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A few weeks ago, GOLDENMATE reached out to have us test its take on the deep cycle battery. From what we can tell so far, it works exactly as advertised, and it a fairly easy to use package! What Would You Use One Of These For? A deep cycle battery is a type of energy storage unit that is designed to be discharged and recharged repeatedly, often down to a very low level. This contrasts with starter batteries (like those in most cars), which are designed for short bursts of high power to start the engine, but then get quickly…

Canada’s recent wildfires have already scorched about 4.3 million hectares (10.6 million acres), serving as a wake-up call for heightened attention to wildfire preparedness.  In recent years, the United States also has experienced record-breaking wildfire seasons, with an average of 22,946 wildfires per year between 2013 and 2022. In 2021 alone, the state of California had 9,260 fires, making it the first of the top 10 states with the most wildfires. The below chart shows the rest nine states:  Nearly 45 million homes are adjacent to or intermingled with rural land, putting over 72,000 U.S. communities at risk.  Preparing for wildfires…

I had to rent a gas car this weekend. I ended up with an Audi Q2. It’s not the most expensive Audi on the market. In fact, it’s one of the cheapest (around $30,000). Three things about the car drove me nuts, with one of them perhaps being partly due to the car being on the cheaper end of the market but the other two just being symptoms of the outdated gas-car era. The Seats Sucked This is the factor that may have been due in part to low cost of the Audi Q2. However, I am skeptical any Audi’s…

Although Great Wall Motor has marketed a whole litter of “Cats” in China (Good, Black, White, and IQ), Australia is only receiving one version. It will be marketed as the GWM ORA. I hope that the other versions will make it here eventually. In the meantime, we went for a Great Wall ORA test drive! Majella loves the retro finish and feel of the GWM ORA Cat. Photo by David Waterworth. The GMW ORA (aka Ora Good Cat or Haomao in China) was first revealed at the Chengdu Auto Show in July 2020. The style was described as a retro…

At a time when most phones were capable of recording video, the original Apple iPhone wasn’t able to. The capability was added in future revisions, and today, the iPhone is one of the best-selling smartphones in history. The original Tesla Roadster came with an inelegant push-button shifter and a charging standard that was left to rot on the vine. It single-handedly opened the eyes of the world to the potential of electric vehicles and ushered in the age of zero mission transportation. The Tesla Model 3 promised to be the first high volume, low cost electric vehicle from the premium…

A week ago, my wife and I traded in our trusty 2013 Honda Civic Si for a used 2017 Chevy Bolt. Our biggest concern was that four days later we were planning a road trip to Newport, RI. We never worry about trips in the Model Y, thanks to the Tesla Supercharger network, but the Chevy Bolt was a complete unknown. I began having flashbacks to the Nissan LEAF we had a few years ago that was lucky to go 75 miles downhill with a tailwind. The Chevy Bolt with the upgraded battery (our car got a new battery last…

EcoFlow seems to be on ‘a can’t stop, won’t stop’ mission to transform not only the world of portable solar generators, but is also starting to develop a host of appliances that take advantage of these portable power sources. Following on the heels of a successful lineup of portable power stations and solar panels, EcoFlow has introduced the DELTA 2 Max portable power station. This two kilowatt-hour unit packs a punch with its ability to push out nearly 2,800 watts of continuous AC power output. Image credit: Kyle Field, CleanTechnica We pushed this thing harder than we had pushed any…

I got a chance to try out a TESBEAUTY mattress and privacy curtains. I concluded that it has a number of great features. The mattress costs under $250 and the privacy curtains are under $110 (at the time of this article). If you use this link, I get a small commission and you get a $20 discount on your order. Setup is Fast & Easy Mattress came with easy-to-follow instructions. Setup took about 3 minutes with 1 person or 2 minutes with 2 people. As a tall person (a little over 6 feet tall), I appreciated that this mattress is…

I recently had a Tesla service visit. First of all, I have to say that I absolutely love Tesla’s mobile service option (previously called “Ranger” service). Most of the service work I’ve had done has been done in my driveway. Who would complain about that? Unfortunately, though, there have been issues with the scheduling, and I’m not the only one who has faced such problems. First of all, one obvious gripe is that you can’t call the Tesla service people. Everything is booked via the app. I understand that this forces a kind of efficiency on the process, but it’s…

Ride1Up made a name for itself building stylish bikes with budget friendly components that deliver an overall e-bike of comparable build quality to most mainstream e-bikes at a fraction of the price. Earlier this year, the company introduced the Rift, a fat tire tank of a bike with an oversized 20Ah battery to take riders even further. The Rift builds on the recent launch of the Revv1 with a focus on larger, more playful builds that appeal to younger audience. The Rift is a fat tire electric mountain style frame that is oversized in just about every area. Its massive…