Portable non-gas generator charging Prime

you will need at least 120 VAC capable of delivering 12 amps continuously for five hours and ten minutes so that's 120 VAC times 12 Amps = 1440 watts continuously

 

Or you could go the 8 amp route, but the the charging time is much longer than 5 hours and ten minutes so 120 VAC times 8 Amps = 960 watts for forever. it takes 6.3 KWH full battery capacity so about 7 hours to charge

 

just put it in charge mode.

 

DUH!!!!!! done in a half hour

 

The car will charge very efficiently in charge mode or preferably in ECO and in the process lose none of the range that was charged at home. The amount of gasoline used is minicule. Much more efficient than a auxially generator.

 

idk, #2 above looks pretty interesting.

 

I agree, only if his needs are tiny, for camping or he waits for perfect solar conditions, in winter?

 

I have a 20 kw whole house generator and would not even think of charging my car while it was running. Every manual I've read says not to charge the car off a generator.

 

If the generator can run central air, I think it should be able to charge a car.
That said, if your plug in already has a generator, which could also provide auxiliary propulsion, built in, just use that. Odds are it will be more fuel efficient than charging with a generator.

 

Interesting - I wonder why they would say that? I'd think that if a generator is capable of sustaining the load of charging then it would be fine. I tried using the supplied 110-volt charger with my portable generator to charge the car and it seemed to work fine - I was running the generator for its regular periodic operation and it seemed more sensible to use the energy to charge the car than to just waste it into a resistive heater for a load.

 

I have not tried charge mode but plan on it soon. What amazes me is how little the tech support people know about their own product. Lame

 

If the generator is pure sine wave, can handle resistive as well as inductive loads, has an output of at least 3500 watts for 220, or 1500 watts 120 it will be fine. If either 220 or 120 is higher you will need more watts. My 220 is closer to 230, my 120 is spot on. My 220 charger is the max current Toyota will allow on 220 which is 16amps

 

See where it says "220Wh" or "270Wh"? A full Ev charge for your Prime will demand 6,300Wh.

 

Of course the next question is why does the OP want to use gasoline to charge the traction battery? Even using charge mode it's not going to be as efficient I don't think as just driving the car in HV.

 

Colby, the bottom line is you'd have to have a battery that's bigger than your Prime's battery to make that happen. That's a multi-thousand dollar battery, a multi-hundred dollar charger for the battery, a multi-hundred dollar inverter, and at least a hundred pounds of extra weight.

See if the school would let you use an outside outlet. Maybe a suitable extension cord and 5 hours on L1 would help you.