OT-ish: "Powerwall" - will change the way the world uses energy

[Davey]

The fact that a switch is required to turn it off does not mean that the original statement is wrong.

[Dave Liquorice]

B-) It might be OK for local running but only if the cost was nearer £7k, 2nd hand with about 30k on the clock. Thats what the current second car is and it does >50 mpg of diesel. Expected to last >10 years, with nothing more than normal routine servicing at a couple of hundred quid at the stealers. ie the engine won't need "routine" replacement like the battery in an electric car probably will at least once over that period.

Just over 20 in Hexham or nearer 40 to Carlisle.

It's quite easy, they'll come and collect me at an agreed time (within office hours) and take me back to the depot to do the paperwork and pick up the car. But they aren't a 24/7 operation and the whole process from pickup to return with hire car takes the best part of 3 hours.

[Vir Campestris]

I used one back then (Compaq luggable with a '286 - AT compatible). It wasn't a joke, but it did have limited use. (I think we had 2 - now everyone has a laptop)

Andy

[Vir Campestris]

When we ship a couple of million chips that's volume production. But as it cost several million to develop - that's a significant part of the cost. And that's for the successful chips - the ones that don't sell cost just as much.

Andy

[Dave Liquorice]

Yerch, not been that far south for 15 years, it was bad enough then and I was used to those driving conditions. These days a traffic jam is two cars in front of me waiting for some one to come up Front Street and through The Narrows. The M6 north of Lancaster on a Saturday morning or evening is more or less deserted, you might have some just visible in front and behind. Getting to/from the motorway,

25 miles of A road, I might not see any other moving vehicle.

I'd assume the Tesla don't require a Tesla charger, if it does it aint going to work over here with just 20 charge points.

The makers need their heads knocking together if they don't come up with a standard power connection and interlock. It's not difficult FFS.

[Dave Liquorice]

For such short journies the engine will have only just warmed up and be working effciently. Perhaps they ought to consider public transport? Oh I forgot, the sheeple don't have coats or umbrellas these days and have forgotten what those two long things dangling from their fat bottoms are for. So a half mile walk to a bus stop isn't on even if it isn't cold or raining.

[Simon Brown]

The coal will last for hundreds of years more and once that is gone, it will still be possible to turn any available carbon and hydrogen into diesel if it turns out to be the best transport fuel then.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'd say you need to get your thermostat changed. My car is up to full temperature in about a mile. Mixture enrichment off slightly before that. True the oil may take slightly longer to reach the ideal temperature - but I doubt you'd measure that in terms of MPG.

Can't believe you're recommending buses after all this time. ;-)

[The Natural Philosopher]

when you ship a couple of million battery cells costing £100 each, the £1million R & D is not really an issue

[The Natural Philosopher]

using what source of energy?

At what relative cost?

And at what ecologicial cost?

[Simon Brown]

Obviously nukes.

We don?t know yet and won't need to know for hundreds of years because the coal will last that long.

Very little most likely, essentially because there is going to be a lot less ecological cost involved in using what carbon and hydrogen is available once the coal isn't economic to turn into a decent transport fuel.

Its also quite possible that we will choose to use hydrides with the hydrogen produced directly by nukes, not produced by the electrolysis of water, and the ecological cost will be even lower again because using the hydrides as a transport fuel instead of diesel is quite a bit better ecologically.

And that route isn't likely to be that expensive.

[Chris J Dixon]

Memories of my first car, a VW Beetle, come flooding back. I picked this up at trade. It had been imported from South Africa, and was a bit behind the European model changes. IIRC the greasing interval was 1500 miles. It was OK as a first car, but not after driving anything else. Motorway trips in a cross wind were very interesting, as the steering, even with new king pins, was incredibly soggy.

A fun job was changing the spark plugs - on the 1500 engine you needed a plug spanner that would take the tommy bar at 45 degrees.

Then there was the heater designed so that, if it was going to stick, it would do so fully on.

My only success was once getting an exhaust fitted free - they took all day and had to change a stud.

Chris

[Dave Liquorice]

Petrol? Lots of waste heat from a petrol engine. B-)

The temp guage on mine does it's rapid rise to normal, presumably as the thermostat opens, about 200 yds from home if I've been to town and back a 5 mile round trip. But it is 2.5 l, 5 cylinder, diesel. Sod all waste heat, when it's cold there is little point in running the engine for the heater as there is no heat.

forgotten

If we had a bus that came past here I'd use it to pop into town even if it didn't do the return journey for an hour. As it is the only bus that comes past us is the school bus and fare paying public are not allowed to use that now.

[dennis]

I would get the stat checked. Diesels generate more than enough heat for the heater to work.

The gauge can operate quickly if its put in the right place.

On some modern engines the majority of cooling is done with the oil and the water cools the oil, the engines warm up quickly but the heaters take a bit longer so they fit electric elements in some of them.

[Dave Liquorice]

running

The gauge on this car behaves exactly the same as the gauge on it's predecessor, same make slightly different trim level. Engine the same

2.5 l 5 cylinder jobbie.

When working but this one certainly doesn't at idle.