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Plower electric Defender


cackshifter

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I know there was a thread couple of years back on the Bollinger things linky (maybe should stick to making champagne) but has anyone any experience of these by Plower link.?Could be vapourware obviously, but the spec looks plausible except they say 85kWh on the video and 75kWh on the site. But maybe a hybrid could be good.....    

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Looking at the website and video, I'd guess they are using Tesla batteries, (which would explain the 75/85KWh confusion). You can only use what is available in the re-purposing aftermarket.

One day there will be kits of parts to convert vehicles to electrickery. I've been told of a US kit for an E-Type already, together with VW Beetle, VW Bus and in the UK, Fiat 500, (the original diddy one).

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Look up Jaunt, an Aussie company planning to buy up loads of SIIs and SIIIs across Australia for electric conversion and rental (and kit sales), LondonElectricCars.com, who have done a SII 88" and a V8 90, and intend to do kits and full conversions, and Don Incoll's Lightweight conversion on http://www.goingbush.com/ptev.html

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Yep.  A Netgain Hyper9 will give performance roughly equivalent to a 4.0l V8, but with a far wider torque band and higher top rpm that would allow lower gearing, so would be excellent for most LRs, and they cost 4-5k.  That's less than a rebuilt Tdi or V8 with all the trimmings.  The big cost is the batteries.  There are supposed to be a lot of imminent game changers, most notably silicon electrodes, that increase energy density, cut recharge times, increase cycles and cut costs.  We'll see...

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4 hours ago, Cynic-al said:

The problem with these conversions, apart from the cost, if getting the paperwork to match so that you can benefit from the reduced tax, congestion zones etc etc. 

Eggs-actly!

And you're unlikely to be able to participate in any of the State-funded 'electrification' programs that give you a refund on the costs (these are only generally available to new-vehicle purchases).

It's interesting that the Chinese company that now makes the traditional Diesel-powered London Taxis has recently introduced a 'commercial' version -

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/news/levc-lcv-revealed-new-black-cab-spawns-hybrid-van-built-londons/

To my way of thinking, they're the sort of business I can see offering fully type-approved/tax-offsettable electric repower kits for Defenders/Evoques/Range-Rovers. China has a big city-pollution problem and also plenty of wealthy/middle-class types who won't be prepared to scrap their 4-year-old premium-SUV just because of an edict from Communist Party HQ.

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Taxis and delivery vans are the vehicles they should be using to refine the technology. A taxi is driving around a city constantly so is the best one to target to reduce city smog, its usually low speed and lots of stopping which maximises the run time from a battery and gives the best benefit over petrol, they don't need to appeal on an aesthetic level like a personal car does so it doesn't need the development or manufacturing budget of a big car maker, it can be boxier and have a hard wearing interior, making it a better market for smaller companies and it parks in a defined area so you can put charging points etc there. OK they cost more but if there are lower running costs and government incentives (ie "green" loans) it's easier for a business to justify. 

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21 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said:

The fact there aren't more EV's running around as taxis & delivery vehicles tells a lot about the real-life practicality of the current crop I think.

A good few years ago a company did a fleet of electric DAF 7.5 tonners for a delivery company to trial. The reason they chose the 7.5 tonne base over the 3.5 tonne base was the weight of the batteries cut into the payload of the vehicle too much on a 3.5 tonne base. The problem was as soon as you go over 3.5 tonne your into o-license, cat C1 license drivers who require higher pay than a cat B license holder, tacho, 6 weekly inspections, it's more difficult to manoeuvre and the range and charge problems made them local day runs only. 

There was talk of the government allowing electric vans to run upto 4.5 tonne without tacho but I'm not sure if it ever happened. There are lots of electric vans coming out and even an electric pickup but the range is still terrible. Probably ok for city deliveries where your distance travelled in 8 hours is small and saving smog and congestion charge is good but I don't think there are many individuals or companies who can replace their fleet with electric yet. 

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22 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said:

The fact there aren't more EV's running around as taxis & delivery vehicles tells a lot about the real-life practicality of the current crop I think.

This is true, but think how many hybrids there are running as taxis.

No doubt that folk were saying the same about ICE engines when the world was using horses.

It takes time and innovation.

But, as someone who lives on a busy noisy road, the sooner, the better.

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I don't see why they couldn't tow. Cooling might be a problem due to the prolonged high demand and obviously you'll spend more time strapping the load down then you will driving between charges but I'm sure it'll come, I expect it's just not high up their priority list. They're more concerned with cutting weight to increase range which doesn't go hand in hand with towing. 

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On 6/20/2019 at 4:24 PM, FridgeFreezer said:

The fact there aren't more EV's running around as taxis & delivery vehicles tells a lot about the real-life practicality of the current crop I think.

If they used induction charging in taxi ranks, like some mobile phones and smart watches have, then it’d be eminently feasible for taxis to be electric.  Goods vehicles often do longer runs and can’t afford recharge time, but it might be viable for loading bays to have induction charging loops too.  The trouble is keeping cars out of those charging points.

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On 6/21/2019 at 1:01 PM, Cynic-al said:

They're more concerned with cutting weight to increase range which doesn't go hand in hand with towing. 

I think this is it, a Tesla is a very lightweight car with a ton of batteries slung under it so it probably can't handle much else.

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On 6/22/2019 at 2:49 PM, Snagger said:

If they used induction charging in taxi ranks, like some mobile phones and smart watches have, then it’d be eminently feasible for taxis to be electric.  Goods vehicles often do longer runs and can’t afford recharge time, but it might be viable for loading bays to have induction charging loops too.

Really not very efficient at all I'm afraid.

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21 hours ago, Bowie69 said:

Really not very efficient at all I'm afraid.

Fair enough.  I was just thinking that having taxis be able to charge at ranks without the driver having to hook up would give them the boosts they need throughout the day to make them completely viable.  Perhaps a reverse pantograph with roof mounted rails that resemble those of a Discovery or Volvo?  The point is, given an instance connect/disconnect taxi rank charging system, electric taxis would be ideal for cities.  Artics could have the same with raising contact from the floor of their loading docks.  The difficult one to address is delivery vans, which go to too many locations that can’t be fitted with recharging mechanisms.

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