very resource intensive, but its usually far from population centres - out of sight, out of mind

I don't deny that emissions are associated with the manufacture of EVs. There is also greenhouse gas pollution associated with charging them.

However:
1. The emissions from power generating plants can be better managed/controlled at a single point of emission as opposed to the millions of points of emissions from vehicle tailpipes. This is especially important given the fact that some percentage of vehicle owner/operators defeat the emissions controls in one way or another. It's simply easier to manage emissions from a smaller number of polluters rather than millions.
2. Again, EVs are roughly 80% efficient with the energy they consume. Meaning, 80% of the energy used by an EV goes to propulsion, the whole reason why we have cars. A car powered by an internal combustion engine will waste 80% of their energy consumed. Much of those losses are in heat & friction.

From Yale:

Modern gasoline-powered vehicles waste a whopping 80% of the energy in their fuel. For each gallon pumped into the tank, only a bit more than three cups go to moving the vehicle forward. In economic terms, for a $5.00 gallon of gasoline, only $1.00 of it gets you closer to your destination.

Most of this waste is an inescapable consequence of thermodynamics. Internal combustion engines ignite liquid fuel to create a pressurized gas that pushes pistons to turn a crankshaft that ultimately spins the car’s wheels. This multistep process bleeds off energy all along the way. Most of the energy in the fuel ends up as heat, and only a small fraction reaches the wheels. The concept of wasted heat becomes intuitive when one thinks about the hot air wafting off a car’s running engine. The engine itself gets hot; a cooling system is needed to manage excess heat; and heat is dispersed through the radiator and blows out the exhaust. All of that heat comes from gasoline, and none of it helps propel the vehicle.

To this point, electric generation facilities use a combined cycle to further improve efficiency.

GE Vernova - Combined cycle power plant: how it works

A combined-cycle power plant uses both a gas and a steam turbine together to produce up to 50% more electricity from the same fuel than a traditional simple-cycle plant. The waste heat from the gas turbine is routed to the nearby steam turbine, which generates extra power.

How a combined cycle power plant produces electricity

This is how a combined-cycle plant works to produce electricity and captures waste heat from the gas turbine to increase efficiency and electrical output.

1) Gas turbine burns fuel:

• The gas turbine compresses air and mixes it with fuel that is heated to a very high temperature. The hot air-fuel mixture moves through the gas turbine blades, making them spin.
• The fast-spinning turbine drives a generator that converts a portion of the spinning energy into electricity.

2) Heat recovery system captures exhaust:

• A heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) captures exhaust heat from the gas turbine that would otherwise escape through the exhaust stack.
• The HRSG creates steam from the gas turbine exhaust heat and delivers it to the steam turbine.

3) Steam turbine delivers additional electricity:

• The steam turbine sends its energy to the generator drive shaft, where it is converted into additional electricity.

I know Mirage forum members like to get into the nuts & bolts of how stuff works. But all this is to point out that while EVs are not the perfect solution, they are a step in the right direction.

[Fummins]

Maybe I'll get a sensible Honda Accord.

As for ev's, I dunno. I looked up the numbers the other day, too lazy to do it now, from what I recall, 60% of electricity in the US is generated using fossil fuels(natural gas, coal etc...). I'm ignorant as far as how exactly gas and natural gas come from the ground and get refined/produced. But I wonder which is more efficient at the end of the day, pumping oil from the ground, refining it, gas station etc...then burning it in a 40mpg car or the process of acquiring natural gas, or other natural resources then burning them to generate power for an electric car. I get that more energy is wasted in a gas car but how much energy is wasted creating that electricity compared to gasoline?

We ran out of power here last summer when everyone ran air conditioners and this past winter when we had a cold snap. We're hooped. Solar doesn't work very efficiently when the days are short in the winter up here, wind doesn't work when it's not windy. Hydro would be handy, they have a few damns around here but the three combined aren't gonna cut it and we have a tiny population compared to other parts of the continent. Nuclear might be great but it's scary.

Edit: I re-read your post eggman, good points.

[Wallythacker]

Maybe I'll get a sensible Honda Accord.

As for ev's, I dunno. I looked up the numbers the other day, too lazy to do it now, from what I recall, 60% of electricity in the US is generated using fossil fuels(natural gas, coal etc...). I'm ignorant as far as how exactly gas and natural gas come from the ground and get refined/produced. But I wonder which is more efficient at the end of the day, pumping oil from the ground, refining it, gas station etc...then burning it in a 40mpg car or the process of acquiring natural gas, or other natural resources then burning them to generate power for an electric car. I get that more energy is wasted in a gas car but how much energy is wasted creating that electricity compared to gasoline?

We ran out of power here last summer when everyone ran air conditioners and this past winter when we had a cold snap. We're hooped. Solar doesn't work very efficiently when the days are short in the winter up here, wind doesn't work when it's not windy. Hydro would be handy, they have a few damns around here but the three combined aren't gonna cut it and we have a tiny population compared to other parts of the continent. Nuclear might be great but it's scary.

Edit: I re-read your post eggman, good points.

There are nuclear options that are safe, reasonable cost, implementation right now is possible, they are safe, far cheaper cost to produce electricity, semi proven, are safe and being ignored. So what else is new?

When it now costs in the hood of $20+ B to build a 4 reactor nuclear plant that's a LOT of gravy to go around. A LOT. I'm going on costs from 10-20 years ago to build, it would not surprise me if costs to build a 4 reactor plant have tripled over the last decade.

But once the plant is built, it's true, electricity that is so cheap it's approaching the point where the costs are so low as to be nearly non-existent against expenses. It will never come to fruition with GE/Hitachi/Toshiba in the nuclear reactor business.

The plants were slated to run about 25 years when built but some plants are already 50 with plans to continue operation for at least another 25 years. I suspect as they reach 75 years old they will be examined and renewed for another 25 years.

Think of this. America has plans to keep the B52 heavy bomber flying for another 25 years. This means that airplane will be close to 100 years old. carrying nuclear weapons? who knows. My point is TPTB will keep using things long after the planned retirement date if there is no ready replacement. I would not be surprised to see nuclear plants running for 100 + years, or more. Some of the hydro electric facilities here in Niagara Falls are nearly 125 years of age and still going.

[Wallythacker]

I SAW ONE! And it destroyed my mind!!!!

I was out for a very late walk and spied a Prevost coach with a trailer!!! Hmmm, private I wonder?

YEP. Private. None of the required DOT stuff on a private coach. It was a diesel pusher, 45 feet, training dual axle, and the trailer was a sweet tandem axle about 6-7 feet high inside and about 20 feet long. BIG ENOUGH to garage a LOT of various cars and still have a workshop to boot.

The owners were smart. The coach was parked almost at the entrance to the main building for the regional police force. Nobody would be stupid enough to mess with the coach with the cops so close. The curtains were all drawn and I could just make out a nite lite somewhere in the main area.

I instantly felt this horrible jealousy and wanted to swap lives with the coach dwellers. In a heartbeat. My house is roughly 2500 feet sq. and I only use maybe, 500 feet sq if that. I don't even bother with the master BR. It's a den. Not used. My finished basement? Empty. I even have a hidden room off my garage. Ignored. I find as I grow older I need less and less or everything.

I envy the days when my entire life fit into a 1977 Econoline with room to spare. That was all my clever space saving furniture, clothing, hobbies of photography and music, even a small apt. washer/dryer fit in amongst it all. What happened?

I'm going out tonight for a walk with my camera, I don't expect to see the coach again, it has Saskatchewan plates. They were likely just passing through on their way into America to see the sights.

[Wallythacker]

GLORY BE! IT WAS STILL IN THE AREA! And here it is



NO TAIL LIGHTS ON THE TRAILER!!!

[Fummins]

The tail lights are probably those fandangled vertical clear led kind. Like this one had next to the latches.

[Wallythacker]

If they are still there I will get some close shots of the trailer.
I have yet to see the owners. The pics I posted have the rig parked in the parking lot of a decent size church down the street from me. They may be here for a religious event.

The trailer is smaller than I envisioned. It might only be 12-15ft long, I think a Mirage will fit but it would be a tight squeeze. I don't know how you would get out once you drove in and parked it.

Adapt the rig with the eco-toilet, put in a closed circuit water system with purifier. 100 gallons would likely be enough for 2 people. That is 1000 lb. of dead weight though. Still, not having to deal with grey or black water would free you from so many constraints. You could find a nice place to park and not worry for 3-4 weeks about water. (People groan when I mention this idea then I remind them every drop of fresh water that we drink has likely been p*ssed out by thousands of dinosaurs over the millions of years they were here)

ETA: hmmm. I wonder how a recirculating hot water system would work to heat things in the winter? You can power the water heat via wind/solar/fossil/combos and perhaps have heating costs in the tens of dollars per month. I wonder if trying to cool this pig in 90 F weather would use less or more energy than trying to keep it at 70 F when it's -20 F outside?