First electric tractor ride

[2manyrocks]

I bought a Kubota L2501 with loader this April roughly $22,000 delivered. There are four or five Kubota dealers within reasonable driving distance. I wouldn't pay $28k for any electric tractor without an established dealer network and track record of parts availability.

If we start piling more demand on the electric grid to power vehicles, the next thing may be more nuclear plants and more spent nuclear fuel.

 

[5030]

If we start piling more demand on the electric grid to power vehicles, the next thing may be more nuclear plants and more spent nuclear fuel.

'Piling on. will only result in grid failure.

 

[WranglerX]

I bought a Kubota L2501 with loader this April roughly $22,000 delivered. There are four or five Kubota dealers within reasonable driving distance. I wouldn't pay $28k for any electric tractor without an established dealer network and track record of parts availability.

If we start piling more demand on the electric grid to power vehicles, the next thing may be more nuclear plants and more spent nuclear fuel.

Yeah.... GOV. Nuisance if Cali. already realizes he has to extend Diablo Canyon Nuclear plant end of life because with drought hydro electric is failing, wind does not always blow and Pacific Graft & Extorsion (PG&E utility company) really does no want you tiering your solar into their grid anymore...

 

[nickfank]

I almost choked reading this, I just bought four 4.2kwh LiFePO4 batteries for my house... Each one cost more than you're saying a 22kwh battery costs and that was at dealer cost which is 40% off list.

Take your $80/kwh you found on Google and multiply it by 2-5x depending on the application. If you can find me a 22kwh battery (of any kind) for $1800 I'll buy one right now, maybe several.

Thanks for the reality check. I did not pull that number from an actual retailer's page, but rather from industry sites.

Here's one of the sources, which was from 2020: Battery Pack Prices Cited Below $100/kWh for the First Time in 2020, While Market Average Sits at $137/kWh | BloombergNEF

Here's a current source that claims $90 per kWh in vehicle battery packs: A previously ignored battery chemistry is now surging in popularity. Here’s why

I think it's still correct to claim that this type of battery is significantly cheaper than lithium-ion, but I totally accept your point that I screwed up by taking a cost/kWh to manufacture & then just multiplied it times the amount without bothering to take into account everything that happens between the manufacturer & consumer.

 

[eagle628]

the next thing may be more nuclear plants and more spent nuclear fuel.

I see nothing wrong with this scenario. The dismissal of nuclear by both renewable and fossil fuel advocates is complete hypocrisy from both points of view.

 

[nickfank]

Guaranteed for 10 years..... What a nonsense. Because they lose capacity with every discharge, batteries get guaranteed for the number of times they are discharged/charged, not for the time they physically exist. Bet, when you look in the sales contract, you will find a clause stating such charge limit in the same kind of wording as with cars: "guarantee up to 50.000 miles or 2 years, whichever comes first."

You're correct that it is based on charge cycles. The guarantee says 3,500 cycles with a DOD of 80% (so down to 20%).

But that doesn't make the 10 year claim nonsense... Realistically, you're going to be charging once during each day you use it. Divide 3,500 by 10 and you get 350 working days per year. Since I'm the lazy sort who takes at least 15 days off per year, the claim sounds reasonable.

BTW, the EV car wording in the US is a minimum of 8 years or 100,000 miles at 70% capacity. That's required by the government. It is also transferrable to subsequent owners in most cases. Makes it easier to go out on a limb and buy a used EV with some assurance that you won't be out a pile of money if something goes wrong with the battery pack.

 

[nickfank]

I see nothing wrong with this scenario. The dismissal of nuclear by both renewable and fossil fuel advocates is complete hypocrisy from both points of view.

Totally agree. I wouldn't have promoted nuclear if you asked me 30 years ago, but the world has changed. At this point, nuclear is clearly the lesser evil, given that people are simply incapable of using less energy regardless of the consequences. There comes a time when you have to put away fear and just accept the risk/reward calculation.

I'm fully invested in solar to run our rural homestead where I've got enough roof space to power the whole operation, but accept that nuclear will be necessary to keep the city folks happy. (And I'm prepared to make a few sacrifices keep them happy if that means they'll stay in the cities.)

 

[Eagle1]

(And I'm prepared to make a few sacrifices keep them happy if that means they'll stay in the cities.)

You said it all right there............

 

[bindian]

All tractors will be electric only, it’s just a question of when

Ya can't say that. We still have steam tractors. We will have diesel tractors hanging around as long as there are french fries and cooking oil. Ever heard of biodiesel?
hugs, Brandi

 

[airbiscuit]

Diesel Tractors aren't going away anytime soon. That said, John Deere, Kubota, Fendt, and who knows who else are building prototype electric tractors. Beyond that, i think there will be a host of driverless implements (Ag already has sophisticated GPS embedded in its products). When electric tractors become viable, I can see farmers quickly adopting them. They will have the roofs of their huge buildings covered with solar panels, and will have driverless mules that will drive out to the fields with freshly charged modular batteries that can be swapped out with the tractor in minutes. Farmers will love getting their tractor fuel from the sun.