tireman63

Lithium Ion Batteries and GEVs: False Gods for the New Millennium

I met a gentlemen this past September who lives about two miles from the Tesla car facility. He is quite familiar with the vehicles and told me that operation in stop and go traffic with the air conditioning on gives a range of about sixty to seventy miles. Does anyone here own a Tesla, and wish to rebut?

A123 vs. BYD and Other Irrational Battery Investments

I remember reading something in the WSJ years ago about paying high multiples of present earnings on the expectation of future growth. The point was that paying a premium of 3 or 4x present earnings was discounting the future. However, if you pay ten or twenty times present earnings, then you are discounting the hereafter. At 78, I am getting closer to joining the choir silent than most of your readers, so I prefer larger secure present income streams than extravagant promises. Still buying annual subscriptions to the WSJ, though. Every time I read your articles and the comments, I learn something. Keep on truckin'.

On EESAT and Energy Storage Opportunities on the Smart Grid

John, I followed Advill's next big future.com/2009 tag and then read a few of the Disqus comments. There is a fellow known as GoatGuy that has one of the most sensitive BS detectors I have ever seen. I hope you can take a look at some of his comments.

On EESAT and Energy Storage Opportunities on the Smart Grid

John,
Have you published any figures on the individual loads that either EVs or PHEVs will put on your garage at home or your workplace? A standard battery charger with a 40 amp charge rate for 12 volt systems will not overtax the standard 30 amp fused breakers. Of course,if you have to have a dedicated 220v outlet, that would be a different story.

How PHEVs and EVs Will Sabotage America's Drive for Energy Independence

Fred Linn--I live in Jefferson County, Texas, where we make about 10% of the gasoline and diesel in the US. Your statement about the sulphur being refined out of crude oil entering the waste stream is false. Thee are a couple of raw sulphur companies making a good living using this refined sulphur from the refineries. The product coming from Exxon/Mobil, Valero, Motiva, and Total here is far purer than the old Frasch process used to generate from the mines in Freeport, Spindletop, and Carlsbad areas.

Exciting Times as ATVM Loan and ARRA Battery Grants Announced

I wonder what DRich meant when he said "customers expect a better than 0.25% failure rates during years of service"? Does he mean that they expect a greater rate of failure than one in 400? I have not found either OE or replacement vehicle batteries to be that good. With all of the sophisticated electronics and monitoring systems in new cars, a marginal battery can set codes and do all sorts of mischief that a fully charged quality unit will not experience.

How Short Term Supply Constraints Will Impact Booming HEV Markets

As a man who earns his livelihood from maintenance and repair of vehicles, I can assure all readers that one thing will happen-- the servicing and repair of these new inventions will be more costly and require far more training. The days of removing 2 hold-down J-bolts and loosening two cables for a battery exchange are over. If you don't connect an auxiliary source to maintain voltage, all sorts of unfortunate things happen. Even mundane operations lke repairing a tire/ wheel assembly with TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system) have become much more involved. You now need a costly scan tool (updated with each model change) to reprogram the computer if a wheel rotation or puncture repair is performed. Do not wander around nilly-willy with a screwdriver in the 300 volt systems, either. No one ever got a shock from 12 volt primary vehicles. What do you do with a PHEV that has run out of gas and amps on the side of the road? You cannot come out with a can of gasoline or a jumper battery to get rolling--you will need a tow truck- preferably one with a platform. When I learned to drive in a 1935 Ford, a weak battery could be overcome by pushing the car by hand, jumping in and popping the clutch in 2nd gear, and away we went. Now, with automatic transmissions and electronic fuel management dependent on voltage, those maneuvers will not work. I would like to stick around a while longer, just to see what happens.

Are Energy Storage Investors Chasing Their Own Tails?

John,
In your second paragraph above, you mentioned selling products to people making less than $200k/year. An old master or retailing said something like this a long time ago "We make our money not from the lady arriving in the chauffeur-driven limo, but from the shopgirl riding to work on the subway." The old gentleman was right.

The Plug In Vehicle Scam

John:
Are there some previous posts where I can learn more about the PbC/hybrid/ultracapacitor units? As a second question, have you heard any more about the Firefly units? It seems to really have calmed down after the Wall Street Journal award in 1997.

The Plug In Vehicle Scam

John,
with regard to vehicle costs--what about the acknowledged fact that Daimler Benz has lost money on every Smart car since it was been introduced? Also, I really believe that the Prius is being subsidized by the myriad of other Toyota ICE models, If the first versions had not been artificially underpriced with government subsidies, rebates, etc.--then you would not have seen nearly as many sales. CNG and high efficiency diesel, both available today, are being ignored---why?

White House Report: GM Volt Is Not Ready for Prime Time

John,

A couple of old bromides here--humor sometimes helps. As far as Speculawyer is concerned- "convince a fool against his will, he remains convinced, a fool yet still." On investment strategies " the race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong--but that's the way to bet." Finally, this from over fifty years ago entitled "Hambone's Meditations"--"if yo' outgo 'xceed yo' income, yo' upkeep will be yo' downfall." Not politically correct, but absolutely true in every sense of the word.

Lead-Acid, Lead-Carbon Batteries: The Only Option for Average Consumer

NVH is industryspeak for noise, vibration, and harshness. It is interesting to note that tire noise is much more intrusive, now that powertrain decibels and frequencies have been mitigated.

Lead-Acid, Lead-Carbon Batteries: The Only Option for Average Consumer

I am fascinated by the idea of wheel motors and electronic suspension, braking, and stability control in future EV cars. The tire may not be pneumatic, either. Just look at the Michelin Tweel concept, which would mean flat-free mobility and no spare necessary. There are a lot of problems (challenges?) with NVH (noise, vibration, and harshness) issues. One such problem is the great increase in unsprung weight and rotating mass in a system like this. Also, the operating environment for a wheel motor would be very hostile, given the water intrusion, brake heat dissipation, and rough road stresses imposed.

Li-ion Batteries: A Speculative Field of Dreams

I am really enjoying and learning though these on-line exchanges. As a 77 year-old ASE tech. I can tell you that if the new batteries from GM say Delco, they will not get my vote. Delco has a decades -long reputation for abysmal quality.

Lead-Carbon: A Game Changer for Alternative Energy Storage

You have answered all my questions today--I have not been this overawed since my days as a freshman EE major at Rice Institute in Houston back in '48. (did not finish, by the way) Great work--absolutely tops