Deadly CO Generators vs Prius Inverter

A well documented site was mentioned above. I want to add my points to the equation:

1. Prius runs engine only when it needs to recharge. But if you take from Prius 15-20 kW (nearly full power) the engine will work all the time with MG1 power demands near it's upper limits (and power lines rated 120A under the car). I'm not sure if it is safe for Inverter and MG1 for working long under high loads. In normal driving it rarely has to work this way and under higher load power is transmitted via mechanical path to the wheels.

2. Cooling under high loads is affected by car standing still. Atkinson engine is very efficient but all the cables, PSD housing and other elements inside the car are not cooled without airflow from driving car.

3. If car is used as a power source it can not be driven and vice versa, but still I wish Toyota give us a 5 kW or so (safe for car elements) emergency power connection. Especially for Plug-Ins which are better prepared for long high power demands.

I think that "on the go" power solution for Prius might also be a problem from legal reasons. The car has to be certified globally where local regulations for power sources might add special safety measures which may be annoing for normal car drivers.

 

All good points, Sergio, and perhaps Richard could comment on his experiences with drawing that level of power direct from the traction battery. But most of us here are using an inverter connected to the 12V supply, and since there is a 100A fuse in the DC-DC converter circuit, the Prius can supply no more than about 1kW in this mode of operation. I don't think this will cause any problems.

I too would like to see an AC power port on the Prius, but given the cost of other factory-installed upgrades, this would very likely be a $2000 option.

 

$2,000 will buy a 15,000 watt stand alone generator

 

Happy to comment. When the G2 Prius came out, Toyota itself did a demonstration where a Prius was used to power a house. They limited the power to 3kW. For those interested in using the traction battery instead of 12V, I have been recommending this limitation based on Toyota's experience. As you can see from this data, Test Data and Results , the ICE duty cycle increases as the load increases, and would probably run continuously with a 4-5kW load. Doing this is probably a bad idea due to heating considerations, and clearly 15-20kW is out of the question.

3kW is usually enough to power a home. One advantage of having a high-power inverter run from the traction battery is that you can indeed get your 15kW for a short period. This is vital when attempting to run a well motor, furnace, or other devices with high inrush currents. The 1kW continuous/2kW peak you can get from the 12V battery and inverter requires judicious management of connected devices in use, as many here have discovered.

Richard

 

My house uses about 2KWh average if I am not using the washer, drier, oven, cooktop, microwave or air compressor. The AC unit and furnace alone draws 3KWh. Remember a hair drier alone is 1,500KWh.

 

Where are you finding 1000+ Watt gas generators for $95?
NOTE: Here is a 1000 Watt inverter for $75. http://www.buydig.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=COBCPI1000&ref=froogle&omid=103&CAWELAID=1503875172&catargetid=1388872559&&cagpspn=pla

So you propose not having a car at all?? If you still have a huge car, you need a place for it, AND your generator, not so small.

I Wish. A Prius inverter combo is probably around 30% efficient. However, a gas generator is probably closer to 25% while running with a full load, and could be near 0% for small loads. a HUGE waste of gas and money.

 

You are confusing your units. A hair dryer might be 1500 Watts, but it is NOT 1500 kWh. That would be running a hair dryer for 1000 hours. My house only uses 2kWh in a day when I get power from the electric company, in an emergency I can deal with some 'hardship', such as not using a hair dryer. I have some really cool technology called a towel.

 

I made a mistake. It should have posted 1.5KWh or 1,500Wh

Do you think someone that has their house wired to monitor power at every breaker does not understands how it all works?
A 60 Watt bult consumes 60 Watts
Your electric company bills you by the KWh. I pay 5.85 cents for 1KWh
60 Watts is .060KWh
5.85 cents * .060KWh = .3348 cents an hour to run a 60 watt bulb in my house.

 

Here is a 1,000 watt generator for $94

http://www.salesavo.com/avo.php/SalesAvo/pd1155174/APG3004_1000-Watt_2-Cycle_Gas_Powered_Portable_G_by_All_Power_America

I have a car and a generator. That generator is a little bigger then a foot tall, foot deep and a foot wide. That is super small and easy to put anywhere you want. I bet you use a 1/10 the gas on a little generator compared to running the Prius.

 

Nope. Both of those are wrong.

I would hope so, but you are still incorrect.

60 Watts is MOST EMPHATICALLY NOT 0.060 kWh.

Watt is a unit of POWER.
kiloWatt-hour is a unit of ENERGY.

 

How much?

 

That generator has a 63cc engine. The Pirus is 1,500cc

Even if the Prius ran 10 minutes every hour it would consume a lot more gas than a 63cc engine at full load.

 

Watts is a unit of Power.
Watts-hour is Power over time (Continues Watts used over 1 hour)
Kilo just means 1,000 units. (1,000 Watts is 1KiloWatt)

 

Bob,

My somewhat older (built in 1979) B&S 16 HP Twin opposing cylinder engine that drives my 7kW generator seems to tolerate long idle periods without gumming up. It is the newer carbs/FI engines that must be regularly run to avoid clogging the smaller ports in the new "clean" designs.

I have been very lax about maintenance of my monster (It drinks about a gallon per hour running my whole house sans AC or Electric oven and cost me $150 surplus in 1987) and it has always started when needed. I used it heavily recently after this fall's hurricane in the NE and rewarded it with an oil change, plugs, gas line filter and air filter. I was too embarrassed with the state of the oil to send a sample in for testing . My Prius was used to transport the gasoline needed to keep the generator running as, much to my dismay, no local gas stations bother to have backup power.

JeffD

 

...Re: CO- keep in mind we are talking about the topic of confined space safety. Another requirement is you want keep oxygen content preferrably your full 21%. Somewhere around 19.5 vol% O2 you are approaching the safety limit on the low side. Confined space safety includes monitoring for O2, CO, and flammable vapors. For these reasons I don't think anyone recommends running an ICE car in a confined space without controls. Obvioulsy the CO risk is lower these days and especially low risk with Prius.

 

So, shall we say $1000? You put 1.1 Gallons in your generator, I will put 11 Gallons in my Prius. We both run a 1000W appliance (I have a 1kW heater that shouldn't too badly overheat my house) Whoever runs out first loses. Would you like to suggest a neutral third party to hold the checks?

 

AND CO2, please.

 

dup.

 

I now. And that's why I'm looking for this solution too. But for the short term solution (powering macbook pro on the go and perhaps a camera charger) I would go for even lower powered 10 AMP device powered from lighter port.

1kW is enough to power house in emergency situation. I agree that it will not allow use of hair-dryier (mine is rated 2 kW) but I have a turist kettle that will consume only 600 W and in case of no power, no hot water, no other sources it would be more than enough. I would then connect tourist fridge to the car (to keep some food cool) and can live for some time.

It would be high... very high. But most Toyota accessories I know are quite reliable and I would use it more than once a year (for example summer camp) and plan to have a car for 7 - 8 years... I would consider it a good way.
But I'm sure it would not be transferable to new Prius due to different power design.

And there is a one more caveat of using Prius as a generator. As someone tested (I googled for it few days ago) Prius will allow a thief to switch from P to D even when display shows "No Key Detected" message which violates any insurance agreement in Europe :/

 

Watt-hour is Power times Time. Or put another way, ENERGY.