Prius as a generator

Take the time to use the Search function on here. There are many threads on this subject with tons of information that you are asking about.

 

You might look for PlugOut Power.

 

Cool! A re-opening of the old ConVerdant that went away.

Hey @Randy B, a couple years ago another PriusChat member sold me one of ConVerdant's old 2kVA units secondhand, the little blue one, from AIMS. When it showed up here it was DOA.

I contacted AIMS trying to find any schematics or other info for troubleshooting, and they told me since those units were built to a custom spec, they didn't keep any information on how they built the silly thing.

Do you still have any of that info?

 

I'm looking but don't see anything....

 

When I look, I see this.

You can "reserve a PlugOut, no money required at his time. Serious parties only, please."

Same outfit before going away sold a range of traction-battery "plug-out" inverters, 2kVA, 3kVA, 5kVA-ish.

Old member hobbit wrote a review of the old 3kVA one (which came in a kind of ludicrously large case, crazy heavy, but worked well).

 

To be honest I did see that page, however a reservation with no delivery date, no price estimate, and no specs, etc. is not really very helpful. Maybe I've been in the swamp too long...

 

That's like the people here posting about their company's Lithium conversion HV pack for gen 3s that will be available.....soon. But at least they leave bread crumb trails every now and then.

 

Well, at least Randy has a past track record of selling actual things that people bought. He took in that shingle a few years ago but is hanging it back out again. I imagine he's establishing new supply lines, and the new things will probably not be as big and clunky as the former ones.

 

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Yep. Search for Priups.

I would suggest in the back near the battery.

To use the jump points you would have to leave the hood open.

There are tiny little inverters you can plug into a lighter outlet, run a laptop or something.

 

There's been an insane amount of development in inverters in the past 10 years. I'd think it would be much easier to source quality parts now vs. just a few years ago. Could really make the difference in terms of product capability and profit margin for dealing with this niche.

Pre-pandemic I would not have been interested in one. Just too much chance that our Prius wouldn't be home when we needed the power. Now, right this minute? I'm not buying anything that isn't food, mostly. But a little deeper into the recovery, I could see getting one. I don't think my wife and I will be doing the same kind of travel we were doing, taking the car so far from home so frequently.

 

Hey @Randy B again!

The old ConVerdant products were generally shipping with some conventional wire (basically orange extension cords) and Anderson-connector pigtails for connection to the battery.

All of the rest of the high-voltage wiring in the car uses HV-specific shielded wire and the car uses the shielding to detect cable faults. I remember back in the day it was hard to find the specialized connectors for that stuff, but now it's easier.

Those are connectors that are secure, touch-safe on both ends, and carry the shields through as well as the power conductors. They also have smaller contacts for a low-voltage interlock loop that could be tied in to the car's interlock circuit, so it would be made only when the cable was connected, or a blind plug was in place.

My local auto electric place is great for making up nice quality wiring for me, but if he doesn't do enough HV work to have stuff like this in stock, it can be hard for him to get the stuff in low quantity (and he might need to invest in different crimp dies too).

Seems like PlugOut would be well positioned to find a supplier for that stuff and offer more appropriate pigtail arrangements in place of the old extension-cords-and-Anderson-plugs.

Whaddaya say?

 

Chapman
Thanks for keeping an interest.
The new product will be more similar to the large cabinet product. However its capability will be greater. Hope you will approve.
The old cables were quite good for the older Prius and PlugOut models... but looking to pick up the game some now. Still, the cables for the older Prius models will be quite similar to the old ones.
Connecting to the newer Toyota tnga models will be more challenging. Looking into it now.
Any knowledge on the specific connectors used?

 

Now 2022 - Toyota Synergy gen 2, 3 and 4 are supported hybrids [Prius, Camry, Rav4, Hihglander, etc.], including the Prius Plugin and Prime. However, the Rav4 Prime is not supported at this time. Cables are similar from ConVerdant to now, but with different connectors. Car previously wired with the old connectors can get an adapter cable.

 

Got link to final product?

 

plugoutpower.com. Hope this helps.

 

My 700 watt cheapie square wave inverter is hardwired to the acc. battery, using 6 gauge stranded cable (that I had laying around, don't give me any static about line loss/cable sizing!) and a DC breaker. I seem to recall as much as 1200 watts can be derived through the small battery (leaving the car ON of course) on a continual basis, but so far I have not "gone there." Now that my electric motorcycle needs more juice then my earlier ebikes, I am contemplating getting a 1 KW inverter. I forgot to mention, that the DC rated breaker, also functions as a switch, I have used this type and brand in several applications, and found them to be reliable and a great bang for the buck. https://www.surpluscenter.com/Brands/Buyers-Products/60-Amp-Manual-Reset-DC-Circuit-Breaker-BPC-Buyers-Products-CB60PB-11-3317-60.axd

 

Static? I would've said it sounds pretty reasonable. Assuming you've used four feet of the stuff (two feet each for + and −), you're losing less than a tenth of a volt at max load, or about 0.8 %. Pouring a six-watt libation to the entropy gods. Hardly seems excessive.

 

Ha ha., I just threw that out there, as I really did use it because I had it on hand, (an old MIG welder grounding cable) and didn't bother to "do the math," it just eyeballed as good enough, thanks for confirming!

 

Spudnut
6 gauge is max for the 700w inverter, but maybe a lower gauge for the 1000w inverter.. Be sure to get a pure sine wave inverter for your electroinics sake. Enjoy the fun.