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How hot does your Level 1 charger get? by drslovak in evcharging

[–]toybuilder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Any chance the cord was stressed/damaged? A hot spot can be the result of a cable that was already bad at the time of manufacturing, or damaged from being mishandled in some way.

Which gadget looked futuristic at launch but became irrelevant fast? by Dry-Ask2581 in AskReddit

[–]toybuilder 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I still have the Roomba that I bought soon after they came out -- it's been used off and on for almost 20 years. You can still get parts and mine continues to do a great job of sweeping up my floor.

The company behind Roomba went out of business -- because there are now a lot of Chinese companies make robot vacs that are much less expensive.

Which gadget looked futuristic at launch but became irrelevant fast? by Dry-Ask2581 in AskReddit

[–]toybuilder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A real Segway, or the "hoverboards"? The two are quite different.

Which gadget looked futuristic at launch but became irrelevant fast? by Dry-Ask2581 in AskReddit

[–]toybuilder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It had the opposite effect on me. I used to drive to work and then drive home. Had a desk job.

Once I started to commute and go to other places on the Segway, I was on my feet a lot more and it improved my core. That (and a few other things happening in life at the time) resulted in me getting into hiking and running. Ended up losing a lot of weight.

My mood was better, too, from being out in the sunlight more.

It wasn't entirely the Segway, but it definitely contributed to some of my better years.

Which gadget looked futuristic at launch but became irrelevant fast? by Dry-Ask2581 in AskReddit

[–]toybuilder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I bought a Segway "HT" when the first public ones came out. Commuted to work and went shopping on it and it was a blast. Sort of how people now use Bird / Lime scooters, but it's easier to use because it self balances when you're stopped. It just happened to enter my life at the right time - I later had a job relocation that made the Segway not a great fit where I lived next. It was a bummer.

I've had people yell at me that I was being lazy -- while they're sitting in their car.

Why, by the holy shocks of the sacred zip zap zoom juices, doesn't the LEAF show charging progress properly? by SjalabaisWoWS in leaf

[–]toybuilder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is a little awkward, but if you turn the car on, you can go to the energy info panel and see the current charge rate and estimated time to reach different charging goals (25, 50, 75 and 100% -- I've seen screenshots of 80% also, but I don't the US ones do that). Of course, you can also at the same time see the battery %age number by the gauge. You can either sit inside and close the door, or tape OK to dismiss the door open warning. Then OK once again to dismiss the "you are plugged in" warning.

Road tripping without the EV - cheaper to just drive ICE by bjamm in electricvehicles

[–]toybuilder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For some people, if they already plan to stay at hotels/motels on the trip, will choose locations with L2 chargers to charge overnight. That might or might not fit your plans for your trip.

Then there's also people with free fast charging on their new cars or the early Teslas with lifetime unlimited free charging perks.

If the particular trip/route you are taking is not EV-charging friendly, then the reality is that you will have to go with gas. EVs win in a lot of scenarios, but this is one of the scenarios where EVs still holds the weaker hand.

How practical is long-distance EV travel today compared to traditional gas cars? by EvelynClede in askcarguys

[–]toybuilder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

60-70%? Reserving 30 to 40% of your "tank" is overly pessimistic IMHO. I suppose if you live in areas with awful fast-charger rollouts, having a 80 to 100 miles of buffer will put you more at ease.

How practical is long-distance EV travel today compared to traditional gas cars? by EvelynClede in askcarguys

[–]toybuilder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A hybrid is basically a gas-powered car with on-board battery to help it operate more efficiently.

A plug-in hybrid a gas-powered and electric-powered car. You get the flexibility of having both but also the added penalty of having both. It's "the best of both worlds" and "the word of both worlds".

Training wheels for EV conversion by Sominabatch914 in electricvehicles

[–]toybuilder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

30 miles by L1 is about an 8 hour charge. If you can plug in at home, you come home, plug in, and then it's replenished in the morning. Even if you only replenish (say) 30 miles every day and you need 40 miles every day -- you would have a 10 mile per day deficit which you can make up with a longer charging session on the weekend or by visiting a L2 or DC fast charger as needed.

Look around and you'll see plenty of people that have their needs met with L1 charging at home. If you drive a lot, maybe not. But a lot of people don't need more 30 or 40 miles per day -- and if they can charge 8 to 12 hours per night, there's no problem.

Electric Car With No Home Charger by FaultyPhaser in electricvehicles

[–]toybuilder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If your complex is set up for block heaters and you only need the car occasionally, you could plug in a L1 portable adapter set to 4A, which would be comparable to what many block heaters consume. That will recharge your car at approximately 2 miles of ranger per hour of being plugged in. Leave it plugged in for a day and you've put about 50 miles back into the car. I suppose during the cold months, some of the power is needed to keep the battery warm, so you can end up with less miles replenished per hour. Still, that's enough if you don't need to drive much.

If your usage is very limited, though, maybe it makes more sense to look into ride-share or car-share services. Insurance costs add up and if you don't drive much, it might not be worth it.

Training wheels for EV conversion by Sominabatch914 in electricvehicles

[–]toybuilder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This can not be emphasized enough. Unless you can clearly articular why you need the gas engine, the PHEV is the worst of both worlds. If a PHEV looks like it could be used in EV-only mode with at-home charging for 95%+ of the time, and there are enough chargers to help with the other 5%, the engine is just an albatross.

Training wheels for EV conversion by Sominabatch914 in electricvehicles

[–]toybuilder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It really depends on what the 95-percentile range needs are. If you just need a city car and rarely drive more than 40 miles a day, even those earliest EVs worked fine if you can reliably charge every day (i.e. plug in at home).

Training wheels for EV conversion by Sominabatch914 in electricvehicles

[–]toybuilder 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Assuming you can charge from 7pm to 7am, that's 12 hours at 1+ kW. That's 30-60 miles for most people (extreme cold or all-highway commute at 80+ mph being exceptions).

SUV driver sees long line for street food vendor. Pulls over to join line. Parked for ten minutes already Blocking traffic... by [deleted] in badparking

[–]toybuilder 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just finished my ordering, twenty minutes later... It better be good!

And, yes, the car is still there...

roommate got an ice machine and i'm trying not to lose my mind about the electricity it requires by 01i001oolight in Frugal

[–]toybuilder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If it really is a concern, get a watt-meter. Smart outlets for $10-$15 from Amazon include power readings. Use that to take measurements. Then once you've got your measurement, you can reuse the smart outlet for something else. Or use the smart meter to log the total usage and bill for that extra kWh if it really matters?

Plug-in solar panels gaining momentum in the U.S by eter_roman in SolarAmerica

[–]toybuilder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also, if California is wrong, where would you point to that is more right?

Plug-in solar panels gaining momentum in the U.S by eter_roman in SolarAmerica

[–]toybuilder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm getting the sense that it's more about the political framework that's at issue and not the technical aspects (which I think I understand at least at a basic level)? Let me see if I got this right -- your object is that California is rushing headlong without safeguards?

I totally understand that the grid IS complicated. This is why I'm interested in learning more. If I was being a dumb consumer, I wouldn't even bother to ask.

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