Wow did I just convince myself to buy an Electric CAR😳

[Jimmy N.]

The plan is to charge you by the miles you drive is the rumors.

It would be much better for me if they charge by how much time I spend driving instead.
That way I'd get both the enjoyment of driving fast, and lower costs.

 

[TraxMoe]

Used the cost of his commercial charge, and then used the ranges he was actually showing. It does and should open our eyes to what the government can hang us with. If they put those charging stations in, then they get to charge for the power. It will be ugly given what we have seen they are capable of now.

Good point about the charging stations. The government shouldn't be in the business of installing these charging stations. They didn't have a hand installing gasoline stations , originally they were called service stations that performed other services to supplement the sale of the fuel. The service stations of the past have become mini convenient stores that subsidizes the small amount they make on the fuel sales.

Customers at these charging stations will sit for hours recharging those dammed batteries twiddling their thumbs and keeping the kids entertained ( good luck with that ) and those quick charging stations will have a fossil fuel generator as backup when the power fails

Enterprising entrepreneurs will install charging stations attached to entertainment and restaurants venues to entertain their customers that are waiting for the batteries to recharge.

Although, batteries are constantly improving. I don't see anything good coming out of the EV revolution at this present time.

 

[TraxMoe]

No, when you plug it in it tells you how many hours til recharge. Which has been pretty close/accurate. It stops charging if the plug stays in longer.

Then when my excel bill comes each month I know how much I get charged per KWh. Straight up math from there, and as I noted above, not that complex to calculate.

I also have my electric bills from 2018 and 2019 pre-post EV so I did that comparative analysis too. The numbers are very close to what I said they were above. No conspiracy theories will work on this one. She is definitely getting well over 100 mi/gal in this gas environment. And that's being very conservative.

But as I said, each person's situation is different. I would NOT buy a full EV car right now, especially if you are driving long distances. The station infrastructure is not there. 10 years from now? Maybe.

For local commuting, yep EV or plug-in hybrid EV makes sense. It certainly has for my wife's driving situation. And, as many studies show, her 25mi/day or less example is pretty common.

Seems like you're estimating off your previous bills. Have you maintained the same atmospheric load on your home, made any energy improvements, led bulbs etc. How about taking an amperage reading and multiplying times the line current, for a more accurate representation of the cost

 

[Illegal_Demon]

Seems like you're estimating off your previous bills. Have you maintained the same atmospheric load on your home, made any energy improvements, led bulbs etc. How about taking an amperage reading and multiplying times the line current, for a more accurate representation of the cost

No and I'm not sure anyone on earth has gone to that level of absolute accuracy. So I should qualify my math. Are the calculations I did accurate to a 1/10 of a penny per mile? Probably not. Is my estimate 1x or 5x or 10x off? F-no.

That's the takeaway. For us 100-125mi/gal is rock solid in our case. Others who drive long-haul EVs? Maybe, maybe not. I'll let them chime in.

As for the bills, I looked very closely at electrical usage for November December 2018 vs Jan and Feb 2019. And during that short period very little difference in bulbs, usage, or anything else of consequence so my comps are very realistic/appropriate to use.

 

[TraxMoe]

Just looking for accuracy not a average guesstimate without taking in all the variables

 

[Smitty]

whoooaa.....Smitty...you one of those rich guys????? wtf

I only wish!

 

[Illegal_Demon]

Just looking for accuracy not a average guesstimate without taking in all the variables

My estimates are as accurate as can be expected for the real world. Can’t do hermetically-sealed laboratory perfection though, sorry!

 

[DGatzby]

I was doing a little research online yesterday and saw numbers all over the place comparing the 2. Bottom line EV isn't free to run. A hybrid may be the most efficient.

I like the few hybrids I have rented. They get tremendous gas mileage and don’t require the sensitive charging all the time. Like about all of us are saying, don’t push it on us, and let things develop. Plus don’t do stupid shit to make our fuel dramatically and unnecessarily expensive.

 

[DGatzby]

Differential calculus is your friend. You just don’t know it yet! 😆

Okay, let’s save the calculus lesson when we want to teach everyone about the differences in acceleration and velocity, to talk about the difference between quick and fast.

For my post; @ChargerChallenger supplied typical actual information on the cost of fuel for driving a set distance, given by basically his computer when it was 100% charged.

As you apparently were good in school, you can proof my arithmetic and logic here.

He paid $3.87 to commercially charge his car. That operation charged his batteries an incremental +6%.

Given 6% charge for $3.87, then,
Divide 100/6 = 16.67 for 16.67 increments of 6 in 100.

If 6% charge costs $3.87, then 16.67 increments of it will cost $64.50.

Given at a 100% charge his computer says it can travel 217 miles.

$64.50 is the cost of achieving the charge or “filling up” divided by the miles the car says we can travel reveals $0.2972 per mile.

I acknowledge the Jeep GC making 20 mpg and given the cost of fuel was a snapshot in time, but thank you for illustrating that something approaching 15 mpg of fuel mileage is about what it is costing my friend if he continues to use that method and cost of fuel about where it is today.

My point is that even if you have some magical discount at home currently, when we use these EV’s on the road, much like we use our vehicles currently, everyone better keep their eyes open.

 

[Mike L.]

Here in CA, if you use too much power ( can't remember the numbers ) ; your electric bill will double or triple.

 

[Hellcatcfp]

Here in CA, if you use too much power ( can't remember the numbers ) ; your electric bill will double or triple.

A tiered system of usage. Luckily never had an occasion to know the numbers.

 

[ChargerChallenger]

A tiered system of usage. Luckily never had an occasion to know the numbers.

Awhile back I think I read California power companies are going broke due to so much Solar and alternative energy. The Solar and other energy are giving back into the grid and creating a huge loss for the Power Companies. California is now actually taking away all the incentives to push Solar and alternative energy. I think there is on going challenge on this move but just crazy times. And or as I always say the Blind Leading the Blind as always.

 

[vortecd]

Here in CA, if you use too much power ( can't remember the numbers ) ; your electric bill will double or triple.

Wow and days they say not to use power. So they want everyone in an EV so they keep you at home because you can afford to charge it or they won't let you

 

[ChargerChallenger]

 

[Illegal_Demon]

I like the few hybrids I have rented. They get tremendous gas mileage and don’t require the sensitive charging all the time. Like about all of us are saying, don’t push it on us, and let things develop. Plus don’t do stupid shit to make our fuel dramatically and unnecessarily expensive.

I agree. Plug-in hybrids may be the best "hedge" option available right now. You can "hide" a bit from extremely high gas prices (esp if you typically drive less than 25-30mi a day) AND you get gas for longer trips if need be (vs stranded by lack of quick fill EV stations).

 

[Illegal_Demon]

Okay, let’s save the calculus lesson when we want to teach everyone about the differences in acceleration and velocity, to talk about the difference between quick and fast.

For my post; @ChargerChallenger supplied typical actual information on the cost of fuel for driving a set distance, given by basically his computer when it was 100% charged.

As you apparently were good in school, you can proof my arithmetic and logic here.

He paid $3.87 to commercially charge his car. That operation charged his batteries an incremental +6%.

Given 6% charge for $3.87, then,
Divide 100/6 = 16.67 for 16.67 increments of 6 in 100.

If 6% charge costs $3.87, then 16.67 increments of it will cost $64.50.

Given at a 100% charge his computer says it can travel 217 miles.

$64.50 is the cost of achieving the charge or “filling up” divided by the miles the car says we can travel reveals $0.2972 per mile.

I acknowledge the Jeep GC making 20 mpg and given the cost of fuel was a snapshot in time, but thank you for illustrating that something approaching 15 mpg of fuel mileage is about what it is costing my friend if he continues to use that method and cost of fuel about where it is today.

My point is that even if you have some magical discount at home currently, when we use these EV’s on the road, much like we use our vehicles currently, everyone better keep their eyes open.

I was all onboard with your math and main points, well, until the snark came out...lol (don't feel bad, seems like a thing on here. EV in all forms is evil and there is no nuance or grey area).

"My point is that even if you have some magical discount at home currently,"

Nothing magical about it. The "magic" is that my wife doesn't use her car more than 25 miles a day...and it takes about 8h to recharge (typically overnight). My (very uncomplicated) math says on average the charge costs about 0.88 cents based on what it costs us a Kw out here ($0.11-12). That translates to about 3.5 cents a mile, or if you prefer, 128 mi/gallon (based on $4.50/gal fuel). Again though, this is for a plug-in EV a full charge is 25 miles...not 300 miles. Maybe some people are repeatedly missing this fact.

Anyhow, the next morning, she takes out the fully charged car and uses it. Then, after getting back that evening, the car is plugged into our (very unspecial) 110 outlet. The car recharges overnight and the process is repeated the next day. Weeks sometimes a month goes by without touching the gas (thank you stabil).

Not sure why this is so hard for some to grasp? As I said multiple times, for those driving full EVs a LOT and FAR the math could be different. I'll let cc et al chime in on that math.

In our particular case, my wife consistently gets ~120mi/gal equivalent right now for her plug-in hybrid (using today's $4.50 gas prices).

If our reality pisses people off I don't know what else to say. Sorry, I guess? 🤷‍♂️

Anyhow this will be my last post on this since, NGL, I'm worn out saying the same thing slightly different each time. In the apartment we've been renting since the fires on 12/30/21 devastated our neighborhood and displaced us from our home, we've charged her car every day using an external charging unit at the complex's garage. Each time we go from uncharged to charged, we pay using our "Chargepoint" app. The cost? Yep, you guessed it, ~ a buck to fill her up. Sometimes it's $0.75 and other days it's as much as $1.05. And this is at a commercial unit that adds on a bit of profit on top of whatever the electric company is charging. We have done this over 60 times so far. If people still require more math proof, well, I suggest a community college summer course. Or, come visit us in Colorado and I'll let you pay for one of our fill-ups. This way you can keep a hard copy and show the forum!

We will be out of our house for at least another 4 months so you have plenty of time to swing by.

 

[1971demon]

Okay, let’s save the calculus lesson when we want to teach everyone about the differences in acceleration and velocity, to talk about the difference between quick and fast.

For my post; @ChargerChallenger supplied typical actual information on the cost of fuel for driving a set distance, given by basically his computer when it was 100% charged.

As you apparently were good in school, you can proof my arithmetic and logic here.

He paid $3.87 to commercially charge his car. That operation charged his batteries an incremental +6%.

Given 6% charge for $3.87, then,
Divide 100/6 = 16.67 for 16.67 increments of 6 in 100.

If 6% charge costs $3.87, then 16.67 increments of it will cost $64.50.

Given at a 100% charge his computer says it can travel 217 miles.

$64.50 is the cost of achieving the charge or “filling up” divided by the miles the car says we can travel reveals $0.2972 per mile.

I acknowledge the Jeep GC making 20 mpg and given the cost of fuel was a snapshot in time, but thank you for illustrating that something approaching 15 mpg of fuel mileage is about what it is costing my friend if he continues to use that method and cost of fuel about where it is today.

My point is that even if you have some magical discount at home currently, when we use these EV’s on the road, much like we use our vehicles currently, everyone better keep their eyes open.

Man...I never paid this much attention to anything in school...uhhh this is nuts...

 

[Mike L.]

I've learned a lot.

 

[1971demon]

I've learned a lot.

That didn't start for me...till after school...

 

[Jimmy N.]

Nothing magical about it. The "magic" is that my wife doesn't use her car more than 25 miles a day...and it takes about 8h to recharge (typically overnight).

Again though, this is for a plug-in EV a full charge is 25 miles...not 300 miles.

Anyhow, the next morning, she takes out the fully charged car and uses it. Then, after getting back that evening, the car is plugged into our (very unspecial) 110 outlet. The car recharges overnight and the process is repeated the next day. .

I get that this EV stuff can work for some. And if 25 miles per day is all it takes, more power to you (or from us, as the case may be since we subsidize it).

In theory, those 25 miles per day would be plenty for us, too, but the problems start when 300+ miles is needed every three weeks or so, in one sitting.

Realistically, it would take an EV capable of an honest 500 mile range to make it feasible to go to Costco and back for us. So it's far more practical for my girlfriend to take even her Redeye or TRX than any EV. That way she can go there and come home the same day with time to spare.

Maybe some day when we're in some old folks home in a city, an EV could work for us, and the mobility scooter and EV could both be charged while we're at the bingo or sleeping, but for now the internal combustion engine is what keeps us alive and gets us where we want and need to go.

And don't even get me started on what an EV would mean for my 1,300+ mile trips pulling some 25,000 lbs.

Okay, rant over.