How Busy Can It Get?

[Mouldy]

29 minutes ago, kpnut said:

 . . . . . . . . . . We then had a good discussion about the BA wishing to electrify the system and our conclusion was on the extremely dubious side due to many of the issues already discussed on here re infrastructure etc etc. We agreed what was needed was to ‘walk before you run’ or a ‘bottom up’ solution rather than ‘top down’ ie get the basic infrastructure in place first. 
I asked why the BA weren’t starting now, if they’re so keen on the idea, with more posts at the ‘easy’ places, like where I was standing at Hoveton, the viaduct moorings, Ludham bridge, Coltishall etc. I was thinking anywhere with nearby access to electricity already (not withstanding the issue of substation capacity etc). 
The BA is ‘soon’ going to putting more posts at Great Yarmouth. They have get permission off the council first. So I suppose that’ll apply in a lot of other places. 
 

Without meaning to get political and break the Forum ToS, aren’t the BA following our esteemed government’s example and trying run before we can walk?  It must surely be obvious, even to the most ardent eco warrior, that we are never going to be ready for 2030 and the cessation of the sale of ICE cars.

The network of chargers will never be able to support the anticipated number of EV’s on the road, there seems to be little activity in expanding the infrastructure required and even if there were sufficient chargers available , our generating capacity could never support it.

The emphasis seems to be on private companies being instructed to install charging points, my wife’s workplace being an example, where they are installing one charger for three hundred employees.  Hmmm . . .  . . . . . . . 
 

I won’t mention where, but somewhere I know on The Broads was requested to install two chargers on their yard for EV’s, but as the yard frequently floods, it was not considered to be the best idea.

Our pursuit of being world leaders in carbon neutrality is doomed to fail and is frankly pointless, where societies in other, poorer areas of the world have no thought about global warming, only achieving the same level of wealth that we (and other perceived rich nations) appear to have.

 

[grendel]

I have to admit there is a glimmer of light on the horizon, a lot of ressearch is going on into new battery chemistries, with some really good looking products being developed, Lithium sulphur was one that i remember, with a good fast charge capability (10 minutes full charge) and cheaper than the current lithium options, its only drawback was an operating temperature over 60C, and other options too are in the pipeline- Graphene/aluminium, was another with fast charge capability- in the realms of supercapacitors.

 

[Bluebell]

Our electric costs at Herbert Woods are currently a very competitive 18p kWh. Sadly due to increase next month as their contract with their supplier renews…☹️

[Mouldy]

10 minutes ago, grendel said:

I have to admit there is a glimmer of light on the horizon, a lot of ressearch is going on into new battery chemistries, with some really good looking products being developed, Lithium sulphur was one that i remember, with a good fast charge capability (10 minutes full charge) and cheaper than the current lithium options, its only drawback was an operating temperature over 60C, and other options too are in the pipeline- Graphene/aluminium, was another with fast charge capability- in the realms of supercapacitors.

 

But are all these options not dependent on mining precious minerals, which are finite in quantity and limited in supply?  The mining process is generally (I believe) not environmentally friendly and we have yet to develop the means to dispose of or recycle spent batteries.

Whichever way we look at this, the idea is flawed.  The cart seems to be currently (no pun intended) a long way in front of the horse.

[grendel]

thats the point , sulphur is quite common and easy to get, as are aluminium and graphene, sulphur will replace cobalt which is a lot scarcer and harder to extract.

[BroadAmbition]

No matter how good battery technology improves it won’t solve the generating issue or the inability to deliver said electric

Griff

[CambridgeCabby]

Surely the ongoing race to develop a more efficient and sustainable battery if a real and true indication that we are not ready for what is in effect compulsory personal transport electrification .

Modern internal combustion and diesel engines are the most efficient and cleanest they have ever been , we still have at least 100years of fossil fuels to propel these engines , instead of rushing in to change which the country seems intent on doing , we should wait until we have a full infrastructure up and running which is able to generate and deliver to the consumer the huge amount of electricity that will be required and perfect the batteries needed to store the said electricity, and recharge at a realistic and practical rate.

When those measures are in place they will not need to strong arm us into “going electric” as then it would become the preferred choice .

I make no secret of my current dislike of EV’s and the raping of the Earths surface by the mining of the elements needed to produce Lithium batteries which often comes from countries whose ethics are dubious to say the least .

[Meantime]

Perhaps even worse is that in pursuit of renewables at any cost we have a glut of wind turbines in Scotland that cannot deliver the power to England because the infrastructure does not have enough capacity. To protect the infrastructure linking England and Scotland the grid is actually paying wind farms in Scotland to turn the wind turbines off. Off course if you've invested heavily in installing wind farms why would you want too? So of course the grid has to pay them not to produce electricity so they can recover their investment. A record 215 million pound last year.

So if you get paid per turbine whether you produce electricity or are paid not to produce electricity your on a guaranteed winner and there is no incentive to slow down the installation of wind turbines whilst the National Grid play catch up and improve the infrastructure.

[Bikertov]

41 minutes ago, grendel said:

thats the point , sulphur is quite common and easy to get, as are aluminium and graphene, sulphur will replace cobalt which is a lot scarcer and harder to extract.

But as Lithium is still a component of Li-S batteries, it is still an environmental issue as to its' mining 'challenges' that the Green factions conveniently ignore.

Notwithstanding that, it would seem that if they could resolve the shortcomings of Li-S productions, they could be more practical compared to current technology.

[Mouldy]

9 minutes ago, CambridgeCabby said:

Surely the ongoing race to develop a more efficient and sustainable battery if a real and true indication that we are not ready for what is in effect compulsory personal transport electrification .

Modern internal combustion and diesel engines are the most efficient and cleanest they have ever been , we still have at least 100years of fossil fuels to propel these engines , instead of rushing in to change which the country seems intent on doing , we should wait until we have a full infrastructure up and running which is able to generate and deliver to the consumer the huge amount of electricity that will be required and perfect the batteries needed to store the said electricity, and recharge at a realistic and practical rate.

When those measures are in place they will not need to strong arm us into “going electric” as then it would become the preferred choice .

I make no secret of my current dislike of EV’s and the raping of the Earths surface by the mining of the elements needed to produce Lithium batteries which often comes from countries whose ethics are dubious to say the least .

Couldn’t agree more, Simon.  The processes required to mine and refine the materials required to make batteries for the current crop of EV’s make the length of time for achieving carbon neutrality even longer than for an ICE vehicle, depending on the source of the electricity used to charge it.  Until we can say that all of our power generation is from renewables, who knows how much of the power used to recharge your batteries is carbon neutral and benefitting the environment.

Theres far too much effort being applied to promoting this as a cure all for the environmental crisis, which will lead to travel poverty for a large percentage of the population who will be unable to afford the prices of new electric vehicles.

[grendel]

54 minutes ago, Bikertov said:

But as Lithium is still a component of Li-S batteries, it is still an environmental issue as to its' mining 'challenges' that the Green factions conveniently ignore.

some of the battery chemistries replaced the lithium component too, but one interesting thing was the lithium sulphur chemistr was looking at a product that one set of batteries would outlast several vehicles- they were talking million mile lifespans (and battery ranges up to 1500 miles, now thats the sort of changes that will be needed.and all that at 1/5 of the cost of current lithium battery technology

[Cheesey69]

New battery, new type of charger most likely. Instantly rendering older types of battery obsolete and those that went early out of pocket. 
VHS versus Betamax.

The technology is not stable enough yet to pin your hopes on. 

[floydraser]

What if we turned off the heating in all gyms and replaced all the running machines with human sized hamster wheels connected to alternators. Just saying.

You could keep the large windows so that we can all laugh at you in your flashy new, tight Lycra, expensive earbuds and fashionable water bottle. Wouldn't want to spoil it. 

[Mouldy]

1 hour ago, grendel said:

some of the battery chemistries replaced the lithium component too, but one interesting thing was the lithium sulphur chemistr was looking at a product that one set of batteries would outlast several vehicles- they were talking million mile lifespans (and battery ranges up to 1500 miles, now thats the sort of changes that will be needed.and all that at 1/5 of the cost of current lithium battery technology

What would make more sense would be making batteries universal, so they fitted every vehicle and when you needed to have a recharge, you pulled into a bay for the battery to be replaced.  I watched a programme about it some time ago.  It was in Norway and the process was fully automated and took less than five minutes.  I believe it was on Fifth Gear Recharged.

Batteries needn't be bought with the vehicle, simply rented, with a cost levied for the charged one.  The problem is, that might be considered joined up thinking and these days two many decisions are made in a hurry, without being thought through.

[Bikertov]

1 hour ago, Cheesey69 said:

New battery, new type of charger most likely. Instantly rendering older types of battery obsolete and those that went early out of pocket. 
VHS versus Betamax.

The technology is not stable enough yet to pin your hopes on. 

A big part of the cost of installing a charger is getting the power feed from your Consumer Unit to an outside wall. 

I don't think the specific box on the end is such a big part, albeit a bit more for the app-connected ones, and most of the regulating and control is taken care by electronics in the battery pack itself.

[grendel]

considering in the video I watches there were claims of full charge in 10 minutes on one chemistry, and full charge in 10s on another, if they can get the process this quick it will be just like using a petrol station is now., and with longer ranges, the issue of home charging will go away, but we may be looking at 5 years plus before these are commonly available. getting rather close  to the government deadline.

(i suppose they can always install big diesel genorators at the petrol stations)

[Cheesey69]

We got to get it right. We have spent a considerable time removing industry from the centres of habitation with cheap cars granting the ability to reach them. Villages and small towns rely on the connections to regional distribution centres for the basics. The staff who work there need to get in to in reasonable priced cars. Public transport is not even on the map. 
As ICE use dies, so does the fuel infrastructure meaning that the price of fuel can only rise further pushing those on lower wages doing the work that is vital into the red 

It is a very real threat that certain sections of our society will suffer greatly because their work is no longer reachable and those that depend on that pyramid will also suffer. Think nursing homes. 

[Mouldy]

9 minutes ago, Cheesey69 said:

We got to get it right. We have spent a considerable time removing industry from the centres of habitation with cheap cars granting the ability to reach them. Villages and small towns rely on the connections to regional distribution centres for the basics. The staff who work there need to get in to in reasonable priced cars. Public transport is not even on the map. 
As ICE use dies, so does the fuel infrastructure meaning that the price of fuel can only rise further pushing those on lower wages doing the work that is vital into the red 

It is a very real threat that certain sections of our society will suffer greatly because their work is no longer reachable and those that depend on that pyramid will also suffer. Think nursing homes. 

This is worth a watch.  It’s quite long but does indeed highlight exactly what you said and I mentioned earlier.

https://youtu.be/HwxfxR1UD9k

[MauriceMynah]

Way-hey, can I now call myself the king of DIY ?

My cordless drill, my dremmel and one of my screw drivers all saw active service today.

For some time now, the cockpit floor over the battery storage could only be lifted if the floor over the engine area was lifted first. I have always considered thin to be something of a faff if I just wanted access to the batteries. 

This is no lodger the case. I have now arranged things so each section of the floor is completely independent from any other.

This also required me to fit one of those ring handles that need to be sunk into the floor making the surface flush.

It is done. It is flush.  Well... very nearly.

Anybody coming to see this magnificent achievement will also notice that the hole to receive the ring handle is somewhat larger than the device itself.  They will immediately realise that this is to allow for expansion and contraction throughout the four seasons. 

Further,  they cannot fail to observe the jaunty angle at which the screws have been put in.

This too allows those awkward countersunk heads room to grow in the summer. 

Well must dash now. I think I'll service the engine now. 

How hard can that be?

[CambridgeCabby]

You must be exhausted , I would recommend a small glass or two of a re energising fluid is required , Ricard is excellent for this procedure .

[Lulu]

40 minutes ago, MauriceMynah said:

Anybody coming to see this magnificent achievement will also notice that the hole to receive the ring handle is somewhat larger than the device itself.  They will immediately realise that this is to allow for expansion and contraction throughout the four seasons. 

Further,  they cannot fail to observe the jaunty angle at which the screws have been put in.

This too allows those awkward countersunk heads room to grow in the summer. 

I’m impressed. You’ve thought through all possible scenarios 😁

[MauriceMynah]

As Derek Nimmo used to say, "Oh golly gosh"

I have stumbled across the delights above all delights, and I'm not the sort of person to keep such things to myself.

I was preparing my mornings breakfast of a couple of crumpets,  hot buttered of course, when I realised (as you do) that I had a couple of packs of raspberries to be eaten ASAP. 

Normally I turn these wonderful fruit into a milk smoothie, but, I was out of milk, so I bulleted them with a tiny drop of water.

At half past one this afternoon I put one part raspberry mush to one part gin and three parts tonic.

WHAT A RESULT. 

I beg all you gin lovers out there to try it. It has become my lunchtime libations of choice,  providing one of my 5 a day along with my local anaesthetic and inhibition blockers. This has gotta be good.

[YnysMon]

Steady on...that sounds almost healthy!

[MauriceMynah]

I now forgive the BA everything as I seem to own two 42ft boats and I'm  feeling kinda sleepy.

[grendel]

38 minutes ago, MauriceMynah said:

I now forgive the BA everything as I seem to own two 42ft boats and I'm  feeling kinda sleepy.

see now, thats what comes of consuming too much fruit.