Getting ready for Hurricane Irma

all the best with the storm!

how do you install an inverter that big, directly to the hybrid battery?

 

i've read you can only put a 1000w inverter on the 12v, but i have no idea why.

 

The Prius uses a 201 volt to 12-14 volt DC-DC converter to charge the 12 volt battery- there is no alternator. Look at the power wires going to the battery - they are fairly small cables, because the 12 volt battery doesn't need to produce the starting motor current of a car. That said, your 1800 watts of load would be E x I = P , 12v x 150 amps= 1800 watts
Too much current for the Prius DC-DC converter. Also the wires back to the converter are way too small for that load. Send the 3000 watt inverter back. Look at the size of those battery wires- if they are #6 wires- 60 amps- that would be a max of 700 watts. Personally, unless I knew from Toyota that the converter was designed for 700 watts continuous load, I wouldn't go any more that 300 watts continuous load.

 

pretty sure bob wilson pulls close to a thousand watts, and maybe #4 wire?

 

If you take too much from 12V system 12V battery will drain. I don’t know the exact limit for gen 1 Prius but around 1000w might be close. But as OP has “large AGM Optima” it can provide current for some time until it gets empty. So as long as aware load is not more than about 1000w he should be fine if high power consumption event don’t last that long. Half an hour with that 1800w load might come close to the limit with that one large optima.

 

do those units have start up specs vs run specs?

 

i'm no expert, but i believe there is a start up draw to a compressor. don't know if it can be calculated from run draw. maybe @valde3 knows.

 

No it can’t be calculated. You may kind of estimate it. But it doesn’t really matter a good big optima will supply enough power to the inverter that can supply enough power for the startup.

 

Good luck with that.

To produce 1800 watts, it will draw (or try to draw) about 150 amps from the 12 V system.......continuously.
That is WAY, WAY beyond it's design capability, no matter how many batteries you have connected.

What's the cost of that 3KW inverter, as compared to a 3 KW portable generator ??

I think this is a very BAD plan.

 

I didn't realize inverters had gotten that inexpensive. Nothing wrong with having it oversized as long as you keep an eye on it. I wouldn't go over 1kw load in order to protect the car. As for the question about startup amperage, our rule of thumb in the electric shop was that startup current is about 600% of FLA (full load amperage) until the motor is up to synchronous speed. Which gets thrown out the window with soft starts or variable frequency drives.

Keep us posted on how it works and how you're doing. We are probably sticking it out here in New Port Richey, but will know more in the morning. Right now, it looks like you're almost dead center in Irma's crosshairs.

 

I have a 800 watt (900 watt peak), 2 cycle engine generator that will run a 5000 watt A/C or a 700 watt microwave= take your pick. I wish that 1.2 gal tank was 1.5 gal. then it would run for 10 hrs= all night long.
I have a 5500 watt generator, that has 2 male end 115v plugs on the 230 power cord- I wired a double duplex outlet to the bottom of my house panel- the ivory outlet is on one phase and the brown outlet on the other phase. All I need to do is turn off the main breaker, plug the cord into the outlets and start the generator. I can run two window A/C and my fridge, freezer, TV and a few lights on that one generator. The small 800 watt one is a back up. Looks like I may have to fire up the generator for at least a day, maybe two, due to Irma passing 50-60 miles from me.
Mark
retired electrician from UAW and IBEW

 

No it won't. Maybe you meant to say 5000 BTU ??

 

An 800 watt generator is good for lights, maybe a radio or a small TV. Or a couple of fans. I have a bunch of Hitachi batteries and flashlights. You could run a couple of chargers, for less than 500 watts. Not an A/C certainly. A portable hair dryer draws 1500 watts. As for running a 3000 watt inverter off a Gen 1 Prius with two deep cycle batteries, I'm skeptical to say the least.

It's too late for this set of storms, but Harbor Freight has a 3000/3500 watt generator that's quiet and clean for $699. Buy the extended warranty of course. But it would more likely do what you want it to, for less money and wear & tear on your Prius.

Good luck with both the storms. I suspect if you're close to the water, Orlando will still be pretty intense.

 

Goofy forum software=double post.