Hurricane Ike & Prius Power

[bwilson4web]

Originally Posted by 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 )?. . .

No but the 200 V could be connected to a high power, 3 kW, UPS systems that uses 200 V battery bus. IMHO, the right answer is to design a proper co-generation system so our Prius can be used to run the house.

Bob Wilson

[drewtx]

Thanks to everybody for all the additional info.
We are still without power at home - but running happily on Prius Power.
My original 100w inverter died, so I replaced it with a 350w model from Radio Shack. This may not be the 'best' inverter available, but seems to work OK; I just needed a replacement quickly. It came with cables/clips to hook it directly to the battery terminals. 350w has been ample for running TV, a dvd player, cooling fans, a Wii and some CFL lights. I have not tried running everything at the same time - more because we just don't need all that stuff running all the time.
MUCH quieter - and significantly cooler ;-) - than running a nasty generator 24/7.

I CERTAINLY consider an inverter to be a VITAL piece of my emergency kit now

[zenMachine]

Drew,

Best wishes to you. Glad to hear the 300W inverter works out. Thank God for Prius Power, no doubt.

Does anybody have any recommendation on a good inverter? I've been looking at some 1000-1500W inverters from Cobra and Duracell. Not sure which one is better. Any pointers much appreciated.

[hoop]

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.

Funny thing, The gas company shut off all natural gas to galveston island due to the many leaks. wouldnt that tick you off..Pay all that money for a generator that runs on natural gas and then they shut it off.

[tochatihu]

Originally Posted by zenMachine

...
Does anybody have any recommendation on a good inverter? I've been looking at some 1000-1500W inverters from Cobra and Duracell. Not sure which one is better. Any pointers much appreciated.

I think all the modified sine wave inverters 100-1500 watts, $100-$150 are going to be very similar regardless of the name on the label. I used a Whistler and it was OK. A little too sensitive on the high temperature lockout maybe?

If you install in the vehicle, consider it a high-vibration environment. I opened the case on the Whistler and found several loose bits of solder. Get those out.

The pure sine wave inverters are going to be much more expensive. $300 minimum $600 typical for this power output range. Would like to assume those would be built to a higher standard, but I'd open the case for a look anyway.