Electric Conversion - Would You?

Zep

Zep

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spkennyuk said:
I am sure there are people on the forum with a greater knowledge of the subject than i have. The achillies heel of EVs at the moment is range and charging infracstructure.

Ive always thought that a drive in quick swap out battery facility would be a better option which would mean that you can pick up a pretty much instant full charge / refuel on your travels anywhere.

With the above in mind i really dont understand why aluminium air batteries have not been pushed as the way forwards. There are issues to resolve but the main benefits seem to be.

Smaller form factor for upto 8 times the range.

Mechanical recharging can be done.

Alluminium is cheaper to produce in comparison to other batteries used in EVs and also lighter.

Im sure a fairly simple drive in and swap out battery facility could be achieved as the form factor is much smaller for the same or higher capacity.

As always i dont think there will be a single solution but on the face of it aluminium air batteries could /should form part of the soltion.
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The problems with metal-air batteries are fairly fundamental, to produce power the anode reacts with oxygen. Aluminium for example, is highly reactive with oxygen, so produces lots of power, but also a lot of byproduct (aluminium oxide) which has to be removed to maintain it. In essence, they are not rechargeable. Which means that energy density is great, but production costs and I imagine embodied carbon are not good at all.

The challenge with battery chemistry is to get a lot of reaction and long life. This is how we ended up with the chemistry we have.
 
Zep

Zep

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MaserMike said:
A couple of days ago my wife’s 2019 Audi Q3 2.0ltr diesel went into the dealership for a few bits doing, it does circa 50mpg. We got a brand new Petrol & Plug-in Hybrid Q3 courtesy car for 2days and was quite novel for us.with a plug-in hybrid. We used the standard mains charger pack, took 6.5hours to charge…. Granted we don’t have a proper charging fast station at home…. Wait for it only displayed 26miles range for the full battery charge on the dash!

In reality the battery was completely flat after driving 16miles (heating and headlights on too), then the Petrol engine kicked in which had an abysmal MPG of just over 30mpg.

On that note, definitely sticking to our diesel for a while.
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What I have found with mine is that when my journeys are short, say less than 60 miles, and I can charge at both ends, the economy is excellent. When you can’t, it’s absolute rubbish. On average, I am on 59 mpg, having done 17k miles in 10 months which is better than the previous diesel plus I haven’t scraped a windscreen or got into a cold car in 2 years.

When you consider that something like 56% of car journeys are less than 5 miles, you can see why it would suit a fair proportion of car users, but def not all.
 
zagatoes30

zagatoes30

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spkennyuk said:
I am sure there are people on the forum with a greater knowledge of the subject than i have. The achillies heel of EVs at the moment is range and charging infracstructure.

Ive always thought that a drive in quick swap out battery facility would be a better option which would mean that you can pick up a pretty much instant full charge / refuel on your travels anywhere.
Click to expand...

There was a Chinese EV on 5th Gear this week that did exactly that. Pull into a charge station and the battery was swapped for a fully charged one in 5 minutes
 
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mjheathcote

mjheathcote

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Nayf said:
I can see the point there. That car has always been about style and looks, and though the engines have character they are not the defining part.

Range is the problem. While Tesla/Audi can get useable range (I get 300 out of my 3.2 V6 Alfa, that’s my metric), these conversions - from what I have seen - struggle to get into three figures. Other than pottering around the local area, what’s the point?
I saw a camper with a range of 120 miles the other day… what a great holiday…
Click to expand...
At least you can put the kettle on and watch some TV while you wait!
 
Jamin

Jamin

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I recently had to drive to Aberdeen to visit a family member so I took the tesla,
I did the journey in one day and had to stop 3 times to charge.
If I'd taken the Maserati, the range on a full tank would be approx. 380 miles so yes, I could have managed with a single stop,
however, being a certain age, I'd still have had to stop 3 times to defuel anyway.


95959

I do think that there is a place for EV's especially if fuelled via pv or wind turbines and it is great news for the environment and car lovers.

I also generally think it is good news for petrol heads because those of thus that refuse to give up and grow old respectfully can really appreciate the sound and tingle from an old V8 and still feel even more special when we turn the key.

New ICE cars run the risk of becoming soulless soon anyway with the new speed and sound restrictors so an old Maserati is the future
 
Last edited:
mjheathcote

mjheathcote

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Zep said:
The problems with metal-air batteries are fairly fundamental, to produce power the anode reacts with oxygen. Aluminium for example, is highly reactive with oxygen, so produces lots of power, but also a lot of byproduct (aluminium oxide) which has to be removed to maintain it. In essence, they are not rechargeable. Which means that energy density is great, but production costs and I imagine embodied carbon are not good at all.

The challenge with battery chemistry is to get a lot of reaction and long life. This is how we ended up with the chemistry we have.
Click to expand...
Remember the once usage metal air batteries you could buy for your Nokia phone 20 years ago. They lasted about a month!!
They had loads of perforated holes and you activated them by removing them from a sealed bag/big sticker.
 
Ewan

Ewan

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6,810
MaserMike said:
A couple of days ago my wife’s 2019 Audi Q3 2.0ltr diesel went into the dealership for a few bits doing, it does circa 50mpg. We got a brand new Petrol & Plug-in Hybrid Q3 courtesy car for 2days and was quite novel for us.with a plug-in hybrid. We used the standard mains charger pack, took 6.5hours to charge…. Granted we don’t have a proper charging fast station at home…. Wait for it only displayed 26miles range for the full battery charge on the dash!

In reality the battery was completely flat after driving 16miles (heating and headlights on too), then the Petrol engine kicked in which had an abysmal MPG of just over 30mpg.

On that note, definitely sticking to our diesel for a while.
Click to expand...
It all depends on your regular journey profile. I see on Harrys Garage that he is averaging about 80mpg from his plug-in hybrid Range Rover, as opposed to about 40mpg that you'd get from the diesel equivalent. So its a worthwhile saving, and the car itself is faster, quieter and more luxurious.
We tend to use our full EV car on any journey of up to about 180 miles (i.e. 90 miles each way), which is at least 90% of our driving profile. This means we never have to charge it anywhere but at home.
Hence cars like my Maserati and other classics all do less than 1000 miles a year each.
 
D

del mar 2

Member
Messages
213
Jamin said:
I recently had to drive to Aberdeen to visit a family member so I took the tesla,
I did the journey in one day and had to stop 3 times to charge.
If I'd taken the Maserati, the range on a full tank would be approx. 380 miles so yes, I could have managed with a single stop,
however, being a certain age, I'd still have had to stop 3 times to defuel anyway.


View attachment 95959

I do think that there is a place for EV's especially if fuelled via pv or wind turbines and it is great news for the environment and car lovers.

I also generally think it is good news for petrol heads because those of thus that refuse to give up and grow old respectfully can really appreciate the sound and tingle from an old V8 and still feel even more special when we turn the key.

New ICE cars run the risk of becoming soulless soon anyway with the new speed and sound restrictors so an old Maserati is the future
Click to expand...


Surely you don't take 90mins to empty yourself.....
 
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