Trains.com

Big batteries to power our trains

11050 views
92 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    December 2006
  • 1,879 posts
Posted by YoHo1975 on Tuesday, January 18, 2022 1:16 PM

Shadow the Cats owner

Right now the last Ag equipment maker that needs to stir the crap up with their customers is John Deere.  Why they are fighting every single piece of Right to Repair legislation there is in the nation.  Why is that important to farmers.  When you are paying almost 500K or more for a tractor and you are not allowed when the warrenty peroid is over to change as much as a sensor on that engine without paying the dealership for the privilage of doing so plus the downtime of the tractor there is a problem.  They literally have disabled tractors and other equipment that farmers have modified with no JD approved vendor equipment and turned that equipment into lawn ornaments for those farmers around here.  One farmer my hubby is friends with bought a NEW S780 combine a couple years ago.  He decided to use a non JD draper head for his beans as he had got a great deal at an auction on a different maker one.  Well JD deactivated 70% of all the features on his 780 combine that made it super efficent for him.  He is suing them right now in court for breach of contract.  

 

John Deere's LI tractor is just one more way for them to control everything about their equipment and will be no well accepted plus no farmer is going to want a piece of equipment that can not make it thru a standard service day in either planting or harvest without needing almost a day to recharge.  

 

 

 

JD's major competitors are also releasing automated electric farm equipment. It's the entire industry.

  • Member since
    April 2016
  • 1,447 posts
Posted by Shadow the Cats owner on Tuesday, January 18, 2022 9:03 PM

There's one reason  why you are seeing this mad rush to put unreliable power sources into both farming equipment and other uses where diesel engines are used.  California last year passed a law in less than 25 years bans the sale of anything new with any sort of internal combustion engines.  That means boat engines cars truck by 2035 OTR trucking railroad engines ship engines and possibly aircraft engines by 2045 are going to be banned from use in the state of California given how extreme CARB tends to go on regulation an outright ban won't be far behind those dates.  Heck in 2024 no more internal combustion powered lawnmowers or even emergency generators are being allowed to be sold in California.  That regulation is already on the books.  Boy fire season will be fun for the crews when they run out of batteries for their chainsaws.  

  • Member since
    December 2006
  • 1,879 posts
Posted by YoHo1975 on Tuesday, January 18, 2022 11:16 PM

Generators aren't banned until 2028. I'd imagine that a battery powered Chain saw running down would be just as annoying as an empty gas tank. One wonders how the fire fighters handle it. 

Join our Community!

Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.

Search the Community

Newsletter Sign-Up

By signing up you may also receive occasional reader surveys and special offers from Trains magazine.Please view our privacy policy