See, the problem with EVs is not the EVs but your stupid brain
A possible solution to a common problem with EVs: Just rewire your brain
Aaron Schlechter loves driving his electric pickup past the lines of cars and SUVs waiting to fuel up at Costco.
With a range of about 300 miles, his Ford F-150 Lightning recharges overnight or at his office during the day. Unless he’s making a long drive with his family, he never needs to fill up.
“What I tell people is that it takes a little a bit of a shift,” he said of driving a fully electric vehicle. “And the greatest thing is that you basically never have to charge when you’re out ? your gas station is essentially at your house.”
An EV fan since he got a Tesla in 2016, Schlechter is among the most experienced chargers of electric vehicles nationally. He enjoys the freedom of waking up to a fully charged vehicle at his home every day, one with the range to take him almost anywhere he needs to go.
You just need to get beyond the whole “most people can’t charge it at home, because they live in an apartment or have no garage”. Train your brain, people
But as a growing number of Americans are driving all-electric vehicles, some drivers’ brains think differently about how they fill up: They’re accustomed to the gas car experience of always being close to a pump that can fill their tank.
That means two things are happening simultaneously in America: Some new EV drivers who can charge at home are rewiring their brains, changing their expectations of their vehicle as Schlechter has done. And authorities are racing to make such a shift less necessary, building up an extensive network of chargers across the nation that also serve people who can’t charge at home.
That will totally overcome issues like poor range, slow charging when traveling, much higher insurance rates, much higher costs, getting less for the same money as a fossil fueled/hybrid vehicle, and more.
Schlechter, who owns an electrical contracting company, said even a short period of driving an EV teaches people to adapt. He said EV critics talk more about range anxiety than he and his friends in Denver’s Tesla club ever do. Critics also cite how cold weather can sap an EV’s batteries, reducing its range.
He said drivers of gas-powered cars are quick to complain about how EVs work because they don’t grasp the reality of how most people drive, which is short trips with plenty of time to recharge at home.
“The hypocrisy, the ignorance, is just amazing,” Schlechter said. “I’ve been driving all-EV for more than seven years. I have a lot of miles and a lot of experience. And I’ve never once gotten stranded.”
Well, you do you, and stop trying to force your beliefs on other people. Mind your own f’ing business.
It’s a very long USA Today piece, saying that you are the problem.
We can and do adapt to changing circumstances. The problem arises when the government tries to force those changes on people.
https://fortune.com/2023/12/22/no-one-wants-to-buy-used-ev-piling-weed-infested-graveyards-tesla-bmw-vw/
Uh…. just to point out, if you don’t have a garage there’s no reason you can’t put a 220v charger out on your driveway. I was looking at a used Nissan Leaf, cuz they are really cheap. I figured I could run a charger cord off the unused dryer outlet.
Anyway, the grid doesn’t have the capacity or infrastructure to support the kind of EV usage the gov is trying to foist off on us.
I figured I could run a charger cord off the unused dryer outlet.
Just a thought.
If you have 50 Amp breakers you may find that you can charge but not run a hot water and/or stove and/or dryer at the same time.
You probably have already thought of this but I suggest you get a good electrician and tell him your plans.
Well, it was only a notion at the time. Our stove and water heater are the hated (by the left) natural gas, and the dryer outlet goes directly to the main panel. I think the extension cord would only have to be 10-12 feet or so. If I got serious, I suppose I could get an electrician to remove the dryer outlet and put an outside 220v outlet inside the conveniently placed unused milk chute. 🙂
To run a 50 ampere circuit, you need either 8 or 6 gauge wire from your breaker panel, and 8 gauge is acceptable only for very short runs.
The 220-volt chargers I have researched all use 40 amps, but require a 50 amp circuit. An electric dryer circuit is usually on a 30 amp circuit.
220 volts and 50 amps is serious stuff. A 110 volt circuit will hurt, but a 220 will knock you across the room. Working on concrete plants, I dealt with some 440 volt 3-phase systems, and do the wrong thing with that and it will kill you stone-cold graveyard dead.
Jim, I would recommend not doing the extension cord out of a 50 amp dryer circuit. A BAD idea, while it would work at some level, it could kill you or someone else. 15 or 20 amps of 110/120 volts with a properly sized extension cord is relatively safe, 220v is a different breed of cat, particularly at 50 amps. I have a little personal experience and escaped with only some second degree burns and I do have some electrician experience.
Just don’t do it.
Thanks for the advice. I’ve about decided to go with a Toyota Rav4 instead. It’s just a hard choice to drop $30K at once. 🙂
Good choice.
Here’s the req for a Model Y
Level 2 is considerably faster and uses a 240-volt outlet with an amperage of about 40 amps. It’s available at commercial charging stations and homes when using the Wall Connector. This charging level can give you sufficient power to travel 30 miles for every hour you’ll have it connected to the charger.
You could charge but anything else is doubtful.
https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/how-many-amps-does-tesla-charger-draw.php#:~:text=A%20Tesla%20charger%20will%20draw,stations%20with%20higher%20power%20output.
“That’s what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown” – Linus explains the true meaning of Christmas
https://commoncts.blogspot.com/2023/12/thats-what-christmas-is-all-about.html