How many twinkies are in a Model S battery?

[Rheazombi]

Was bored and so decided to figure out how many "calories" are contained within a 85kWh Model S battery!

If the battery is 306 MJ (mega joules) then that is 73,086 kcal (the correct unit of what we all call "calories").

If a Hostess twinkie is 135 kcalories, then that means the Model S battery is 541 twinkies!

Consider yourself informed

 

[bluenation]

lmao! on that note, im glad this trash of a snack is discontinued.

now excuse me while i go get some real food

*goes to wendy's...*

 

[RiverBrick]

Rather depressing, because I thought my battery would last a long time, but its shelf life is certainly shorter than that of a twinkie.

 

[Johan]

75kWh is the equivalent of approximately 3 micrograms of mass. E=mc^2

 

[SwedishAdvocate]

75kWh is the equivalent of approximately 3 micrograms of mass. E=mc^2

But shouldn't that be 85 kWh? :wink:

 

[ZBB]

lmao! on that note, im glad this trash of a snack is discontinued.

Hate to break it to you, but they are widely avail again...

 

[Johan]

But shouldn't that be 85 kWh? :wink:

It should but 25kWh is almost 90 megajoules which equals almost exactly 1 microgram in matter. So 85 kWh is 3,4 micrograms of matter.

Would be a nice range extender for the frunk. Add 1 g of anything and drive a couple of 1000 miles

 

[Gabzqc]

A McDonalds Big Mac is 550 Calories....
Making the battery to equivalent to 132.8 Big Mac's!

​(is my math right?)

 

[jerry33]

If a Hostess twinkie is 135 kcalories, then that means the Model S battery is 541 twinkies!

And the best part is that if it runs on twinkles, there's no degradation from aging in the foreseeable future.

 

[FLDarren]

WK057's fiancé 's car is one big Twinkie. :biggrin: So one Twinkie is equivalent to an 85 pack.

 

[Rheazombi]

My brother and I were discussing this further and came to some interesting conclusions:

* If a 120 lb person walked 265 miles at 2mph (vs the distance the 85kWh Model S battery can go on a charge at ~55mph), they would burn 14,455 calories, or only 107 twinkies! (Of course the Model S also weighs 41x as much)

* Bicycling is one of the most efficient forms of transportation: guy bicycling burns 30 kcals per mile at 10mph, or 7,950 kcal in 265 miles. Definitely much more efficient than walking (almost twice)! = 58 twinkies

* 1 gallon of gasoline has 33.6KWH of energy in it, which is impressive when you compare the energy density of a gallon of gas vs the same weight in EV batteries. But it's pathetic when you realize how little gas cars do with it!

We compared my ICE car (A 2003 Toyota Celica) for the example.

* The Celica has a 14.7 gallon tank, so 494 kWh of energy. If a Tesla had that as its battery, (494 X 265)/85 = it could go 1,540 rated miles!

(the Celica's 28 Combined-EPA x 14.7 gallons = 411 miles.) So 26% of what the Tesla could do with the same theoretical amount of energy! madness.

The Celica would use 1,778.4 megajoules or 425,047 kcal to go 411 miles. To go 265 miles, it would use (425,047 X 265)/411 = 274,057 kcal or 2,030 twinkies!

(keep in mind, I used the true gas tank size of 14.7 for the celica, ie: when it will be truly out of gas and stop running... vs 265 for the Tesla -- there's ~ 10-15 miles left after the Tesla says "zero miles left") So the TRUE energy density of the Tesla is a little higher (about 5%)


In summary:

To go 265 miles:

Biking:      58 twinkies
Walking:   107 twinkies
Tesla:      541 twinkies
Celica:    2,030 twinkies

 

[jerry33]

(keep in mind, I used the true gas tank size of 14.7 for the celica, ie: when it will be truly out of gas and stop running... vs 265 for the Tesla -- there's ~ 10-15 miles left after the Tesla says "zero miles left") So the TRUE energy density of the Tesla is a little higher (about 5%)

Note that the size of the gas tank as shown in the specs is based on an industry standard formula, not the net capacity. Things inside the fuel tank reduce volume (fuel pump and sensors are the big ones, usually).

 

[Rheazombi]

Note that the size of the gas tank as shown in the specs is based on an industry standard formula, not the net capacity. Things inside the fuel tank reduce volume (fuel pump and sensors are the big ones, usually).

yes, I based the 14.7 gallons gas tank on my experience filling it after being truly empty

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

Walking 265 miles on 107 twinkies would feel soooooo bad!
actually, I'm not sure it could be done, anyone up for a challenge?

 

[Rheazombi]

It goes without saying that nobody could walk 265 miles in a day. Even Les Stroud could probably walk 30? miles in a day, probably at 3mph, so at 10 hours per day it would still take him ~9 days. At 2mph it would take him 13.25 days.

Point is, the current twinkies required (107 twinkies) to walk 265 miles doesn't take into consideration the amount a person would have to eat in a day to sustain his body weight (~2000 kcal a day).

* To sustain your weight: 15 twinkies per day. 9 day trip: 135 extra twinkies. 13.25 day trip: ~199 extra twinkies.


* Nor does it take into consideration the weight of backpack you would need to carry be able to walk that far. (25-40 lbs) (not sure, but may be 120 extra kcalories burned per hour)


With a weighted pack, that may be an additional 1200 kcal per day or 9 more twinkies for each extra day.

In short...

* Walking for 9 days at 3mph (10 hours per day, 30 miles per day) with a weighted pack [total of 265 miles]: 107 + 135 + 81 = 323 total twinkies

* Walking for 13.25 days at 2mph (10 hours per day, 20 miles per day) with a weighted pack [total of 265 miles]: 107 + 199 + 81 = 387 total twinkies

* Cost of search + rescue team that has to find you in the middle of the woods after you collapse from hyperglycemic shock: priceless.


I cannot vouch for the accuracy of any of these numbers. Do not attempt, lol.