Mark’s RV Garage Episode #10 Released

RV Education 101 releases Episode #10 of the new Internet based RV How-To series titled “Mark’s RV Garage.” The new episode is available for viewing at www.rvconsumer.com and on You Tube           On this episode of Mark’s RV Garage: * Mark installs a shower surround, tile and toilet, and starts wiring the power center in the Yellowstone restoration project. * Learn how to install and use a Tire Minder Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) in your RV * Discover a quick tip on a spray lubricant and rust remover you need to keep available in your shop or garage. * All of this and more on this episode of Mark’s RV Garage If you missed previous episodes of Mark’s RV Garage they are archived at www.rvconsumer.com for easy retreival and viewing Episode # 11 will be available for viewing on 27 June 2011. Happy RV Learning, Mark Polk www.rvconsumer.com www.rveducation101.com  Read More →

Could this be the electric vehicle battery breakthrough?

By Bob Difley Those who are less than enthusiastic about the future of electric vehicles cite the immense size and weight of electric vehicle (EV) batteries, the length of time it takes to recharge them, and their limitations in output, for EVs to become mainstream in the near future. However, a couple of scientists at MIT have been working a new type of battery that has a liquid core, instead of solid state materials as are now used, and their findings have been positive according to The Independent. They say that with this type of battery, it could be half the size of current EV batteries, be cheaper to make, and provide a ten-times improvement in energy density. In addition to these advantages, the new batteries could be swapped out at charging stations, similar to battery swapping stations for current battery configurations now being installed in Israel and Denmark by the company Better Place , but still have the ability to be recharged at home or at charging stations when time permits. The time taken to swap batteries would be similar to the time taken now to refuel with gasoline or diesel. Another possibility would be to design the batteries so that the discharged core liquid could be pumped out and replaced with a fully charged fluid. The researchers said that this could be the breakthrough that the battery industry was waiting for to make EVs a more viable replacement for current gasoline and diesel powered vehicles. These steps could pave the way for electric motorhomes... Read more

Should EVs Pay to Play?

Don’t you just love it when a prediction comes true? Getting juiced up! (Photo credit: inhabitat.com) Over three months ago a writer for Politics and Cars mused that if special electric meters are installed specifically for the purpose of charging an electric vehicle (EV), someone in government would figure out how to tax that electricity in the same way gasoline is taxed. Gasoline taxes are supposed to go for repairs and improvement of roads. The gas tax is simply a user tax. You use the roads. You pay for them. That’s only fair. Right? However, if EVs use the roads without paying for their use, that is unfair. The issue is contentious because gasoline taxes generate $45 billion annually to pay for highway repairs. Let’s say you live in California, and purchased a Nissan Leaf. The car’s $32,000 bottom line would have taken a huge bite out of your budget, but the feds rewarded you with a $7,500 tax credit and the state kicked in a $5,000 cash payout. At $20,000, the Leaf is now affordable, and the three cents a mile operating costs are good news, too. But now they want to hit you with a new tax? The rest of us say it’s not fair that we pay a premium of 18.4 cents per gallon (24.4 cents for diesel) to maintain the nation’s roads, help to eradicate potholes, and keep overpasses from falling down while EV drivers pay nothing. That’s harsh, you think, being a crusader for clean air. After all, you’re saving the planet by decreasing your carbon footprint. Nissan... Read more

Recharge Your EV at Campgrounds

It is not a stretch to see campgrounds with charging stations, in addition to national parks, state parks, Camping World, and other places where RVers travel. And of course, the bottom line is, that if charging does become ubiquitous then an Electric Vehicle (EV) as a dinghy becomes a viable decision, wrote Bob Difley in dinghytowing.rvtravel.com. A sign of the times. Image courtesy pluginrecharge.com “Costs of charging would be passed on to the driver, as are regular fuel costs, but if utility companies continue with reduced rates for overnight use, then charging your EV toad in your campground while you sleep would be not only efficient but cheaper. Meters on the charging stations would calculate costs and add to your campground charges,” added Difley. Two short months later it’s a reality! EV Owners Getting a Charge at Campgrounds Across the country, campground operators are reporting a gradual uptick in inquiries from EV owners who are considering using campgrounds as refueling stops on long-haul trips. Travelers who do this typically have adapters that enable them to plug into 50-amp, 240-volt electric pedestals that campgrounds often provide with their RV sites, reports Edmunds.com. “We’ve been getting quite a few calls from people wanting to charge their vehicles at our park,” said Russ Yates, owner of Holiday Park Campground in Greensboro, Maryland, adding that he’s installed a separate 50-amp/240 volt plug on the side of the campground office... Read more

EV update – China now has world’s most EV charging stations

China’s pilot project of electric vehicle charging and replacement facilities is now in full operation with nearly 90 standard charge and replacement power stations, almost 5,200 charger and 7,000 AC charge spots, covering 26 provinces, enabling China  to boast of the most extensive charging facilities in the word. You often hear that China is the world’s largest importer of foreign oil, and in fact they imported 240 million tons of crude oil in 2010, making it nearly 54% dependent on foreign sources. Cars accounted for 40% of national oil consumption. Globally, vehicle emissions of carbon dioxide accounted for 28% of the total. China’s National Grid has established a laboratory for electric vehicle battery characteristics, an essential component for the development of electric vehicle industry. In 2011, the National Grid will build an intercity cross-intelligent charge and replacement power service network in the Bohai Rim region and the Yangtze River Delta. The agency predicted China’s electric vehicles will grow to 500,000 by 2015. To meet the requirements of the development of electric vehicles, the State Grid will build 2,351 charge and replacement power stations and 220,000 charge spots during the Five-Year Plan period to initially complete the intelligent charge and replacement power service network covering the business area and vigorously continue to promote the development of electric vehicles in China. I wonder how long it will take the US... Read more

The Zen of Boondocking – Part V: Upgrading your electrical system

By Bob Difley Last week in Part IV we looked at ways to conserve electricity by limiting our actual usage. Today, we will flip in the other direction and look at ways to increase the available electricity and add alternative sources of power. Lower wattage and Energy Star appliances will take less energy to run, pull fewer amps from your batteries, and run more efficiently–in other words, they’re greener than your older appliances. However, it is not practical or economical to tear out your old installed appliances and replace with Energy Star (until they need replacement), but you can check before you buy a new RV whether the appliances already installed are in compliance. You can also vastly improve your electrical system–actually more than doubling your storage capacity–by installing additional or different batteries. Here you have choices. Buy an additional deep cycle flooded lead acid RV battery like the one your rig came with, only don’t add a new battery into a system with older batteries or the older battery will draw energy from the new one. A newer type battery option is the absorbed gas mat (AGM) type, which has no liquid in the cells that must be monitored or refilled. Or you could install two or four 6-volt golf cart batteries. To help you decide as well as learn more than you probably ever wanted to know about batteries go to this text of a presentation by Greg Holder, owner of AMSolar. I use four Trojan T-105 6-volt golf cart batteries,... Read more

Electric Vehicle update – March 1

By Bob Difley The Geneva Auto Show opened today in Geneva, Switzerland, which is a showcase for European cars. A number of Electric Vehicles (EV) and hybrids are being introduced from a diverse group of companies and start-ups as well as the established auto companies. The Green Investing website has listed its top ten green cars making their debut at the show, which you can see here. The top position went to the Nissan ESFLOW, a sports car capable of going from 0-60mph in five seconds and with a range of 150miles on a single charge. There was also a Rolls Royce electric Phantom at the top end and the Rinspeed Bamboo, the perfect beach-going car including an inflatable roof that doubles as a beach blanket and the BamBoo community platform that allows for practical features based on social networking. Nissan also announced that they have extended their lithium ion battery warranty in the Leaf EV to 8 years and 100,000 miles. More proof that battery makers are confident that their newest batteries will last the life of a car, so expensive battery replacement should not be a deterrent to buying an EV. With all the innovation going on, it won’t be long before you start to see EVs being towed behind motorhomes. Ford also introduced its C-MAX Energi (available in 2012) that will offer more than 500 miles of combined driving range using the battery and engine–more than any other plug-in or extended-range electric vehicle. Ford also points out that plug-in hybrid vehicles... Read more

Electric vehicle update – Sharp’s Power Conditioner uses electric vehicle batteries as home batteries

By Bob Difley CrunchGear published a report on February 22nd that the Japanese Tech giant Sharp, has developed a power conditioner (controller) that makes it possible to use batteries in electric cars as storage batteries for the home. Sharp says the Intelligent Power Conditioner is one the critical elements in their Eco House concept, which consists of solar energy, utility power, and storage batteries as the energy sources. In experiments, Sharp was able to squeeze 8kW of power out of an EV traction battery pack used in a Mitsubishi i MiEV – enough to “power electrical appliances in an average household.” Sharp claims that it took 30 minutes to recharge the batteries, with the 4kWh of energy necessary coming from the charge controller in the Intelligent Power Conditioner. The current question is, with the chaos in some of the world’s major oil producing countries and oil’s surge to over $100/barrel, whether money is going to start pouring into not only electric vehicle technology but in bringing electric vehicles and related infrastructure to market faster. With gas prices soaring and supplies in question, the government may add more incentives to electric vehicle companies to push us faster along the track to reduce our imported oil consumption, as least to the point where we can supply most of the oil we need from domestic, rather than international–especially OPEC–sources. Will we start to see electric vehicle chargers appearing in campgrounds,... Read more

Electrical Vehicle Update – Space pod look-alike with exchangeable wheel/battery

By Bob Difley A couple of automotive engineers, Kyu-Hyun and Sol Lee, have created a new concept for the battery of an electric vehicle (EV). Two of the drawbacks of EVs is the number of charging stations on America’s roads, and the length of time it takes to recharge an EV battery. These guys’ solution was to turn the single rear wheel into an exchangeable battery. To change, you simply unhitch the battery from the car, pull it away with the built in handle, and install the spare battery/wheel. Then set the depleted battery to recharge while you use the spare. An LED light monitors the level of charge while charging. A clever concept for a small two-seater city car, which as you can see is small enough to pull behind a motorhome on a small trailer or in your motorhome garage if you have a super-sized motorhome. Don’t know if this kind of dinghy would be practical or if the idea would ever catch on enabling the engineer duo to move from concept to production, but with the EV market changing so rapidly, it is hard to tell whose bright idea will be the next hot deal.  Read More →

A 6-volt Revolt

By the Never-Bored RVers You probably heard about the unusual rainy weather that has been changing the very lives of many Southern Californians.  We have been here in the area to witness it first-hand from our parking spot in Orange County’s O’Neill Regional Park. We were lucky enough to evacuate the park Tuesday before the only canyon road was sealed off by high water and mudslides, or at least the threat of impassible roads. Anywhere else in the country, the inconvenience of weather is nothing to talk about; in Southern California, “RAIN” headlines newspapers and media reports. But that’s not what this article is about. It’s about RV batteries, and – more specifically — the twisted course that our efforts to upgrade has taken over the past few weeks.  I’m submitting this blog to remind you to measure twice on projects; or in other words, check out the specs before putting out the money. Since beginning our RV travels in 2006, I have looked forward to the day when our 12-volt deep-cell marine batteries would die so that I could follow the advice of just about every RV battery expert.  We have often read and heard that two 6-volt batteries will give more power for more years than two 12s. Voila!  During the past two weeks of dry camping (not referring to the precipitation), we suffered with batteries that wouldn’t hold a charge.  The solar regulator installed inside our “grand salon” when we had our solar panel mounted atop our trailer told us... Read more

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