New car battery ping!...........Winter is coming...............
but your car better be tuned up and start on the first try
Kewl. Amazing that no one has come up with a better alternative...until maybe now.
Sounds like a great idea as long as tax dollars are not involved. Perhaps through economies of scale the price will come down.
Nope. No thanks in Snow Country. Supercapacitors may give you one good crank, but sometimes cold cars need a few tries.
I’ll get excited when I see a manufacturer buy Ohms. Until then, it’s as good as “vaporware” to me. I’m not knocking the idea specifically; could be fantastic. I’m just saying that if it *is* fantastic, experts will start buying it. And by experts, I don’t mean hobbyists who invest $200; I mean people who invest tens of millions.
Chrome coated terminals is probably not the best idea...: )
“and they plan to roll out a crowdfunding campaign in the next month or so.”
Translation:
“And they can’t find traditional investors.”
You can get about 4 regular car batteries for that price. That’s like 12 yrs., longer if you live in a warmer climate.
How well will that work if the car is not started for a month or two?
I hate this technology. If God wanted us to have capacitors, he’d have miracled us some. GOD HATES THIS TECHNOLOGY.
Lead acid batteries last a lot more than 3 years in some places. I Often get more than the 7 they are advertising. I just replaced one that lasted a whopping 15 years. Although that was an oddity.
I recently purchased a 12 year old Honda Civic and took it in for preventive battery replacement. I was shocked when told battery was original equipment installed in Japan.
So much for the 3 year life mantra (which is true for Chrysler minivans).
What happens when those batteries go bad?
I would buy at $200 for my old 57 Bel Air and 67 Camaro. It actually makes sense for me to buy top of the line for my babies, especially if there is longer life and a 30 lb drop in weight.
I’m sure it would run the 1500 watt inverter and the 12000lb winch in my Jeep just fine. I’ll stick to my Optima yellow top.
I’m not buying the environmental impact of lead acid batteries as described in this article. Most retailers charge you a core fee if you don’t turn in your old battery. And the cost of lead is so high that recycling the old battery makes economic sense.
As with nearly every ‘technological breakthrough’ it is priced right on the margin of stupidity. Why can’t the boffins come up with a real technological breakthrough that has obvious pricing advantages. It’s enough to make me believe in the stories about the everlasting match and everlasting razor.
I had a lithium battery in my motorcycle. It died after about a year. And the cold weather performance was dreadful. Useless below freezing. You also need a special charger if it gets too low to start the vehicle. A regular battery charger will destroy it.