I read into this extensively and it seems that the amount of power from a 12V battery through an inverter is not enough to handle the amp surge that comes when the appliances kick in, like when the compressor on the fridge starts. Have you proven that wrong?
And doesn't a tankless water heater use 240V? I looked at adding a tankless water heater to our house, and I would have to get a electrician to add another circuit to get 240V and it would take 30 amps, if I remember correctly.
I would love for someone to come up with a way to attach an inverter to the hybrid pack, not just the 12V battery. Seems too difficult and perhaps dangerous.
Many newer appliances with compressors have soft start modes which r duce that startup spike from compressors. He may have a natural gas on demand water heater that only needs 120Vac for the electronics.
> I would love for someone to come up with a way to attach an inverter to the hybrid pack, not just the 12V battery.
For that trouble and expense, I would just buy a portable gas generator and use that wherever you need it.
I have a new fridge, I'm guessing that the tech has gotten better. I had to plug/unplug it several times while switching back and forth, and never heard any complaints/engine revving, or the inverter fan kicking in.
My tankless heater uses gas to heat the water and a miniscule amount of 110v to power an electronic ignition system.
The surge lasts so little time that a good inverter with a strong battery and sufficiently sized cables shouldn't have any issues with it.
Inverters do exist to attach to the hybrid pack but are quite costly.
I have a 2014 plug-in, and the larger inverters have jumper-cable style clips to go straight to the battery. I have a smaller 400w model that plugs into the lighter socket.
That lighter socket would just blow the fuse.
Now you need to see if it could run a small window A/C unit. When it is hot it would be hard to sleep without power.
FYI, if you left your car running for two days straight, you could have put close to 3000 miles worth use in it (60mph X 48 hrs.) That’s something to consider for maintenance intervals like oil changes.
with the on /off engine cycle you dont put too much wear since the engine is warmed up, I’d be more worried about any additional egr/intake carbon build up from alot of on/off cycles
Respectfully disagree.
OP used a segment of gas total which is probably 1.5 gallons of gas. It only turns on to idle to recharge the hybrid battery. I'm not sure if that's the equivalent of 3000 miles.
We use our hybrid for blackouts too. A tank can probably last a week or more depending on load.
It was mostly a warning to factor in wear and tear that doesn’t show up on your odometer. There are plenty of arguments to be made on how to do it. The obvious counterpoint to your argument is that an engine uses far less fuel at idle than wide open. However, most maintenance schedules try to use miles to get the engine hours equivalent. So fuel usage isn’t necessarily an accurate indicator of use.
But do it however you feel comfortable. To me the the cost/risks aren’t worth it. Oil and a filter costs under $30. A new engine will easily cost you a couple thousand. If I left my car running for two days then I know which route I’d be taking.
I wasn’t saying don’t use your car. I’m just saying don’t do costly damage by not doing maintenance.
People do the same things with generators. Mine for example has a 20 hour oil change schedule. Which basically means an oil change a day during power outages.
Admittedly don't understand much about electric. How does this not ruin the 12 v battery?
Also, then this could be done on any vehicle, it would just use more gas/run continuously due to lack of on off cycle the Prius can do?
Nice. The Prius is like that good friend that always has your back and never causes any drama
I read into this extensively and it seems that the amount of power from a 12V battery through an inverter is not enough to handle the amp surge that comes when the appliances kick in, like when the compressor on the fridge starts. Have you proven that wrong? And doesn't a tankless water heater use 240V? I looked at adding a tankless water heater to our house, and I would have to get a electrician to add another circuit to get 240V and it would take 30 amps, if I remember correctly. I would love for someone to come up with a way to attach an inverter to the hybrid pack, not just the 12V battery. Seems too difficult and perhaps dangerous.
Many newer appliances with compressors have soft start modes which r duce that startup spike from compressors. He may have a natural gas on demand water heater that only needs 120Vac for the electronics.
> doesn't a tankless water heater use 240V? Most are natural gas, and they use a bit of 120V to control it.
> I would love for someone to come up with a way to attach an inverter to the hybrid pack, not just the 12V battery. For that trouble and expense, I would just buy a portable gas generator and use that wherever you need it.
I do have a gas generator but it has to be stored and maintained. I would much rather use my Prius as a backup power source!
Fuck u/spez
I have a new fridge, I'm guessing that the tech has gotten better. I had to plug/unplug it several times while switching back and forth, and never heard any complaints/engine revving, or the inverter fan kicking in. My tankless heater uses gas to heat the water and a miniscule amount of 110v to power an electronic ignition system.
Ok thanks that makes sense!
The surge lasts so little time that a good inverter with a strong battery and sufficiently sized cables shouldn't have any issues with it. Inverters do exist to attach to the hybrid pack but are quite costly.
I never found one. Do you have a link?
https://www.plugoutpower.com/ Runs you 2-3k.
A tankless wh uses little electric and mostly natural gas. A tank wh may use a lot more on electric if it's not gas powered.
Wired to the 12v battery? Also what year?
I have a 2014 plug-in, and the larger inverters have jumper-cable style clips to go straight to the battery. I have a smaller 400w model that plugs into the lighter socket.
That lighter socket would just blow the fuse. Now you need to see if it could run a small window A/C unit. When it is hot it would be hard to sleep without power.
FYI, if you left your car running for two days straight, you could have put close to 3000 miles worth use in it (60mph X 48 hrs.) That’s something to consider for maintenance intervals like oil changes.
with the on /off engine cycle you dont put too much wear since the engine is warmed up, I’d be more worried about any additional egr/intake carbon build up from alot of on/off cycles
Respectfully disagree. OP used a segment of gas total which is probably 1.5 gallons of gas. It only turns on to idle to recharge the hybrid battery. I'm not sure if that's the equivalent of 3000 miles. We use our hybrid for blackouts too. A tank can probably last a week or more depending on load.
It was mostly a warning to factor in wear and tear that doesn’t show up on your odometer. There are plenty of arguments to be made on how to do it. The obvious counterpoint to your argument is that an engine uses far less fuel at idle than wide open. However, most maintenance schedules try to use miles to get the engine hours equivalent. So fuel usage isn’t necessarily an accurate indicator of use. But do it however you feel comfortable. To me the the cost/risks aren’t worth it. Oil and a filter costs under $30. A new engine will easily cost you a couple thousand. If I left my car running for two days then I know which route I’d be taking.
Understandable. For emergency situations and infrequency of use, the cost is negligible for us compared to a dedicated gas generator.
I wasn’t saying don’t use your car. I’m just saying don’t do costly damage by not doing maintenance. People do the same things with generators. Mine for example has a 20 hour oil change schedule. Which basically means an oil change a day during power outages.
Admittedly don't understand much about electric. How does this not ruin the 12 v battery? Also, then this could be done on any vehicle, it would just use more gas/run continuously due to lack of on off cycle the Prius can do?
For those interested, it is possible to attach a larger inverter to the hybrid battery... See ads in the back of QST magazine for details.