Electric cars and cables

[AAGR]

How soon will the nation's low-life get round to the idea of cutting, or stealing, electric hook-up cables for electric cars when they are re-charging at the kerbside ?

Or has this sort of thing happened already ? Do we even care ? bds ....

[300bhp/ton]

AAGR said:

How soon will the nation's low-life get round to the idea of cutting, or stealing, electric hook-up cables for electric cars when they are re-charging at the kerbside ?

Or has this sort of thing happened already ? Do we even care ? bds ....

Actually I think that's quite a valid point.

Ignoring the obvious that most people might not have anywhere to charge a vehicle, such as those with on street parking....

But I do think you have a valid argument for the against electric cars becoming common place in the UK.

[Parrot of Doom]

I saw a charging point for an electric buggy the other day. The car was parked at the kerbside, on a street of terraced houses. It was plugged into a 15A waterproofed socket at road height, alongside the kerb. The cable ran underneath the flags, into the house.

A very neat and elegant solution, I thought. It was a disabled chariot.

[rpguk]

There are a few of those g-wizz things around and they seem to be fine. One around the corner has a regular parking space and runs a cable out with a little ramp/conduit thing



Like that one. Been at it for a while so I guess people aren't really that petty.

The thing that I don't get is there are also a couple of electric charging points that I know of. These are regular parking spaces with a post next to them that you can plug into to charge from. I'm not sure about how payment is made or if it's subsidised by the council but I don't think I've ever seen one in use and I can see it being a problem if you come to rely on it but someone else in the neighbourhood gets an electric car too.

[rpguk]

Also while there are some noteworthy exceptions, most people aren't stupid enough to cut through a large cable like that. The cable wouldn't have that much value in it would it?

[AAGR]

rpguk said:

Also while there are some noteworthy exceptions, most people aren't stupid enough to cut through a large cable like that. The cable wouldn't have that much value in it would it?

Vandals don't care about value - maybe they don't even know/care about being electricuted either ?

[Mr Gear]

rpguk said:

Also while there are some noteworthy exceptions, most people aren't stupid enough to cut through a large cable like that. The cable wouldn't have that much value in it would it?

I'd like to see a few pikey tts give it a go actually. The first few to get 240 volts through them will learn not to make that mistake twice.

[sinizter]

AAGR said:

rpguk said:

Also while there are some noteworthy exceptions, most people aren't stupid enough to cut through a large cable like that. The cable wouldn't have that much value in it would it?

Vandals don't care about value - maybe they don't even know/care about being electricuted either ?

It would probably be a good thing if they cut through one and ended up in hospital. Word might get around and get them to stop doing it in the future.

[The Wookie]

rpguk said:

Also while there are some noteworthy exceptions, most people aren't stupid enough to cut through a large cable like that. The cable wouldn't have that much value in it would it?

More likely they'll think it's funny to unplug it so you return to a car with an empty battery in the morning and can't get to work.

Funny enough, despite working with a few EV's, some with the agreed standardised plug I've never looked to see if there's any sort of locking mechanism.

[Parrot of Doom]

Mr Gear said:

rpguk said:

Also while there are some noteworthy exceptions, most people aren't stupid enough to cut through a large cable like that. The cable wouldn't have that much value in it would it?

I'd like to see a few pikey tts give it a go actually. The first few to get 240 volts through them will learn not to make that mistake twice.

They're not daft, its pretty easy to cut through a mains cable without electrocuting ones self.

[davepoth]

Big fat lump of copper like that is going to be a couple of quid a kilo at an unscrupulous scrappy, as on the open market it's about $9000 a tonne. If there are a few in a road it's a good evening's robbing.

[Petrolhead_Rich]

Mr Gear said:

I'd like to see a few pikey tts give it a go actually. The first few to get 240 volts through them will learn not to make that mistake twice.

they still try at substations despite their mates getting literally cooked by the high voltage, so don't think they will learn!

[Dogwatch]

Can only improve the gene pool I suppose. Darwin will out!

[AAGR]

I've got a computer with no wires between mouse and tower, or between keyboard and tower.

Now tell me why this can't eventually be done for electric cars ?

[Mr Gear]

AAGR said:

I've got a computer with no wires between mouse and tower, or between keyboard and tower.

Now tell me why this can't eventually be done for electric cars ?

You realise they have batteries too don't you?!

On a more serious note, there is no reason why you can't have wireless electricity running under roads. The tech is available right now. I have a toothbrush that charges wireless. You just need a magnetic field.

The problem, as ever, is cost.

[kwock]

I wonder if some kind of standardised battery might be a better solution. You stop at a 'petrol' station, drop in your empty ones and take away fully charged ones. Numerous technical & practical hurdles but it could be massively more convenient if done correctly.

[Mr Gear]

kwock said:

I wonder if some kind of standardised battery might be a better solution. You stop at a 'petrol' station, drop in your empty ones and take away fully charged ones. Numerous technical & practical hurdles but it could be massively more convenient if done correctly.

Totally agree. It exists in a few places. I think Nissan run a scheme in Israel.

But I heard from a car designer that it can only ever work for one type of vehicle, and batteries need to be designed carefully to meet the specs of the vehicle they are installed in. Therefore, and standard battery would be a compromise. I don't know if that is really a big deal or not, but he made out it was out of the question.

[SubaruSteve]

I would imagine stealing petrol or diesel from a tank under your car is far easier than stealing electricity from a cable coming out of your house.

[The Wookie]

Mr Gear said:

kwock said:

I wonder if some kind of standardised battery might be a better solution. You stop at a 'petrol' station, drop in your empty ones and take away fully charged ones. Numerous technical & practical hurdles but it could be massively more convenient if done correctly.

Totally agree. It exists in a few places. I think Nissan run a scheme in Israel.

But I heard from a car designer that it can only ever work for one type of vehicle, and batteries need to be designed carefully to meet the specs of the vehicle they are installed in. Therefore, and standard battery would be a compromise. I don't know if that is really a big deal or not, but he made out it was out of the question.

Basically it would remove almost all vehicle diversity in a stroke, and would also become a redundant approach with even a small amount of progress in battery technology. I reckon a much better scenario is electric 'filling' stations with a mahoosive capacitor under the ground constantly getting topped up by the national grid, then zapping current at a massive pace into the battery when it is connected.

It's a bit of a misconception that batteries take a long time to charge because of limitations in how fast it can be pumped in. In reality with current top level technology it's usually only limited by the rate at which the grid can supply it, meaning certain existing battery chemistries can potentially (NPI) be charged in 15 minutes rather than 3 hours to give a decent range without the car weighing as much as the moon. The only issue at the moment is the drop in efficiency caused by supplying current at such a rate, and subsequently getting rid of the heat.

[CraigyMc]

Petrolhead_Rich said:

Mr Gear said:

I'd like to see a few pikey tts give it a go actually. The first few to get 240 volts through them will learn not to make that mistake twice.

they still try at substations despite their mates getting literally cooked by the high voltage, so don't think they will learn!

How about a mechanism whereby there's more than one set of cables in the shield - one set that are live the whole time, the other that are only live whilst charging the car?
If the cables are always live then there's a 100% expectation that it's not going to be a simple job to nick the cable.

By the way, why would it be 240v? Most of the current recharging systems I've seen run higher voltages than that (480V triplephase being common).

On a Tesla, for example, you can charge up using 115v/230v/480v. The latter one claims a full charge in about 45 minutes, which makes it almost a practical proposition.

C