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Electric "Heater In a Box" System

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by Michael33, Jan 8, 2014.

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  1. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    mine is 7 miles each way. i would love this setup, but not sure about having a dangerous battery in the cabin.
     
    #121 bisco, Feb 2, 2014
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    mike, based on your measurements, how much energy would this cost the hybrid battery if they could tap off of it?
     
    #122 bisco, Feb 2, 2014
  3. Michael33

    Michael33 Member

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    The marine battery box is designed to isolate a large lead-acid battery within the small confines of a boat. As long as the connections are correct and tight, and the cover secured, the battery isn't a serious danger. If you're ok with the heaters themselves, don't worry about the battery!
     
    #123 Michael33, Feb 3, 2014
  4. markabele

    markabele owner of PiP, then Leaf, then Model 3

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    If your commute is less than 3 miles and you start out from a garage why would you start the ICE? You'll get almost zero benefit out of starting it on that short of commute.
     
    #124 markabele, Feb 3, 2014
  5. drash

    drash Senior Member

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    If I can keep my HSI about a third the ICE won't kick on. Normally I don't get a chance because somebody will be coming up fast (I live on a 55 mph country road) and the ICE kicks on so I hit the auto button. Why waste the ICE firing up?


    iPad ? HD
     
    #125 drash, Feb 3, 2014
  6. Michael33

    Michael33 Member

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    I don't know, but if you know the AH capacity of the main pack, and the voltage, you can figure it out. I doubt it would cost more than 2-3 miles of range.
     
    #126 Michael33, Feb 3, 2014
  7. miscrms

    miscrms Plug Envious Member

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    I would think it would make much more sense to run this off the existing 12V system. Understood that the acc socket wiring likely isn't up to the job, but you should be able to tap into the system directly and run a heavier duty cable to power this kind of a load with no problem. I believe the dc:dc converter is rated for ~100A? As long as you don't run it without the car in ready mode the existing 12V battery should be fine, the dc:dc provides the current not the battery. The wiring should be very similar to the guys doing the Prius UPS stuff to run household AC loads off the Prius 12V system. They've also done it off the HV system directly, but at <1kW I would think that would be overkill for this project. As far as impact on the HV battery range, I would think pretty minimal. If you estimate ~200Wh/mi dc for EV driving, then a 200W load for 1hr would equal one mile of range. Inverter efficiency etc will eat out of that a bit, but it should be on that order of magnitude.
     
    #127 miscrms, Feb 3, 2014
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    if you put the inverter in the back with the battery, what size extension cord would you need to run upto the heaters?
     
    #128 bisco, Feb 3, 2014
  9. Michael33

    Michael33 Member

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    The heaters I used? 16 gauge would be fine.
     
    #129 Michael33, Feb 3, 2014
  10. miscrms

    miscrms Plug Envious Member

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    Yup, 400W (2x200W heaters) is about 4 Amps @120V, so pretty much any extension cord should be fine. Its only when its at 12V that there is an issue, as the current is ~10 times higher.
     
    #130 miscrms, Feb 3, 2014
  11. Michael33

    Michael33 Member

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    There are two issues here: many of these cars are leased, and few people would want to splice into the electrical system of a leased $30k car. Also, unless you used a relay linked to the "ignition" it's pretty much guaranteed that someone will run the heaters with the car not in Ready mode, and kill the battery. That being said, it is perfectly feasible to do this, especially if a larger, truly deep-cycle accessory battery is installed at the same time. I took the approach I did because my version doesn't need installation beyond anchoring the heaters, and because it can be used in more than one car.
     
    #131 Michael33, Feb 3, 2014
  12. Michael33

    Michael33 Member

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    I just may be doing one last prototype test: while trying to think of a way to anchor the heater on the dash, I did come up with one, but haven't seen it implemented" a large silicone pad with mounting points in the middle. The pad would stick to the dash by molecular attraction, and you'd mount things to the pad, not the dash. Well anyway, I was ordering from Harbor Freight (motto: "Half the fun is figuring out what's crap!") and noticed a smaller silicone pad designed to hold things like phones in place on the dash. So I added one to my order, and if it's strong enough for at least a test run, I'll try putting one heater in the footwell, and one on the dash, aimed at the driver's head and shoulders.
     
    #132 Michael33, Feb 5, 2014
  13. dens

    dens New Member

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    can you parallel the marine 12v battery with the 12v car battery so the car charges both battery?
     
    #133 dens, Apr 16, 2018
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    welcome!

    no.
     
    #134 bisco, Apr 16, 2018
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