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Can PiP be charged (120V) while driving?

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by Eugene Beer, May 13, 2013.

  1. Eugene Beer

    Eugene Beer Junior Member

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    Just curious, if gasoline is hard to come by with spot shortages in the coming years, can the PiP be charged via the external plug-in socket while driving? I have a portable 4Kwh battery bank with 2000W 120V inverter that I could load into the car and charge while driving doing short errands, to get, hopefully, more like 20 mi on pure electric. The inverter outputs a modified sinewave--would that work OK with the plug-in charging circuitry?
     
    #1 Eugene Beer, May 13, 2013
  2. mrbigh

    mrbigh Prius Absolutum Dominium

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    NO...the internal PiP "on board charger" will not aloud the HSD to operate.
     
    #2 mrbigh, May 13, 2013
  3. Flaninacupboard

    Flaninacupboard Senior Member

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    Eugene, you could use a DC-DC converter to charge the plugin pack from your portable pack, this is how the Enginer system works. If your pack is/can be configured to run at 48V then the converter from the enginer kit is available for about $350 IIRC.
     
    #3 Flaninacupboard, May 13, 2013
  4. Electric Charge

    Electric Charge Active Member

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    Using it to 'charge' the PiP while driving wouldn't work, but if you could use that battery pack to 'extend' the existing pack (similar to the other battery pack options available right now), then you would have a working option (as Flaninacupboard mentioned above) , but you would need the right interface.

    That's a hell of a battery bank tho, would love more details about that!
     
    #4 Electric Charge, May 13, 2013
  5. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    As it is, it's not uncommon to get 600-800 miles of range out of the PiP's 9 gallon tank, so you're in much better shape than ordinary car owners.
    Instead of spending thousands to get another ten miles of range now and then, just store ten or fifty gallons of fuel. Ba-da-bing! 600 to 4,000 miles of range there. That'll get you through a shortage with ease.
     
    #5 Rebound, May 14, 2013
    DadofHedgehog likes this.
  6. bielinsk

    bielinsk Gremlin

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    I thought it was a 10 gallon tank.

    Yep, I checked, it is a 10.6 gallon tank. Single bar turns on and beeps with like 2.6 gallons remaining.
     
    #6 bielinsk, May 15, 2013
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