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ZeKik

@[email protected]

• 🏰 • 🍇 • 🥂🍷 • 🍽 • 🇮🇪 • 🇫🇷 •
Love 🇫🇷 , love 🇮🇪, live in 🇺🇸.
Renovating a XIV, XVII and XVIII Century castle in Burgundy, including (potentially) a 🍇 vineyard. Might also attempt to grow some truffles! 🍄

P.S. I usually follow back, but it might take me a few days to notice. 😬

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@vinc@weird.autos avatar vinc , to random

Just picked up the ‘16 Chevy Bolt that I will be driving for the next few days. To my dismay, the battery was at 0% of charge. The owner says that they don’t even have a place to plug it. 😢

Currently feeding it the first meal of electrons in… maybe years? We’ll see.

Chevy Volt dashboard showing a fully empty battery.
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ZeKik ,
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@vinc So… presumably… you got it somewhere to feed it electrons? What was the chosen solution? 110V trickle charger? 240V trickle charger? L2 nearby?

Lucky it drove to wherever you needed it to go.

Most of the stuff I’ve read states that EV batteries hate being left under 10% (or completely charged) for long periods of time.

Quite the adventure! 😬

ZeKik ,
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@vinc that seems to imply that it is a range extended vehicle with a gasoline engine but no transmission, like a BMW i3. Is that the case?

ZeKik ,
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@vinc so the owner was basically using it without the battery… would he have been getting any hybrid benefit in that scenario, or is the gas engine just hauling around a bunch of extra weight from a dead battery?

ZeKik ,
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@vinc how long is your test, and are you considering buying it afterwards?

ZeKik ,
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@vinc That makes a lot of sense.

You might remember my Turo 2014 i3 REx rental over two or three days for the same reason. It was my first true EV experience.

It was very expensive though. I did take the insurance, which probably wasn’t necessary, but I didn’t want to deal with Geico.

@exador23@m.ai6yr.org avatar exador23 , to random

@SteveInVentura @vinc @vwdasher @ZeKik @MarkBrigham @richardknott

I never understood why hybrids weren’t designed this way to begin with. An engine at constant ideal rpm is way more efficient with less emissions, and no need for complicated drivetrain switching.

ZeKik ,
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@SteveInVentura @exador23 @vinc @vwdasher @MarkBrigham @richardknott I believe that the Volt was a 1.5L I-4 engine… and not a very inspiring one at that.

ZeKik ,
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@vinc @SteveInVentura @exador23 @vwdasher @MarkBrigham @richardknott I find this review compelling — I don’t usually pay much attention to reviews, but some are definitely better than others.

https://www.edmunds.com/chevrolet/volt/2019/review/

@dan@weird.autos avatar dan , to random

I’m about a week away from forgoing all charging incentives and professional electricians and installing the charger myself.

Buying an EV is starting to feel like a mistake, not a huge mistake but a mistake.

ZeKik ,
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@dan I’m sure this is different everywhere, but this has been my experience:

  1. Old panel from 1954 = 70A rating.
  2. No grounding anywhere.
  3. 150A breakers in total, including 40A for a/c.

You can see from this photo that there were only 6 positions originally. When the a/c was installed, the opening was enlarged to add two more.

Permit submitted. “Spotter” says that the panel cannot stay where it is and identifies a new location.

ZeKik ,
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@dan Got estimates from two recommended electricians to upgrade to 200A service at about $7-8K.

An inside sub-panel had been installed over a decade ago when we upgraded our kitchen, so all the old circuits would be run to the this panel inside the house.

The new outside panel would handle only the 60A EV Charger circuit and an additional 20A 110V GFCI outdoor circuit as a backup for a Level 1 charger.

Proper grounding would have to be added, according to code.

ZeKik ,
@ZeKik@mas.to avatar

@dan Final cost?

$7,700, but this included an additional non-EV work that was about $1K.

Breakdown:

  1. 200A new panel = $5K

  2. Move the circuits from the old panel to the inside sub-panel, adding 100A service & appropriate wiring (upgraded from 20A) = $2K

  3. Install 48A EV charger and 20A outside circuit from new main panel = $700

So, if I already had 200A service, the EV charger would have cost $700. I bought the charger myself for $400.

So $700 + $400 is the true cost.

ZeKik ,
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@dan Main panel now looks like this, with 60A for the 48A EV charger, and 20A for the external backup outlet. Includes a whole house surge protector, required in California for new installations.

100A breaker for the sub-panel.

ZeKik ,
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@dan Sub-panel inside the house looks like this.

ZeKik ,
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@dan you are in better shape than I was with an idle 60A circuit already there.

32A is plenty for overnight charging. I was just curious to see what I could get from the quirky B250e, and also future proof the installation to some extent for a mere $200.

Having an app to control when charging occurs makes it easy to prioritize low cost charging periods. It only needs set up once, then just plug in and plug out as needed. No fiddling with the app required.

ZeKik ,
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@dan In other related news, the B250e does not have DC fast charging capability — but I don’t need it, since the 80 mile range is sufficient for me to just charge at home or when parked at a local destination.

L2 public charging locally costs about the same as home charging. Sometimes a bit more, sometimes less. Approximately half price or better compared to gasoline for an ICE.

However, public DC fast charging is so expensive that it actually costs the same as gasoline for an ICE.

ZeKik ,
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@dan I’m not familiar with the Polestar 2 but when I rented a BMW i4 in France in 2024, I thought it was phenomenal. The speeds were such that I could just go drink a coffee, which generally takes me 20 minutes on long trips, and by the time I got back to the car, it was fully charged.

The trick, apparently, is charging before the car drops below 20%, and only charging to 80% unless time allows for more.

It takes as long to charge from 80 to 100% as it does from 20 to 80%.

ZeKik ,
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@dan I got a great deal on the B250e. Nobody wants them. 80 miles range and no fast charging.

My longest trips are usually to LAX return. 65 miles. Done it several times at 70 mph and a/c at 72°F. I get home with 25-30 miles left.

I can also go to Old Town Pasadena and charge for free for 2 hours when I pay $1 for the first three hours of parking. They basically pay me $3 to park there in real terms.

I can go 80 miles from home if I can charge when I get there.

ZeKik ,
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@dan you aren’t getting the true EV experience until you can charge at home (or destination charge at work). The idea that your car always has a full tank of fuel every day and that you’ll never visit a stinky gas station ever again (for that vehicle anyway) is what makes it compelling… as well as costing half as much as an ICE at the same time.

The climate pre-conditioning doesn’t cost anything extra either, so it makes more sense than pre-conditioning an ICE.

@SteveInVentura@sfba.social avatar SteveInVentura , to random

A very opinionated article about the inevitability of , but I didn’t see anything factually incorrect in it. The gasoline car market peaked way back in 2016 while the market set a new record last month (albeit because of US incentives expiring). Legacy manufacturers like GM aimed to transition to solely EVs while lobbying the government to back off pollution restrictions and efficiency requirements. It’s been quite a ride, but the present administration is swimming against the tide of the global market and empowering China, while leaving us isolated and increasingly irrelevant. @ZeKik @sgt1372 @vinc @vwdasher @DenOfEarth @MarkBrigham @richardknott https://www.autoevolution.com/news/at-the-crossroads-between-ice-present-and-ev-future-legacy-carmakers-chose-irrelevance-258245.html

ZeKik ,
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@SteveInVentura @sgt1372 @vinc @vwdasher @DenOfEarth @MarkBrigham @richardknott contrary to the author, I don’t think any European carmakers think they can survive on ICE alone, as the article claims. In fact, they have far more affordable EV options than the North American market, by far, including the incredibly popular Renault 5 and Renault 4.

They have many options that are cheaper than the cheapest Tesla.

ZeKik ,
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@DenOfEarth @SteveInVentura @sgt1372 @vinc @vwdasher @MarkBrigham @richardknott

From what I’ve read, absolutely none of the Japanese manufacturers have embraced EV’s, which is surprising, since Toyota and Nissan were early market leaders. Toyota with the hybrid Prius and Nissan with the Leaf EV.

BMW seem to have made the boldest moves, with the Neue Klasse.

@coffeegeek@flipboard.social avatar coffeegeek , (edited ) to coffee group

A Quick Poll (gives me some background for an article I'm working on, so please vote!)

What do you consider EXPENSIVE for an espresso machine price. Choose the option that, for you, is the point where the price is too high, no matter the features.

cc coffee@a.gup.pe icon coffee group

ZeKik ,
@ZeKik@mas.to avatar

@coffeegeek coffee@a.gup.pe icon coffee group is now a good time for me to point out that all my cars have outlasted my espresso machines?! 😱

Oldest 🚗 = 31Y
Newest 🚙 = 10Y

I could probably repair most of the espresso machines with a bit of effort. They’re all in the garage. The cars — as is typical in SoCal where nothing ever rusts — are not. 😳

@ukuku@mstdn.social avatar ukuku , to random

Picked up a Breville Bambino Plus w/o a portafilter yesterday for $12, which seemed like a bargain, but now I want best portafilter, basket, tamper, etc, so my bargain is getting expensive fast.

ZeKik ,
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@ukuku don’t overthink it! That’s a great purchase!

Any suggestions @coffeegeek ?

James has to deal with some challenging family situations currently, so it would be nice if he could get some small victories along the way for his thrift store buy.

@coffeegeek@flipboard.social avatar coffeegeek , (edited ) to random

Youtube cards are definitely broken on M̶a̶s̶t̶o̶d̶o̶n̶ some fediverse instances. Full URLs, share links, etc. The card links to youtube.com/undefefined when it generates. At least on the instance I use (flipboard.social).

Masto masters, hopefully you fix this. My guess: Youtube is fed up with the constant MastoDDos that happens when links are posted, so they just block them all now. I know it takes my own website down for 2-5 minutes each time I post. I am guessing other websites might follow this example soon too.

Hey @Flipboard masters, can you get the flipboard.social admins on this to see if it's an error on our own instance?

Here's an example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vvh5SSd2rHo

ZeKik ,
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@coffeegeek @Flipboard For me, the card, if that’s what you’re calling the visual rendition below the link, does not do anything at all.

The link itself, above the card (again, if I’m understanding you correctly), takes me directly to YouTube and “Coffee Time with Coffee Geek, Mark Prince.

I wonder if the behavior that might be observed is app dependent though. 🤷‍♂️

@coffeegeek@flipboard.social avatar coffeegeek , to random
ZeKik ,
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@coffeegeek @leo in TWO days… ⏰

Tick tock, tick tock! 😜

@coffeegeek@flipboard.social avatar coffeegeek , to random
ZeKik ,
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@coffeegeek she was an absolutely spectacular climax singing Edith Piaf after an absolutely spectacular parade that was unlike anything that has ever come before it.

@coffeegeek@flipboard.social avatar coffeegeek , to random

My wife is flying to Poland for 3 weeks (I'm going to have some questions for and coffee fanatics soon); Victoria BC to Edmonton to Frankfurt to Warsaw.

She just boarded the Edmonton - Warsaw leg, and got upgraded to Business Class. It's her first time ever flying business class, and she's absolutely loving it. Sending me a ton of video from the cabin right now. What a stroke of luck, especially considering she thought she wouldn't even make the flight a day or two ago because Westjet, her Victoria - Edmonton connection, was in the middle of a strike (ended 36hr ago).

Going to miss her. 3+ weeks without the love of my life!

ZeKik ,
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@coffeegeek transatlantic business class is usually horribly expensive, but boy does it make a difference, including priority boarding and, in some European airports, priority immigration lines.

I hope she enjoys every minute, and that you get to experience it together soon.

@coffeegeek@flipboard.social avatar coffeegeek , to random

Interesting. Even with a 100W charging brick now (Ugreen's Nexode Pro 100W), my MBA 15" M2 peaks at 60.8W charging draw, using a 100W cable.

I know next to nothing about the arcane ways of charging devices, but I expected it to be at least 67W, and possibly 90W.

Does this mean I could have gotten away with buying the Ugreen Nexode 65W charger instead?

Anyone know what's going on here?

Battery charging report.
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ZeKik ,
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@coffeegeek not entirely sure, but family members have used an MBP 16” of the Intel variety using a 65W lenovo USB-C charger. The included adapter was rated at 96W.

The new M chip MBP 16” use MagSafe instead. They will charge with any USB-C port as well, but that doesn’t deliver as much as MagSafe AFAIK. The included power adapter is rated at 140W.

It’s probably still preferable that you bought the 100W adapter IMHO unless it’s for occasional use only.

@coffeegeek@flipboard.social avatar coffeegeek , to random

My wife and I decided to cancel


Video

Recently. Netflix, because of the constant rate increases and reduced service, Prime Video because of the commercials.

Weird side effect: cancelling Netflix in particular has resulted in good mental health. I had this weird situation with Netflix - spending the money on them caused angst that I always had to log in and see what was playing, to "justify" our monthly fee. I don't do that any longer.

Anyone else find themselves accessing their paid-streaming services because they feel they have to justify the monthly fee, not just for some fun distraction watching?

ZeKik ,
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@coffeegeek you’ll also discover that if you don’t restart your subscription after a certain timeframe, your account will be closed down permanently with loss of all preferences and watch lists.

I think it’s two years.

@coffeegeek@flipboard.social avatar coffeegeek , to espresso group

These are some of the rarest espresso cups I own (I have over 3,500, which is kind of insane, right?).

They are the Fondazione Ernesto Illy duo-saucer, pair of espresso cups, based on the iconic Illy Cup design. Only a few hundred were made.

The only way you could obtain a pair was if you made a donation to the Ernesto Illy charity. They were only available for a short period. I made two donations at different times, and got two sets.

cc espresso@a.gup.pe icon espresso group

Fondazione Ernesto illy pair of Illy Cups, in white with gold plated accents.
Fondazione Ernesto illy pair of Illy Cups, in white with gold plated accents.

Fondazione Ernesto illy pair of Illy Cups, in white with gold plated accents.
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ZeKik ,
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@coffeegeek espresso@a.gup.pe icon espresso group Gorgeous! 🤩 😍

@coffeegeek@flipboard.social avatar coffeegeek , to random

So, I guess I'm sort an "Apple" guy, in that I've been using Macbooks, iMacs, and Mac Minis for nearly 15 years now. But the last iPhone I owned was the 3 or 4 version; been Android ever since.

Gotta say, the was one of the most boring ones I've ever seen. Absolutely nothing of interest to me, including planned updates to the OS I use every day - MacOS.

ZeKik ,
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@coffeegeek Personal experience is somewhat anecdotal, but I used Android (phone & tablet) for years initially. Switched to Apple after my employer gave me an iPhone. Added iPad and Mac mini later myself.

Not using an iPhone would be missing out on some of the cross device syncing capability and reducing the effectiveness of an Apple One family subscription for iCloud and other services.

There is no compelling advantage to Android in a mixed scenario IMO.

ZeKik ,
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@coffeegeek same, but without the spyware and targeted advertising.

Google docs is worse than the open source Libre Office IMO.

You may relinquish your “Apple person” credentials forthwith as that is inaccurate IMO. If you are as deeply into the Googleverse as you describe, you would probably be better served with a Chromebook and Pixel tablet. Much better integration than with two incompatible environments and much cheaper.