Adventures in an all electric vehicle.

[cheb]

One of the drivers away from glass and towards plastic and tetrapaks is to prevent the rabble from rising up. At the same time as petrol is becoming less available. They started with demonising smoking so few people now carry matches or a lighter. Battery powered Molotov cocktails just don't do it.

Wake up sheeple and take notice.

 

[GRW]

I started driving tractors & Land-rover & the like (& the odd Honda Cub field bike) helping out on farms from about 11yo myself.
I just worked out that driving my awful polluting ICE like a stingy nun (on my commute home tonight) it's costing about 15p/mile in fuel.
Given the topography where I travel, there's no way anyone (no matter how good they think they are) is going to improve on that by more than a point or two.
Never gonna compete with any EV doing around 5p/mile (I'd have to push it everywhere).
But in compensation its 24yo so its footprint can't be so bad, its an estate so it carries lots of stuff & my mountain bike fits in it, & it's purchase cost means it simply cannot cost me much even if something catastrophic happens to it (even if it spontaneously combusted )

 

[Robotstar5]

Simple stuff milk - you can have skimmed - semi skimmed - full fat - and real good quality Jersey milk with gold tops.

Red/green/blue/gold....

Birds would peck a hole in the foil top to get to the cream then in the winter the milk would freeze and push the top off.

 

[GRW]

Birds would peck a hole in the foil top to get to the cream then in the winter the milk would freeze and push the top off.

Funnily enough - while that used to happen back when we had bottled milk decades back - its never happened once in the last 2-3 years.
I guess the learned behaviour of the birds died out in the multiple generations in between?

 

[fizzy]

I am quite sure more energy is consumed and more CO2 released when re using glass bottles.
BUT I think it's preferable to the ever increasing amounts of microplastics being released into the environment.
It's about time people went back to separate powders and liquids for washing machines and dishwashers. The single use detergent pouches can't be good.

 

[redlig]

One of the drivers away from glass and towards plastic and tetrapaks is to prevent the rabble from rising up. At the same time as petrol is becoming less available. They started with demonising smoking so few people now carry matches or a lighter. Battery powered Molotov cocktails just don't do it.

Wake up sheeple and take notice.

Don't be too sure about that. Have you seen what happens when a lipo gets a sharp whack. Pretty impressive and difficult to extinguish.

 

[redlig]

Birds would peck a hole in the foil top to get to the cream then in the winter the milk would freeze and push the top off.

I used to see many blue tits around in the cold weather looking for milk bottles to rob.

 

[Farside]

A mate of mine was a milkman. 3 wheeler electric milk float. Never been so scared in all my life when he gave me a lift.. Thing weighed about 5 tons. No MOT needed. Cab was tied on with a bit of rope

 

[atomant48]

I started driving tractors & Land-rover & the like (& the odd Honda Cub field bike) helping out on farms from about 11yo myself.
I just worked out that driving my awful polluting ICE like a stingy nun (on my commute home tonight) it's costing about 15p/mile in fuel.
Given the topography where I travel, there's no way anyone (no matter how good they think they are) is going to improve on that by more than a point or two.
Never gonna compete with any EV doing around 5p/mile (I'd have to push it everywhere).
But in compensation its 24yo so its footprint can't be so bad, its an estate so it carries lots of stuff & my mountain bike fits in it, & it's purchase cost means it simply cannot cost me much even if something catastrophic happens to it (even if it spontaneously combusted )

You talking about just the cost of fuel / electric? No one’s getting 5p a mile in an EV these days (unless some very legacy cheap tariff) … so you’re doing pretty well !

 

[willie.macleod]

@Erie Fred you from America are you not?

Do you find Jay Leno as irritating as I do (being English).

Cultural question...?

@premmington with all the talk about spontaneous vehicle combustion did you see that Jay Leno was in a very bad way when one of his petrol vehicles went up a few months back? 7% of his skin replaced with grafts from a human cadaver. Poor guy.

 

[northwest]

So what killed the delivery of milk?

Supermarkets - ladies of the house going to work and milk geting left on the doorstep. Cost?

These milk floats looked old - they looked like they lasted OK.

Flooded wet acid batteries like a forklift? Yes?

You are right, it was supermarket milk. Supermarkets sell milk as a loss leader ie. below it's actual cost.

We still have milk delivered so I’m probably not best placed to answer. But I guess the prevalence of supermarkets and how cheap they could provide it has done for most milk rounds. I think dairy farmers have had a real bum deal from supermarkets over the years, but that’s probably a discussion for another thread.

So do I and I will always if possible.

I thought talking about milk delivery would be a nice thing to do...

Brings back memories, not all good.*

No MOT needed.

Used to love going down the local nick and getting cautioned: "anything you say......etc" I had to go down with the docs if any of the milkmen/women got a producer, if the copper was unaware their eyes used to light up when I couldn't provide an MOT cert. some going well OTT . I often wondered about their (eventual) disappointment.

and the limited number of times the bottles actually last, it results in more emissions than just using plastic.

In 1972 the average was 17 trips, any less than 12 and it was costing money, just demonstrates the publics duplicity when discussing "saving the planet" looks like they can't even be bothered to return a milk bottle.

*I delivered milk from the time I could walk. When the weather was especially bad I knew that before I went to school in the morning I wouldn't be out "doing a milk round" I would probably be doing two as a few would be calling in sick, we were a processing dairy with a good fleet of Milk Floats (family business) and I have delivered more milk than most would ever want to see in a lifetime and usually in the worst weather.
I often wonder about the wet weather clothing I had back then and what is available now. It is just amazing.

 

[fizzy]

You are right, it was supermarket milk. Supermarkets sell milk as a loss leader ie. below it's actual cost.


So do I and I will always if possible.


Brings back memories, not all good.*


Used to love going down the local nick and getting cautioned: "anything you say......etc" I had to go down with the docs if any of the milkmen/women got a producer, if the copper was unaware their eyes used to light up when I couldn't provide an MOT cert. some going well OTT . I often wondered about their (eventual) disappointment.

In 1972 the average was 17 trips, any less than 12 and it was costing money, just demonstrates the publics duplicity when discussing "saving the planet" looks like they can't even be bothered to return a milk bottle.

*I delivered milk from the time I could walk. When the weather was especially bad I knew that before I went to school in the morning I wouldn't be out "doing a milk round" I would probably be doing two as a few would be calling in sick, we were a processing dairy with a good fleet of Milk Floats (family business) and I have delivered more milk than most would ever want to see in a lifetime and usually in the worst weather.
I often wonder about the wet weather clothing I had back then and what is available now. It is just amazing.

My mate eventually switched to a horrid VW transporter open flat bed thing. I drove it a few times just to help him out. He did all the leg work.
One night we had just been to the dairy to fill up. On our way to the first part of the round. This was about 4am.
Next thing blue flashing lights. Pulled over. Copper comes over and asks what we are doing
Luckily I wasn't as sarky as I am these days

 

[northwest]

Next thing blue flashing lights. Pulled over. Copper comes over and asks what we are doing

I have had this, followed with "but why are you doing it now?" as if the job was just five minutes around 7.00 am.

 

[premmington]

I have had this, followed with "but why are you doing it now?" as if the job was just five minutes around 7.00 am.

Wer'nt just delivering the milk in the mornings either.

I can remember the milk man coming on a Friday evening to collect the money - he had a brown leather shoulder bag thing.

Assume they came on Friday as it was payday....

I also assume they were sort of "self employed" rented the float/round off Dairy Crest...? Not sure?

-----------

Been a lot in the press the last few years - about Supermarkets driving the price of milk down - but was there not a corrupt Milk Marketing Board before this?

A milkmans lot has never been a "happy lot"...

 

[addjunkie]

Wer'nt just delivering the milk in the mornings either.

I can remember the milk man coming on a Friday evening to collect the money - he had a brown leather shoulder bag thing.

Assume they came on Friday as it was payday....

I also assume they were sort of "self employed" rented the float/round off Dairy Crest...? Not sure?

-----------

Been a lot in the press the last few years - about Supermarkets driving the price of milk down - but was there not a corrupt Milk Marketing Board before this?

A milkmans lot has never been a "happy lot"...

There was a book and film that said different

But suspect it was all fantasy rather than reality. I think the window cleaner got far more opportunities!

 

[premmington]

A mate of mine was a milkman. 3 wheeler electric milk float. Never been so scared in all my life when he gave me a lift.. Thing weighed about 5 tons. No MOT needed. Cab was tied on with a bit of rope

@fizzy - No MOT. Correct... (at the moment)

[Withdrawn] MOT special notice 10-18: electric goods vehicles exemptions

www.gov.uk

They did bring testing back from - 2018 to 2020 then withdrew it again...

In fact an electric scooter delivering Uber eats and the like - would be an electric goods vehicle (for food) and be MOT exempt. If soley used for delivery.

This is gonna raise its ugly head now - as all electric commercial delivery vehicles are being used for parcel delivery. It is still a grey area.... And things will change again for sure!



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@daleyd - I drew the conversation to milk delivery and enjoyed the input from the collective on the subject
And somehow - I got it back to EV's (God... I'm dumb mate).

 

[addjunkie]

Milk floats from Smiths Electric vehicles were the thing, a company youd have expected to have prospered, just a timing thing really they got it wrong, missed the markets, made some bad decisions and are now no more, though they were selling electric goods vehicles back in 2008…and looked at London taxis as EVs way back then, but seems range was an issue at only 100miles.

 

[premmington]

Milk floats from Smiths Electric vehicles were the thing, a company youd have expected to have prospered, just a timing thing really they got it wrong, missed the markets, made some bad decisions and are now no more, though they were selling electric goods vehicles back in 2008…and looked at London taxis as EVs way back then, but seems range was an issue at only 100miles.

Home - Smith Electric Vehicles

Smith Electric Vehicles manufactures and markets zero-emission commercial electric vehicles that are designed to be a superior alternative to traditional diesel trucks and provide a lower total cost of ownership.

www.smithev.com

They alive and kicking (just) mate...

 

[daleyd]

You talking about just the cost of fuel / electric? No one’s getting 5p a mile in an EV these days (unless some very legacy cheap tariff) … so you’re doing pretty well !

Octopus go is currently 9.5p/kWh night rate?

That’s what we are on, works out at roughly 3p/mile.

I believe it’s cheaper if you can get octopus intelligent, our charger isn’t compatible so we stuck with the go tariff.

 

[northwest]

Wer'nt just delivering the milk in the mornings either.

I can remember the milk man coming on a Friday evening to collect the money - he had a brown leather shoulder bag thing.

Assume they came on Friday as it was payday....

I also assume they were sort of "self employed" rented the float/round off Dairy Crest...? Not sure?

-----------

Been a lot in the press the last few years - about Supermarkets driving the price of milk down - but was there not a corrupt Milk Marketing Board before this.

A milkmans lot has never been a "happy lot"...

Being a milkman is not for everybody, it is not as simple as being a postman (another "not for everyone job") you have to get the float out, assuming you remembered to put it on charge and some scroat, presumably thinking it was "funny" hasn't unplugged it during the day, then load it up, an average was 120 gallons with some of the more ambitious lads taking out 180 gallons, that is between 960 and 1400 ish bottles plus the cream, steri, yoghurt and eggs some customers want. No wonder I was one of the fittest kids at school. Cross country it was hard to beat me, I had probably done 15 miles plus before I got to school in the morning, but I was given to falling asleep during class, little wonder. My parents would probably be facing jail in today's world!

I clearly remember the winter of '65 or '67 and pushing my mothers mini, boot open and a couple of crates of milk in it, through really deep snow, in shorts! Just getting the milk on the doorstep. None of this "performance technical" clothing either. A duffel coat and a pair of school shoes was "well wrapped". I remember always having cold wet feet. Have some horror stories too. Once, when delivering to a tower block, I got stuck in the lift in Thornaby, for a couple hours, fortunately it was way back in the day and people generally left things be so the float and it's contents were intact when i eventually got out. We would always be mindful of milk being left on the doorstep too, if it was more than two days the Police were called as it was usually a deceased. One while collecting money, with that brown leather cash bag over my shoulder we watched a bloke murdering his wife on the doorstep (in a particularly challenging estate) and scarpered before the Police arrived because we knew it would result in the inevitable tedious hours making statements. It wasn't like the bloke was discreet, the whole cul-de-sac was out. Disturbed a fair few burglaries too and once ran round the back of a house with two pints of stripe top (I didn't drop them) to be bitten by a German Shepherd that clearly lived there.

When I was about thirteen I used to load a float and take it out on my own, if the Police ever showed up I would just say the Roundsman (or Girl) was "round the back" of some houses and vaguely point then make off with a crate full of milk to be delivered, they would get bored and go elsewhere then I would go back to getting round the round. If you know what I mean, the real trick was to not get caught on the open road! Believe it or not I had a couple of rounds in my head and didn't need a book to refer to getting around the round, I could do it from memory, I have no idea how as I can't remember what I had for tea nowadays.

Once had a roundsman (technical term for Milkman) come in wanting two new cash bags and the old man was livid as the ones gone missing were not old and were expensive. The roundsman had left them on the front seat of the car and because they were empty he thought well, no-one will bother! I also vaguely remember the "Big Freeze" of 63, only because of the kerfuffle it caused with frozen pipes in the Dairy, I also remember the coke fired upright English Electric steam generator (Boiler to me and you) with the pile of coke next to it and the pantomime of getting it fired up every morning. Ahhhh!, the good old days, well let me tell you, they weren't THAT good!