🚀 go-pugleaf

On Sat, 17 May 2008 11:43:25 -0700, Joerg
<notthisjoergsch@removethispacbell.net> wrote:

>True. But Li-Ion charge cycles are pretty well researched out by now. I 
>doubt one can ever get to 200k miles with one set. But one can on the 
>first engine, and then some.

Not really.  The A123 Systems batteries are HD Nanophosphate
technology which is allegedly better than conventional Li-Ion and LiPO
batteries.  Although commonly used in overpriced battery operated
power tools, there's really not enough field experience to predict
reliability and lifetime.
<http://www.a123systems.com/#/technology/power/pchart1/>

"Thousands and thousands" of charge cycles lifetime:
<http://www.a123systems.com/#/technology/life/>
Sounds a bit vague to me.

Fast Charging:
<http://www.a123systems.com/#/technology/power/pchart5/>

>I am not a fan of those. My sister has instant heaters and often you 
>either get pelted with an arctic shower or boiling water. Ok, that's an 
>exaggeration but it ain't comfy.

That's high luxury compared to taking a shower with a rooftop solar
water heater.  I got introduced to those in the 1970's in Israel.
Israel has lots of sun, lots of rooftops, and isn't insterested in
wasting power heating what water it pulls out of the Jordan River.
Haifa was literally covered with apartment buildings.  The ground
floor was reserved for businesses.  The rest were apartments which
were sold, not rented.  Every apartment had its solar water heater on
the roof (along with multiple TV antennas at the time) which made
things rather crowded.

Anyway, when you first turn on the water, you get the somewhat warm
water that was sitting in the pipes.  About 15 seconds later, you get
scalded by maximumly hot, near boiling, water directly from the solar
water heater.  That slowly tapers off in temperature as the rooftop
heater slowly empties.  I learned to take a shower with one hand on
the valves.

I've done the same with flash water heaters.  They do a somewhat
better job of temperature regulation, but without a ballast tank,
constant adjustment is required.  Still, it's more energy efficient
than a tank type water heater.  Sacrifices must be made.

>> "New Car every 10 years or Used Car every 5 years"?
>> <http://www.milliondollarjourney.com/new-car-every-10-years-or-used-car-every-5.htm> 
>
>The rationale in that article is a bit on the naive side IMHO. One has 
>to factor in the pitfalls of used cars. What if the previous owner drove 
>it sans oil to reach a gas station but never told you? What if he never 
>slowed down at speed bumps?

Well, the assumption was made that the used car came from a "reputable
used car dealer" (a classic oxymoron) who checked out the vehicle,
prerformed any required maintenance, and offered some semblance of a
warranty.  For used car buyers that buy their vehicles without running
the VIN number through CarFax, checking the DMV history, or having it
checked out by a mechanic, I suspect there will be problems.  Todays
OBD-II diagnostics will often uncover signs of drive train abuse,
damage, and neglect.  Many other things are obvious after driving a
few miles.

Slow down for speed bumps?  My paved dirt road is nothing but speed
bumps.

>I saw lots of the in Germany. They call them "elephant shoes".

Good name.  I suspect the next step will be a true wearable
automobile.  LIPO electric powered.  You sit down on the drive train
and wheel platform, wrap the fenders, cowling, and roof around you,
and drive away merilly.  Maybe an inflatable body for light weight and
crash resistance.  When done driving, pack it back in it's case,
attach a handle to one ond of the wheel platform, and carry it away
like a hand truck.

>It's like oxygenation. I get 25mpg on California gas and 28mpg on Nevada 
>gas.

They also oxygenated diesel in the early 1990's using 15% ethanol.
That raise the head temperature on my Dodge/Mitsubishi diesel
sufficiently to crack the head.  What was interesting was that I was
driving it for about 6 months with a cracked head.  There was no
obvious deterioration in performance other than a slight drop in
diesel mileage, and the mysterious disappearance of radiator water to
no obvious destination.  I eventually figured I had a problem when I
ran the engine with the radiator cap removed, which simulated a
volcanic eruption of exhaust gasses belching from the radiator.

Welding the aluminium head was problematic so I opted for a factory
new replacement head.  Those arrive a few thousands thicker than stock
which lowered the compression ratio slightly.  The result was the
diesel milage dropped from about 30mpg to 28mpg, but the engine stayed
quite cool using the new diesel formulation.

>We all need to drive less. It's possible. I reduced from 10k+ miles per 
>year to under 3k miles per year and more than half of that is for 
>business. That's it. I often do oil changes based on age, not miles driven.

Yep.  I must admit that I haven't tried to economize very much.  The
best I've done is bum rides from friends and customers.  I'm still
somewhat in the service and repair biz doing service calls to
customers.  That works out to about 12,000 miles per year for business
(i.e. deductable) and 5,000 miles per year for personal use.  I can
probably cut both in half, but then I would have to juggle
appointments and errands by location.  It's easier for me to just buy
a smaller economy car and not carry a warehouse full of parts with me.

>> In the 1970's I used to drive by the GM plant in Fremont CA and noted
>> the rather large number of imported cars in the employees parking lot.
>
>The NUMMI plant? They also produce Toyotas there, such as my wife's 1995 
>Corolla. I don't think it's onwed by GM but could be wrong.

Yep.  That's the one.  However, this was in the 1970's, before 1984
when Toyota saved GM's ass by literally taking over the plant on GM's
behalf.
<http://www.nummi.com>
<http://www.nummi.com/timeline.php>
Sorry, it's not in Milpitas but Fremont.  Anyway, across the street
from the parking lot was an excellent Chinese restaurant that we
frequented as often as practical.  The only problem was that the drive
went by a cattle stock yard.  The smell would ruin any lunch.  The
yard was also very close to Altos Computers, which may explain their
premature demise.

>It takes many, many years to build a reputation for reliability but less 
>than a year to destroy it.

The common observation is that American buyers are nearly clueless.  I
guess the same applies to Australian buyers.  See:

"Large car sales on the increase"
<http://www.themotorreport.com.au/752/large-car-sales-on-the-increase/>
This is from June 2007, but still interesting.

   It�s encouraging to see a consolidation in the Large and Upper
   Large segments which reflects both the introduction of exciting
   new product and the response of brands to the competitive
   challenges of the market. The resurgence in sales of SUVs and
   Large cars demonstrates that family-sized vehicles continue to 
   meet the preferences of a significant number of Australian
   consumers because they suit their lifestyles and transport
   requirements,� said FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar.

Yep.  Lifestyle and image is everything.

-- 
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831-336-2558            jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
# http://802.11junk.com               jeffl@cruzio.com
# http://www.LearnByDestroying.com               AE6KS