3 ms·

Not to mention they’re talking about lead-acid batteries, which have been replaced for pretty much every application, except (for now) starter motor batteries f

by rgmerk 1mo ago

Not to mention they’re talking about lead-acid batteries, which have been replaced for pretty much every application, except (for now) starter motor batteries for combustion vehicles, by the various lithium batteries.

chihuahua 1mo ago
To be fair (as a joke), it's from Low Tech Magazine. Lithium batteries are too high-tech for them. They want you to power your mechanical blender, mixer, and other machines with a drive belt. Turn the drum of your washing machine with a wood fire heating the water.
- Gibbon1 1mo ago
  Solar panels I think are too high tech for them. I remember reading about low tech efficient cook stoves for poor countries and thinking the misses would rather have an induction burner, microwave, and an ice chest running off a solar panel.
  - getpokedagain 1mo ago
    The server the article is being hosted on is battery powered via solar. You can see it's charge percent on any page the server sends back to you. https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/power/ https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/power/
  - msla 1mo ago
    > the misses would rather have an induction burner, microwave, and an ice chest running off a solar panel. Those would definitely be hits. Also, solar panels are old. Bell Labs demonstrated the first practical silicon solar cell in 1954. At some point, you're just trying to split (possibly nonexistent) hairs for an aesthetic, as opposed to making a principled stand against technology. https://www.aps.org/apsnews/2009/04/bell-labs-silicon-solar-cell https://www.aps.org/apsnews/2009/04/bell-labs-silicon-solar-...
  - rgmerk 1mo ago
    I would too...but an off-grid solar and battery setup sufficient to run the induction stove and microwave is still well into four figures - cheap for a developed country resident who wants some basic comforts in their wilderness lodge, but still well out of reach for a subsistence farmer in the poorest parts of the world.
    - eru 1mo ago
      Increasingly becoming more affordable. Especially as financing becomes easier. And you don't have to buy everything all at once.
      - Gibbon1 1mo ago
        That's the thing, like the used to be very expensive swing compressor ice chests that you can buy in the US for $150. You'd only need a 100 amp hour battery and a 100W solar panel to power it.
        eru 1mo ago
        And you can probably share it between a few families, or even use it to run a small business.
wolfi1 1mo ago
even EVs still have lead acid batteries, not all, but most
- alex_young 1mo ago
  "have" is doing most of the work here. Most EVs have a small 12v battery to power 12v components. But the driving the car to the store part is done with lithium.

by rgmerk 1mo ago

chihuahua 1mo ago

To be fair (as a joke), it's from Low Tech Magazine. Lithium batteries are too high-tech for them. They want you to power your mechanical blender, mixer, and other machines with a drive belt. Turn the drum of your washing machine with a wood fire heating the water.

Gibbon1 1mo ago
Solar panels I think are too high tech for them. I remember reading about low tech efficient cook stoves for poor countries and thinking the misses would rather have an induction burner, microwave, and an ice chest running off a solar panel.
- getpokedagain 1mo ago
  The server the article is being hosted on is battery powered via solar. You can see it's charge percent on any page the server sends back to you. https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/power/ https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/power/
- msla 1mo ago
  > the misses would rather have an induction burner, microwave, and an ice chest running off a solar panel. Those would definitely be hits. Also, solar panels are old. Bell Labs demonstrated the first practical silicon solar cell in 1954. At some point, you're just trying to split (possibly nonexistent) hairs for an aesthetic, as opposed to making a principled stand against technology. https://www.aps.org/apsnews/2009/04/bell-labs-silicon-solar-cell https://www.aps.org/apsnews/2009/04/bell-labs-silicon-solar-...
- rgmerk 1mo ago
  I would too...but an off-grid solar and battery setup sufficient to run the induction stove and microwave is still well into four figures - cheap for a developed country resident who wants some basic comforts in their wilderness lodge, but still well out of reach for a subsistence farmer in the poorest parts of the world.
  - eru 1mo ago
    Increasingly becoming more affordable. Especially as financing becomes easier. And you don't have to buy everything all at once.
    - Gibbon1 1mo ago
      That's the thing, like the used to be very expensive swing compressor ice chests that you can buy in the US for $150. You'd only need a 100 amp hour battery and a 100W solar panel to power it.
      - eru 1mo ago
        And you can probably share it between a few families, or even use it to run a small business.

wolfi1 1mo ago

even EVs still have lead acid batteries, not all, but most

alex_young 1mo ago
"have" is doing most of the work here. Most EVs have a small 12v battery to power 12v components. But the driving the car to the store part is done with lithium.