Thread: 400,000 miles in a Tesla Model S in 3 years

Originally Posted by goingbush

Is why you charge at home .

i think he was talking about doing long journeys. like adel to melb or melb or syd

Originally Posted by goingbush

Your not factoring in that Petrol / diesel prices will rise as the cost of batteries will lower . .

less demands for oil, lower oil prices.
lower petrol/diesel prices.

Your not factoring in that Petrol / diesel prices will rise as the cost of batteries will lower . Nor are you factoring in the resale value of petrol cars will be close to scrap value for the same reason

I can recall a similar discussion in about 2007 when the hot topic was Peak Oil. I said then that in 10 years time oil would probably be the same price now as then, and it has been MUCH cheaper until recently and is only about the same now because of politics not supply. And really it is about 50% cheaper inflation adjusted. Remember the furore when it got to $1.50 in 2007?

I read somewhere recently that most of the easy technological advances had now taken place with lithium batteries and the author doubted that there would be great reductions in cost. Again supply and demand will determine cost and maybe the demand for electric tools and appliances will keep up the price. I recently bought a Ryobi Lithium mower for example, something unthinkable 10 years ago.

I am grappling with fitting a Lithium battery to my camper trailer , how to charge , how to isolate etc. There are many uses other than EVs that have not been thought of yet.

Of course some new technology could come along that is far superior to Lithium and maybe safer. What would be the value of current EVs then?

The trouble with all the speculation re EVs is it is just that. It is "The next BIG thing" . Has been for about 120Years.
Regards Philip A

Originally Posted by PhilipA

I can recall a similar discussion in about 2007 when the hot topic was Peak Oil. I said then that in 10 years time oil would probably be the same price now as then, and it has been MUCH cheaper until recently and is only about the same now because of politics not supply. And really it is about 50% cheaper inflation adjusted. Remember the furore when it got to $1.50 in 2007?

Reminds me of this headline from 2008:
$8 a litre tipped for 2018
How wrong were they, the CSIRO.

And yet, earlier this month, Russia and Iran signed a deal to exploit the huge oil and gas fields in the Caspian Sea.
Rich in oil, gas, and caviar: Five countries move to settle decades-long Caspian dispute — why now? - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Originally Posted by PhilipA

<snip>

Of course some new technology could come along that is far superior to Lithium and maybe safer. What would be the value of current EVs then?

Bring it on , I know I just spent $11,000 on Lithiums but bring on the new tech to replace them with. Luckily these are going to Last 350,000km so It will be a long wait. They will see me out as I've only done 3500 km in 7 months & thats driving it almost daily . Don't think I'll be around in 58 years to replace them, some young punk will take possession & probably do a Hover Landy mod on it when the batteries are getting swapped out

Originally Posted by goingbush

Bring it on , I know I just spent $11,000 on Lithiums but bring on the new tech to replace them with. Luckily these are going to Last 350,000km so It will be a long wait. They will see me out as I've only done 3500 km in 7 months & thats driving it almost daily . Don't think I'll be around in 58 years to replace them, some young punk will take possession & probably do a Hover Landy mod on it when the batteries are getting swapped out

I love your enthusiasm for battery powered EVs, your lightweight conversion has inspired me.

How can you say with confidence that your battery pack will last 350,000km? That would be great. The cost of a large enough battery pack and degridation fears have me holding off my own project. Can you please post a battery degridation report at the end of each year, or keep us posted in some way, Im very interested to see how they hold up in your landy. LifePo?

Oh, and they better get busy with that hover landy tech, cos the hover board didnt come quick enough!

Originally Posted by manic

I love your enthusiasm for battery powered EVs, your lightweight conversion has inspired me.

How can you say with confidence that your battery pack will last 350,000km? That would be great. The cost of a large enough battery pack and degridation fears have me holding off my own project. Can you please post a battery degridation report at the end of each year, or keep us posted in some way, Im very interested to see how they hold up in your landy. LifePo?

Oh, and they better get busy with that hover landy tech, cos the hover board didnt come quick enough!

The 350,000 is hypothetical. The cells I have are LiFePo4 , Lithium Iron Phosphate , Factory documentation has them at minimum 2000 charge cycles 80% DOD (Depth of Discharge) and 3000 cycles at 70% DOD ,

Charge cycle lifetime is also dependant of rate of charge, the figures quoted are at 1C , (200Amps for my cells) My 3.3kw charger puts out 22 Amps , so the life cycle is significantly more than quoted.

I typically charge at 50% DOD ( about 70km) for an estimated (quoted @ 1C) 5000 charge cycles x 70km = 350,000km

Interesting. So fast high amp charging degrades the pack faster than slow charging.

If you use a public tesla station how many amps will it push, do you restrict the charge rate?

Over the years you will have to take very good care of those batteries. I imagine if you ever fall short of a destination you will have to decide if its worth pushing a higher dodc or call in a recovery. And there might be times where you are tempted by a faster charge rate.

The required level of care is easier for some than others. Having made note of your attention to detail I rekon you might just make it. Keep us posted.