[scott70]

Originally Posted by mgarblik

Personally, I am a late adopter. (my term). My wife loves tech and is first in line for every electronic trinket, gadget, cell phone and tablet that is released. I am happy with her old crap when she gets bored with it. So for small yards, driveways and such, I am coming around to cordless stuff slowly. My next door neighbor has an EGO brand snow thrower and 2 batteries. 3 inches of snow, no issue. We had a snow of 6 inches of heavy stuff this year. They cleared about 1/2 their drive, both batteries dead and 8 hours to recharge. I loaned them my 15 year old single stage gas Snapper unit so they could finish. IMO, Electric is gaining ground, but not there yet. Same with vehicles. Live in a high population center and drive lots of short distances? Hate cars, maintenance, internal combustion engines in general? Want to have that warm and fuzzy feeling every time you drive somewhere because the electricity to charge the batteries comes from a magic box somewhere? Then electric cars/trucks are perfect. My daughter and her husband fit this mold perfectly. They have 2 gasoline cars and the pair of vehicles probably see 100 miles or so between them a week. They live in a neighborhood in a private house with a garage. They are in their early 30's and cars are just another annoying appliance. An electric car would be PERFECT for them. I get it. But gasoline needs to be an option for decades to come and new models will need to be produced.

I agree. Just bought my first battery weedwacker,,,we'll see how it goes. Im sure when the battery dies it will cost just as much for the battery as a whole new weedwacker. Ive been plowing since 4;30 this morning and would never get a EV truck even close to doing the same work. And I can put the heater on without draining the battery.

[scott70]

Originally Posted by Stuart

Another example: if you look at photos from the 1960s or earlier of most any highway system, there's a dark stripe down the middle of each lane from the oil that was left behind by cars that had no emissions controls like PCV systems.

Shows how much more reliable ,efficient and much lower pollutants ICE vehicles are today. Oils and fuel have come along way too.

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by mgarblik

My next door neighbor has an EGO brand snow thrower and 2 batteries. 3 inches of snow, no issue. We had a snow of 6 inches of heavy stuff this year. They cleared about 1/2 their drive, both batteries dead and 8 hours to recharge.

Obviously, they purchased a totally inadequate unit. Sounds more like a toy to me. Hopefully they didn't pay much for it.

I don't know where you live, but if 6" isn't really a big snow fall around here.

My Ryobi is a 24" 2 stage unit that can cut through up to 21" of snow and has four 40V 6 amp batteries, which can all be powering the blower at the same time (but only requires 2). It throws snow up to 55'!

It came with a dual port rapid charger that will charge 4x faster than the chargers that came with my yard tools (weed wacker, etc). I can charge 2 6 amp batteries in less than 2 hours

I have an oversize (over 1000 sq ft) 3 stall garage with a 10' wide pad adjacent to the third stall, so effectively I clear out the equivalent of a 4 stall garage's worth of snow just for my driveway.

This unit is the equal of any gas blower I've ever had. For in town use, I am very pleased. Would it have worked at my old place - hell no! I had a 150' long Y shaped driveway with a 26' wide attached garage at one end of the Y and a 30' wide garage on the other.

But for a city lot in town, it kicks ass.

[mgarblik]

Originally Posted by The Champ

Obviously, they purchased a totally inadequate unit. Sounds more like a toy to me. Hopefully they didn't pay much for it.

I don't know where you live, but if 6" isn't really a big snow fall around here.

My Ryobi is a 24" 2 stage unit that can cut through up to 21" of snow and has four 40V 6 amp batteries, which can all be powering the blower at the same time (but only requires 2). It throws snow up to 55'!

It came with a dual port rapid charger that will charge 4x faster than the chargers that came with my yard tools (weed wacker, etc). I can charge 2 6 amp batteries in less than 2 hours

I have an oversize (over 1000 sq ft) 3 stall garage with a 10' wide pad adjacent to the third stall, so effectively I clear out the equivalent of a 4 stall garage's worth of snow just for my driveway.

This unit is the equal of any gas blower I've ever had. For in town use, I am very pleased. Would it have worked at my old place - hell no! I had a 150' long Y shaped driveway with a 26' wide attached garage at one end of the Y and a 30' wide garage on the other.

But for a city lot in town, it kicks ass.

I live in Southern OH, Dayton. Average snowfall per year is about 30". This year, we are at about 20". I guess my point was the EGO battery snow blower and my Snapper gas unit were the same size, single stage. When charged, performance was pretty equal although battery unit weighed more. Battery unit would throw heavy snow for 45 minutes, then needed an 8 hour charge on 2 40V batteries. Battery unit cost $649.00 including 2 batteries. Gas Snapper unit cost $459.00. Two more batteries cost $300.00 (149 each) 1 gallon of gasoline cost $3.50 and will last 1 snow blowing season. IMO, still a long way to go to make any economical sense. Same with cars and trucks. There isn't any battery powered car and certainly no electric truck I would ever consider buying at current prices.

[The Champ]

Question???

Your Snapper is 15 years old. Was the $459 price the price you paid 15 years ago? Or is that the price for a comparable unit today? Just wondering.

Regardless, I agree that buying an electric snow blower that takes 8 hours to recharge is not a viable option, no matter where you live. I would not have purchased an electric unit if I was staring at an 8 hour recharge after 45 minutes of run time.

To be honest, if I lived where I only got 30" of snow per year, I'd (even at 69 years old) probably just use a shovel. Even living here, I frequently don't bother with the snow blower and just use a shovel for the 1 to 4" snow falls. I like the exercise and I like having my driveway down to the bare concrete. As a kid, besides our own sidewalk and driveway, I used to shovel several of my older neighbors sidewalks and driveways for additional spending money. All I had was a shovel. This was in northern MN and at times I was shoveling 2+ feet of snow.

[misterp266]

Since we’ve digressed to talking about cordless tool instead of EVs, my biggest issue is having to stick to one brand unless you want to invest in multiple battery styles and chargers. I ended up with Ryobi which I’ve had good luck with for hand tools.
I still use gas for my push mower and my snow blower. Seems foolish to change. Been lucky with snow so far.

As for EVs, they have a place but I don’t understand making a truck, which is supposed to be a work vehicle, that is so limited. Take a few years and make it worth buying. The more they are pushed upon us, the more the pushback will be.

“Freedom of choice
Is what you got
Freedom of choice!
Then if you got it you don't want it
Seems to be the rule of thumb
Don't be tricked by what you see
You got two ways to go

I'll say it again in the land of the free
Use your freedom of choice
Freedom of choice“

Devo

[mgarblik]

Originally Posted by The Champ

Question???

Your Snapper is 15 years old. Was the $459 price the price you paid 15 years ago? Or is that the price for a comparable unit today? Just wondering.

Regardless, I agree that buying an electric snow blower that takes 8 hours to recharge is not a viable option, no matter where you live. I would not have purchased an electric unit if I was staring at an 8 hour recharge after 45 minutes of run time.

To be honest, if I lived where I only got 30" of snow per year, I'd (even at 69 years old) probably just use a shovel. Even living here, I frequently don't bother with the snow blower and just use a shovel for the 1 to 4" snow falls. I like the exercise and I like having my driveway down to the bare concrete. As a kid, besides our own sidewalk and driveway, I used to shovel several of my older neighbors sidewalks and driveways for additional spending money. All I had was a shovel. This was in northern MN and at times I was shoveling 2+ feet of snow.

Looks like Snapper and Simplicity may be out of the single stage snow thrower business. (Same Parent Company) A very similar Toro is currently $499.00. Here is a pic of the EGO electric. Sorry about the diversion, Back to topic.

[pont3]

Originally Posted by misterp266

Since we’ve digressed to talking about cordless tool instead of EVs, my biggest issue is having to stick to one brand unless you want to invest in multiple battery styles and chargers. I ended up with Ryobi which I’ve had good luck with for hand tools.
I still use gas for my push mower and my snow blower. Seems foolish to change. Been lucky with snow so far.

As for EVs, they have a place but I don’t understand making a truck, which is supposed to be a work vehicle, that is so limited. Take a few years and make it worth buying. The more they are pushed upon us, the more the pushback will be.

“Freedom of choice
Is what you got
Freedom of choice!
Then if you got it you don't want it
Seems to be the rule of thumb
Don't be tricked by what you see
You got two ways to go

I'll say it again in the land of the free
Use your freedom of choice
Freedom of choice“

Devo

And I'll say this again. The goal of the EVs was to purposefully create high priced vehicles so that the lesser people would eventually follow the TRENDS of the RICH folks. Remember when even the lowest earners aspired to own a Cadillac, or Lexus, or Mercedes?

These electric vehicle efforts will affect the climate not by ONE iota. But the TRENDS that were "hopefully" created by some new-fangled vehicle would drive people to WANT the latest creation.

I'm not a marketing expert, but I have studied marketing. The first thing you do is "create a need", then focus on convincing people on WHY they need this. In this particular case, it started out (falsely) as saving the planet. From there it evolved into boasting about how fast these flamethrowers accelerate, while at the same time ignoring the negative reports.

I haven't been inside any EV other than the Tesla Model 3, and I can tell you that if you were impressed with the interior of a 2002 Cavalier, then you will be impressed with that Tesla.

[Tom Vaught]

Back on EVs vs tools and other toys.

Originally Posted by pont3

And I'll say this again. The goal of the EVs was to purposefully create high priced vehicles so that the lesser people would eventually follow the TRENDS of the RICH folks. Remember when even the lowest earners aspired to own a Cadillac, or Lexus, or Mercedes?

In many small towns I have visited, it is exactly as you have posted as far as the "One-UP the Neighbors". Example: owning a Lexus in Emporia, Kansas.

A regular F-150 Lightning is $50,000+ these days.
Honestly, how many people can afford to purchase a $50,000 to $80,000
vehicle these days who have a regular job?

Ford quoted a price for the Electric vehicle initially at $39,974 to purchase
(May 2021). The commercial version is over $55,000 now.
They also have sold less than 20,000 vehicles.

Again I would not worry to much about EV vehicles in the next 15 years.

How many VOLTs did GM sell????

Tom V.

[scott70]

The price of a EV doesnt factor in to alot of peoples decisions on whether to own a EV or not. They dont want to buy one because they dont want one. I dont believe theres alot of people pining for a EV and the only thing holding them back is the price. Most people if they want a EV that they will go buy one. As far as EV trucks go there arent to many success stories when it comes to an actual real life working truck. Even the EV lovers admit that.

[jhein]

I agree that the elimination of the ICEV will not be driven by consumers and a free market.

[nas t eh]

Originally Posted by jhein

I agree that the elimination of the ICEV will not be driven by consumers and a free market.

I agree

[mgarblik]

There needs to be a legitimate reason to buy an EV before there will be a serious market impact. It's really that simple. Engineers are working really hard to make them legitimate contenders with 130 year old combustion engine vehicles and they are making steady improvements. But in the case of the EV, it's even more complicated because they are dependent on that magic box on a wall, pole, or in a garage that's going to charge it. Around here in Southern Ohio, a new to the area retailer called Sheetz is building 15 new GASOLINE stations at their expense to fulfill the need of gasoline and diesel customers. Do you see private investment in the Trillions that need to be spent to rebuild the entire US electric grid to charge electric cars? I haven't. I think there will be significant push back when all of us are going to have to pay to charge our rich neighbor's electric cars and trucks. As Tom V has stated, this deal isn't going to happen overnight. IF it happens at all, it will be a decades long process. There will be plenty of bumps along that road as well. Tesla's burning to the ground on the highway, Ford halting production of the Lightning truck to address issues, year's long delays of delivering promised models, new start-up electric vehicle companies going bankrupt before producing a single car despite huge government incentives. This is just the beginning.

[scott70]

Originally Posted by mgarblik

There needs to be a legitimate reason to buy an EV before there will be a serious market impact. It's really that simple. Engineers are working really hard to make them legitimate contenders with 130 year old combustion engine vehicles and they are making steady improvements. But in the case of the EV, it's even more complicated because they are dependent on that magic box on a wall, pole, or in a garage that's going to charge it. Around here in Southern Ohio, a new to the area retailer called Sheetz is building 15 new GASOLINE stations at their expense to fulfill the need of gasoline and diesel customers. Do you see private investment in the Trillions that need to be spent to rebuild the entire US electric grid to charge electric cars? I haven't. I think there will be significant push back when all of us are going to have to pay to charge our rich neighbor's electric cars and trucks. As Tom V has stated, this deal isn't going to happen overnight. IF it happens at all, it will be a decades long process. There will be plenty of bumps along that road as well. Tesla's burning to the ground on the highway, Ford halting production of the Lightning truck to address issues, year's long delays of delivering promised models, new start-up electric vehicle companies going bankrupt before producing a single car despite huge government incentives. This is just the beginning.

Exactly. One thing I've been trying to say is you have to look at the whole big picture with EVs,,,take it all in. It ain't pretty.

[SRR]

The EV drivers are in for a surprise when they start getting charged by the mile because of tax loss from not buying fuel. With the price of gas here at $4.65 a gallon I understand why there are so many EV and hybrid cars here.

[scott70]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIXfp7pVFV4

[kingbuzzo]

https://www.autoblog.com/2023/04/20/...-police-video/

[IMG]https://mysterio.yahoo.com/mysterio/api/2834646F791ABFB21B82AD0F9FB13636FA68A0016BC3B3DCE6 33514AC3B00C77/autoblog/resizefill_w1200_h675;quality_85;format_webp;cc_31 536000;/https://o.aolcdn.com/images/dims3/GLOB/legacy_thumbnail/1062x597/format/jpg/quality/100/https://s.aolcdn.com/os/ab/_cms/2023/04/20145211/gd***sdfgfdsgfdsgfdsgfdsgsfdgdfs.jpg.jpg[/IMG]

[necdb3]

Originally Posted by kingbuzzo

https://www.autoblog.com/2023/04/20/...-police-video/

[IMG]https://mysterio.yahoo.com/mysterio/api/2834646F791ABFB21B82AD0F9FB13636FA68A0016BC3B3DCE6 33514AC3B00C77/autoblog/resizefill_w1200_h675;quality_85;format_webp;cc_31 536000;/https://o.aolcdn.com/images/dims3/GLOB/legacy_thumbnail/1062x597/format/jpg/quality/100/https://s.aolcdn.com/os/ab/_cms/2023/04/20145211/gd***sdfgfdsgfdsgfdsgfdsgsfdgdfs.jpg.jpg[/IMG]

I don't like the thought of something like that being in my garage. Once they light off, they're tough to put out. They relight themselves until the power is gone.

[scott70]

Great for family bbqs.

[jhein]

Lots of fires with electric bikes too.

I may be wrong but I think that for the larger EV fires (cars and larger) that they can't really extinguish them with typically available equipment/materials. They more-or-less supervise the fire and try to prevent spread and let it burn out.