> NiCads are known to last longer than you want them, in fact several of the > NiCad conversions whos owners are on this list bought their packs used. > NiZn is somewhat of a question mark. Pound for pound you get 3x the > capacity (in a slightly larger volume - lead is heavy), and "should" get > about that kind of pack life increase too. But they are quite new to the > market - to new to have proved that yet. I know one pack has failed in an > onroad EV, but that was due to overheating (I've heard). As I have been > told, they are *very* unforgiving to that (as in - they overheat and start > rapid self discharge, that keeps them hot until they are dead, they won't > take a charge again, buy some more :-)
Actually, we have yet to see a battery exhibit these symptoms and we have had a pack running in a 144V 500A curtis style EV for close to a year. [It's displayed lots of other undesirable symptoms.. all of which relate to the fact that the Evercel modular chargers aren't worth the plastic they are molded out of] > This brings up a point that many people interested in EVs are wondering. > Are EVs cheaper to operate than ICEs. In power used, clearly yes. > Electricity cost less than gas except a very few situations in the USA (gas > has to drop in price to find them). But battery life (lead acid) eats into > the ICE maintainance budget pretty quick. Like $900 to $1500 every 20k to > 30k miles worth (3 to 7.5 cents per mile). Now add in a penny or 2 per mile > for electricity. Compare this to gas costs for a similar size vehicle. Its > not very favorable, however I think the EV wins if >1/2 your trips are less > than 10 miles each way (ICE maintainance costs start to dominate, its quite > hard on them). That last part describes me, and many people living in an > urban setting (and some in a suburban setting). My opinion is that when you count all the maintenance that go into both vehicles, they are roughly the same cost to operate, and that in volume production, EVs would be cheaper.
