Question: What do you do if your electric car runs out of electric? It's not like you can get a can of electricity, good for 30 miles.
Lets say, for instance, your teenager takes it out on Saturday nights, Chances are pretty good that before you've seen 6 more new moons you will be getting a call "Hey Dad,car's gone flat."
1
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.For what it's worth , I've had my ordinary car's battery die . I now own a small charger , which I can plug into a wall outlet in my garage and connect to my car's battery via the cigaret lighter outlet
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Cast1es
Level 9
Mar 28, 2018
0
wow... Is that safe? How long does it take to charge?
@Dick_Martin My previous van was the one with the problem battery , or perhaps it just couldn't stand up to my frequent , but less than five mile drives . Didn't find this , until I got my new-to-me van . So haven't tried it yet . Asked for what I wanted at a local auto parts store , and they had it in stock .
I saw this before, but waited....
If there isn't a device, similar to a portable battery charger, to pop a temp charge into the electric car, there should be. Just in case of such inexperienced drivers
njoy_life_2
Level 7
Feb 28, 2018
2
One solution that comes to mind is to slow the car down towards the last 25% of charge. Slow it to, say, 35 mph? Fast enough to get somewhere, slow enough to make you decide that that "somewhere" is a charging station?
@Dick_Martin 
hugs!! You are right!
I think on this all of the time. I plan on an electric car within 5 years. There are major improvements on their way. I can make it 1/2 way around this country according to the motoring associations, but not all cars are compatible with all charging stations. I have a feeling that there will soon be roadside assist that will have a mega battery that can fast charge you enough to get to the next town.
Good thing about electric is you don't have to go to a gas station, and some chargers can go in any power outlet, ok they are currently slow. I want the new electric Kombi, they are talking 600klm a charge, and if we can get a full recharge in 20 minutes, means I stop for coffee every 5 hours, rather than run out of juice.
Rugglesby
Level 8
Feb 28, 2018
1
I do worry about the battery though. If, like my cell phone, every cycle is a little less than the cycle before, then I can see a 5 year-old electric car becoming unsaleable, with batteries that are down to, say, an 80 mile range and replacements are $12,000.
@Dick_Martin
Modern battery technology is improving all the time, lithium ion batteries are currently lasting significantly longer than 5 years - provided you don't regularly run them flat. Toyota and Nissan both have cars significantly over 5 years old, some with substantially more than 200k miles on the clock (there's a Tesla taxi with similar mileage) all of which still have over 90% of their original charge capacity available.
@Dick_Martin I had a good meeting with our Tesla guy last month and a Jaguar guy 2 weeks back about battery cars. My opinion is that used Tesla car batteries can be refurbished by back yarders into pretty decent home batteries. The giga factory in Nevada only makes one size battery, they are all put in stacks for the larger Tesla setups. Many car manufacturers plan on using these. The Sanyo Enerloop Battery now Panasonic since the take over seems to be the same as the little cells Tesla is making by the millions/billions. I have these here, pretty decent. I plan on getting Tesla to give me a system like Nissan Leaf Home where I can use my car battery overnight, I only use max 2 kwh per night so no dramas, and that would only be when grid is down. What I save by not buying a home battery goes toward the car.
It is still an ongoing plan though. The Bosch E-axle is taking longer to come out than I would like.
Simple; wire your car to recharge the battery from spinning flywheels and other engine parts, like a regular car generator does.
One could also recharge the battery by putting small, spinning parts on the forward edges of the car to use wind power, even use the friction from the wheels to generate power with the heat transfer differences.
This whole dependency on oil for recharging things is all about Big Oil control.
birdingnut
Level 8
Feb 27, 2018
1
err... it doesn't work like that. That'd be perpetual motion and it doesn't happen.
@Dick_Martin Sure it does. If you can power up a house battery by pedaling a stationary bicycle, why not recharge an extra battery? And there's been perpetual motion machines for decades..remember Tesla? Here's one device you can use at home for free energy.
@Dick_Martin wouldn't work perpetually, but might "add to" the charge. That still wouldn't solve the issue you speak of tho. There are many who run out of gas, with a guage right in front of them.
@Dick_Martin wouldn't work perpetually, but might "add to" the charge. That still wouldn't solve the issue you speak of tho. There are many who run out of gas, with a guage right in front of them.
Electric cars already have regenerative breaking to extend range, The power to overcome the drag/friction of 'spinning bits' is greater than the power produced, so by adding these extras, you reduce a cars range not increase it (conservation of energy). Also, electric cars don't have flywheels or other spinning bits like ICE vehicles - just one (or 2) which is the electric motor.
And the tesla thing is pure engineering nonsense, and the amount of electricity you can produce by pedalling is negligible in terms of the amount needed to power an electric car for a few miles.
If Emily is driving an electric car on "half a tank" at 60 mph for 3 hours while texting and eating a burger, how long does it take for you to throw your text book out the window and then punch your math teacher in the face?
Piece2YourPuzzle
Level 8
Feb 27, 2018
0
Lol
At Hawks Nest State Park, in the the middle of West Virginia, in the middle of nowhere even by West Virginia standards, not within 50 miles of any town big enough to have two gas stations, is a row of charging stations. I doubt that any electric car can reach those charging stations. Hopefully there's an app for that.
Tominator
Level 6
Feb 27, 2018
1
Geeshh
Yeah, i roadtrip too much to own an electric car. I am tempted to get a hybrid though.
RandyMoose
Level 7
Feb 27, 2018
0
How far are they driving on a Saturday?
Even early Leafs will do over 80 miles on a charge. If they are off to a concert and planning to do more, then a re-charging stop will need to be factored in.
It's no different to thinking about putting any other fuel in, it just takes a little longer and, at the moment, a little more thought.
It probably won't be too long before breakdown services start to carry mobile generators to put a boost charge to give sufficient range to get to a charging station.
Uncorrugated
Level 7
Feb 27, 2018
0
Just to be clear... 250 miles on a Saturday night is not unrealistic,
That is the difference between the UK and the USA!!!!
Stick with petrol for now. 
Solar power should charge the car as you drive maybe not enough for vast distances but enough to the nearest charge point
Simon1
Level 7
Feb 27, 2018
0
Solar panels don't work on a Saturday night!
On a more serious note, solar panels are currently nowhere near efficient enough to recharge a car or make enough power to propel it anywhere.
My first thought was AA evolving to become recover to home as standard.
But on reflection there's a simpler way if you are driving an electric car and a warning pops up to say your range is about to exceed that which could get you home again and by warning I mean beeping and a talking computer. Just how stupid would you be to keep on driving when a sign is basically saying you cannot get home again. Wouldn't you then make a decision to drive to the a charging point or drive home I know I would.
DanielLower
Level 3
Feb 27, 2018
0
I take it then that you skipped the teenage years? 
@Dick_Martin I was born in the 70s I can remember when the red line on the Fuel tank gauge didn't mean much ahh just keep going your good for another 4 days or so no wonder kids ignored it why not when your skint from insurance premiums. I'm sure we can do better these days if looking at the console dash of a Toyota Prius is anything to go by
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