[Toymeister]

Many Electric vehicles or Hybrids (even a few gas cars) will serve as a generator. While not as efficient as a standalone generator they are not an extra purchase.

The generator part is in the form of an outlet typically located in the back of the vehicle. No, I am not speaking about a 60 or 100 watt outlet in the dash area. What makes an EV or Hybrids unique is the traction battery to power this outlet can be quite large.

If you have any vehicle that I described is its generator function part of your emergency plan?

I have two, a V6 that cylinder shuts down to three cylinders, a Honda, and a Toyota PHEV, a type of hybrid, that will run three and a half days as a genny that will power my fridge, internet, TV, light and fan.

[Caymus]

Originally Posted by Toymeister

Many Electric vehicles or Hybrids (even a few gas cars) will serve as a generator. While not as efficient as a standalone generator they are not an extra purchase.

If you have any vehicle that I described is its generator function part of your emergency plan?

I have two, a V6 that cylinder shuts down to three cylinders, a Honda, and a Toyota PHEV, a type of hybrid, that will run three and a half days as a genny that will power my fridge, internet, TV, light and fan.

Theoretical or have you actually tested it in real life? Did you have to buy any type of step-down transformers?

[Toymeister]

Originally Posted by Caymus

Theoretical or have you actually tested it in real life? Did you have to buy any type of step-down transformers?

I lived for five days with no power within 75 miles. My gensets were 1,000 watts and 2,500 watts so I am quite aware of what can be powered with fairly low wattage. I can assure you that the number one issue is having enough fuel.

I have read that some EVs can power an entire home with some sort of arrangement that you speak of.

For my vehicle the gas engine charges the main propulsion battery (not the12v battery) which in turn supplies 1.5kw at 120volts and powers what I listed. The vehicles gas engine is mostly off, this is how it retains its efficiency.

If it is hot or humid I have a seperate 2kw genny to power a small room AC.

Life is not as convenient as having a whole home 11 kw genset but vastly better than no power at all

[FloridaGuy66]

During the big NE USA power outage of 2003 I happened to have a 2500w inverter on hand that plugs into the cig lighter and we were pretty much fine for the 3 days of no power. Our fridge, TV, microwave, toaster oven. We had two vehicles at the time with enough gas to run on idle for probably several weeks.

We still keep a few inverters around in case anything happens down here.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by FloridaGuy66

During the big NE USA power outage of 2003 I happened to have a 2500w inverter on hand that plugs into the cig lighter and we were pretty much fine for the 3 days of no power. Our fridge, TV, microwave, toaster oven. We had two vehicles at the time with enough gas to run on idle for probably several weeks.

We still keep a few inverters around in case anything happens down here.

Can you explain how you physically set that up? Inverter into cigarette lighter, extension cord to a power strip, fridge, tv, and toaster oven plugged into the power strip? Car on idle? Is it that simple?
Also, since our car has a built-in plug, can the inverter part be skipped?
A person with no mechanical skills wants to know, thanks.

[Toymeister]

Originally Posted by CFrance

Can you explain how you physically set that up? Inverter into cigarette lighter, extension cord to a power strip, fridge, tv, and toaster oven plugged into the power strip? Car on idle? Is it that simple?
Also, since our car has a built-in plug, can the inverter part be skipped?
A person with no mechanical skills wants to know, thanks.

You would be best off by connecting to your battery directly to allow for high demand current. You have to keep in mind you will only get 30-60 minutes of run timeout of your battery Frequently Asked Questions About Power Inverters | DonRowe.com.

The problem with using a built in inverter on a gas powered vehicle is the car battery is small, so you have to idle the car.

On an EV or hybrid/plug in hybrid the traction battery is much larger.

Take my set up for example: the traction battery powers the inverter for seven hours after which the engine kicks in to charge the traction battery for 50 minutes. But it doesn't end there. A conventional car gas engine operates at under 20% efficiency, a gas generator is even less efficient. Whereas a hybrid uses an Adkinson cycle gas engine which meters out 39.8% efficiency.

So, bottom line using an inverter at high output for eight hours equals eight hours of idle. A hybrid needs an effective 25 minute idle.

You are better off with an inexpensive gas generator.

Look at it this way, a hybrid has a large generator which is specially designed to charge the traction battery while a gas car has an alternator which is set up to power your headlights

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by FloridaGuy66

During the big NE USA power outage of 2003 I happened to have a 2500w inverter on hand that plugs into the cig lighter and we were pretty much fine for the 3 days of no power. Our fridge, TV, microwave, toaster oven. We had two vehicles at the time with enough gas to run on idle for probably several weeks.

We still keep a few inverters around in case anything happens down here.

Are you sure about those numbers?
2500W =~ 20A @ 110V =~ 200A @ 12V

I'm fairly confident the cigarette lighter is not connected through a 200A fuse!

But let's say the refrigerator only actually draws 3A. In that case you would need close to 30A @ 12V to get 3A @110V. Does the cigarette lighter have a 30A fuse?

[coleprice]

For Safety's sake if you use any type of generator:
1. Don't run the generator/vehicle indoors. The exhaust contains carbon monoxide, which can be fatal.
2. Don't plug into your home's primary electrical distribution box because this can leak electricity into the main power grid causing all types of problems. Plug your refrigerator, lights, fans, etc. directly into your generator.

[Cuervo]

I have an EV and last night I powered it up to 100%.
Not that I have any intention of using it as some type of generator, but if I do need a backup battery for my computer it's sitting in my garage.

[OhioBuckeye]

Originally Posted by Toymeister

Many Electric vehicles or Hybrids (even a few gas cars) will serve as a generator. While not as efficient as a standalone generator they are not an extra purchase.

The generator part is in the form of an outlet typically located in the back of the vehicle. No, I am not speaking about a 60 or 100 watt outlet in the dash area. What makes an EV or Hybrids unique is the traction battery to power this outlet can be quite large.

If you have any vehicle that I described is its generator function part of your emergency plan?

I have two, a V6 that cylinder shuts down to three cylinders, a Honda, and a Toyota PHEV, a type of hybrid, that will run three and a half days as a genny that will power my fridge, internet, TV, light and fan.

I would think the EV owners would have a bigger issue I understand the gasoline gas pumps run off of electricity too but I would think gas would be easier to find than EV chargers. We’ll see as time goes on!

[JGibson]

NOAA put out a statement that EV vehicles can catch fire from saltwater.