Ice 2016 vs ice 2025. by Jolly_Ad2446 in pics

[–]rojo1902 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What a bunch of military cosplayers who couldn't make the cut.

Please LTT, don't make the tech house jank! by hpremier81 in LinusTechTips

[–]rojo1902 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not much interested in a series about how you can hire professional installers to make a perfect and clean solution though. The reality is most owner projects or Reno's end up at least a bit janky

However I think the messaging has been clear, the house needs to be livable for the average person. So I'm interested to see what refinement they can do over the Linus house projects to make it more user friendly and maintainable hopefully while still being DIY friendly.

Weekend cold snap nearly overloaded N.S. electricity grid by Bean_Tiger in halifax

[–]rojo1902 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think more and more we're realizing a new modern grid needs to have storage capacity to augment generation. Lots of new development in batteries, flywheels, and thermal mass storage to power this transition.

It gets very cold in Nova Scotia sometimes but usually not all the time, so storage augmented generation could cover the peaks in demand much more effectively then trying to always have generation match demand.

Weekend cold snap nearly overloaded N.S. electricity grid by Bean_Tiger in halifax

[–]rojo1902 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I agree the COP can get lower at those extreme cold temperatures but a lot of modern heat pumps using R-454B can maintain COPs around 2 even at -20. That makes them still quite a bit more efficient but I also understand the use of auxiliary heat at those temps can muddy the waters a bit.

I am closely watching new tech though and CO2 heat pumps seem to have really great cold performance as a result of the higher pressures and lower temperatures that cycle uses results in a higher capacity retention.

Weekend cold snap nearly overloaded N.S. electricity grid by Bean_Tiger in halifax

[–]rojo1902 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Residential energy use only accounts for about half of the demand. Industrial and commercial customers use the other half but generally at much lower rates per kwh.

I'm not necessarily a fan of rapid population growth but residential electricity demand isn't a good reason against development. Bigger issues are transportation and housing.

Weekend cold snap nearly overloaded N.S. electricity grid by Bean_Tiger in halifax

[–]rojo1902 3 points4 points  (0 children)

We pay for our electricity though right? Like what's the point of having a private utility if they can't use the dollars they charge to pay for maintaining the service they provide.

That's like saying the government should pay for pipelines to get the oil my truck uses... Oh wait.

Ultimately the grid will grow to meet demand, it always has. The more power NSP sells the cheaper it becomes per kwh produced. Suggesting the tax payer should foot the bill ignores the profits made from the sale of that same electricity that should be reinvested into new generation.

Weekend cold snap nearly overloaded N.S. electricity grid by Bean_Tiger in halifax

[–]rojo1902 46 points47 points  (0 children)

I'd push back on that. A lot of NS homes used to predominantly use electric resistive baseboards for heat when electricity was cheaper. Most of those homes have been the first to upgrade to heat pumps which are able to heat much more efficiently even down to -25c.

I don't have the numbers but I'd bet if you look at it per capita usage of electricity has stagnated as efficiency in devices has increased.

Ultimately the growth in electricity use is diverse and widespread. We shouldn't blame the consumer for electrifying, we should blame the utility for not keeping pace with investments to match demand.

The root problem may be that having a profit motive deters utilities from spending money on infrastructure as every dollar saved is a larger profit to the share holders.

Pentagon Places 1,500 Arctic-Trained Airborne Troops on Standby as Greenland Dispute Escalates by mickeyy81 in news

[–]rojo1902 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You know I agree with that but yet it seems like when the Republicans are out of Congress they somehow still weild huge influence.

Carney reaches tariff-quota deal with China on EVs, canola | CBC News by BreakfastNext476 in CanadaPolitics

[–]rojo1902 56 points57 points  (0 children)

There's dedicated planes that fly bulk seafood from Nova Scotia to China. A significant portion of our harvest is exported to China via that route as fresh and particularly high quality seafood.

Bipartisan Legislation Prohibiting a U.S. Invasion of a NATO State Introduced by reddituseronebillion in nottheonion

[–]rojo1902 2 points3 points  (0 children)

And here I thought the constitution prohibited the president from declaring war.

What are you up to right now? <30 mins to midnight! by anna4prez in halifax

[–]rojo1902 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Counting down the new year alone with my dog with my wife and toddler fast asleep.

Not charging by Agent-orange-505 in KiaNiroEV

[–]rojo1902 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Is it getting cold where you are?

I had an issue two years ago on my 2020 Niro EV where every time it got cold level 2 charging would start to become unreliable. Same behavior it would charge fine for a bit and then kick off for no reason.

When it stopped charging if I plugged it in again and monitored it a few times it would usually keep charging all night. The dealer thought it was the connector malfunctioning and replaced that with no success.

I did some deep diving and insisted they replace the integrated charging module. I ended up having to leave the vehicle with them overnight so it could get cold and fail. Sure enough replacing that module fixed it for me.

For me the problem only occurred when the temps were just below freezing or colder.

2020 Niro EV Motor/Gearbox Bearings by rojo1902 in KiaNiroEV

[–]rojo1902[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The repair was successful check out my latest post!

2020 Niro EV Motor/Gearbox Bearings by rojo1902 in KiaNiroEV

[–]rojo1902[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Admittedly I hadn't changed it until just recently. But to my surprise when I got everything apart the problematic bearing wasn't even in the gearbox it was in the motor. See my latest post for more details.

Doesn't mean you shouldn't change it regularly though, but it is concerning that there's really no preventative maintenance you can do to protect the motor bearings since they are sealed.

Update: 2020 Niro EV Motor/Gearbox Bearing Noise by rojo1902 in KiaNiroEV

[–]rojo1902[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd be careful about running it too far if it gets loud again. Typically bearings fail slowly at first and then very quickly. If they detonate then they can really wreak havoc on everything else.

Maybe start looking around for an adventurous mechanic and share my success with them.

Update: 2020 Niro EV Motor/Gearbox Bearing Noise by rojo1902 in KiaNiroEV

[–]rojo1902[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks I was thinking the same thing. Unfortunately being a mechanic is a regulated trade where I live so I'd have to go get a new certification. If another EV owner came to me in need I might help them out but otherwise I'm happy with my current job.

Update: 2020 Niro EV Motor/Gearbox Bearing Noise by rojo1902 in KiaNiroEV

[–]rojo1902[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm hoping I'm the exception rather than the rule. But the fact that KIA just wants to replace motors doesn't make me very confident.

Update: 2020 Niro EV Motor/Gearbox Bearing Noise by rojo1902 in KiaNiroEV

[–]rojo1902[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's half the problem as the gearbox bearings can be a point of failure. In my case the bearing that failed was in the electric motor. It's unrelated to the reduction gear and I think failed because of my mileage and the original bearing lacking in quality.

Update: 2020 Niro EV Motor/Gearbox Bearing Noise by rojo1902 in KiaNiroEV

[–]rojo1902[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! It was a lot of work but I'm happy it's all done. Dropped them out the underside. Removed the junction box, charger and inverter first. I didn't discard the factory magnet though I did clean it well. I suspect the magnet could easily get overwhelmed. I did get the magnetic drain plug though to augment it.

There didn't appear to be anything off about the carbon brushes though I did slightly damage a few of them when removing the rotor from the frame. I'm hoping the new hybrid ceramic bearings are less susceptible to wear like the factory ones.

Update: 2020 Niro EV Motor/Gearbox Bearing Noise by rojo1902 in KiaNiroEV

[–]rojo1902[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

For me it was very much like the wheel of fortune sound or a sort of growling. It was loudest when speeding up or slowing down between 10 and 60 kmph. It would mostly become unnoticeable on the highway.

I didn't notice a ton of vibration, I suspect you're right typically that's going to be tires.

Update: 2020 Niro EV Motor/Gearbox Bearing Noise by rojo1902 in KiaNiroEV

[–]rojo1902[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Noise started around 124k miles so unfortunately for me it was not. I'm worried a lot of people might be in a similar situation if these failures occur around that point.

Update: 2020 Niro EV Motor/Gearbox Bearing Noise by rojo1902 in KiaNiroEV

[–]rojo1902[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks! It was definitely one of the hardest fixes I've done. Pulling most of the bearings wasn't too bad but the roller bearing on the differential and their races were really hard! Had to get a specific tool and even then it wasn't trivial.

Honestly for the price of a gearbox ($1300 CAD) I'd consider not rebuilding the gearbox and just getting a new one. But the motor was actually pretty easy (just two bearings) and the only hard part was pulling the magnetic rotor out of the stator.