Whenever I hear "activation of storm spotters is likely" I head to the gas station and top-off. A full tank a gas in Prius that has a 1kW inverter is 'money in the tank.' Bob Wilson
I do not see how it qualifies as 'money in the bank'. We get regular storms through this area. I blew a foot of powder from our driveway this morning, and it just started snowing again 30 minutes ago. We only gas-up when the vehicle is running low.
In Bob's case, they mean tornados and damaging winds. The car could provide power for the home in the event of potential power outages. It's probably more money in the bank than we care to think about.
Tornados and high winds mean that you need more gas in your vehicle? I live in a dense forest. We have blowdowns which pull down the power lines every few weeks. In 6+ years of living here, we have yet to see a full month go by without a power outage. We already have three homes here in town that are off-grid, and more shift to off-grid every year. I am in process of installing solar-power. The desire to have reliable power is a large motive among homeowners here. Are you suggesting that using a Prius as a source of home electrical power is economical? As far as I am aware, every home here has at least one generator already installed. I find it hard to imagine that a Prius would be an economical home generator.
"As far as I am aware, every home here has at least one generator already installed. I find it hard to imagine that a Prius would be an economical home generator." Oh,boy......here we go.
I know that I was happy the night before our first snow storm a few weeks back that I filled up the night before, even though it was incredibly windy and cold and I didn't need to. Since I had to throw the dogs in the car and get on the road before things got too bad the following day, I was happy to at least have a full tank. Not sure if the full tank helps traction, but growing up, my Dad always filled up the cars before it snowed and I follow that tradition. The only painful part was seeing my mpg going down to 16 mpg. Its the stuff of nightmares I tell you! I wouldn't use my car as a generator of any sort, and find that sort of thing a bit unrealistic, but whatever floats your boat...
Bob, I also filled up for each of the predicted ice storms in NC and was ready for a power outage. Fortunately we never lost power. Like you say, it was money in the bank, as the Prius was ready. Dwight
If there's some snow in the forecast, for sure I'll top up. Not for generator, just so it's something I don't have to deal with in tough conditions. Hasn't happened much the last couple of winters though. Winters getting pretty mild around here.
Even if you don't use the Prius for a backup generator, the possibility of being stuck in 10-20 hour traffic jams from idiots that can't drive in the white stuff is enough to make you want to keep it topped up. It doesn't hurt anything.
A major problem with any standby generator is keeping fresh gasoline available. Using the Prius solves that pretty neatly, if you keep the tank filled.
I was stuck in a 5 1/2 hour traffic jam and appreciated the full tank, just not the low mpg. Although I must clear up that the reason for this was entirely to blame on idiots that didn't know how to drive. Instead, it was due to the idiots who decided to close work and school early all at once, forcing everyone in the city to immediately get on to the road and cause a traffic jam that was aggravated when the sun finally went down and the roads turned into ice rinks because they couldn't be treated due to the traffic. It was an embarrassment to the city of Atlanta because no one believed that we could be affected in that way. Lesson learned. Personally, I have never needed to use a generator and using my car as one seems just as pointless, because there isn't one piece of equipment in my house that I cannot live with if the power goes out. if someone else finds that useful than so be it. But, I don't live in an area that has a need like that. We have a fireplace that has proven very useful during various weather events, we have no shortage of animals that like to cuddle, and our power lines are entirely underground in the area I live in which seems to help improve our odds because I can count on one hand the amount of times we have lost power longer than an hour in the over ten years we have lived here. I always prepare for the worst and am I suppose one of the few that doesn't stock up on bread, eggs and milk when the threat of a power outage looms.
Unfortunately, Raleigh didn't learn its lesson from out neighbors to the south. The exact same thing happened here causing gridlock and stranded motorists everywhere. The Governor said we were prepared but... Guess it's part of the charm of living in the south Salt is for barbeque
Now I understand why you see a backup generator as unnecessary. Where I live, we loose power several times per year, and once went without power for 5 days. Since water pumps for the well rely on electricity, we went without running water for 5 days. My grandparents had to stay with my parents since their only source of heat is the heat pump. They were too disabled to spit wood and run the fireplace. The natural gas fireplace ran, but without the electric fan blowing the warm air, which reduced the heating efficiency. Toilets had to be manually filled from the stored water supply and flushed only when absolutely needed. Light was provided by kerosene lamps. I found it fun living without electricity, but for some people, especially those with disabilities, it's tough to go more than a few hours without power.
Everything from being parked in a gridlocked traffic jam to power outages. BRW, the April 2011 tornadoes wiped out the transmission lines from the power plants to the customer cities and industrial plants. Bob Wilson
About a month or so ago, I had to hook up the Prius because the power was out. What was nice about the PiP was the ICE didn't turn on until just before the main power was restored.
So true. It was horrible to see what was happening up there and how it was nearly a carbon copy to what mistakes we made in Atlanta. The biggest disappointment wasn't necessarily that happening, but the response by the mayor of Atlanta. But, I will be ordering a snow shovel, and preparing for snow from now on. I think this weather is something that we need to accept as a regular occurrence. I know I don't want to be stuck at my hotel working for two days nearly non-stop ever again.
