Thread: EV general discussion

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On range a interesting thing I did was carry jerry cans for extra range. Along with RAC NSW in a recent post another option was very close behind.
Why portable EV charging units - that can double as grid storage - are all the Go

Interesting aspect of these are they are SMALL ish in range terms yet may be very suitable for camping power?

"UK business ZipCharge announce that trials of their portable EV charging solution will soon commence.ZipCharge’s Go charger is expected to contain from 4 to 8kWh of energy and be capable of charging from a domestic plug. This would provide between 32 to 64 kms of range at a 7.2kW EV charging rate, taking approximately 30 – 60 minutes to charge the vehicle. (Depending on the battery capacity, vehicle efficiency etc).
The Go unit is also planned to later become bi-directionally charging capable – meaning in the future, it could also function as a local energy storage device and feedback into the grid when not in use."

On a really weird bit in case not yet posted is a sort of sports car MG Sub 3 sec 100kPh and 800km range blade battery tech. I am not buying it but I do think it is rather more MG like than my short ass MG XSev News is that it is about to go into production and MIGHT get into the Right Hand Drive line as well?


E-motion concept car

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I dont know how it would work with a car but you can see the ease of changeover on trucks as the batteries go where fuel tanks used to be. There would have to be a dedicated electric forklift....with a trained operator?......or some similar machinery. To be realistic all trucks will need to be set up to a standard to enable simple transfer of battery packs to and from truck to storage/charging point.

It appears to have a lot of merit in certain routes eg Syd/Bris

Twiggy claims to be able to save hundreds of millions of litres of diesel by changing over his fleet to electric.

Similar savings appear to be applicable to Janus.

I guess the rest of the thousands of semis/road trains on the route will only look on for a short time at any success before the stampede.

It would interesting to calculate how many fewer road trains carrying fuel for road trains will be taken off the road.

Looks like South OZ will be easier than most with a big fast charger roll out
SA charging-station network backs state’s faith in an electric future
Smarter than your average Bear? "A network of more than 500 charging points will be established across South Australia in a plan to make electric cars the first choice for buyers by 2030.SA’s peak motoring group, the Royal Automobile Association, has won a $12 million state government grant to establish 536 ‘fast’ and ‘rapid’ charging stations across 140 rural, regional and metropolitan locations.
"

Then a few weeks till they are here for "A new kind of charger that allows an electric vehicle (EV) to be used as a giant home battery is close to going on sale in Australia, with the first commercial shipment to arrive within weeks.Unlike standard one-way EV chargers, bidirectional chargers can also discharge energy from an EV, which means they can be used to power a home (known as vehicle-to-home or V2H) and its appliances, or to export energy to the grid (vehicle-to-grid or V2G).This may sound simple, but bringing them to Australia has proven difficult.For years, a mix of regulatory and engineering hurdles have repeatedly pushed back the technology's rollout date.
"

That is a bit funny as I know the Victron Multiplus/ solar inverter/ Red Flow batteries I have at work could also be used to charge or take power from a EV battery on grid or during grid failures. I would need a new plug and a bit of wiring only.

"Bidirectional chargers will cost about $10,000, or a bit less than a standard home battery. " A single victron unit is well under 1/2 that!!!! I call a rip off price by the company which is a bit sad. SMA inverters have bi-directional chargers as well. Called hybrid inverters usually!

Jet charge link
SMA link
Victron link
Goodwee ( I liked the one I used to use before upgrading to 10kWh with 2 Victron Multiplus)

Looking at SMA, Victron and Goodwee links was a bugger me as prices are a lot less and capacity has tripled or more!

None of this is of interest to my MG really except if the older goodwee 5kWh hybrid sitting down stairs can be used at home for a bit of recycling

Here you go.
Its surprising how many there are. There are 4 in my little town alone. Servos are installing them now.

EV CarCharging Stations in Australia - Maps & Addresses

Originally Posted by scarry

I dont go looking for them but the only one i have ever seen is at the local Winery.
And i recon that is only there as the owner of the place has a Tesla.
I have never seen it being used.

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

Here you go.
Its surprising how many there are. There are 4 in my little town alone. Servos are installing them now.

I saw a news article a few months back about a service station doing a renovation (Geelong I think) As they had the room, they decided to instal two charging points as part of the renovations and approached various suppliers. All the suppliers wanted to charge the garage owners big dollars to install their chargers rather than installing for free and coming to some arrangement on profit sharing, noting the chargers would be on service station land.

Of course the service station owner told the charger suppliers where to go and no chargers were installed.

We need to change the mindset on these things.

The other issue still remains how long it takes to get a full charge when travelling outside towns and cities - technology needs to bring this down to a few minutes - I am not the type of person who stops every few hours for a couple of hours - I drive - stop for a pee and get a coffee and some diesel and I am off - until the slow charging aspect is addressed then EVs are not realistic other than as a second car runabout in the towns.

Originally Posted by 101RRS

I saw a news article a few months back about a service station doing a renovation (Geelong I think) As they had the room, they decided to instal two charging points as part of the renovations and approached various suppliers. All the suppliers wanted to charge the garage owners big dollars to install their chargers rather than installing for free and coming to some arrangement on profit sharing, noting the chargers would be on service station land.

Of course the service station owner told the charger suppliers where to go and no chargers were installed.

We need to change the mindset on these things.

The other issue still remains how long it takes to get a full charge when travelling outside towns and cities - technology needs to bring this down to a few minutes - I am not the type of person who stops every few hours for a couple of hours - I drive - stop for a pee and get a coffee and some diesel and I am off - until the slow charging aspect is addressed then EVs are not realistic other than as a second car runabout in the towns.

Stations don't do as you suggest with pumps so why would they even entertain that idea?

Same thing really.

Originally Posted by 4bee

Stations don't do as you suggest with pumps so why would they even entertain that idea?

Same thing really.

There has to be money in it as well,if not it isnt going to happen.

Garages make huge money ATM,why would they bother if they cant make good money out of chargers?

I know a guy who has 12 Service stations,all of them in the Brisbane area,he isnt even interested in chargers,and is redeveloping two of the garages at the moment.

I regularly stop every couple of hours when I'm travelling but not for fuel , or charging. Just to **** , straighten the back, move the legs. Fuelling is usually done at 7-800km mark depending on the town.

I don't think I could enjoy having to play hop scotch to charge an electric vehicle.....you'd never seem to reach your destination.