9 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

Yes, I can see a whole tertiary industry popping up selling replacements, as they are stolen & vandalised. Still, every cloud eh? LOL

If only we lived in a society where people respected each other, property and the environment.  Sad to say I can't see that happening any time soon.   

3 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

If only we lived in a society where people respected each other, property and the environment.  Sad to say I can't see that happening any time soon.   

Indeed, that's why I'm so cynical on a 'charging point' that is taken out of the boot of your car, and plugged into the pavement. I use to work for a local council, where we spent £1000s replacing vandalised public urban street furniture, like bins, bus shelters, even emergency life belts at the coast! Never underestimate the reach of the scumbag to destroy decent folks lives.

Those poles that plug into the pavement won't last a week in an unprotected street environement, at the very least, kids will simply unplug them for fun...

28 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

What I did find interesting in that program was the removeable roadside charging posts.  Hadn't seen those before. 

Yes, I was intrigued to see that. I'd envisaged that on street chargers would be in a post, street lighting column or other street furniture, but it seems you'll need to carry your own charging post in addition to a plethora of cables in your car

Really don't fancy the idea of plugging that thing into a socket in the pavement on a dark night when it's raining!

3 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

Those poles that plug into the pavement won't last a week in an unprotected street environement, at the very least, kids will simply unplug them for fun...

I've already seen reports of cars being unplugged "for a laugh" while left unattended at "normal" chargers in car parks, shopping centres, etc. So much for going for a coffee or a bit of shopping while it charges. Perhaps we'll need to carry our own security guard as well as the other paraphernalia.

3 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

...in addition to a plethora of cables in your car...

Have a look in your man drawer at all the chargers/cables you have gathered over the last 10 years for a phone, and that's a device that fits in your pocket, the paraphernalia for a car would be astounding 🤣

6 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

Indeed, that's why I'm so cynical on a 'charging point' that is taken out of the boot of your car, and plugged into the pavement. I use to work for a local council, where we spent £1000s replacing vandalised public urban street furniture, like bins, bus shelters, even emergency life belts at the coast! Never underestimate the reach of the scumbag to destroy decent folks lives.

Those poles that plug into the pavement won't last a week in an unprotected street environement, at the very least, kids will simply unplug them for fun...

It's not just scumbags unfortunately.  I see 'normal' people causing careless damage to property all the time.  And that's on top of the purposeful damage they seem to take pride in causing to the environment.

I never did understand 'fun', even as kid.  I'm pretty sure they'll be locked in place when charging so can't just be unplugged though.  I'd also hope they won't be live until plugged into the car, so rain shouldn't be a problem either.  The drop fixing will be designed with drains to remove any water that drops in while it's being inserted.

3 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

I'm pretty sure they'll be locked in place when charging so can't just be unplugged though.  I'd also hope they won't be live until plugged into the car, so rain shouldn't be a problem either.  The drop fixing will be designed with drains to remove any water that drops in while it's being inserted.

I admire your optimism!😀

2 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

I admire your optimism!😀

Well, you know me, ever the optimist!  

One dead, many injured. Ship with VW electric vehicles catches fire 🙁

 

10 minutes ago, unofix said:

One dead, many injured. Ship with VW electric vehicles catches fire...

I heard that on the news this morning but didn't want to 'post' and be accused of scaremongering! It is odd though that at my age, I have never heard news of standard ICE cars in transportation en masse catching fire.

Some smaller ferry operators have banned EVs from being carried on their ships. Odd too that Royal Mail bans the transportation of Lithium Ion batteries on their aircraft.

10 hours ago, StephenFord said:

Toyota stand alone in the only major car manufacturer with a more progressive stance in the approach to EVs, questioning the blind government position that EVs are the saviour of the planet. It's a shame that other brands have been so blinkered...

Toyota are ‘bucking’ the trend & resisting.

10 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Synthetic fuel won't get much cheaper.  It's just too inefficient to produce.  I can only see that being used to keep classic cars on the road in future.

What I did find interesting in that program was the removeable roadside charging posts.  Hadn't seen those before.  That certainly makes EV ownership possible in city centre terraces for example.  Exactly the kind of place where tail pipe emissions need to be reduced for direct human health.

I have to wonder whether Synthetic fuel will ever be a ‘goer’? 

11 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

I'd also hope they won't be live until plugged into the car, so rain shouldn't be a problem either. 

Correct - they are designed just like that. Waterproof connectors too, so very safe as far as I can see. (Speaking for Outlander PHEV but I can't see that other manufacturers would be any different).

9 hours ago, alanfp said:

Speaking for Outlander PHEV but I can't see that other manufacturers would be any different).

Sadly this is still a huge issue - there are varying charger connectors for regions, car manufacturers, and types of charging station: This small list is taken from the RAC web site.

Slow charge connectors:

    3-pin 3kW AC
    Type 1 3-6kW AC
    Type 2 3-6kW AC
    Commando 3-6kW AC

Fast charge connectors:

    Type 2 7-22kW AC
    Type 1 7kW AC
    Commando 7-22kW AC

    Tesla Type 2 120kW DC

Rapid charge connectors:

    CHAdeMo 50kW DC
    CCS 50-350kW DC
    Type 2 43kW AC

Almost like smartphones were up to now, there are numerous different styles of chargers, speed of charging, and different connectors. Except if your phone runs out, it may not be as big a disaster as being 100s of miles from home and trying to connect your EV up to an incompatible charger. I'm sure they'll sort that minor inconvenience out soon, just like phones did, right? LOL

Basically there's 3 pin plug type you will only see at home the other end of connector is type 2 that goes into the car. Then at home still, there's the fitted wall box up to 7kwh using the same type 2 connector to the car. 

Commando non existent in the real world. 

Out and about at charging stations ,the same type 2 chargers from 7kwh to normally 22kwh can be used. So same connector. So far that 3 charging options with the same plug

Nearly all cars use the type 2 connector with the exception of Nissan leaf which uses chademo at home and at charging stations regardless of charging speeds. 

Now we come to CCS fast charging. All new vehicles have this type of connector , even Tesla have done for some years in the UK and Europe. 

So to summarise, type 2 connecter at home and up to 22kw out( most cars only charge up to 10kwh ac) 

CSS connector for DC charging regardless of speed

So whatever charging station you go too will have the appropriate connector. 

Older Tesla cars can have an adapter to charge CCS if required. 

 

59 minutes ago, alanfp said:

Correct - they are designed just like that. Waterproof connectors too, so very safe as far as I can see. (Speaking for Outlander PHEV but I can't see that other manufacturers would be any different).

No current is switched on until the car allows it. I can dangle a type 2 plug in a bucket of water and won't get a shock.

We have chargers at work outside that are subject to the UK rainy weather, and quite often I find the plug upside down on the floor filled with water. A quick shake to get the water out then I'm plugging in to a car/van. 

The issue with fires in shipping will be investigated thoroughly! If it becomes apparent that EV’s have a problem, the shipping companies will not be able to insure their cargoes. I can’t imagine how much it will increase the cost of shipping EV’s if this becomes a recognized problem. Many commercial carriers have already banned hover boards,scooters and other rechargeable devices precisely for the reasons mentioned. Many devices are not recommended to be charged in occupied places or near anything combustible.

GM just announced that they are going to continue to offer the Chevrolet Bolt. But they are going to revise the design to accept their new battery technology. 
They also made an admission that the reason for the slow production of the luxury Cadillac Lyric and Hummer EV is because they have had to “hand build” the batteries for them due to problems with building the equipment that is supposed to assemble the batteries. GM has even sent their own manufacturing people to the supplier to help resolve the issues. That is totally un heard of.

GM manufacturing engineers are being tested in a crucible of fire. I certainly wish the people developing and building these things the best of luck.

4 minutes ago, Scottman said:

Many commercial carriers have already banned hover boards,scooters and other rechargeable devices precisely for the reasons mentioned. Many devices are not recommended to be charged in occupied places or near anything combustible.

How long will it be before EV's are banned from using the Euro Tunnel ?

We've got all the leaders of Europe telling us how fantastic and how safe EV's are, but then on the other hand what happens if they allow EV's to use the tunnel and there is a catastrophic fire with hundreds of lives lost 🤔

That’s an interesting question! I would think that the EV will come under close scrutiny for it’s safety in tunnels and parking decks and even in apartment buildings and office buildings that have parking in or under the structure. This will be of particular concern if charging is also available.

Here’s a question for you gentlemen! Why are privately owned electric scooters not legal to use on public roads or paths? They allow rental scooters. That is just such a strange thing considering that the leadership wants people to reduce their use of petrol vehicles.

Here, most places allow you to own and use your scooter without much more hassle than registering it.

7 hours ago, Scottman said:

Here’s a question for you gentlemen! Why are privately owned electric scooters not legal to use on public roads or paths?

 

When you rent them, there is a paperwork trail of the ownership, hence insurance can be applied to the rider/scooter. In private hands there is nothing as the UK do not have any type of registration scheme for this mode of transport...

8 hours ago, unofix said:

How long will it be before EV's are banned from using the Euro Tunnel ?

LPG cars are banned from Eurotunnel, and as we know, they are exploding all over the place - oh, wait a minute 🤣

EV scooters and bikes should be banned, My area is rife with scrotes in balaclava's whizzing all over the place roads and pavements.

EV battery safety does need more work, but we're still in the early stages.  Petrol tanks were exploding on impact for years before they started fitting plastic ones in safety zones.  I'm wondering if there's some sort of self extinguishing system that could be created for EV batteries.  Somehow isolating each cell to prevent the fire spreading perhaps.  I don't know enough battery tech to know whether that's possible in the near future or not.

13 hours ago, Hackney said:

I have to wonder whether Synthetic fuel will ever be a ‘goer’? 

Not in large enough quantities for the general public IMO.

It could be viable as a closed loop system at race circuits though.  Would be environmentally friendly as they're capturing their own carbon at ground level, before it ends up high in the atmosphere where it causes the most impact.  And the additional fuel cost is likely to be more manageable for people that can afford to own classic cars or attend track days.