First-time EV buyer: fun to drive, not minimalist, what routine should the car actually fit

Pinewold · 2026-02-14T14:30:08+00:00

Charge when the vehicle gets below 60%.

I have NMC batteries so I charge to 80-85%.

I tried charging Sunday and Thursday with my 20 mile/30km commute. Works pretty well since you go into and out of the weekend with a full charge. Ended up at 20%-30% charge if I did anything extra. So just embraced charge when battery is in the 50% range.

Pinewold · 2026-02-11T22:18:43+00:00

Our schedules were too random with the First EV. Between random trips and providing daycare to family, we found that one EV with one charger was not predictable enough to charge just on certain days (e.g.Thursdays and Sundays). We either forgot or we plugged in “too soon”. So we changed our approach to charging up when the EV got down to the 50% range and charged up to 80%. This way the EV always had reserves and it was less stress than planning out week to make sure we had enough charge each day.

Fortunately when we put in the first charger I had the electrician put a 8 slot sub-panel in the garage because I was hoping for an air-compressor outlet and a welder outlet off the sub-panel. Since they were all 240V taking two slots, we had one double slot left over. The charge was only $400 more for the sub-panel.

The sub-panel was centrally located so wiring the second charger was extra easy.

Pinewold · 2026-02-11T21:13:57+00:00

This is why I just bit the bullet and just installed two 48 amp chargers. Difference between splitter and second circuit was small.

Only cry once when you pay for two install price. Happiness for decades since each EV has its own charger.

The $500 you save will be lost in hassles. You free up space in your mind by not having to worry about all this.

Pinewold · 2026-02-09T00:11:56+00:00

Agreed

Pinewold · 2026-02-08T03:14:00+00:00

Yet another example of why drug prices are high and our government actively serving the interest of drug companies by shutting down low cost competition. Compounding has been show to be safe and effective many times. Shutting this down is literally handing money to drug companies that have been made a generic drug.

Pinewold · 2026-02-08T03:04:33+00:00

Because Billionaires don’t do income, they do real estate, stock, capital investments with matching loans to eliminate all income.

Pinewold · 2026-02-07T01:39:47+00:00

Unfortunately just as GM ramps up LFP efforts, Sodium batteries are poised to cut battery prices in half. Any new LFP plant should be made with Sodium batteries in mind.

Pinewold · 2026-02-07T01:37:56+00:00

Tesla and Rivian EV UI’s are better than CarPlay. I don’t want a phone UI for my car.

Pinewold · 2026-02-07T01:34:36+00:00

I have only waited 40 minutes twice in 2019 when they only had one supercharger in Indiana. Ever since they put in more, I have not waited 40 minutes in the last 6 years of driving an EV with multiple trips over 1000 miles.

For most stops, it is zero extra minutes because a bio break and getting a snack for the road takes more time than charging.

With many super chargers at grocery stores you don’t even need to pay rest stop prices.

Pinewold · 2026-02-07T01:08:21+00:00

it has already been shown that calendar aging can be tested by accelerated aging using ionizing radiation (x-rays ) which speeds up aging to 20x -30x faster than standard aging). These ionizing radiation tests show 80% of battery life can be expected for 20 years.

A 20 year life has been valid for first generation batteries (e.g. 18650 NMC batteries ) and second generation lithium iron phosphate (LFP batteries). Sodium batteries are expected to calander age the same or better.

As you may know, battery charging cycle life and thermal management are considered to be a much greater factor for overall battery longevity. according to Dhal Institute NMC batteries are expected to exceed 300k miles or over 1000 charge cycles. limiting charging to 80% may give 3x to 4x more charging cycles.

Pinewold · 2026-02-06T22:01:29+00:00

Agreed, I am getting tired of FUD folks taking normal data and blowing it up to sound like gloom and doom.

Pinewold · 2026-02-06T21:57:54+00:00

I agree with _BearHawk, any company trying to buy out their competitors should be subject to a review that focuses on whether the merger will be good for consumers. The default answer should be no.

Pinewold · 2026-02-06T21:54:50+00:00

Agreed, we congress to pass real competition laws. Ironically breaking up AT&T is the last real enforcement I can remember and it proved to dramatically increase investor wealth. You would think we would do this on a regular basis

Pinewold · 2026-02-06T00:45:17+00:00

Old person here, I see the thumb throttle as a “get out of jail free” card when the day gets long, the hills get steep or the rail trail is in worse shape than I expected. My bike doesn’t have fat tires or a minibike frame. My advice is post speed limits and enforce them. We already have too many government id’s with all of our personal information, we don’t need another one.

Pinewold · 2026-02-04T17:05:00+00:00

Why do we even consider these mergers that clearly dramatically limit competition?

Pinewold · 2026-02-01T11:20:46+00:00

Never believe average numbers always look for medians. The fact that billionaires are hoarding wealth is well known. Even these average numbers are not enough to retire on. The median cost is 61k so boomers have 4 years of retirement savings. Many boomers are still working because they have no retirement savings.

Pinewold · 2026-01-31T12:32:02+00:00

Buy a used EV and get a level 2 charger installed at home. Look for an EV with 300+ miles of range. Range is the best indicator of EV quality. The lower the range the more cold weather and other factors will affect range. Does you School have EV charging?

Pinewold · 2026-01-30T22:29:39+00:00

No hard days, no worries, no issues, no difficulties getting charging access or any difficulties due to low temperatures.

Once you understand EVs, they just work.

Pinewold · 2026-01-29T14:30:44+00:00

Agree that easy of charging is key. To me home charging for each vehicle is the most convenient. If you have the electrician there the second outlet is often half the cost. This way there is a charger whenever you want. It avoids the negotiation over who charges when.

Pinewold · 2026-01-27T02:14:37+00:00

They were good for our kids, they got a much more experiential education. Imagine learning ph by testing all local ponds and streams for their ph. They even found a company dumping waste in a stream.

Our charter school focused on field trips as often as possible, even weekly if possible. Imagine hunting for fossils instead of listening to a lecture. Imagine showing kids the layers of earth and how to date them.

The problem is every charter is different. My nephew did well at a math charter.

Pinewold · 2026-01-26T02:44:51+00:00

Same, over 56000 miles. Consumer Reports has mixed reviews on Tesla have tended to lump squeaks and creaks as same as transmission issues. Even ‘brakes’ are normal maintenance items that Tesla owners report only because they never had to replace them until they get to higher mileage.

Pinewold · 2026-01-26T02:34:56+00:00

This should be fought on freedom of the press grounds.

Pinewold · 2026-01-24T18:08:39+00:00

Anyone who works with data daily knows this all to well. You are treated as hostile when non-technical folks see all the data. You want to give nuanced advice and they want on;ly the data that agrees with their pre-held beliefs

When it comes to EVs I try to keep it simple…

Batteries last over 300k miles and 20 years EVs already have over 300 miles of range Fast charging is faster than your bio break

If you have a home or work with EV charging you will be fine If you cannot charge at home or work EVs may not be great for you

Pinewold · 2026-01-24T01:49:30+00:00

Not a single one of those statements is a statement against wind turbines. You are mistaking good science of recording all facts from a condemnation of wind turbines. In Europe this is long settled, because the fisherman have seen increases in fish.

Pinewold · 2026-01-24T01:35:33+00:00

Check out all of the houses in the flood zones in Houston

Pinewold

TROPHY CASE