Hurricane Ike & Prius Power

[statultra]

if you have natural gas, its a better deal to invest in a 15kw or 11 kw standby generator with transfer switch.

[zenMachine]

Originally Posted by statultra

if you have natural gas, its a better deal to invest in a 15kw or 11 kw standby generator with transfer switch.

We do have NG, but we don't get outages often enough where we live to invest $2K in such a generator. But I can see the advantage of that option.

Bob, what kind of permanent connectors did you use? Any recommendation?

[bwilson4web]

Originally Posted by zenMachine

...
Bob, what kind of permanent connectors did you use? Any recommendation?

First I worked out the mounting for the inverter in the car. Are you planning to keep it in the car or in and out as needed?

In my first hookup, to a 2001 Echo, I installed the ground cable in the engine compartment and the hot wire on the inverter B+ terminal. Then when I needed the inverter, I connected the B+ to the battery terminal and then hooked up the ground wire. I didn't bother with a socket since I'm handy with a wrench.

Bob Wilson

[isisdave]

I recommend Anderson Powerpoles for connectors. You can put 45 amps through the smaller ones; that should supply about 350 VA or 250 watts. They make a bigger one (75A) that will handle about twice that.

For up to 250 watts, 10-gauge wire should do on the very short run from the battery to a connector. The problem with PowerPoles is that it's hard to find a place to buy just a couple of sets; usually they're packaged in bags of 10 or 12.

You might take a look at West Mountain Radio - Pricing & Ordering - United States 48 States and check out the Powerpole to Ring Terminal 6 ft Batt Fuse Cable which looks like it would do the job. They don't say that they used 45A contacts on this, so I'd ask first. Of course you'll need to replace the connector on the inverter with Powerpoles too. Further down, you'll see several other varieties of connectors. I'd avoid "cigarette lighter" connectors for inverters over 100 watts; they get too hot because they don't have a secure contact.

Regarding natural gas inverters for home use: these are nice, but here in California when the Big One arrives, the gas is going to go out too. Prudence dictates we keep the tank more than half full, but that means twice as many entries in the little book, so maybe I'll just siphon some out of the Caravan when that day comes.

[FL_Prius_Driver]

Originally Posted by drewtx

I don’t have any way to verify that the 12v battery is actually being charge......

Actually you do. Hopefully you know that the MFD debug screen allows you to monitor the 12V battery voltage.

Toyota Prius Controls

Undocumented Custom Menus on the 2004 Toyota Prius

12 Volt (12v) Toyota Prius Auxiliary Battery for 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 with installtion kit and free shipping to 48 states

[bwilson4web]

Hi,

One late thought, make sure your inverter does NOT rest on a carpet. Although the inverters are fairly efficient, they do get hot and a carpet surface blocks heat transfer. Put it on a cookie sheet, a cake pan or elevated at least 1/2" above any carpeted or insulated surface. They need air cooling.

Bob Wilson

[statultra]

since the high voltage battery is about 200 volts DC... is it possible to hook up two modules in paralell, giving 14.2 volts, and having all of the 28 modules producing the 14.2 volts while still having the cars 201 volt series connections? then using the 14.4 volt power to a high wattage inverter ( 6000-12000 watts )?

i was also looking at my honda accord hybrid battery, although its not as powerful as the prius battery each module gives 1.2 volts ( 120 modules in total ) , therefore i can have 12 sets of 10 modules hooked up in paralell giving 12 volts to a UPS or a inverter.

[biff44]

Is it possible? No.

[zenMachine]

Originally Posted by bwilson4web

First I worked out the mounting for the inverter in the car. Are you planning to keep it in the car or in and out as needed?

In my first hookup, to a 2001 Echo, I installed the ground cable in the engine compartment and the hot wire on the inverter B+ terminal. Then when I needed the inverter, I connected the B+ to the battery terminal and then hooked up the ground wire. I didn't bother with a socket since I'm handy with a wrench.

Come to think of it, I already have 4-gauge hot and ground wires connected to a PDB in the hatch box for my amp and two cooling fans. It should be no problem at all to hook up an inverter to the PDB - either permanently or on demand. The fans will help dissipate heat. Of course, if I need to use the inverter during emergencies, the amp and stereo system will be turned off.

[RobH]

You can use the mechanical key to lock the car with it running. I do it all the time in order to have the air conditioning run while I'm in a store. Electric air conditioning is really slick!