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The folks at Redodo, a battery manufacturer, recently reached out to us because they wanted us to test their 12V 100Ah Mini LiFePO4 battery. After testing it and seeing where it would fit, I’m not only going to recommend it to readers looking to replace a lead-acid deep-cycle battery, but also to anybody who needs to save some space and weight for their 12-volt energy storage needs. The Problem This Battery Solves Like most car and RV enthusiasts, I’ve been using 12-volt batteries for a long time. If you’ve ever had a car’s battery go out, you probably know the…
In Part 1, I gave readers an update on my efforts to bring more “boots on the ground” coverage and review work to CleanTechnica. Getting even a basic and cheap cargo trailer built proved to be a bigger challenge than expected, but I manage to build it, get it loaded, and take some items out on a trip. The First Test Trip I’ve covered this a bit in some of the product reviews, but I’m going to go into some greater detail on the trip itself in this article. I ended up needing to take several dogs and some caged…
If you’re a regular reader around here, you probably remember my fundraiser for getting more “boots on the ground” coverage and product reviews. I didn’t raise what I had hoped to raise, but still had a pretty successful Indiegogo campaign. In this article, I’m going to give readers an update on how this project is going and how the first test trip went. Building My Own Trailer While I’d love to have a Rivian, F-150 Lightning, or a Silverado EV to pull gear around with, none of those options are in the cards. They’re either too costly, and in the…
Xtracycle made a name for itself years ago as one of the pioneers in long-tail cargo bikes. When it started electrifying those, it piqued our interest and we’ve been eager to get on one ever since. The stars aligned this year, and Xtracycle sent us the RFA to run through the paces. Xtracycle has been building cargo bikes as no-compromise vehicle replacements for ages now. The company is not new to this space, and in fact, it helped to create some of the very first long-tail cargo bikes around. Experience is a very difficult thing to replace, and Xtracycle’s experience…
One of the newest e-bikes out of the Aventon stable is the Pace 500.3, a cruiser-style city bike that is chock-full of features for both casual and serious riders, whether it’s used for commuting or grabbing groceries or just tooling around town. It’s no secret that Aventon’s e-bikes are among our favorites over here at CleanTechnica, as we’ve ridden and reviewed a number of different Aventon models in recent years, and all of them have passed muster with the team. In fact, out of all of the different bikes in my barn, from mountain bikes to road bikes to e-bikes,…
Smartphones have changed the world of computing in many ways. When some of us were kids, a computer that could only do a few basic things took up a lot of surface area on a desk. If you wanted something capable of playing the latest 3D games where everything resembled the endlessly upcoming Cybertruck, you’d see a difference in your power bill. The computer monitor took up the rest of your desk, and maybe left some room for a mouse and a keyboard. Now, in 2023, you can do everything that old computer could do, and a whole lot more,…
A couple of months ago, EcoFlow announced its Wave 2 portable air conditioner with heat pump. The company seems to really appreciate our reviews, so the team sent me this one early, before it was announced. But, sadly, one challenge led to another, and I kept not having a good chance to give the HVAC unit a really good test. Sure, I could have fired it up hooked up to a tent in the yard, but that doesn’t really give readers a good idea of what the thing would really do out in the field. For readers who don’t want…
Decades ago, small motorcycles were a pretty popular way to off-road in the United States. One of the reasons why they were popular is their lightweight and compact design. The engine positioned low on the frame and a step-through design made them easy to handle, especially on off-road terrains. The low center of gravity provided better control and stability, making them suitable for both beginners and experienced riders. A great example of this is the Trail 90/110, also known as the CT series, which was introduced in the 1960s and quickly became a favorite among off-road enthusiasts. It was equipped…
I was backed into a space at the town library, quickly sorting through the books I had just borrowed. I looked up and saw a small vehicle driving into the lot. “Chevy?” I wondered as it drove closer. “Bolt?” Yup, and blue at that, just like mine. (“Two Chevy Bolts walk into a bar….”) The Bolt pulled into an adjacent spot. I grabbed my iPhone and jumped out. “I have to get a picture!” I admitted to the other driver. “Do you mind?” He presented as a 30-something male with a light brown ponytail. He also had a phone/camera in…
A few weeks ago, I wrote a story about the 2017 Chevy Bolt my wife and I purchased in June. There were two things about the car that made it attractive to us. First, although it was a 2017, it had only 26,500 miles on the odometer and it had a new battery pack installed in May, which means the battery is under factory warranty until May of 2031 (assuming, of course, General Motors is still in business by then.) Second, it is eligible for the federal $4,000 used EV tax credit. A third factor is that while we probably…