Toyota Prius Home Emergency Generator (Step-by-Step)

[@chill_gaming]

You make better quality work than some "professionals"

[@cfldriven]

Thank you, we try to be as clear and concise as we can. Thank for watching and taking the time to provide feedback.

[@kitchinsync]

If car manufacturers were paying attention they would add “backup generator” as an add on option. Seems like we’ll need this more and more going into the future.

[@p1xlb522]

Some modern electric vehicles actually do come with V2L (vehicle to load) function, but as it is an exclusively electric vehicle, it's basically just a big battery, not a generator. Hopefully manufacturers will fit more of this kind of feature to newer hybrids.

[@AdrianNelson1507]

My PHEV has a plug socket in the boot, I've not used it for anything more than a kettle but I'm interested to know how much it could realistically power before melting the car down

[@cfldriven]

Hopefully this will become standard on future EV and Hybrids.

[@fromagefrizzbizz9377]

​@@AdrianNelson1507 Conceptually, it could deliver the same amount of power that the vehicle's charging circuit (via the engine) can supply to the traction battery (subject to losses of course) and run continuously (assuming hybrid or phev). Heck,if you hooked the inverter directly to the traction battery and hooked the car up to a class 3 capable EV charging system you could pull in some cases more than 100kw. But WTF are you screwing around with this if your EV is supplied with power? This would just be a great way to waste 20-40% of your electricity bill.

[@backacheache]

Sadly Toyota were so short-sighted they didn't have the capability to charge from the mains from most Prius let alone have them provide mains, here in Europe the cost of gas is so high even a small amount of charging would save us money

[@thyme-wm8pt]

Wow so many negative comments, this is a great way to have a generator and run a few things in an emergency.

[@cfldriven]

It fills out their days. Thank you for watching and the positive feedback.

[@TAGUPNBLUE]

So then go out and buy a store bought generator quote from a famous person the more play tinker with the plumbing is easier to stop up the drain Scotty

[@TAGUPNBLUE]

@@cfldriven you can do a crossword puzzle fill out your day

[@boneychil]

Pleaze people, dont go messing with the traction battery. It can and will kill you. Great video for the average tinkerer/layman/DIY'er. Tbanks much. And loved the addition of the little bit of problem solving you did. Every little bit helps.

[@cfldriven]

I have installed 240v system for EV charging, but I won't touch the traction battery. Thank you for watching, the feedback and sharing your thoughts.

[@lgrantnelson2863]

I picked up one of those inverters to hook up to my Leaf to charge my yard tool batteries when no outlets were available. Works well.

[@cfldriven]

That is a use I had not thought of, nicely done. Thank you for watching and sharing.

[@vincesvangoes866]

I definitely think it would be interesting to figure out how to pull power off the high-voltage circuit but this DC to AC solution you’ve come up with his extremely useful and safe for a home DIYer to deploy, excellent video well done.

[@cfldriven]

Vince, yeah pulling power from the traction battery involves too much risk for me. We are just looking to bridge beyond the typical power outage of a few hours with while running a few basic appliances.

[@Islamisthecultofsin]

@@cfldriven You could take it to an EV shop and have them do it if it's possible.

[@itsbobfoster]

I have used a similar system for several years now, with a 4000w inverter powered by the car battery plus two golf cart 6v batteries in series added in parallel. We have used it several times, including two weather events in which we lost power for 4 days. Over those 4 day periods, the Prius used about half a tank of gas. One 20 amp line was used to power our refrigerator and microwave oven. The second was used for about 10 lights plus our computers and internet service. We have the options for propane and wood heat available, so heating was not a concern. I found it was best to leave the windows on the car open a half an inch, otherwise the heat can build up inside.

[@cfldriven]

Bob, nice going with your setup. I agree providing some ventilation is important, especially during warmer temps or when the vehicle is sitting in the sun. Thanks for sharing.

[@timjkinney3472]

Great detail this is what I'm looking for is overview of installation & setup THANKS

[@cfldriven]

Tim, good to hear you found the information you are looking. Thank you for taking the time to watch and write.

[@napierpaxman]

12v battery is fine - you won't break the Prius attaching an inverter to it :)

[@MrThereisnospoon]

Great Video! I highly suggest that if anyone is going to use a set up like this to please please please buy the correct terminal lug for the wire size that you are using along with the correct crimp tool for that lug. Determine Wire AWG Terminal Lug - Check for specifications, if you can't find it, it's not worth using Crimp Tool- Must be specific to the Terminal lug Failure to properly crimp terminal ends with a system like this can cause a loss of power by overheating, and melting the poor connection possibly creating a fire.

[@cfldriven]

It is definitely worth the effort and expense to get proper connectors and tools to avoid a mishap when you actually need to rely on this for power. Thank you for sharing and watching.

[@prestonrenify]

Wow...excellent project and an outstanding step by step. Thanks! Haven't a Prius but do have a Honda Odyssey. Wondering it I could similarly connect...say a quality 3K inverter to battery and have alternator maintain battery charge??? Wonder if DC current draw of 3K under load would be too much for Honda's alternator??? I'd need to power a bit more than what you're running, sump pump, Radon gas mitigation, refrig/freezer, bare minimum of lights, one flat screen, cable & stuff for internet and my furnace (to keep pipes from freezing in winter). I use LPG for furnace, hot water, stovetop and fireplace. In summer, I'd not use HVAC, and get by with fans and camp on screened-in back porch as needed. Wonder what size inverter I'd need for such a household load??? Wonder how to figure out my specific current draw? Hmmmmm.....

[@motorenbastler9289]

dont do this this is stupid. You will get a higher efficiency with every gasoline backup generator. And what he does every other car on the planet with combustion engine can do too.

[@DonziGT230]

You could get a lot more power from your car than a Prius, the downside is having your engine idle for hours which is bad for it. It'll also burn more gas than a generator would.

[@cfldriven]

You have a couple of devices that draw a lot of power at start up, (pump & HVAC) for which an inverter generator might be better suited. The first thing you need to do is add up all the power you think you will need. Most devices have labels showing current or wattage draw. Add those up and that will help you decide on the right size generator and or battery system for you. Running the Odyssey wouldn't generate enough power and you would have to leave the engine running all the time. An inverter generator would cost more but would provide clean power to your devices most of which have sensitive electronics in them these days. Supplanting with battery system could bridge day time use and at night the generator could charge them. Some thing to think about. Thank you for sharing.

[@lawolfe2707]

Great video! You are a good teacher and you showed every step. I am going to do this with my Prius for car camping and as an emergency generator. Would a piece of tape help hold the connector to the wire while you crimp it? It could be your third hand.

[@cfldriven]

Thank you for the feedback. I guess a good strong tape or better yet is mounted vise holding the cable steady. I don't have room for one and to wait until an extra pair of hands come home. Appreciate you taking the time to watch and write. Good luck with your camping and emergency generator.

[@GabrielBoehm]

The literal best use I have ever seen for a Pruis

[@cfldriven]

Thank you for the kind review.

[@Sotoam]

Hello, This is the best tutorial type of any kind I have seen in KZbin. Thank you very very much for the great content.

[@cfldriven]

Satolsa, thank you for watching and for the complement. It always nice to hear when we are doing something right.

[@Sotoam]

I am an electric wiring illiterate. Can I apply this method to 2019 RAV4 Hybrid? It comes with 2.5L engine.

[@cfldriven]

@@Sotoam Yes the same guidance would apply. You need to determine the output of your inverter so you can size fuse accordingly and make sure you have the correct wire thickness for the amount of amperage it output as we did in the video. I would suspect the Prius setting would work, but nice to verify.

[@fromagefrizzbizz9377]

We had one of the very first Prius gen 1 cars in our city, and a few months later (probably 2001 or 2002 I saw an article for something like this. This was the day when hybrids used Nicad battery packs. If I recall correctly, the traction battery was 350 volts. Instead of driving the inverter off the 12v charge circuitry as you did, the article described connecting a 350v DC input inverter to the traction battery (via various bits of protective circuitry). As 350V DC isn't a common voltage for consumer UPSs, he used as source scrapped data center UPS units from ebay, many of which use battery packs of this voltage or even higher. He built one of these, and it worked perfectly, but at the time he didn't have much operational time. It was more a proof of concept methinks. In this way virtually all of the car is entirely isolated from the inverter, and your power is limited to the maximum the car can draw from the traction battery and keep up with the charge. I calculated out that given the Prius traction battery could charge itself at approximately 6-7 Kw. So that was your limit. Now of course that means you probably have to deal with working with live 350v which can make you dead very quickly. On the other hand, you're dealing with rather lower currents, the wiring can be smaller, and you're not straining some of the other circuitry. With some more modern hybrids and PHEVs, the allowable draw can be much higher. Like 12kw or higher. I chickened out and ran a 6500w gas generator and a generlink, and 8 months ago we bought a 26kw propane system.

[@cfldriven]

That is great, you gotta do what feels right for you and family. The Pruis was a solution that helped us through 10 day of Helene outage. It not the only solution but being that I have a capable generator in the Prius it made sense for us. Thank you for sharing a different way.

[@SuperAdamTH]

You're assessment is accurate.

[@SuperAdamTH]

Your* engineers can't spell lol

[@gringoanon4550]

A full tank of gas would probably run that set up for a couple of weeks, great idea. Considering the thermal losses the power cost compared to the main grid and doing it that way would be interesting to work out.

[@cfldriven]

I wouldn't want to make a habit of living this way, but for 10 days of outage it did a great job. And now it just a regular car until the next outage.

[@motorenbastler9289]

NO! Take the gas and fill it up in a gas backup generator you will get a higher efficiency and longer runtime.

[@cfldriven]

@@motorenbastler9289 One tankful provided us with enough power to cover 10 day outage. My neighbor burned through all his gas in less time. The advantage to this system is it always ready to deliver power and when demand is low just sits there waiting without burning fuel.

[@MHawkeye]

@@cfldriven depends on the generator size, most people buy the biggest one they can which isnt very fuel efficient when youre not drawing that much power all the time. a smaller 1200w generator would run a 700w load for at least 5h and lighter loads for maybe another 3h. personally i used a prius to charge a 10Kw battery bank during cloudy days as a 500w "boost" to the solar i was already getting.

[@cfldriven]

@@MHawkeye Load and power shifting is the advantage of have a powerbank. Thank you for sharing.

[@realvanman1]

You want an inverter that runs off the traction battery. Higher voltage input inverters are more efficient, and do not require high current. This also eliminates the lossed of the DC to DC converter before the inverter.

[@joeythedime1838]

Agreed - you can purchase a complete 5KW high voltage inverter kit that connects to a Prius and other hybrid's that outputs 120/240v AC power. That's 30 amps of AC 120V power.

[@cfldriven]

@@joeythedime1838 Can you share a link?

[@joeythedime1838]

@@cfldriven I posted the link but KZbin might delete it. Search PlugOut-5.

[@gregscott1655]

If I get the plug out 5 and then do everything else in the video, it should work out ok yes? Great job overall on the video, explanation and helpful tips. I was already in the market for a Prius, but now this just made the decision easier! 🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@DiAllinson]

I'd like to see how this can be done, do you have any video resources for this?

[@AlfinoFr]

I read somewhere; people also used diesel electric locomotive as emergency generator during snowstorm. after all, prius is just gasoline genset on wheels.

[@cfldriven]

Exactly and that opens up all sorts of possibilities. Thanks for watching and sharing.

[@Nicholas-f5]

Common on islands

[@fromagefrizzbizz9377]

During the great ice storm of 1998, where some people were without power for as long as 10 weeks, my boss and I took several days off to help out a semi-rural community make sure their generator installations were safe - eg: ensuring the wiring was reasonably good, and they weren't running generators in homes or garages - they had already had a death due to CO poisoning. During this, the mayor asked us to check out/hookup a generator at "the garage". Not knowing exactly what he meant, we set off expecting to find an automotive garage that needed a portable generator hooked up to run lighting for staging assistance. Boy were we surprised it was the "works garage", that has a large garage containing many bays for trucks, conveyor belts for filling the trucks with sand or gravel, and refueling the truck (until then they'd be driving 40 miles to refuel). Then a massive flat bed rig showed up with this big thing on it - had conveyor belts and motors all over it. "What is *that*?" It was a soil screener, with a 480v 3 phase generator powered by a 600hp Cumins diesel for all the motors. The owner had been using it briefly to power his home until the Mayor asked him to loan itl. As part of the load they had a 3 phase transformer that could convert it to 240v single phase (with neutral). The thing could produce somewhere north of 400kw. We spent most of an hour make sure we understood the setup and connecting it to the main panel (disconnecting the main feed). After more testing with voltmeters (we didn't think we'd need them, but thank heavens we had them), we flicked on the power in the office. A roar went up from the municipal workers and the military that was going to be setting up. The supervisor ran in and asked "how much power can you give me?". "All of it - the generator was twice as big as the main power feed!"., Flipped the rest of the breakers on, and within seconds all the doors came up and trucks started rolling in. That generator ran for 4 weeks. The military used this as their HQ for staging direct assistance (they also had the community hall for feeding everyone) - eg: checking out everyone, assisting the power crews re-erecting power lines, and providing a central spot for firewood to be distributed to those who could use it.

[@cfldriven]

@@fromagefrizzbizz9377 Thank you for sharing such a great story. Glad there are people like you in the world.

[@Sydneywizard]

Nice work. My setup is a little different as I have connected the 12V car battery directly to a 12V 100Ah LiFoP04 battery and then connected to an inverter. For my needs, I feel it's a little more flexible as I can run a 12V fridge from the lithium battery and if required, I can relocate the lithium battery to wherever I need a power source. Perfect for camping and emergencies. Also I don't have a garage or off-street parking so, the car might not be next to the house to run an extension cord from inverter to a 240V appliance (I am in Australia).

[@cfldriven]

Adam, thank you for watching and sharing your setup. Always good to learn others approach.

[@jondrew55]

I don't know about the newer Prius, but the newer Sienas have a 1500W 120V plug in them.

[@cfldriven]

I know in Japan the Prius can be used as an energy source, but I don't see any mention of it on the US 2024 plug in Prius. How sad. I know Kia offers it on some of their vehicles. Hopefully it becomes more common in these types of cars.

[@rockcrusher4636]

Excellent info, thanks for sharing. Cheers.

[@cfldriven]

Just used it for 2 weeks after Helene went through the area.

[@juans6639]

Just recently I used a 2,000 (modified Sine Wave) inverter; although "Pure Sine Wave is preferred" at my property to run an electric pole saw to cut down some trees. This can be done with any car's 12v battery.

[@cfldriven]

For most electric motored devices a dirty non-inverter generator would work, but like you I prefer pure sine wave for all the sensitive electronics that are in all our devices today.

[@galinstan5603]

Have you explored making a connection from the fuse box in the engine compartment or wherever the cable from the AGM battery terminates? I would think this would work, because there is a lug in the fuse box for jump starting the Prius. I ask, because I am considering making an inverter connection accessible through the grille, like the type you see on road service vehicles for the purpose of jump starting cars. This way I could park the Prius close to the garage door and run the cables under the garage door.

[@cfldriven]

Trying to utilize the lug on the fuse box means leaving the cover off, there is also no way to connect to the lug, and there is not place to mount the inverter. The rear provides more opportunities for a better and cleaner installation.

[@ThisisForTheTV]

On the Prius inverter there is a 12v output lug that the fusebox is connected to, the 12v battery feeds though the fusebox with a 4ga wire and large spade connector. The lug is located on the backside of the inverter facing the firewall, I believe it was a 10mm or 12mm nut. That's where I added an additional wire for the auxiliary second battery for the subwoofer/120v inverter setup. Weber Automotive has a great video of the Prius inverter to get an idea of where the lug is.

[@cfldriven]

@@ThisisForTheTV As stated in the previous reply the to utilize the lug you need to remove the fuse cover, plus there no good place to mount a 1000 watt DC/AV inverter away from the engine heat. I looked at Weber Automotive site but could not locate the video. Do you have a link you could share?

[@Chris_In_Texas]

I hope you realize that the DC-DC converter used on the Prius (there is NO alternator in this car) is only 100A max and the battery fuse is 120A that goes to the converter. That converter also has to power everything that is 12V in the car as well, so your overall usable energy is much lower than 100A available to use as you have computers in the car, fans, lights, etc! A 1KW inverter would take a minimum of 80A at 1KW if it were 100% efficient. Considering that also is the same box that has the DC-DC converter also has the inverter for the 3phase AC power for the electric motors, it could be an expensive fix if you burn that out. The 12V batteries in the Prius are small because they aren't used once the car is on and running. As soon as you turn the car on the 12V battery isn't used anymore and its all on the DC-DC converter supplying 12V to the car for all its needs. The HV pack supplies all the power after its turned on via that inverter and DC-DC converter. So by hooking up such a potential large draw on the small battery at some point you will kill the main inverter in the car that is doing all the DC-DC conversion down to 12V. This is a silly project, when you could purchase a small generator (1-2KW) much cheaper and less potential catastrophic and expensive issues with the car. My truck has 320A alternator on it and would be a much better solution to power a larger inverter if you really wanted to do something like that. Plenty of extra power to run larger 120V AC inverters. With the PTO off the transmission I can just run the 60KW generator that's installed under the truck with the flick of a switch.

[@demoniack81]

Yeah doing all that just to take off 1kW is... what. You can buy a 2-3kW generator for 100 bucks. And if you break it, you've lost 100 bucks... not god knows how many that very specialized and rare piece of equipment on the car retails for. Yeah having the engine only run long enough to recharge the HV battery increases efficiency a lot and you'll save gas, but realistically how often are you going to need to use a generator? Not often enough to worry about it. If you're worried about the generator not starting when you need it, for 1000 bucks or less you can ditch the carbureted nonsense and buy a diesel generator which WILL start as long as it's got fuel in it. And will also be way more powerful. There's a point where you have to realize that just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

[@LordGryllwotth]

Are you saying the 12v battery IS NOT in parallel with accessories? Fans, outlets, radio, steering, ABS? So you think the battery is only for starting the car and is charged by a smaller charger only for the battery? Then airbags needs to be in the 12v battery loop.

[@LordGryllwotth]

​@demoniack81 yes. I would get an generator. if I lived where people have easy access to gass / LNG I would get a combi or buy an adapter, so it can run on petrol or gass. But diesel would be prefered for me in Norway. As there is so much diesel on all these boats where I live. So in a long therm emergency we will have power. What will be awesome in the future is electric car to grid. And some system where we can hookup a generator for charging and then use the car battery for the load in long therm. People who dont understand can compare it to a water heater tank. We heat up the tank (store energy), and extract larger power when it is needed as the same time the generator can be running. Doing it like that will be awesome. It will need external system with this scenario.

[@Chris_In_Texas]

@@LordGryllwotth Once the car is started the contactor to the HV battery closes and supplies power to the inverter under the hood. This also has the DC-DC converter in it, which can supply up to 100A of 12V power max. You can literately disconnect the 12V battery at this point as you don't need it anymore, while it could be used for "surges" the reserve capacity isn't that much on the small battery. According to the schematics/wiring diagram, there is a 120A fuse on the 12V bus. That is the most you can pull on this car before it will pop and you won't have any 12V power. All the accessories that are 12V powered do run on this DC-DC converter. When the car is turned on and isn't started, all power being used is from that 12V battery only, its only when the car is actually started that now it will use the HV battery pack and the inverter/DC-DC converter. Something to keep in mind that the PTC heaters alone take about 30A of 12V power when your using those, so you have to subtract that from your 100A power budget. If the battery is low the DC-DC converter is the one that also charges the battery, however the higher the drain the more the gas engine will run as well, so that is why once the 12V battery starts to die and will need to be replaced you MPG will suffer because the gas engine will run more as it knows its low and needs to be charged. Keep in mind that you have a 100A 12V power budget and at 120A the fuse will blow. That is either running the gas engine or not. The inverter/DC-DC converter is only powered from the HV battery pack, which of course is charged by the MG on the gas engine side. Running the engine doesn't increase that power budget at all, its still only 100A. Unfortunately the Prius is about the worst car to connect a big AC inverter too, as there is no high current alternator. A traditional car will have an alternator and be geared so that higher engine RPM"s will give you more current. That isn't true for the Prius, its just 100A no matter what. If you blow up/burn out that DC-DC converter, you will have to purchase an new inverter (Big metal box on top of the engine). Because of the sheer number of Prius' around here in the USA at junk yards you can find some for the $150-300 range, but at the dealer its about $1500 or so and then all the labor to change it out, as they are liquid cooled as well, and will take a few hours to change out if you know what your doing. As long as you know your limitations and can live within those restrictions you should be good. You just have to subtract anything that is running in the car from that power budget, so if its cold out the PTC heaters will be going taking away from the budget. A smaller inverter might be good as well, so you can't max things out.

[@wholoveskjs]

Very well done. I did somewhat the same thing but I got my cables pre-made from Amazon.

[@cfldriven]

Congrats on creating an energy back up system. Other than testing, I have not had the misfortune to need it. How about you?

[@wholoveskjs]

Only used the inverter to power a microwave to show it works. Not needed to power the home emergency circuit.

[@shanesdiy]

I've used my normal cars to power inverters like this for fields jobs and emergencies for years but the function of the Prius to start the motor periodically as needed to keep the batteries topped off is awesome for this application. I don't have a Prius but this gives me another reason to get one, or something equivalent. Thanks for sharing.

[@cfldriven]

You should be able to do this with any hybrid vehicle. Thanks for watching.

[@motorenbastler9289]

@@cfldriven Stop giving wrong advices when you dont know anything about cars or eelectricity

[@cfldriven]

@@motorenbastler9289 The word is e-l-e-c-t-r-i-c-i-t-y.

[@Melanie16040]

Be mindful of this jury rigged setup being able to provide perhaps 800-1000w.

[@netgod3com-FUYouTube]

I would add a small metal plate behind the trim panel to mount the breaker and Anderson connector as well as add some split loom tubing to keep the 4 gauge wires together and better protected, other than that your project was well thought out and executed.

[@cfldriven]

Thank you for the tip and feedback.

[@tommycollier9172]

Electrician here For what you paid for all the tools and material you could have bought At least 2 good generators

[@ericklingsporn8248]

Using his Prius in his garage is much safer than using a generator outside.

[@MHawkeye]

realistically the only thing needed is just the inverter, they mostly come with cables to do the hook up and maybe a better fuse holder as the one they used breaks easily. 1200w inverters are less than $100 now and its not going to take up a ton of space

[@busterhyman6633]

@@ericklingsporn8248 What's dangerous about using a generator outside? Please elaborate

[@motorenbastler9289]

@@MHawkeye yes but you cant pull 1200watts out of the battery without decharging the 12v battery

[@MHawkeye]

@@motorenbastler9289 you can (little under 1500w peak) and i have but its not something i would advise someone to do. in a different post ive mentioned that 700w is pretty much the most you can safety pull for long durations, this post was just stating that the cost can be trimmed down.

[@thevoidedwarranty]

Might work in emergency situation but not a good idea for day to day use , because the onboard dc/dc converter in not rated for that kind of power draw

[@MHawkeye]

its rated for 100a, its sort of fine because the actual working power draw is closer to 700w iirc, which would be 54a. otherwise the dc/dc fuse gets too hot.

[@thevoidedwarranty]

@rookm13 as an entronics engineer , i wouldn't run even 50 amps through it continiously because these systems are not designed to run that kind of sustained load for a long time unlike domestic systems. it could easliy catch fire .they cheap out on the continious power & beef up the short time current because that's what a car normally uses in normal operation.

[@MHawkeye]

@@thevoidedwarranty when people start listing their "credentials" i tend to take their posts less seriously. to me, it often signals that they feel like theyre losing the argument or don’t have any other way to back up their points. personally, ive found that the sweet spot for continuous load is 54a, that value comes from tests over multiple 8h sesions in the winter to charge my battery bank(10kWh). ive used an obd2 reader to verify that the load keeps the inverter temps within safe limits. granted, second gen priuses are known for wearing out the coolant pumps but often thats because people use the amazon specials instead of replacing it with a genuine toyota pump.

[@thevoidedwarranty]

@rookm13 whatever floats ur boat. I was trying to warn you about the dangers of using that system .about the credential , i think it might be your personal petpieve when peopl mentions it & nothing else .i would not want to visit a dentist without a degree for example . Best regards

[@MHawkeye]

@@thevoidedwarranty my initial stement already mentioned that drawing more than 54a would overheat the fuse so im aware of the dangers and simply saying "these systems arent designed for" isnt insightful. standard vehcles use alternators which are cooled by air and its not even cooler air, its air thats circulating in the hot engine bay. those systems have more failure points imo because not only do you have to account for the heat which is the main killer for electronics, its also the brushes that get worn down quicker when providing more amperage than normal. in the prius, the inverter transfers power from the HV to the LV battery, there is a 100a fuse that limits(by "blowing up") the max draw and the inverter is liquid cooled and my findings is that drawing more than 54a is unsafe due to the fuse overheating which poses a fire risk. yes, its frustrating when people fall back on just authority rather than engage in the discussion itself. your example fails because when discussing topics with your dentist they wouldnt be bringing up their qualifications, they would rely on their knowledge to explain their reasoning in the conversation. its much more productive when people explain their viepoints so we all get a clearer understanding, if i had to do a comparison it would be more like a parent saying "because i said so".

[@truckercharlied6056]

The one issue i see is with no fuse until the Anderson connector if the positive cable rubs there's nothing to stop a dead short I would have it basically at the post. I would do a bigger inverter and I would have cramped the first end then start the run and figure out where to cut it. Would have gone straight out from the negative lug and then bring it up probably would have left that few inches on to do that

[@cfldriven]

The issue with putting the fuse closer to the post was lack of space to do it in. Therefore I inserted the fuse further away from the post were it was easy to access and store. You are correct in theory you want to fuse right off the post, but sometimes reality necessitates modifications. Thank you for sharing.

[@truckercharlied6056]

@cfldriven when I put them in my semi I had a flat not round breaker

[@cfldriven]

@@truckercharlied6056 The important part is you installed a breaker to protect from a short. Thank you for sharing.

[@Potatofarmer1898]

Ran this setup during Hurricane Wilma back in 05, but I was a little less elegant. I had an 05 Explorer and ran a 3000W Inverter off of the 12V battery to power my fridge a few lights, microwave, phone charger and fan. Prob drew 1300-1400W tops & the alternator squealed a few times but it was OK a year after. Sucked to have to shut engine off. This would have been a much better setup with the HSD kicking on and off when needed to charge the hybrid battery. Worked for me.

[@cfldriven]

My friend in NM uses his Mazda 6 the same way as your Explorer. Better to have some power than no power at all. Thanks for watching.

[@sammy5576]

I thought it would be higher level, on the high voltage side, more efficient that way

[@cfldriven]

Coming off the traction battery instead of the 12v offers opportunity for more power and efficiency. It will cost more and is much harder and dangerous for the typical person to implement.

[@Nicholas-f5]

Pure sine wave is a good call for electronics and motors

[@cfldriven]

It is the reason I wouldn't plug in a non-inverter gas generator someone was willing to lend me during Helene. Even the washer and driver have computer chips in them these days.

[@stargazer7644]

Most modern electronics couldn't give a flying duck about pure sine waves. The switch mode power supplies used pretty much universally in electronics today work perfectly fine on anything from direct DC to a sine wave to a square wave. The very first thing they do is rectify the voltage into high voltage DC - so any kind of power is fine. Many AC motors on the other hand would get hot and upset on power that is rich in harmonics.

[@cfldriven]

@@stargazer7644 You can do as you like but most modern electronics use Switched-Mode Power Supplies SMPS, which are sensitive to the shape of the AC wave and require a pure sine wave for efficient and safe operation.

[@stargazer7644]

@@cfldriven You obviously didn't bother to read past the first sentence. What in the world would need a "pure sine wave" in a SMPS? The very first thing in a SMPS after the line RFI filters is a full wave bridge rectifier. It couldn't care less about the AC, because the very first thing it does is convert the AC to DC to charge the HV caps. Then the DC is converted to high frequency PWM AC and into a transformer. You can put straight high voltage DC into a SMPS and it'll work just fine. There are a hundred vids on YT that will show you how a SMPS works.

[@claycassin8437]

That's awesome! Where's my free Prius that I didn't know I already had?

[@TAGUPNBLUE]

To make a left turn in a Prius roll down the window and stick out your arm out for the drag it will turn left

[@cfldriven]

It's a America, nothing is free.

[@claycassin8437]

@@cfldriven I guess you didn't read the thumbnail. It said "Prius: The emergency generator YOU ALREADY OWN"(caps added for emphasis). My comment was a JOKE, dude. Do you know what humor is?

[@cfldriven]

@@claycassin8437 You the thing about humor when writing is you have to let the viewer know that it not a serious comment. Something like "lol" ;) would have been helpful. YT just shows letter C so not sure what you mean by thumbnail.

[@nc3826]

​@@claycassin8437 That's awesome! Since you're the JOKE, dude. My pedantic pointless friend.

[@Goldentroutman007]

Hello and thank you, kind sir! Top notch, educated content, 10/10! I am looking to do this with my paid off 2018 Prius, and I have some concerns I am hoping you may be able to help me overcome. Firstly, will my later model have a higher capacity, possibly allowing me to use a 2000 watt inverter or similar? How do I find out? If that were the case, would i need thicker cables and different connectors? I am very nervous because its not the exact same model! I really appreciate you taking your time to post this video! Many blessings to you and yours! (This is my first youtube comment ever) liked, shared and subbed! After some research, it looks like 1200w is max output for the 2018 prius dc to dc inverter, but this is based off of a comment. I cant seem to find the rating in black and white from Toyota. Can you confirm? In the same thread it is said to only use 800w as the vehicle needs some of the wattage. Is this true? I was thinking that maybe adding an external capacitor (commonly used with high output amplifiers for subwoofers) may act as a surge buffer, enabling the use of a higher wattage inverter. Thoughts?

[@Goldentroutman007]

P.S. I also plan on adding a flexible exhaust pipe with a high temp boot connected to the vehicle exhaust tip to vent directly outdoors with the garage door closed. With a carbon monoxide alarm in the garage, of course! I thought you may appreciate the idea. This serves to make the use of this almost entirely undetectable to prying eyes and even heat for the garage. Thoughts?

[@cfldriven]

You will need to determine if the 2018 have capacity, I couldn't find anything online, so you may want to call the part dept of your local dealer. Higher capacity means larger cables, fuse with higher rating, and connectors to be safe.

[@Goldentroutman007]

@@cfldriven Understood, thanks for the reply. What do you think of the capacitor idea?

[@cfldriven]

@@Goldentroutman007 The purpose of the traction battery is to drive the electric motors. If the car is sitting parked with all the electronics off the system is mainly just maintaining the 12V battery. Any surge caused by a device plugged in is handle by the inverter with the 12v acting as a buffer. Stay within the limits of the system and you should be fine.

[@galinstan5603]

I would not risk it. The exhaust could have leaks, particularly if we are talking about an older vehicle where the roads are salted in the winter.

[@anthonymarino4260]

well done how many amps does the refrigerator draw. thanks for your quick reply

[@cfldriven]

Anthony, thank you for taking the time to write. The refrig rated to draw a max of 5 amps, but actually uses a lot less in use.

[@PaulVernon22]

I have one question: what is the wire gauge from the DC-DC inverter in the car's engine bay, back to the 12V battery? That seems like a potential weak link here.

[@cfldriven]

Could not find a number but I just ran the car for 14-24 hour days and the battery cables never got warm. Helene tested.

[@1951Roy]

Thanks for sharing, what year Prius is the car. I'm in the market for a used Prius, are you happy with yours?

[@cfldriven]

Roy, the car is a 2014 Prius. We are most delighted with this car. It is thrifty with gas, low maintenance, can haul of ton of stuff, can sit 5, and comfortable on cross country drives. The only negatives is it is doesn't drive like a sports car because it is not.

[@orlandovelastegui1391]

I have a 2 generation 2008 Prius and it has 313,000 miles and runs great. I just purchased a 2022 Venza but, I’m not going to sell my Prius it part of the family!!! 😄

[@cfldriven]

@@orlandovelastegui1391Orlando, very impressive mileage, definitely a well built car. Is your Venza also a hybrid?

[@orlandovelastegui1391]

@@cfldriven all Venza’s from 2021-2024 come Hybrid standard.

[@cfldriven]

@@orlandovelastegui1391Good to know, thank you for sharing.

[@oper827]

I wonder what is the Prius cable gauge from DC-DC converter to the 12V battery? Did you check if that cable is rated for the current that you are pulling into the inverter?

[@cfldriven]

Oleg, good question. Consulting with electrical wire charts we sized for cable that could carry in excess of 125 amps with the least amount of electrical resistance. Thank you for watching.

[@oper827]

@@cfldriven Thanks!

[@wanderingbishop]

I'm puzzled what the small green ground cable is for compared to the very very large black ground cable.

[@cfldriven]

The small cable is for detecting a short with inverter case. The thick cables are power and neutral which provide a different function from the ground wire. Thank you for watching.

[@chrisstinson2536]

you can do this same thing with a Chevy volt! great backup system!

[@cfldriven]

My understanding is the Volt is not a true hybrid system like the Toyota. The Volt operates as a pure battery electric vehicle until its battery capacity drops to a predetermined threshold from full charge. From there, its internal combustion engine powers an electric generator to extend the vehicle's range as needed. This seems to indicate the gas engine would not cycle on and off which is the advantage over a regular car. I could be wrong on this. However you still could connect a DC/AC inverter and get power to devices.

[@chrisstinson2536]

@@cfldriven Yes it is a PHEV, so for inverter mode it will use 9kw out of the battery to maintain the 12v. But you have to trick the car into thinking someone is in it. Once it reaches 9kw (on a healthy volt battery) it will then turn on the engine giving an additional 6-12 hours of operation.

[@cfldriven]

@@chrisstinson2536 Thank you for sharing.

[@SecurityZone1]

Pretty smart idea 👍

[@cfldriven]

Thank you for the feedback.

[@stephenbaker3680]

Oh yeah..as for welding cable..yes MUCH more flexable, and the insulation rated at 450 or so volts! Only thing is the insulation thickness is a bit thin, so gotta treat it decently!

[@cfldriven]

I agree, when not in use we are careful to store the entire kit in its own space in the garage. We used it for 10 days post Helene and had no issues.

[@condor5635]

Oil and fuel and maintenance of a Gen set. Yeh I put an hour or two of all of that every year into mine. If you store it properly you don’t really need to run it but every several months. But through the manual interlock I can power most all of my house without pulling out the 2 refrigerators to access cords. Also have that invertor kit on my car too as a backup. Generator ‘hassle’ would have been much better approach imho.

[@cfldriven]

Definitely a personal choice. For our situation this is probably the best solution, although I would like to be able to run the washer and dryer for a few hours after a week of no power. Maybe a propane generator? Thank you for sharing your story.

[@condor5635]

@@cfldriven I think your solution would run your washing machine no problem. Those are only a few hundred watts. I measured mine the other day. Same as your dryer if it’s natural gas. If it’s 220V obviously no way.

[@cfldriven]

@@condor5635 The wattage rating on the machines was high, but as I learned with the frig the actually usage can be much lower. I will put a watt meter to it this weekend and see what the real numbers are. A friend lent me his dirty generator, but I decided not to use it with the washer and dryer due to all the electronics they contain. Thank you for mentioning this.

[@condor5635]

@@cfldriven - that’s a pet peeve of mine all this new technology on a washer and dryer. Just give me a washer that fills up with water, agitates, rinses, and spins. I don’t need some fancy computer driven circuit board to wash my clothes. Unfortunately, those options are less and less available these days. my 10 year old Maytag and GE machines don’t have any electronic circuitry that would care about the generator. Even though my generator has 5% or less I’m not worried at all with running them on my generator. I definitely don’t want a refrigerator that tells me when I need milk. 😄. If you want to a neat little toy, get yourself a 20 amp extension cord and add a Drok meter inline to it. Then you can measure all your current usages and wattages and kilowatt hours very easily. Thanks!

[@cfldriven]

@@condor5635 I have some SW radios that have to boot up. I miss the days of instant on and off. I do have one of those kill a watt type meters that I have yet to unbox.

[@googleuser4434]

I've heard those Chinese resettable fuses aren't reliable. Any opinions here?

[@cfldriven]

NILIGHT is the US company distributing this product. I have two of these units and they seem well suited for the task. You can learn more about this at www.nilight.com

[@EZas132]

I'm in post-hurricane Houston and am interested in using one or more of my 3 (yes, 3) Priuses as an emergency generator for the next freezepocalypse or baby hurricane that comes my way. I like that I already own 3 potential generators so would not have to spend several hundred dollars on a gas- or solar- powered generator and I really like that the car is cleaner and much more fuel efficient than a gas generator. Reading fellow Houstonians post-hurricane comments, I can see that folks spent a lot on gas (gasoline and LP gas) and also used a lot of gasoline which was hard to find for a few days, defeating the purpose of having a stand-alone generator. According to very many post-storm reports, gas generators seem to use about one-half to one full gallon of gas per hour and also require frequent maintenance that I'm not terribly interested in doing. I do not want to use the HV battery. That is beyond my skill set. I do w3ant to use the 12v battery and an inverter. I've gathered from reviewing possibly every post or video available in the internet that I should not use a larger than 1000 watt inverter on the 12v battery to stay comfortably below maxing out the potential wattage available via the car. I have seen 2 videos and one comment (Anjunaspeak23, below) from folks have used a 2000 watt inverter, I'd like to not put any of my 3 cars in any danger since all 3 are also daily use vehicles. Is the 1000 watt inverter the best choice for safety in your (anyone who has considered, is knowledgeable about, or has done this) opinion? I also understand I should stay 20% below the maximum of 1000 watts available using the inverter so I was thinking that I could get a comfortable 800 watts per car. 800 watts would give me a great deal of comfort. I've determined that my fridge uses 379 watts. Caution says I should allow twice that for surges- or when the fridge needs to power up- so I calculated to allow the fridge 758 watts. Caution implies to me that I should use one car and one 1000 watt inverter as a stand-alone for the fridge only. Spending about $200 dollars on an inverter and a heavy duty power cord, and not losing a couple of hundred dollars worth of food makes this seem like a good investment. Do you (anyone who has considered, is knowledgeable about, or has done this) have an opinion on this? I was thinking I could disconnect the fridge from time-to-time to power other kitchen stuff except that other kitchen items use a surprisingly large amount of power. For example, the coffee pot says it needs 1550 watts. The microwave says it needs 1150 watts. The tea kettle wants 1000 watts. At these numbers, I'm not sure I can actually use these other kitchen items at all if I adhere to my previous "caution" plans of 800 watts max. I guess I'm wondering if I'm being overly cautious or if I should just plan on some other method(s) of food prep. I still have two other cars and could use one or two of them to run stuff like fans, routers, lights, and even the router household computers, since none of those items are watt-hogs. This would make life much less boring. A final question- most inverters allow for two extension cords. I presume this means, using my cautious math, that I can only plan on about 400 watts per cord (or 500/300, 0r 200,600, etc.) Is this correct? I guess I'd like opinions and thoughts on these plans and also opinions and thoughts on if I'm being too conservative on my planned usage of 800 watts per car.

[@cfldriven]

I like that you are doing your own research. I lean towards safety margins so oversized cables and staying below what the system is capable of is a priority. As in the video I only needed to keep the frig and the nat gas tankless running. The frig actually uses very little power kzbin.info/www/bejne/jF7FmmBondJgl5I unless it has been off for too long. I would not would not disconnect the fridge as it takes minimal power to maintain it's coldness versus having to cool down every few hours. Anything else I can run beyond my two items is a bonus. If you accidentally draw too much power a quality full sine wave inverter with trip. For boiling or cooking you may want to look at electric camping appliance that use less power, but are slower. We have a camp stove so that would be our go to cooking appliance and our neighbor has a gas stove and we have a standing invitation with him. Having multi cars means you have access to three generators which could make you very comfortable or keep you going for a long time with just basic power. As to extension cords 14/3 or 12/3 with the shortest run possible will be the most efficient. You don't have to split the load among two cords, if you do it can be any mix as long as the total doesn't exceed 1000 watt. After building your system run a test (use watt meter or multi meter) so you can see power usage over time and determine what you can and can not run. Remember your power needs will change during the course of the day, night and time of year. Nights are great for charging power banks, and chargeable devices. During an outage we put the frig on battery power, if the power company estimates longer than five hours we then get the car and inverter in position. Best of luck with your project, and here is hoping you never need to use it.

[@EZas132]

@@cfldriven I finished my project. YT does not allow commenters to post links but I created an Imgur post to describe why and how I put the project together and the results of my test run. I posted that in a couple of places for others who are also interested in doing this kind of thing. My post about this can be found by searching "How I Prepared My 2012 Prius Hybrid For Use As An Emergency Generator To Run My Refrigerator In A Power Outage. (Long)" Thank you so much for your advice!

[@cfldriven]

@@EZas132 Congrats on the project and write up, yes I read the whole thing. I would recommend a fuse on the positive side in case of a short. The reason the fridge used a lower amount of watts is because it is already cold. Let it warm up and then try to cool it down and you'll hit the rated wattage. Sort of like getting a car to speed uses more energy then it does to maintain that speed. Again nice job on building a system to use system.

[@EZas132]

@@cfldriven Thanks you so much for your advice again and also for addressing the mystery of the missing Watts! And also for suffering through my long post. I'm told I'm "wordy"! LOL! But I wanted to leave as much information as I could after having researched the project myself for a couple of weeks. Perhaps my experience will help someone else just as yours has helped others. I saw that the battery in my car has a fuse on it already which is why I didn't add another one. That fuse is on the "car" side of the positive battery terminal and is a 140 amp fuse. In your opinion is that sufficient or would you still recommend adding one between the battery terminal and the inverter? Thanks again!

[@cfldriven]

@@EZas132 That fuse protects the cable coming from the engine compartment but you have nothing between the battery and inverter. Ideally it should be as close to the battery terminal as possible. It is nit picky but I rather blow a fuse and not damage more expensive equipment which is why I went with the 100 amp circuit breaker in the video. I love that you have a small fleet of vehicles able to jump into action.

[@originalinlik]

Good idea, step by step, for those who need it, ignore the bluster.

[@motorenbastler9289]

Bad idea. The DC DC Inverter is meant to charge the battery and provide enough power for lights, Radio fan of the air conditioner and maybe for a 120 watts 12v output to charge your phone. Its not meant to deliver power to run up your house on it, so it doesnt have more power than probably 400 watts. If you need more, the 12 v battery will deliver the power until its decharged. And if this happens your prius wont be able to boot the HV system and so wont be able to start the engine.

[@kenamac8752]

I wonder if this would work for a 2017 Chevy Volt (Gen 2)? Unless there is something different about the electronics, it looks almost the same as far as the 12V battery in the trunk. I usually leave the car running with the ac on (I live in Florida) while shopping. I can lock the car with the fob from the outside so that is not a problem for me. The problem is that the car will automatically turn off after some time (1 hour?). I can restart the car with my phone but that would be a pain over a period of several days. Another viewer below asked about keeping the car running. I need that. I lost power here for about 3 days.

[@cfldriven]

I know the Volt is a different system from the Toyota Prius in which once the traction battery is exhausted, the gas engine is used to power a generator to supply power for the electric motor. This difference maybe a limiting factor to trying to use the Volt as a home generator.

[@gotaigo]

That was beautiful although a mouthful to do. Very clean work; probably the best i’ve seen on youtube. Are you an electrical engineer? Too bad you didn’t list the items you used for this project; would you consider spider adding links to amazon if at least provide manufacturer and model #. Thanks.

[@cfldriven]

Gotaigo, thank you for the kind words. Started out in electrical engineering and switched to broadcasting. Per your request I have added to the description the items I purchased and where I got them from. Hope this helps. Thanks for watching.

[@gotaigo]

@@cfldrivenThat was helpful. Thank you!

[@georgeyao436]

Soldering is better for long term connection.

[@cfldriven]

There are pros and cons for both techniques. I am terrible at soldering so for me crimping was the better choice.

[@youngtaylor1521]

very informative video thank you for this.

[@cfldriven]

Apologies for the length. Thank you for watching.

[@stefankovac816]

Great tutorial Sir, thank you for this! What do you think, is it possible to connect cables with fuses directly to HV battery system and from HV battery system to home solar inverter (replacing with this a gas generator or one of the solar strings)?

[@cfldriven]

I personally would not mess with 201.6 volt battery system, but there are kits and videos that will walk you through the process. You will need to find an inverter to go from the high voltage to your solar batteries or home voltage.

[@tienhuynh-dinh3832]

I heard one could power some household appliances via a Prius and an inverter in case of a prolonged power-outage. So finding your video was very informative and gives me hope! I appreciate the detail of your video and the step-by-step visual instructions. Didn't really think I would go the whole 40:02, but it was so interesting that I did and then read most of the comments as well. Thank you for listing the materials used in the video. Again... very helpful. Great job!!!

[@cfldriven]

Well thanks for hanging in there. I know it ran long but I wanted to make sure all the steps where included for anyone wanting to try this. Thanks for your patience.

[@lambition]

Is it really more efficient or as efficient compared to portable generator? Since you are using 1000W inverter, I'd compare it to similarly sized inverter generator and 1500W inverter generator is around $350-$400. Non-inverter generators are much cheaper, but then you won't have as clean of power output. Generator maintenance isn't that hard. All you really have to do is drain gasoline when storing. This could be great setup for camping, but for emergency generator, I'd invest in portable generator and ideally larger one.

[@cfldriven]

You can only store so much gas as my neighbor quickly learned when he burned through his supply and the gas stations were still closed because they had no power. Our car had a full tank and operated 24/7 for 10 days. In the past we considered getting a portable generator but the headache of storing gas and oil along with the upkeep just didn't make economic sense for us. I am considering getting small duel fuel inverter generator to run the washer and driver. Storing propane is easier and it cuts down on the maintenance. Thus we would only run when it was needed as the car would handle our essentials. Everyone has to decide what works best for them and how much time and money they want to invest in a solution. My approach is just one of many options to consider. I appreciate you watching and writing in.

[@tomcahill7912]

Thanks!. My electrical engineer (and OCD) father in law would be impressed (were he still with us). What is the feasibility of connecting the inverter directly to your house electrical panel? I would run a subset of those circuits. Namely the well pump, boiler (for in floor radiant hydronic heat), fridge, oven and some lights.

[@cfldriven]

Tom, connecting the inverter directly to the house electrical system, as you might with a generator, would involve a transfer switch which can get expensive. For us the approach in the video solves a problem that occurs 1% of the time during the year at minimal cost. Thank you for watching.

[@BrianRadcliffe]

your 12v system in the prius won't handle the loads created by attempting a whole house backup, get a tesla power wall then charge the power wall with the Prius. The power wall will handle the large loads while you trickle charge with the Prius

[@galinstan5603]

How does using a relatively finely stranded cable, i.e., a welding cable, allow you to use a lighter gauge cable for the same application? If anything, I would expect a solid cable, or a coarse stranded cable to be robust, due to potential termination issues of stranded cables

[@cfldriven]

Several factors come into play when selecting wire for this project. We needed a flexible cable for DC current (100 - 150 amps) with runs under five feet. The 4 AWG welding cable alternatorparts.com/wire-size-chart.html can handle up to 190 amps and met all the requirements. A course strand or solid cable would be more difficult to handle due to stiffness. The use of the hydraulic crimper results in strong tight termination that should not fail. It is similar to the crimping done by lineman. Of course one could go for thicker strand or solid core if they prefer.

[@wtpwtp]

Would the Bluetti or EcoFlow alternator charger work the same way?

[@cfldriven]

It seems with both these products you could use your vehicle while driving to recharge their respective portable power supply. I would imagine with a hybrid it would work the same but without the driving. My only concern are is the cabling and charger designed for days of constant use or are they designed for short term occasional use.

[@keithpanco]

I didn't know I already had a Prius.

[@Polarbear5353]

Nicely done sir 👏. The Prius is the best practical car I’ve ever owned. You’ve just created a new project for me 😂.

[@motorenbastler9289]

please dont do this. This is completely stupid abd what he does, basically every other car on this planet can do too.

[@cfldriven]

I agree, the amount of cargo space, mpg, low maintenance, and versatility make this a great vehicle.

[@cfldriven]

@@motorenbastler9289 While any vehicle can be plugged into a DC/AC inverter only Hybrid vehicle can cycle on and off to respond to changing power needs.

[@mastermnd22]

Absolutely stupid advice here. The 12v side of the prius is seriously lacking. And shouldn't be used for anything.

[@cfldriven]

@@mastermnd22 Care to explain? We ran for 10 days on this setup.

[@matt6962]

My main requirements is my 240v water well. Can you 240 volts out of this setup?

[@davidtwister6936]

Yes, just use a 220 volt inverter instead of a 120 inverter. maybe use a little bigger size wire but hook up and everything will all be exactly the same.

[@djorion8098]

yes its just to buy an 240 V Inverter.

[@cfldriven]

Check to see what the initial power draw is on the pump. If it exceeds what the inverter can handle it won't work. In my setup the inverter can handle surges of 1500 watts for brief moments without tripping.

[@djorion8098]

@cfldriven To clarify, if the pump operates within a 240V system, using an inverter that outputs 120V could cause significant operational issues. It’s essential to match the inverter voltage to the system’s requirements, especially for inductive loads like pumps, which typically experience an inrush current surge of 2-3 times their nominal running wattage upon startup. Additionally, frequency compatibility is crucial. In the U.S., the standard AC frequency is 60 Hz, whereas in Europe, it’s 50 Hz. Using a 60 Hz frequency on a device designed for 50 Hz (or vice versa) can increase internal temperatures in motor windings and bearings, potentially leading to premature wear or failure due to increased thermal stress and mismatched mechanical timing.

[@MHawkeye]

@@djorion8098 this feels like chatgpt, hmmm

[@dimesonhiseyes9134]

Why did you put a fuse in the lead from the battery to inverter when the inverter is already fused?

[@cfldriven]

Good question, the purpose of the circuit breaker is to protect the12 V battery in case of a short. The fuse in the inverter protects against drawing too much power or a short on the 120 volt side.

[@micsky99]

Why the heat shrink covering the existing insulation only?

[@cfldriven]

I applied heat shrink to seal against moisture and debris and to stiffen connection.

[@makmonhoney200]

Mine is a little different because i use mine for camping also I have a LiFePO4 Battery in parallel with the12v car battery and a shut off switch to isolate the battery so I can run the refrigerator in my car all night, with out having the car on

[@cfldriven]

When you find yourself camping where it is too hot or cold, do you run the engine for climate control?

[@makmonhoney200]

@@cfldriven yes If I run it all night usually won`t use more than a 1/2 gal of gas. when is was in Quartzsite or Yuma Az. It could get down to 40 degrees at night but my car was warn enough with a blanket so I didn`t need to leave it in ready mode. I had bought a electric blanket but never used it.

[@cfldriven]

@@makmonhoney200 I love electric blankets, I run it for an hour and just sleep through the night. Thanks for sharing.

[@mikelauritsen553]

My rav4 hybrid shuts down at 20min. Is there a way around that?

[@cfldriven]

Mike I found this that might help "To disable auto-off, lock the doors with interior lock button (not remote) or lock doors with the physical key from the outside."

[@chrisblanchard6930]

In busts the red triangle like the kool aid man!! LOL! It is a good project to have something that will run in a pinch, I bet it could run for like 2 weeks on a tank of gas.

[@cfldriven]

We ran 24/7 and got 10 days out of the tank before power came back on.

[@cjackfly]

I tried to do something like this with my Highlander but the gas engine would never run long enough to keep everything charged up. What did you do to make it stay on?

[@cfldriven]

Assuming it is a hybrid Highlander all I did was turn it on the normal way, left it in park with parking brakes set and just powered down all the lights, HVAC and radio.

[@robertvehorn4832]

I have a question if you don't mind. Why do inverters have a redundant ground? I've always jumped the inverter ground to the negative side of the inverter coming from the battery, I've never had any problem with this. Is it bad to do that?

[@cfldriven]

Robert, great question hope this helps. The reason for the ground stud to body connection is to "helps prevent electrical shock to the user of the equipment should a live component touch the frame and the user touch the frame and ground at the same time." On this inverter I get continuity between the ground stud and the chassis, and both ground and neutral on the receptacle. There is no reading from pos or neg lead to stud. I think by providing two separate paths you allow the RCD GFCI to do there job in case of power leak. Inverter manuals call for two separate paths and providing the ground stud to body is easy to do. Perhaps think of it as the neutral and ground wire in your home, which end up being bonded at the main panel.

[@numberformat]

Does anyone know the max amps that the Gen III charges the 12v battery? I know I can discharge the 12v battery and clamp on a amp meter on it. But just wondering if someone already did that. This rate would give the effective watts you can pull from the 12v battery continuous.

[@DonziGT230]

From what I've read, the gen 2 and 3 converter is 120 amps but supposedly has a 100 amp fuse.

[@numberformat]

@ thanks for the reply. But I think I was looking for the amp rate for the charger circuit. This way I can determine how much amps I can remove continuously without discharging the 12v battery.

[@MHawkeye]

ive done this with a gen2 prius and seen posts of people saying 100a but in my experience that gets the main vehicle fuse too hot for my comfort so i limit any draw to 700w which is about 54a with a 70a fuse

[@numberformat]

@@MHawkeye Wow. Thanks for letting us know. This is very practical for at least keeping a typical fridge and a few led lights on in the house.

[@MHawkeye]

@@numberformat just make sure to get a pure sine wave inverter because the compressor and LED lights do not like modified sine wave inverters. the fridges take a long time to cool or dont cool at all because the compressor runs sluggish and the LED lights will give you a headache from the flickering.

[@jimmystikx]

If the traction battery is still 200v on these, there are split phase 240v inverters for server rack UPS systems that can be wired in and provide more watts. Should be more efficient as well.

[@cfldriven]

Jimmy, tapping into the traction battery would provide more power with higher efficiency but at a higher cost and greater electrical risk. This is meant as a temp setup, although I used it for 10 days after Helene. kzbin.info/www/bejne/m53dnJSvj7hrZ7c

[@trygvetveit4747]

Nice! Will it be able to do automatic start and stop also? That would be awsome!

[@cfldriven]

The Hybrid engine with auto start and stop to keep the traction battery charge. The inverter will remain on the entire time regardless of AC load.

[@reynmike]

Genius!

[@cfldriven]

Thank you, just trying to work with what we have in a safe reliable manner. Thanks for watching.

[@Strengthenkindness]

If only I had found your video before buying a 1500w inverter. Do you think 1500w is too dangerous for a Prius ? I plan on running a small instapot while camping. Thanks for sharing your process, I appreciate your knowledge.

[@cfldriven]

Edi, the reason for choosing the 1Kw inverter is to stay under the limits of what the DC to DC converter can provide. The 3qt Duo Mini Instapot draws 700 watts which should not be a problem, while the 6pt Duo needs 1,000 watts. I would personally swap for a 1K inverter, but if I couldn't, I would make sure that the load always remained below 1000 watts. If your inverter does not show wattage draw you may opt to get a small watt meter that plugs into the receptacle of your inverter. Thank you for watching and writing.

[@Strengthenkindness]

@@cfldriven Thank you, I appreciate your reply.

[@cfldriven]

@@Strengthenkindness Wishing much success with your project.

[@DiAllinson]

​@@cfldrivengreat video. I also have a question about 1500w inverter as I saw another prius camper who does have a 1500w inverter fitted, which he runs instapot, microwave and fridge from. What could be the consequence of fitting too high an inverter. I was considering getting a 2000w one, to run like my 1700w airfryer, but I know absolutely nothing about electrics so this now sounds like a bad idea

[@cfldriven]

@@DiAllinsonThe worst case scenario you damage the dc to dc inverter (expensive), you damage 12v battery (expensive) or you blow the inverter fuse (not cheap). Ideally you want to draw less power than the dc to dc can generate so it can maintain 12v battery charge. Best to figure out your appliance(s) power needs and make sure to stay under what the vehicle can generate. A 1K is idea for avoiding problems.

[@benjsc]

How did you determine the DC-to-DC converter supports 125Amps (looking to do the same with my 2020 Corolla hybrid)

[@cfldriven]

The fuse labeled "DC/DC" part number 90982-08297 is rated 125 amps, so fusing my 1KW inverter at 100 amps provides a margin of safety. Check for the DC/DC fuse rating on your Corolla.

[@dawsonramdass1145]

PSA: don't do this if you dont have to using a prius in this way will eventually cause the inverter and possibly hybrid battery to overheat and fail what i am wondering tho is if you can possibly get a good output from the actual inverter on the car if it would be able to take that load i highly doubt it tho Edit: I should state my point was based off a lot of use and not just emergency situations In those I would say it's alright enough But don't overdo it You can still overheat the car's built in inverter

[@lassikinnunen]

The hybrid battery wouldn't be the part to fail, the stepdown circuitry and 12v side battery would get more unnatural load on them.

[@dawsonramdass1145]

@ I didn't say it would I said it could The inverter is more likely to fail Not so much the battery But the battery does have a chance Especially if the cells are already degraded And worse yet if the battery cells are unbalanced

[@cfldriven]

@@dawsonramdass1145 Not pulling power from the 12v battery but from the dc/dc inverter that in supplying the 14v power. As long as you don't overload the Dc/dc you won't draw down battery

[@dawsonramdass1145]

@ right It's drawing power from the DC/DC converter Which is in the inverter Which is taking power from the HV battery Actually I should edit my comment Because I wouldn't trust the inverter to last very very long if you actually use it this way But in an emergency situation alright But I stand on my point Unless it is emergency power Do not do this Unless you're really just using a small amount of power like charging a phone or laptop or something Or short bursts

[@cfldriven]

@@dawsonramdass1145 Even most inverter generator warn about running 24/7. For our 10 day outage this was a great system.

[@jspencerg]

I clamp the hydraulic crimper in a vise to hold it steady while crimping.

[@cfldriven]

I agree, a good workshop vise is on my Christmas wish list.

[@4Lights.5Liights]

Dude; you wrongly said 120 'amps' at 2:04, instead of 120 volts.

[@postersm7141]

You didn’t see him correct that?

[@bmurphy1098]

They did. Just trying to be a hero.​@postersm7141

[@DonziGT230]

Your circuit breaker should be as close to the battery as possible with no amount of unprotected cable near a grounding source. Your cable appears to be pressed against the edge of the battery hold-down, with time and vibration you stand a high chance of it cutting through the insulation and shorting out. It could cause a fire and/or damage the car's system.

[@cfldriven]

Thank you these are great reminders. I didn't have enough room for the fuse without modifying the battery compartment. We decided to mount as soon as possible once outside battery compartment. We used tie downs to minimize movement in battery compartment but I will be checking to make sure there is chafing. Thank you for watching and sharing this info.

[@urbanturbine]

This is a great example of putting on a thinking cap and building something nerdy and cool. Some people love building things themselves, even though it may cost more. Is everything in your life cost effective? As usual, the comments are full of haters, who can't stand someone actually using his/her brain and making something original.

[@cfldriven]

It was a great challenge and proved very practical with the Helene 10-day outage. Thank you for taking the time to write.

[@TAGUPNBLUE]

But this is not using their brain to save $350 worth of food there are three automakers that already do this type of setup built-in

[@urbanturbine]

​@@TAGUPNBLUE so he should sell his car and buy one that has this built in? Genius.

[@cfldriven]

@@TAGUPNBLUE That might be true, but what is sitting in the garage is a Prius that is paid for.

[@ontovictory-alacumba]

Is it possible to use a RYOBI 2300 generator as the invertor and connect it to a similar car, Toyota Corolla Hybrid, and run just the car as the generator, connecting the house to the RYOBI? Car ---> RYOBI ---> House

[@cfldriven]

Interesting thought, you would have to hack into your generator electronics to utilize the inverter and prevent the generator engine from running. I would opt for a separate inverter and still having the ability to use your Ryobi as needed. For example my Prius set up won't run the washer and dryer but your Ryobi will. Let me tell you after a week of no power the ability to do laundry is heaven sent. So augmenting the power from you car using the Ryobi to run items for a few hours might be a viable option and fuel saving option.

[@dayner989]

How about buying already crimped wire makes it easy for us who dont have the tools

[@cfldriven]

Dayner, that certainly is an option, although you are limited by what lengths are available. I wanted the shortest runs possible and thus opted to build my own. Like you I didn't own a crimp-er and delayed this project until we had an all day outage. I shopped around and got it from Temu for less than the identical tool on Amazon. Since I still have the tool, I probably will make some cables for the EV. Thank you for watching.

[@galinstan5603]

You could go to an auto- electric shop and have them make you custom cables. They have all the cables and connectors needed to make whatever you need. These places are not ordinary repair facilities, they specialize in rebuilding and installing alternators and starters. I have had custom battery cables made at a surprisingly reasonable price, as well as great quality.

[@MickeyMishra]

I never understood why with so many people having small economy cars with a 160 Amp Alternators , why on earth would you bother with a loud genset, when you have a nice quiet car right there in your driveway you can lock up, and just send a 10 AWG extension cable from under the hood through the bottom of the car (Keeps the hood closed) lock your car, and run that cable into your home? Just leave the car on idle, with a full tank, and your fine. People will say this is wear and tear on your engine, but that's laughable. More wear happens when you start your car in the morning then keeping it at idle for a day or so. Most cars with a full tank can idle for about 12 -16 hours. Keep a spare 5 gallon tank of gas of course, but when it gets to about 1/4 tank, take a trip to the gas station and then come back home. Your fridge will be fine for about the hour or so you are gone unplugged to get gas. Now if you DO have Natural gas to your home? Well, hot water is not problem. Neither is power either as you get one of those tri fuel gensets. The ones that have the auto on power feature are just simply the way to go. They are VERY quiet, come in their own case, and with some simple maintenance, these things last for a very long time. There is also a unit that will turn your Prius Inverters output directly to 220v power and much more than 200 AMP house service. Hell you can have 3 phase power like the big boys at the factory at 400v as well. All for the cost of any older model prius. Honestly, I'm somewhat suppressed more people don't just grab an entire prius just for this purpose. Since it still drives, you don't even need to worry about bringing in fuel. And it's the most powerful and clean A/C power you can get.

[@cfldriven]

Mickey thank you for sharing. I always wonder why such a practical car is not more popular.

[@TurboLoafer]

Who makes that unit for the Prius inverter? That would be useful during our hurricane season

[@cfldriven]

@@TurboLoafer The DC/AC inverter in this video is a NATURE POWER INVERTER 1000 WATT TRUE SINEWAVE MODEL 38310. I ordered it from Home Depot ~$240.53

[@MickeyMishra]

@@TurboLoafer Man, I wish I remembered. I know they were based out of the Midwest, but can't nail it down. It was about 5 years ago I saw these units. Sorry I'm not more help. Happy Holidays!

[@purplecello1048]

how did you determine the prius was 125amps?

[@cfldriven]

The fuse labeled "DC/DC" part number 90982-08297 is rated 125 amps, so fusing my 1KW inverter at 100 amps provides a margin of safety.

[@mondavou9408]

A lot of negative comments. I thought you did a good job with the camera, instructions, concept and communication. Can you confirm your Prius battery has anywhere from 1,000-4,500 watts in it? If so, you've basically used the 12 volt lead acid battery to "tap" the 1-4kWh battery which normally drives the car's tires AND a (like you said) have a gasoline engine available to recharge it. Seems resourceful to me.

[@motorenbastler9289]

seems like you dont have a clue about how the system works. The DC DC Inverter is meant to charge the battery and provide enough power for lights, Radio fan of the air conditioner and maybe for a 120 watts 12v output to charge your phone. Its not meant to deliver power to run up your house on it, so it doesnt have more power than probably 400 watts. If you need more, the 12 v battery will deliver the power until its decharged. And if this happens your prius wont be able to boot the HV system and so wont be able to start the engine.

[@mondavou9408]

@@motorenbastler9289 The 12 volt lead acid battery (aux battery) in my nissan, hybrid starts the gasoline engine. When its discharged, the car will not move. How does a 12 volt battery get charged in an ICE vehicle? Its called an alternator. In my hybrid, the alternator has been replaced by the DC to DC converter.

[@motorenbastler9289]

@@mondavou9408 correct. But whats the point now? In the prius the 12v battery doesnt start the engine, its only for providing enough power to boot the hv system. And yes but with a 90 amps alternator you can pull 1200 watts. The DC DC converter is not build to deliver that high power

[@cic-jakevanddalgeemyers.2739]

Thanks

[@cfldriven]

Hope you find it useful. Thanks for watching.

[@jaweedDOTco]

Very useful. Thanks for the effort.

[@cfldriven]

Good to hear you found the video useful. Thank you for watching.

[@baaboo21]

Can you do the same with an RX350h?

[@cfldriven]

As long as it is a hybrid, the basics apply. Just remember you are not looking at powering an entire house, just a few basic items to make life less miserable. We just used ours for 2 weeks thanks to Helene.

[@UpHillEdd]

Hello, no good solution! ICE-> DC/DC -> 12V Aux Battery-> 12VDC to 110VAC with high amperage loss) I take a better way! You must contact the high voltage Hybrid Battery and connect it to a Solar Inverter wit Island Mode. (ICE-> high voltage hybrid battery-> Solar inverter-> AC to home) You need a input String working @ 200VDC, this ist ultra efficient. I did it, works fine! Fuel consumtion is more less than gasoline Generator! Greets from Europe

[@cfldriven]

Great if you have all the devices, but if you only have a hybrid in you garage this is a manageable and safer way of doing it.

[@spidermike3]

You should use the same size of cable for the earth as the feed cable.

[@cfldriven]

Why? The ground cable is a safety wire to protect against a hot chassis on the dc/ac inverter.

[@fromagefrizzbizz9377]

Prius is not using frame ground to conduct power to or from the traction battery, unlike older things like car headlights or cigarette lighters. Nor do houses. This is why there's two leads to connect in *addition* to the frame ground.

[@cfldriven]

@@fromagefrizzbizz9377 Thank you for sharing this insight.

[@herbertsax7169]

My Hyundai Ionic 5 has a 3,5 kW 230V AC-Outlet which can run the entire house. The built in inverter uses directly the 800V main battery of the car, with a capacity of 75kW. Enough to power the house more than 1 week.

[@cfldriven]

I wish my e-Golf had that.

[@K0nst4nt1n96]

@@cfldriven you could use your e golf the way u used the prius but as a powerbank.

[@cfldriven]

@@K0nst4nt1n96 Great question, yes you could draw power using this setup. Just have to be mindful not to run the battery all the way down.

[@Melanie16040]

3.5kW will keep your fridges and lights on. You should also be able to watch TV. But it won't let you run the water heater or AC.

[@cfldriven]

@@Melanie16040 It has no issues with the natural gas fed Rheem tankless unit. This only needs power for the igniter, electronics and exhaust. Obviously this would not work with an electric only tankless heater.

[@djarnoldo516]

Absolutely brilliant, meticulously detailed, well made video. However, a cautionary note. Prius has a 355V high voltage hybrid battery, and high voltage cables run all throughout the car. This makes it very risky to work on unless you are Prius electrical system trained and certified and know what you are doing. My mechanic won't work on Priuses for this reason -- too risky. So, do your 12V electrical work, but BE CAREFUL, and stay away from any orange or red cables -- these are high voltage.

[@cfldriven]

The nice this about this set up is it does not involve any of the high voltage components.

[@josephlieberman5324]

From my perspective that is the humbly well presented safer and relevant option for this sort of goal.

[@josephlieberman5324]

Significant and relevant comment.

[@cfldriven]

@@josephlieberman5324 Thank you, this is the reaction we were hoping to get.

[@cfldriven]

@@josephlieberman5324 It not a solution for everyone but it just another option to think about. Thanks for watching and taking the time to respond.

[@rickpalmer9518]

By simply using an 1kw inverter the surge is not enough to start my standard refrigerator- IT will run my furnace with a 240 watt circulation fan (not a split phase motor) NEW motor type and the rest of the house. So I run my generator for 1 hour every eight hours to recharge my batteries that power the rest of the house and the refrigerator is re-connected at that time.

[@TAGUPNBLUE]

Buy a generator instead

[@jamesalles139]

@@TAGUPNBLUE why not both?

[@cfldriven]

If you allow the frig to run all the time it will only draw a few watts to maintain temp, instead of having the frig run on high to cool down after being left off for 8 hours.

[@cfldriven]

@@jamesalles139 I agree multiple energy sources provide the most options during an outage.

[@rickpalmer9518]

@@cfldriven the fridges (NOT A LINEAR COMPRESSOR Older type 15 years old) surge compress exceeds the 1 kw inverter surge limit which shuts down hence the 8 hour limit (internal is around 38f -I run a 33/34 degree fridge(keeps most everything longer than average of 36df, my lettuce last way longer but the inverter batteries have to be charged anyway

[@teeing9355]

Don't need a Prius and all that wiring BS, just hook a 1500-watt invertor to any regular car battery, use an extension cord to your refrigerator, and idle your car for 30 minutes every 3 hours to keep food and medicine cool. To be safe, keep your running watts below 900-Watts. You know a 3500-Watt Generator only costs about $325, not much more than he spent.

[@MHawkeye]

the whole point of the video was that you didnt have to keep going out every few hours to start your vehicle and doing your suggestion on a regular vehicle would damage the battery a whole lot quicker because those batteries are not designed to be discharged that deep and then we have the other issue of the alternator brushes wearing out at a higher rate because it has to output high amperage over a longer duration, they are only designed(OEM) to recharge after the initial high load of the starter for a brief moment and then it just sits at normal operating amperage of around 40a for your normal load like lights and other electronics. the 3500w generator would be a waste of money in their case because those things use a whole lot more fuel, they could get a smaller genny since all they realistically need is the fridge to run and maybe a few LED lights but once again the prius would have it beat because not only does it start up on its own, its very efficient in recharging its HV battery so he would be getting a higher return on the kWh per gallon. the cost is the only issue i have with this video, they didnt need to go over $100 but i do acknowledge the convenience of being able to remove the inverter at anytime, personally i wouldnt do it.

[@stargazer7644]

I'd like to see an alternator that generates 450A back into the battery while idling. That's what you'd have to have to recharge a 900W draw in the schedule you outlined. And you're going to draw 187 amp hours out of the battery every 2.5 hours, so you better have a couple of extra ones in parallel.

[@MHawkeye]

​@@stargazer7644 your math aint mathing or im misunderstaing your post 450A at what voltage? at 12v, thats 5400w which is crazy cause thats windmill and hydro territory 900w load only requires 70A on a 12v system, which the prius can handle at short durations from my experience and so can most alternators, again short duration. i personally really hate AH talk because imo its the worst way to speak capacity. 187AH at what voltage? 2.5h??

[@koolumar101]

Bro used the right formula but got the wrong answer! Why not tap into the traction battery? It's capable of fast discharge, way way bigger capacity than the tiny 12v.

[@MHawkeye]

because it already has a built in inverter that keeps the 12v battery charged effectively using the capacity of the traction battery although there are some losses due to the conversions, if you can find another inverter that can accpet the HV from the traction battery please post a link.

[@koolumar101]

@rookm13 if only we make engine kick on when the traction battery is getting low that'd be the way!

[@MHawkeye]

@@koolumar101 tf did i just read

[@HAHA.GoodMeme]

tapping into 48v has a host of issues. for one its not safe to work on, 48v is high enough to shock yo ass. for two, most inverters are meant to run off 12v.

[@koolumar101]

@HAHA.GoodMeme not true, everyone is using 48v backup systems with the solar setups now. Just have to be careful.

[@truptuck88]

Are you sure this is all designed to work continuously. Is the 12V battery okay with the continuous discharge? The 12V 13:28 battery isn’t designed for continuous heavy discharge. I’m pretty sure the battery is designed for short periods of draw and continuous maintaining of charge. Constant load? I’m thinking the 12V battery is going to live a short life. You’ll have to keep us updated on this experiment. I always solder my joints as well. It’s easy and guarantees a solid connection.

[@alarce129]

Try thinking about it this way, when I drove over 500 miles this weekend the 12volt was supplying power for all the devices in the car, but since the DC/DC inverter supplies constant power to the car battery, it is not being drawn down, only the high voltage pack is. In our project the scenario is the same, except the car is not moving.

[@truptuck88]

The difference is about 600W. I’m guessing of course, but there’s a significant draw at 1000W. You should have recorded the 12V battery health before the experiment started and then slowly increased your load duration to see if there’s any degradation. The problem is, you’re assuming everything will be fine and you’ll only be putting it to the test when the power goes out. This could take some time.

[@briank10101]

fridges have high in-rush current which can overwhelm inverter.

[@dimesonhiseyes9134]

​@@briank10101most inverters can handle the surge. Most inverters can handle double the normal output for a surge.

[@galinstan5603]

In any vehicle the 12 Volt battery is a power source when the vehicle is off. Once the vehicle is on it becomes a load, due to the slightly higher voltage provided by the alternator or the traction battery as the case may be.

[@stephenbaker3680]

Like this vidio..as I got a portable "work station/camping/cabin temp.wannabe powerup by using six 12volt LiPo4 100AH paralleled batts, two roof-mount 100watt 12v solar pnls, added to my S-10's alternator output all handled via dual-source mppt 40amp charge controller. A sinewave 3KW(!) 12vdc to 120vac inverter successfully runs my old 12amp 120vac lawnmower or 12amp 120vac skilsaw IF(!).. ALL(!) my big thick guage welding cable terminals indeed ARE TIGHT!..HaHah!

[@cfldriven]

Sounds like you have quite the set up. I admire that you can go grid free and still use heavy amperage devices. Thank you for sharing.

[@WayneBain]

I would hook an inverter to a standard battery in an ICE vehicle only. You are setting yourself up for some very expensive repairs by using the Prius battery. It is designed to power a relay which switches on the main battery, this system is not designed for loads.

[@cfldriven]

But in ICE would have to run in idle the entire time, something it was not meant to do. The Prius is designed to cycle on and off along with feed and pulling electricity from the traction battery.

[@stargazer7644]

The headlights, fans, computer, dash electronics, radio, seat heaters, and basically everything else except for the MGs and AC compressor run off of that 12V system. And you're not using the 12V battery, you're using the DC-DC converter. Just like in a conventional ICE vehicle you'd be using the alternator, not the battery.

[@clownbooface2624]

Lexus Toyota DC DC converter s aren't rated for such continuous abuse, 30 to 40 amps is usual load with lights and accessories 1000w inverter is like 90a

[@cfldriven]

You have never driven a Prius as the DC DC converter is constantly running managing current flow from engine, traction battery, HVAC, accessories, 12v battery and regen. We driven this vehicle cross country several times so continuous use is not an issue. Using this system to generate less than 1000 watts AC (actually less than 800W) cycles the engine about every 20 to 40 minutes. The DC DC is fused at 125A, we fused our system at 100A and purposely draw a lot less. For the occasional power outage I think it a great alternative to a genie, however I would not use it as off grid power source. Thank you for sharing.

[@cfldriven]

@@khachquan8923 I have seen graphic animation of how it works and am still amazed that it does work.

[@cfldriven]

@@khachquan8923 It nice the system takes care of the charging without human intervention.

[@ThisisForTheTV]

What do you think this is 1957 and you only need a 40amp generator? xD No modern car has less than a 125amp alternator, a 92 Accord has a 125a alt. It's known that the 3rd Gen Prius 12v dc is current limited and fused to 125a.

[@cfldriven]

@@ThisisForTheTV Why would you draw the fused amperage? First the vehicle uses some of that power for its own use, second in an emergency you are looking to limit the use of resources that are in short supply. Due to Helene our entire area was without power and thus fuel stations had no way of pumping it out. By limiting that amount we draw we can extend our fuel usage (one tankful lasted 10 days of 24/7 use) and we didn't overtax the car and inverter electronics, and it met our needs.

[@stephenbaker3680]

To eivis13...Try FINDing a direct DC to AC (TRANS)-verter! THEY hard ti find!

[@marcwa5067]

Those lock washers on the inverter are in the wrong spot.

[@cfldriven]

What would be the correct way?

[@llaughton69]

@@cfldriven Take ALL nuts and washers off. Then the order is: LUGS, Flat washers. Spring washers and then the nuts.

[@cfldriven]

@@llaughton69 Thank you for this info, I now have another weekend project. I appreciate the quick response.

[@christopherm1475]

But you must keep engine running. So more wear on engine and more carbon buildup on valves for lack of rev speed. Your cars electrical system is also using up power. If you do this more then a little bit, it may be cheaper to buy a 1000w generator.

[@cfldriven]

Unlike a non-hybrid vehicle the Prius engine cycles on and off as needed to recharge the traction battery. It cycles more often during high demand and seldom during low demand. While some generators can throttle none of them can cycle off to conserve fuel.

[@motorenbastler9289]

@@cfldriven yes and that will destroy any engine. A engine needs to run on a certain level of load. So you will be cheaper running a generator since a prius engine is a expensive thing to destroy

[@stargazer7644]

@@motorenbastler9289 Seriously why do people feel the need to express their expertise about things they have absolutely no understanding of? That's how the Prius engine works for its entire life. It turns on/off as needed to keep the battery charged while driving. That's how it achieves such high MPG.

[@motorenbastler9289]

@@stargazer7644 true why do people need to comment when they dont have an expertise at all?? I understand that.. Seriously: But when you are driving you have LOAD on the engine and than more TEMPERATURE on the coolant and engine oil. Seriously have a look into your own mirror until you say to me i dont have expertise. I am a mechanic since 2014 so SU