Sandy shows vulnerability of electric vehicles

bigmoose

bigmoose

1 MW
Joined
Aug 6, 2009
Messages
2,675
Location
North coast USA
Short but interesting article:

In the aftermath of superstorm Sandy, unprepared electic vehicle owners in the Northeast were out of luck. With power grids and public charging stations down there was, and in some places still is no way to get energy into their cars.
According to automotive analyst Thilo Koslowski, the storm has revealed the one major vulnerability with electric cars: that a backup infrastructure is almost non-existent.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/11/05/superstorm-sandy-highlights-achilles-heel-electric-cars/?intcmp=features#ixzz2BPBfU0HZ
Click to expand...

More at the link
http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012...-achilles-heel-electric-cars/?intcmp=features

Also: More Than A Dozen Fisker Karma Hybrids Caught Fire And Exploded In New Jersey Port After Sandy. Story here: http://updates.jalopnik.com/post/34669789863/more-than-a-dozen-fisker-karma-hybrids-caught-fire-and
tumblr_mcqeitudgy1qb8s23.jpg


Thats about $1.6Million US up in smoke...
 
Wow, those folks never give up, do they?

I returned to NYC last Friday and the fact I had power gave me transportation while gas stations were closed and cars/trucks in my neighborhood remained parked.

My coworker with the Volt lost power at his home in New Jersey but manages to charge at the parking garage in Manhattan and thus avoiding gas lines.

Had we invested more in electric transportation infrastructure than oil in the Middle East perhaps people would be able to tap the energy in their vehicles to better survive such disasters?

Just can't fix stupid...
 
Did fox news also cover gas stations shut down and long lines and fighting where stations are open?
great to own a bike these days in ny

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/02/nyregion/with-transportation-snarled-in-brooklyn-bicycles-roam-free.html?_r=1&
 
Not that any other $100k car would be worth much after submersion. If they were dealer stock, they would be totaled and sent to crushers.
 
Gas stations need electricity to pump the gas into the car, so maybe people shouldn't drive gasoline cars either. :mrgreen:

Anything to slam something new.. remember when the internet was just gonna be a fad, and was populated by people who enjoyed dungeons and dragons / kiddie porn?
 
Lessss said:
Anyone that relies on etransport that has the ability to set up a solar charging station should.
Click to expand...
I have a home on the island of Hawaii. When I went to build it, HELCO, the electric provider, wanted $5,500 for my hookup, and another $3,500 for a pole that they would set just off the right of way for their transformer and meter. Both the State of Hawaii and the Feds had good tax incentives to solar. With the tax incentives and the $9k I didn't give HELCO, I had a Solar system built. It produces 16.5kw per day. A back up propane fueled 7500w generator and two humongous la fork lift batteries, and the inverter cost near $37 k.
I was looking at the Tesla and using its range/ kw of battery storage figured that my drive to town would use 13 kw of power. Thats wouldnt leave much for the house :cry: If I drove to Kona it'd take most of a week to charge it.
As the whole south side of the house and garage are covered, I can't easily add panels. The panels are a bit,more efficient today than in '05, but I really can't see it working out that well.
Oh, another reason for solar on the island. HELCO rates are about $20 month for misc. billing fees, plus $.40 per kwh. A price we'll prolly see when the EPA gets all the coal fired plants shut down.
 
I wonder if zero or Tesla does submerged saltwater testing or salt fog testing
And can pass MIL-STD-810
Im guessing the 18650 format with multiple fuses on each cell may fair better
Although telsa is building korean prismatic as a back up as they dont want to be married to panasonic
Although even nimh prius caught on fire
Maybe the lead acid?
 
neptronix said:
Anything to slam something new.. remember when the internet was just gonna be a fad, and was populated by people who enjoyed dungeons and dragons / kiddie porn?
Click to expand...

Excuse me... did you just say "something new" in reference to electric cars? Because that's what I heard you say.

1920DetroitElectricAd.jpg
 
Water and electricity don't mix well, a 10 yo knows that, but this statement is pure silly

Of course, home owners can turn to a backup generator, but even the most powerful units typically provide only 110-volt power instead of the 220-volts needed for a speedy charge

When generators of several voltages and currents are cheaply available

http://www.justgenerators.co.uk/pages/Petrol%205-10Kva.htm
 
Buy stock in a generator company.

Hard to say what even just cat 1 hurricane winds would do to a rooftop solar panel setup. Could be just as vulnerable as the local grid. But a Harbor Freight 45 watt portable PV setup, including a lead battery, stashed in the garage could be a good thing. Enough to keep your cellphone charged, laptop charged if your internet still works, etc. And charge most ebikes in a couple days.

Of course, with a generator, you do have to keep a bit of fuel for it handy. But one gallon in a tiny gennie would get your bike charged daily for several days if not weeks. Last time we had a big outage here, getting gas for my large generator got to be a hassle, but at least there was no big lines at the gas stations once you found one that was turned on. Rolling blackouts, so you sometimes could get gas, sometimes not. Soon as power went on at the house, dash to the nearby station and fill the cans before it went back off. My generator kept the house heated quite comfortable while the neighbors all had no heat every time the power shut off. Many had pipes freeze, no damage at my house.
 
A portable hand cranked gas pump could be the next service station accessory. Would people wait for hours to turn a crank? Or a stationary bicycle generator/charger for small electronics? On the farm the tanks are elevated and gravity fills the equipment, thus no power needed. Maybe a few stations could be built this way, if it could be done terror proof. :wink:
 
The fingers said:
A portable hand cranked gas pump could be the next service station accessory. Would people wait for hours to turn a crank? Or a stationary bicycle generator/charger for small electronics? On the farm the tanks are elevated and gravity fills the equipment, thus no power needed. Maybe a few stations could be built this way, if it could be done terror proof. :wink:
Click to expand...

News story from New Jersey about a station owner who did just that. They pumped something like 30,000 gallons to his customers with what looked like a barrel hand pump. He didn't raise his prices either and the local folks were calling him a hero. I would have to agree.
 
All this proves is that a replacement technology has to be PERFECT to be accepted as a replacement. The imperfections of the gasoline engine in this situation are accepted, those of the electric are not. If the electric takes over in the future and someone tries to bring back gas engines, you know what they'll be saying. . . .

I think it's related. Trying to make junk out of junk is kewl. . .

woody1.jpg


. . . .Trying to make kewl out of junk is junk.

Lamborghini-Revenon-replica-550x367.jpg


Kind of kewl that they're both farmers.

http://vcca.org/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/258696/Re_Farmer_s_Woody

http://www.odditycentral.com/news/chinese-farmer-builds-lamborghini-reventon-from-scrap-metal.html
 
Electrical setup with diesel backup generators is the way to go. Of course you would want to have your own setup for making diesel.
 
Yeah I think they were mostly Fisker Karmas? All but one of the cars wrecked by the water?? Maybe Fisker has to pay Luke to come make the battery better ;)
And secondly FOX new pointed this out hu? FOX news has pointed out more "flaws" with electrics in the last two years than imaginable! I am sure they are funded by OPEC!
It is funny how fast people jump on something like this. Put any car underwater and its toast in fact sometimes if reported it is no longer insurable in some states! As for not being able to charge that sucks but If I have an electric I will have some back up power incl gen-set solar and wind hell I will put the wheel of the bmx in the air and peddle with the Regen on to charge things up!
 
In the article I read, it was stated by Fisker's rep, that the fire was the result of the 12 volt system shorting, NOT the TRACTION PACK. :oops: Also these cars were on the dock awaiting shipment overseas.
 
Punxor - You were a handsome young man. Was there some sort of disaster and you had to wear your grandma's coat?

Of course if those were some ICE vehicles left on the dock, and were flooded with water, we would only need to dust them off. Oh well, whatever the spin, there is a point. There are vulnerabilities for these types of vehicles. People start imagining. What if I tried to go through that water covered street, and misjudged, and was immolated even in that torrent of water?

Pretty horrific scenario, even if it were Darwin Award material. $100,000 for that privelage eh? One, even staged event like this, doesn't matter the details, remains pretty devestating. Intelligence eventually prevails though. Hopefully, some ebikers have been able to get charged up, and ride to work. They must seem like geniuses to all of the hordes on regular bikes who don't like to bike. The relatively cheap ebike is the best electrification option. I keep waiting for the military to settle on a small "camping" generator design. They have been looking at a propane/multi fuel capable platform for charging some small electric devices in the field. I know there is the Honda EX350, but I think the military will be able to shave off half the weight, and make it more robust/adaptable. Being able to do more with less is always the best option, but disasters seem to drive this point home without a lot of debate.
 
Sancho's Horse said:
Punxor - You were a handsome young man. Was there some sort of disaster and you had to wear your grandma's coat?
Click to expand...

Nah, I wasn't even a twinkle in the milkman's eye back then ;)

I think Chalo would approve of the bicycle, though.

Just for reference, this was almost certainly during the period of "the three day week", where electricity was rationed to reduce coal consumption. This was due to an attempt by communist trade union leaders to cause the downfall of the government through a series of crippling (to the country) strikes.

Great days :)
 
I find it odd that places like gas stations don't invest in emergency power. Maybe not enough to light up the big sign, but enough to run credit cards and the pump.

But this time around, where the wholesale gas comes from was shut down for lack of power. Seems like a lot more profit could be made if they could keep product moving. It's not like ice storms are that unusual, and often they do shut down large areas electric power.

Then everybody needs gas for the generator they were smart enough to buy, but right at that moment they can't get any. Just seems like a lack of planning ahead by the companies that could be making extra sales for that period. If deliveries aren't shut off, any station with a working pump could cash in big time.
 
I guess for many places the electricity supply is very reliable, so the investment in back-up power exceeds the loss of earnings during power outage. Though if extreme weather is common in an area then it makes more sense :)
 
maybe those electricity companies should think about burying those cables into the ground, as it's done over here. here in austria, there are almost no cables visibile anywhere. looks much nicer, any is imune to bad weather.
only those 300kv overland lines are up in the air. but as there are no hurricanes in the heart of europe this is fine :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
early calcars plug in prius hybrid burns while charging
Replies
1
Views
383
Punx0r
P
Back
Top