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PriUPS in action

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Accessories and Modifications' started by kc410, Sep 10, 2017.

  1. Ronald Doles

    Ronald Doles Active Member

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2019
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    Location:
    Columbus, OH
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    I wish that I had our Prius and used your idea in 2017.

    I went through hurricane Irma at my daughters in Cape Coral. Her power wasn't restored for 8 days. You don't realize how much you depend on electric for everything.

    She had a 5kw generator which I attached to her home's distribution panel. Since it was in the 90's and humid we ran the whole house air plus refrigerator from it. Problem was that it burned about 1 gallon per hour loaded and about .5 gallon per hour with a small load. That is about $60 per day to generate electric.

    We only had one 5 gallon gas can and there were no more cans to be had anywhere in south Florida. The nearest open gas station was about 10 miles away inland. The local gas stations were without power and all the traffic lights to that open gas station were off making every intersection a 4 way stop sign. Not surprising, that gas station had very long lines. We ended up siphoning gas from her car down to 1/4 tank and then making a trip to refill the car and the can which reduced our fill-up to once a day.

    Only a few restaurants with backup power were open and they had a handwritten short menu on the front door to streamline getting people served.

    Not a pleasant 8 days but thankful that her home wasn't damaged. No trash service for a couple weeks and the yard waste sat on the curb for more than a month. Imagine the task of trying to clean up yard waste over a huge swath of the state.
    Neighbors tree.jpg down her street.jpg
     
    #21 Ronald Doles, Feb 5, 2020
    Last edited: Feb 5, 2020