DIY solar array 12.5 kw - Page 8

Vern2 · 10-05-13, 09:30 PM

pinballlooking,

Really don't want to offend anyone, the volt is a good car.

I'm retired and have 25k miles on 2004 hummer, it's fun to drive. Knock on wood it's never been in the shop, still running perfect at 12 mpg. Wife works 5 miles from home, that's basically it. Don't spend much for fuel for transportation. I buy more gas for 26 hp lawn mower then hummer. Have a 48v battery operated lawn mower for back yard, Ryobi. Kids are grown up, starting there own families.

My Compost operation is a little larger now. $15 a cubic yard or $2 a bag, any size. Have about 20 yards ready to sell. Hay, I found out how to sell my grass clippings.

It's not taking much space or time to do it.

Plasma table is coming on line. Will start selling art and AR500 targets on the net. Been selling software on the Web sense 2001, $45 each.

pinballlooking · 10-05-13, 09:55 PM

I am not offended I just did not want this to turn bad. People always seem to have strong feelings on the Volt.
To me it is just a car a little more range would be nice but it is working well for us.

Our other car is a Tahoe we don’t drive it much now but it tows my boat and we have horses. It pulls the hay trailer and more.
It is fun hearing about others with solar and cool projects. Vern2 I love you trailer that folds down to allow forks from your tractor.
We have a 36 HP diesel tractor and I just got a project 9N.
Mark

Robaroni · 10-06-13, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinballlooking

It would not make sense for you to change cars.
We will drive the Volt 25,000 to 30,000 miles a year that has a lot of potential for savings.
But with any EV they have to be right for the people that need it. You really need to evaluate your exact situation to be sure if one is right for you. It really works for us but that will not be the same for everyone else.
I love not send so much of my money to countries that produce oil.

PB,
Have you noticed any battery degradation over the 30k miles you've driven? I'm wondering what the life of the batteries might be?
Personally I'm eager to get an EV, can't wait to charge my own car at home with PV like you. Being retired I don't have the mileage load you do but I really like wagons so that limits me right now too. I have an old Ford 150 beater truck but the Subie is the car of choice. Also we need 4WD here in the mountains so my EV would have to be a second car at this point.

Rob

Vern2 · 10-06-13, 09:28 AM

Robaroni,

Nic battery on taxi Prius is lasting 700k miles, heat kills them.

Prius manages it's battery, 50 percent discharge, 80 percent charge. Battery life is good on hybrid vehicles

pinballlooking · 10-06-13, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robaroni

PB,
Have you noticed any battery degradation over the 30k miles you've driven? I'm wondering what the life of the batteries might be?
Personally I'm eager to get an EV, can't wait to charge my own car at home with PV like you. Being retired I don't have the mileage load you do but I really like wagons so that limits me right now too. I have an old Ford 150 beater truck but the Subie is the car of choice. Also we need 4WD here in the mountains so my EV would have to be a second car at this point.

Rob

Prius is using very old battery technology. But the see the light and are changing.
Toyota Refines Battery Chemistry to Improve Next Prius - Bloomberg

Everybody else already uses lithium-ion and the volt has water cooled battery’s. it is very important to keep the battery’s temp not varying too much. There are Volts with 60,000 miles and the range has not changed. The battery warrantee is 8 years or 100,000 miles.
Leaf uses air cooled batteries but only time will tell what way is better air or water cooled.

Vern2 · 10-06-13, 07:09 PM

Robaroni,

Sorry, missing info on my part.

The NiCa batteries are old tech. That battery is used in the Prius hybrid models only. Mine is a 2011 and only cost $6k, with a 2008 trade in, I could not pass-up the deal offered to me.

Prius Plug-in uses the Lithium technology. It's a $16k trade-in for me ($32k for a plug-in model) Ev is only 14 miles for plug-in's offered now. To much money, too little benefit. Hybrids can be driven cross country, without worrying where the next 220v electrical outlet is or your stuck for an 8 hour or more with 110v, but ev is Cool. USA is not setup for ev yet.

Many charge stations charge $1.00 or more for one kWh.

Opening up your own charge station is a good business venture.

pinballlooking · 10-06-13, 07:20 PM

Prius is a good car and the best selling hybrid in the world. I you want a EV Prius plug in is not the way to go.
It you can use 100% EV the Leaf or the Chevy Spark might be good choices

Vern2 · 10-06-13, 07:38 PM

pinballlooking,

The Plug-in's are in town cars.

Lack of 220v outlets kill Ev's.

Prius Plug-in was built for Japan. 14 miles gets you almost any where.

Robaroni · 10-07-13, 07:34 AM

Guys,
I think what we are seeing with these cars is a transition period from fossil fuel to electric, just like the reverse when the ICE took over from electrics when cars were first introduced.

The thing is that the fossil fuel industry is a very powerful group and they will do all they can to down play EV's, PV, wind, etc.

Those of us taking the 'plunge' know better as can easily b e seen here by our grid tie benefits.

The bottom line is that my hat goes off to producers like Toyota, Tesla, and Nissan who are willing to push the technology forth and of course to people like Herman Sheer who instrumented the massive PV structural changes in Germany.

Rob

pinballlooking · 10-07-13, 08:34 AM

I don’t think EV’s are not just in town cars anymore. Tesla has amazing range I guy I know just bought a Leaf for his wife it is working well they don’t live in town.
We don’t live in town and the volt works very well for us. The have turned the corner and are no longer just in town cars.

The Volt will charge @ 120 volts but we use 240 a full charge takes about 4 hours for a full charge. The very nice thing with the volt is when your charge runs out it switches to gas and keep going. This is even better for people like us that don’t live in town. So if you need gas for part of your trip the first EV part still allows some great MPG.
It is about $1.20 to charge with .10 kwh power but even better if you have solar. Solar and EV’s go hand and hand.

If you are ever wondering about real world Volt users go here.
Volt Stats! Tracking real world usage of Chevy Volts in the wild...
Volt owners.
GM-Volt: Chevy Volt Forum

10-05-13, 09:30 PM	#71
Vern2 Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Arizona Posts: 145 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	pinballlooking, Really don't want to offend anyone, the volt is a good car. I'm retired and have 25k miles on 2004 hummer, it's fun to drive. Knock on wood it's never been in the shop, still running perfect at 12 mpg. Wife works 5 miles from home, that's basically it. Don't spend much for fuel for transportation. I buy more gas for 26 hp lawn mower then hummer. Have a 48v battery operated lawn mower for back yard, Ryobi. Kids are grown up, starting there own families. My Compost operation is a little larger now. $15 a cubic yard or $2 a bag, any size. Have about 20 yards ready to sell. Hay, I found out how to sell my grass clippings. It's not taking much space or time to do it. Plasma table is coming on line. Will start selling art and AR500 targets on the net. Been selling software on the Web sense 2001, $45 each. __________________ Vern To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Last edited by Vern2; 10-05-13 at 09:45 PM..

10-05-13, 09:55 PM	#72
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	I am not offended I just did not want this to turn bad. People always seem to have strong feelings on the Volt. To me it is just a car a little more range would be nice but it is working well for us. Our other car is a Tahoe we don’t drive it much now but it tows my boat and we have horses. It pulls the hay trailer and more. It is fun hearing about others with solar and cool projects. Vern2 I love you trailer that folds down to allow forks from your tractor. We have a 36 HP diesel tractor and I just got a project 9N. Mark Last edited by pinballlooking; 10-14-13 at 10:55 PM..

10-06-13, 09:28 AM	#74
Vern2 Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Arizona Posts: 145 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Robaroni, Nic battery on taxi Prius is lasting 700k miles, heat kills them. Prius manages it's battery, 50 percent discharge, 80 percent charge. Battery life is good on hybrid vehicles __________________ Vern To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

10-06-13, 07:09 PM	#76
Vern2 Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Arizona Posts: 145 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Robaroni, Sorry, missing info on my part. The NiCa batteries are old tech. That battery is used in the Prius hybrid models only. Mine is a 2011 and only cost $6k, with a 2008 trade in, I could not pass-up the deal offered to me. Prius Plug-in uses the Lithium technology. It's a $16k trade-in for me ($32k for a plug-in model) Ev is only 14 miles for plug-in's offered now. To much money, too little benefit. Hybrids can be driven cross country, without worrying where the next 220v electrical outlet is or your stuck for an 8 hour or more with 110v, but ev is Cool. USA is not setup for ev yet. Many charge stations charge $1.00 or more for one kWh. Opening up your own charge station is a good business venture. __________________ Vern To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Last edited by Vern2; 10-06-13 at 07:22 PM..

10-06-13, 07:20 PM	#77
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	Prius is a good car and the best selling hybrid in the world. I you want a EV Prius plug in is not the way to go. It you can use 100% EV the Leaf or the Chevy Spark might be good choices Last edited by pinballlooking; 10-06-13 at 07:44 PM..

10-06-13, 07:38 PM	#78
Vern2 Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Arizona Posts: 145 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	pinballlooking, The Plug-in's are in town cars. Lack of 220v outlets kill Ev's. Prius Plug-in was built for Japan. 14 miles gets you almost any where. __________________ Vern To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Last edited by Vern2; 10-06-13 at 07:41 PM..

10-07-13, 07:34 AM	#79
Robaroni Journeyman EcoRenovator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Delhi, NY Posts: 332 Thanks: 20 Thanked 53 Times in 40 Posts	Guys, I think what we are seeing with these cars is a transition period from fossil fuel to electric, just like the reverse when the ICE took over from electrics when cars were first introduced. The thing is that the fossil fuel industry is a very powerful group and they will do all they can to down play EV's, PV, wind, etc. Those of us taking the 'plunge' know better as can easily b e seen here by our grid tie benefits. The bottom line is that my hat goes off to producers like Toyota, Tesla, and Nissan who are willing to push the technology forth and of course to people like Herman Sheer who instrumented the massive PV structural changes in Germany. Rob

10-07-13, 08:34 AM	#80
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	I don’t think EV’s are not just in town cars anymore. Tesla has amazing range I guy I know just bought a Leaf for his wife it is working well they don’t live in town. We don’t live in town and the volt works very well for us. The have turned the corner and are no longer just in town cars. The Volt will charge @ 120 volts but we use 240 a full charge takes about 4 hours for a full charge. The very nice thing with the volt is when your charge runs out it switches to gas and keep going. This is even better for people like us that don’t live in town. So if you need gas for part of your trip the first EV part still allows some great MPG. It is about $1.20 to charge with .10 kwh power but even better if you have solar. Solar and EV’s go hand and hand. If you are ever wondering about real world Volt users go here. Volt Stats! Tracking real world usage of Chevy Volts in the wild... Volt owners. GM-Volt: Chevy Volt Forum Last edited by pinballlooking; 10-14-13 at 10:59 PM..

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