A year or two ago, Consumer Reports retested a Prius they have (and reviewed when they bought it) with I believe 200,000 miles on it, and essentially it's performing now pretty much like it did when new. Can't recall how old it was, but I think something like 7-10 years old...can't recall if they had put in a new battery wad or not...
As I said before, finding a way to make cheaper and more efficient batteries is going to be crucial in the next 10 years (hopefully much sooner). Whomever does could potentially become a very very rich person.
"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge" -Stephen Hawking
The good news is that prices have been dropping steadily.
Although, I often ready about the environmental damage caused by rare earth mining needed for battery and electric motor manufacturing and wonder if it's all worth it or not. One thing I do know, that keeping my 17 year old Corolla running for as long as possible is the more environmentally friendly thing I can do
And it's not clear it's even going to be batteries. Tesla just spent over $200 million on an ultracapacitor company. https://electrek.co/2019/02/04/tesla...-manufacturer/
Never a bad idea to check reliability ratings on Consumer Reports...I hate repair bills...(more expensive these days as few things can be "fixed," parts must be ordered, etc, etc. Dishwasher repair man required $110 to step into the house, period.
Hourly charge beyond that. Of course he did not have the necessary part, and wasn't helped in that regard by totally misdiagnosing the problem. So back he comes a week later with "the part," but not the part required to stem the leak.
Third trip also a failure. New repairman requested, new guy actually finds the problem, fixes it...total elapsed time, one month.)
Youtube (and online parts sites) is a godsend for DIY repairs. I've fixed any number of appliances, including our dishwasher (pump replacement), fridge (defroster), dryer (belt) and Carpet shamppoer (pump). None of those repairs would have been cost effective on our older appliances given high cost of pro help. No wonder the Maytag repairman is so lonely.
Marvelous case of internet insight with my Volvo the other day (2006 vintage)...(unfortunately fixing my dishwasher was beyond a DIY video)...
My dashboard conveyed a message to me, "position bulb out." Could not locate said bulb...Volvo forum guided me to a row of lights in the taillight assembly, sure enough, one of three was out, could barely be noticed.
But here's the fix: whack the side of the car with your palm and I was told "it works every time. And it did.
Is it still cool to kick vending machines?
p.s. also had the ink jets in my HP printer gum up, thought i'd have to get a new one, but no, the Youtube video showed me how to drip some rubbing alcohol onto the heads, voila, printer works fine.
The ones with the big turning screw type devices seem to produce a lot of "hangers," in which the coveted Cheetos dangle just by a nubbins, and a swift kick has been known to dislodge them, or so a friend tells me.
As for the printer, DD, did not want the HP smelling of hops.
Thread crossover warning!!
Curious about the carbon footprint of crock pot cooking versus stove top...
Crock pot cooking can use half (or more) the energy used to cook a similar meal on a stovetop or oven mainly due to the lower heating level requiring far less energy (even though it's over a longer duration).
Things that can make traditional cooking more efficient (a convection oven which will cook faster at a lower temperature) or an induction cooktop which is more efficient than a traditional cook top.
So by all means, go green and use that crock pot!
Latest IPCC report is out. Here is the direct press release which includes how to access the report.
https://www.ipcc.ch/2021/08/09/ar6-wg1-20210809-pr/