6 states ban high-end gaming PCs

mn shutterbug wrote in post #19299902
I just have a typical 1/3 acre residential lot and I can get it mowed with 1 battery and typically takes about 35 minutes. The battery is rated for 40 minutes so it's perfect for me. Definitely not for everyone.

Same here. 1/3 acre total and my lawn spray company says I have 9000sqft of grass. If I cut the grass on a proper schedule (meaning the grass isn't tall) it takes me just under an hour and my self push electric mower battery still has some power remaining when I finish. If the grass is deep and the motor is under a constant strain I get far far less run time.

E-Go 56V 21in push model. I have to believe the self propelled model uses more battery power and has less run time.

Pretty much the same here. Have just under 2 acres, about 3/4 acre of mowable lawn. Have 2 batteries, when 1st one runs out, switch to new one and put 1st on charger. Never ran both batts out. It's a self propelled/push mower (only use the drive when going up the hilly parts). Takes a tad under 2 hours to do the whole lawn. Another 45 min or so to do the edging and trimming, also with battery powered machines. Have battery chainsaw too, worked like a charm when a tornado took a water oak tree down and several other large branches last year.

mn shutterbug wrote in post #19299902
I just have a typical 1/3 acre residential lot and I can get it mowed with 1 battery and typically takes about 35 minutes. The battery is rated for 40 minutes so it's perfect for me. Definitely not for everyone.

I lived on a 10 acre lot, 5 acres grass and 5 wooded in Carlton County, Minnesota. The grass would grow fast enough that it needed to be mowed twice a week, not fun with a push mower.

mn shutterbug wrote in post #19299902
I just have a typical 1/3 acre residential lot and I can get it mowed with 1 battery and typically takes about 35 minutes. The battery is rated for 40 minutes so it's perfect for me. Definitely not for everyone.

That's fine for doing one yard once a week. Electric is just not practical for someone doing that work all day, every day. But that doesn't stop the state from banning the tools professional gardeners need to get the job done.

I'm eager to try driving an electric car, but initial cost and availability of charging
isn't up to snuff around here. This puts a huge damper on acceptability.

But having all 368 pound-feet of torque available at the onset
does something for me, I'll tell you.

I just can't get onto the bandwagon of $40,000-plus cars, when I can get a
really nice ride for under $15,000.

Many of us don't have the means to move in that direction,
with the entry price being cost-prohibitive for most.

It's a dead-end street for me now, even though I'd like to drive that road.

SkedAddled wrote in post #19300186
I'm eager to try driving an electric car, but initial cost and availability of charging
isn't up to snuff around here. This puts a huge damper on acceptability.

But having all 368 pound-feet of torque available at the onset
does something for me, I'll tell you.

I just can't get onto the bandwagon of $40,000-plus cars, when I can get a
really nice ride for under $15,000.

Many of us don't have the means to move in that direction,
with the entry price being cost-prohibitive for most.

It's a dead-end street for me now, even though I'd like to drive that road.

Even worse are all the stories of that $40k car becoming a paperweight when the battery wears out or just fails and the replacement cost exceeds the car's value. I buy cars for the long haul so I drive Toyotas. I am not looking forward to a world of disposable cars.

Agreed. Battery technologies continue improvement, but what if your car
becomes a fireball? That's really bad.
Then if my cells become low-performance, what happens then?
Pull the damned body, just to replace a few battery cells?

Nawp, gimme something more reliable and trusted.
While I like the idea of electric, and it goes way back to 1909,
it just doesn't feel ready for prime-time in 2021.

Current range on electric cars is a limiting factor for folks in the rural areas. plus the extended recharge time is not really addressed. CA is one thing, but tech has to work elsewhere in the country for it to become financially feasible. Looked into the New Mustang. Range 300 miles, recharge time when you get there 8 hours. So I can almost drive to my daughters house in another city, and when I have it towed the last 30 miles It takes 8 hours before I can use it again. But that only covers it when the weather is a perfect 71 degrees. If you want to use it when the temp here is -15 f then the range takes a nose dive because the heater is electric. If you want to use it when the weather is 95 f the range takes a nose dive because it takes electricity to run the AC. So for the Cost of the vehicle it is usable as advertised for about 21 days per year.

Jay Mcgillicudy wrote in post #19319174
Current range on electric cars is a limiting factor for folks in the rural areas. plus the extended recharge time is not really addressed. CA is one thing, but tech has to work elsewhere in the country for it to become financially feasible. Looked into the New Mustang. Range 300 miles, recharge time when you get there 8 hours. So I can almost drive to my daughters house in another city, and when I have it towed the last 30 miles It takes 8 hours before I can use it again. But that only covers it when the weather is a perfect 71 degrees. If you want to use it when the temp here is -15 f then the range takes a nose dive because the heater is electric. If you want to use it when the weather is 95 f the range takes a nose dive because it takes electricity to run the AC. So for the Cost of the vehicle it is usable as advertised for about 21 days per year.

Given most of the USA population lives in areas where chargers are available, the technology is financially feasible now.

You don't have to wait 8 hours charge enough to get another 30 miles. You can get 59 miles in only ten minutes. If you stop half-way 150 miles, or about 2.5 hours, you can have lunch or whatever and charge the battery- you get 80% charge in 45 minutes.
https://www.ford.com/m​ustang/ev-charging/mache/

E-cars may not be right for you, but they work for a large portion of the US population.

Jay Mcgillicudy wrote in post #19319174
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Looked into the New Mustang. Range 300 miles, recharge time when you get there 8 hours.
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That seems okay for the kind of "normal, day to day" driving that people with structured lives and regular jobs do. . Could never work for me, as when I road trip my goal for each day is usually to cover 850 miles or thereabouts. . Then another 850 the next day. . Several times I've even topped 1,000 miles in a single day, and it feels so satisfying to cover that much ground so quickly, as it gives me more time to shoot when I get to my photography destination. . I'm always pushing to get to the shooting destination ASAP, so as to not miss any of the good light or good wildlife activity.

I mean, for summer deer photo trips, when I leave my place here in the morning, I MUST get to Aurora, Colorado, no later than 4 o'clock the next afternoon, so that I get the evening shoot in with the deer. . I need time to find the deer, and then still have enough time to photograph them for a couple hours while there is still enough light. . Just don't see how I could do that if I have to stop every 300 miles. . Ditto for southern Arizona wildlife trips.

And for summer Yellowstone trips, when I leave around 6 in the morning, I sure as heck better be in Yellowstone by 4 or 5 that afternoon, so that I can have a nice evening shoot with the Elk or Bears or Pika or whatever I find.

Can you carry an extra battery in the car, so that when the first runs down, you can just put the spare in? . You know, like we do with cameras? . If that's possible, then I could see such cars as viable, as long as it is feasible to carry a few fully charged spares around all the time. . Otherwise, you're bound to be inconvenienced at some point, sooner or later.


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Tom Reichner wrote in post #19319297
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That seems okay for the kind of "normal, day to day" driving that people with structured lives and regular jobs do. . Could never work for me, as when I road trip my goal for each day is usually to cover 850 miles or thereabouts. . Then another 850 the next day. . Several times I've even topped 1,000 miles in a single day, and it feels so satisfying to cover that much ground so quickly, as it gives me more time to shoot when I get to my photography destination. . I'm always pushing to get to the shooting destination ASAP, so as to not miss any of the good light or good wildlife activity.

I mean, for summer deer photo trips, when I leave my place here in the morning, I MUST get to Aurora, Colorado, no later than 4 o'clock the next afternoon, so that I get the evening shoot in with the deer. . I need time to find the deer, and then still have enough time to photograph them for a couple hours while there is still enough light. . Just don't see how I could do that if I have to stop every 300 miles. . Ditto for southern Arizona wildlife trips.

And for summer Yellowstone trips, when I leave around 6 in the morning, I sure as heck better be in Yellowstone by 4 or 5 that afternoon, so that I can have a nice evening shoot with the Elk or Bears or Pika or whatever I find.

Can you carry an extra battery in the car, so that when the first runs down, you can just put the spare in? . You know, like we do with cameras? . If that's possible, then I could see such cars as viable, as long as it is feasible to carry a few fully charged spares around all the time. . Otherwise, you're bound to be inconvenienced at some point, sooner or later.

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Of course it wouldn't work for you- that's very unusual driving. 1000 miles in 24 hours? Giving you 6 hours for sleep, refueling the car, eating, etc that gives an average speed of a little more than 55 miles an hour. It's still rather fatiguing driving that way, especially with the fools on the road.

Note that in that Mustang, a 45 minute stop gets you another 280 miles per the reference I posted. No, you can't swap batteries, at least not in current designs. Newer batteries being tested now in cars will extend that range further.

"That seems okay for the kind of "normal, day to day" driving that people with structured lives and regular jobs do." Is traveling sales "normal day-to-day" driving? Some of our sales staff manage quite well with an electric car.

SkedAddled wrote in post #19300194
Agreed. Battery technologies continue improvement, but what if your car
becomes a fireball? That's really bad.
Then if my cells become low-performance, what happens then?
Pull the damned body, just to replace a few battery cells?

Nawp, gimme something more reliable and trusted.
While I like the idea of electric, and it goes way back to 1909,
it just doesn't feel ready for prime-time in 2021.

mike_d wrote in post #19300190
Even worse are all the stories of that $40k car becoming a paperweight when the battery wears out or just fails and the replacement cost exceeds the car's value. I buy cars for the long haul so I drive Toyotas. I am not looking forward to a world of disposable cars.

Replacement batteries are about $6000, far less than $40,000
https://www.bloomberg.​com …pensive-for-now-quicktake
How often do electric cars become fireballs anymore?
At least some manufacturers have a warranty of the battery up to 10 years:
https://www.kia.com …ric-car-battery-cost.html

Seems similar to engine warranties and prices to me.

Capn Jack wrote in post #19319377
Replacement batteries are about $6000, far less than $40,000
https://www.bloomberg.​com …pensive-for-now-quicktake
How often do electric cars become fireballs anymore?
At least some manufacturers have a warranty of the battery up to 10 years:
https://www.kia.com …ric-car-battery-cost.html

Seems similar to engine warranties and prices to me.

Then you have this: https://www.motorbiscu​it.com …ry-is-insanely-expensive/

And Chevy telling people to park 50' from anything because their batteries might spontaneously combust.

Capn Jack wrote in post #19319369
.Of course it wouldn't work for you- that's very unusual driving. 1000 miles in 24 hours?
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I've topped 1,000 in a day 8 times so far. My best day ever was 1,068 miles, back in 2017, going from the Philly suburbs to the Denver area.

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Capn Jack wrote in post #19319369
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"That seems okay for the kind of "normal, day to day" driving that people with structured lives and regular jobs do." Is traveling sales "normal day-to-day" driving? Some of our sales staff manage quite well with an electric car.
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To me, "normal" day to day driving is when someone starts out at one place, and returns to the same place at the end of the day. . It's quite normal for someone to drive a few hundred miles in a day, in the course of their normal work. . I do this routinely with my funeral home job and with my firefighting job. . That is normal driving. . Road trips across thousands of miles, where you end the day far from where you started the day - that would qualify as not normal day to day driving in my view.


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Capn Jack wrote in post #19319377
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Replacement batteries are about $6000
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Well I've never paid more than $5,000 for any car or truck ever in my life, and I'm 53 and have bought lots of cars. . I can't afford to buy a car that is $6,000, let alone pay that much for just a battery. . I think electric cars will not be part of my future. . Ever. . I'll die before they become affordable for low income folks like myself.


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