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0 pointsAqueous11y ago0 comments

Sure - and plenty of MP3 players existed before the iPod, some of which, on paper, were better than the iPod (longer battery life, bigger capacity, more formats, better platform compatibility). But it took somebody who cared about user experience and design to make it a popular consumer product.

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fredkbloggs11y ago· 2 in thread

That's exactly my point: there IS no user experience. It's a piece of utility infrastructure: it sits there and does its job; you don't interact with it at all. You're paying for a Tesla nameplate on a device you will probably never even look at. Do you know who made the backflow preventer valve assembly that sits between your house/apartment and the street? Would you pay twice as much for one if it were sheathed in white plastic and had an Apple or Tesla logo?

schiffern11y ago

>it sits there and does its job; you don't interact with it at all.

This is more than can be said for the "half price" lead-acid batteries, which need to be periodically checked for corrosion and cleaned. Non-sealed batteries need to be topped off with distilled water annually. All PbA batteries (flooded and AGM!) require the hydrogen vent be checked for obstructions and maintained. That vent is an extra wall penetration for mice, insects, heat loss, etc. The entire battery bank also needs to be equalized every ~6 months, which may or may not be done automatically.

Sounds like the Powerwall's "no interaction" model is already better than the competition.

http://rimstar.org/renewnrg/off_grid_solar_battery_maintenan...

fredkbloggs11y ago

AGM and gel type batteries are collectively known as valve-regulated lead-acid or VRLA types. The maintenance procedures you described are for flooded batteries (FLA) and are neither required nor even possible with VRLA batteries.

You can save even more money by using FLA if you're willing to do the maintenance. If you're not, the direct comparison is with VRLA. VRLA is much cheaper than the Powerwall on an apples-to-apples basis.

It's hard to point to a specific source describing maintenance procedures that don't exist. For example, a common manufacturer's manual may be found at http://rollsbattery.com/public/docs/user_manual/Rolls_Batter.... Note the difference between FLA and AGM (VRLA) maintenance procedures. Specifically, there are none for the latter.

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