Are we doomed by our own destruction?

Exactly. One of my points all along. This is a global "revolution".

Battery technology. Its here.


"McGuinness' time of 18 minutes and 58 seconds set a new record for electric bikes at the Isle of Man. Mugen teammate Bruce Anstey, who had already secured an earlier victory in the gas-powered Superbike class, was only 4 seconds behind with a time of 19 minutes and 2 seconds. Both riders averaged in excess of 118mph and reached a peak speed of over 162mph. Third place finisher Lee Johnston of race debutants Victory Motorcycles topped out at 144mph with an average speed of 111.6mph. For comparison, Anstey and his nearest Superbike competitors averaged just over 130mph in their non-electric race.

All of these numbers would have been unthinkable only a few years ago, when electric bikes were aiming to just break the 100mph mark. Now, the victorious Team Mugen is going back to the drawing board in pursuit of the obvious next milestone to surpass: 120mph."


http://www.theverge.com/2015/6/10/8757307/isle-of-mann-tt-zero-result-2015


"Electric bikes are now within striking distance of the very best lap speeds around the TT track, which average just over 130mph in the hands of the most expert riders. And what’s more, those very same riders are enthusiastically embracing the new type of bike. Until recently, Bruce Anstey held the outright TT record with 132.3mph on his Honda superbike, but he also rides for Mugen in the TT Zero competition. His teammate and this year’s repeating TT Zero champion, John McGuinness took that gas-powered record from him this year with 132.7mph. McGuinness, despite some initial misgivings, is now one of the most ardent advocates of electric racing.

"I probably did snigger a little bit in the beginning," says McGuinness, "watching that first race in 2009 and seeing bikes with washing machine motors and car batteries strapped to them. But they’ve come a hell of a long way since then." Heading into this year’s Isle of Man series with 21 victories on the island, McGuinness is the most decorated living TT racer, and together with Anstey adds a great deal of credibility to the battery-powered race."

I like the bit about sniggering initially, from John McGuinness.

http://www.theverge.com/2015/6/18/8794795/isle-of-man-tt-zero-victory-electric-motorcycle-race

I agree and with the ever-rising cost of electricity here, self-sufficiency in that regard is becoming increasingly desirable. I have a house under construction in a rural part of the city and Davao Power and Light want me to pay them just under Php 200,000 for them to erect two poles, string some wire between them and install a transformer just so I can pay them heaps more each year for their supply. DPL is 100% owned by Aboitiz which has a virtual monopoly on Mindanao for electricity generation and supply (except hydro-generated, that is). And the prices go up and up, month on month.

Given the heat and humidity, standard truck and car batteries have an average life of around 2 years, slightly longer for (expensive) imports from Bosch and Panasonic but slightly less for the local brand, Motolite. Deep-discharge batteries - like those fitted to golf carts and milk floats - are far more suited to being used for solar installations but are (almost) impossible to find and prices will definitely give you rectal relaxation! The Tesla Powerwall at $3000 a lump sounds ideal but will probably cost two to two and a half times more by the time one is delivered to your house, by the time shipping and Customs' dues, taxes and fees are paid. Then there's the solar panels, most of which failed the manufacturing QC checks enabling them to be sold under American and European labels, so their Chinese manufacturers dump them on 'emerging nations'. And they are not cheap. But one can take a flight to Guam and pop-in to Home Depot who may even ship them Balikbayan for you. For a drink. Or two.

I couldn't care less if they can be labelled "Green" or not..!
I just want them to work good and for as long as they say they will..
I think a 10 KWH battery that is rated to last 10/15 years is very cheap.. Guess what??
They will get cheaper year in year out..These things always do.
That said..I`ll wait for the users reviews for a year or two before buying one.

100 ah deep cell solar batteries are available where I live for about 100.00 Quid each..
The CDR King 100 watt panels have a few good reviews on the web.. One user and tester is a British whizz kid.. He says they check out good.
Just saw that a 100 watt panel is 3k PHP but I have seeen them for 2,500 P.
Pure sine wave inverters are not so cheap though and I`d rather have one that was made in Germany and not China!
The Tesla 10KHW weighs about 100 Kilo and I think the best way to get one is from the U.S in a palletized BB box.. I have never had customs asking for dues in a BB box marked "house hold goods"..

It's been a while since I last looked so they may be available here too.

Hmmmm .... Nothing that I have bought at CDR King has lasted - or worked longer than its pathetically-short warranty period - so I'll pass-up the opportunity of buying from them, if you don't mind.

Since they also act as the controllers and chargers, yes, I too would be buying German. Chinese-made would likely spontaneously combust - just as the Chinese-made car battery charger I bought recently.

You certainly do not want a 10KHW unit as, according to one of the articles Halo-Halo linked-to above, their design life is just 50 charge-discharge cycles. The 7KHW unit is just the jobbie but you may need two.

Dont discount the CDR king panels out of hand.. Buy one and test it to death IMO..
Here`s the Brit whizz kids review..
http://greenenergy.solar-san-antonio.com/solar-energy/solar-panels/cdr-king-solar-panels/

In regards the discharge cycles,that all might depend on how much the battery is allowed to charge and discharge..
With deep cycle batteries they cant discharge below 30% or charge much over 90%..
That said,I will look further into it..See what Tesla say.

Did you watch the video, Fred, where he talks about the 50W panel and remarks it has effectively a zero-second warranty?!!! Typical of CDR King, that!

I`ll watch next week...My data cap is nearly up!

Mind you, I gather in the US, for example, they are all going out and buying bigger cars as gas (petrol) is so much cheaper. Also people are going for oil fired heating, preferentially.

A bigger car is also a sign of success, generally more comfortable and a better drive on an open road.

They can afford bigger and better houses over there as well.

(* Assuming we are both talking about the same social class)

Everybody tends to enjoy a higher standard of living over there anyway. More bang to the buck

I am reviewing some of Tommy Golds stuff today. I just cannot buy into the idea that gas from the mantle has found its way up and into the various shale source rocks around the globe. Cannot see that happening. Shale is created diagenetically, under heat and pressure at depth in a " dewatering" process leaving hydrocarbons behind and not the other way around.

However, despite lack of evidence, Gold seems to make a lot of sense with his primordial origin approach. My way of thinking is both could easily be plausible.

If so then that satisfies the conventionalists, but not the environmentalists.

He points out that hydrocarbons have never been created in the lab using biological ingredients. Not sure if that has happened since he passed away.

Till the oil stops then the suburbs will be unsustainable

Its a renewable resource, Keith.


Theres plenty more where that lot came from:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2015/07/22/u-s-winning-oil-war-against-saudi-arabia/

More oil than you could shake a stick at....
http://www.mintpressnews.com/katie-report-australia-oil-shale-reserves/171401/

Yes. I have been going through some of the references. I am going to buy a copy of the Deep Hot Biosphere. Worth it at £7.00 on ebay.

£4.00 on Amazon.