Living In My Prius And 12 Volt Woes

12.5 is a little low. Granted the on-board meter can't take a true no-load reading but if you ever do get equipped with a real meter you're looking for about 12.7 with zero load. It will naturally drop with other loads active.

Good luck with the grocery deal. I've considered using a delivery service just for the novelty; I can see where some people would have already grown dependent on it.

 

One downside to delivering groceries is in the Produce. Customers will demand you pick out the perfect peach, the greenest lettuce, the ripest avocados, etc. And If the store doesn't have an item on a client's list you are 'on the clock' contacting them for alternative item. They can take forever deciding, all the while you are being pressured to make the Delivery on time.

All these Services have their own App, but sometimes you must contact Customer Service to fix issues with a Resturant not cooperating, or an order that hasn't updated, or even random crashes. A lot of distracted driving happens, I used a retired smartphone on a Tethered connection just to use for GPS backup. It's not for the impatient.

Good luck.

 

Hey man. I feel you. I have tried them all.
Uber doesn’t pay enough
Grub hub is good and can average $20 an hour if you are in a good market. However you have to dedicate a 4 hour shift.
I have found Postmates to me awesome. Turn it on anytime you want to work turn it off when you finished. Zero time commitment. I can work for 20 minutes or all day. Pay is not bad and everyone is happy to get food delivery.
Amazon Flex is good but you need a smartphone with a good battery. I use an iPhone 6 and shifts are awesome right now. 3 to 4 hours at a time If you do 2 shifts a day you can make $150 a day without talking to anybody. But you will need room in your car.
Maybe if you invest in a roof rack with a cargo box down the road it would work for you. Talk to a local church and ask for permission to park on their property at night
If you have permission you are not trespassing and will be good. Walmart parking lots can be sketchy. Just be polite with the police and they should be cool.
Good evening officer goes a long way.
Cheers

 

Don't risk it with the 12v Prius battery to power stuff like laptops. It will drain it fast.

Try to get yourself a power station that can be solar charged.

Something like a Jakery 500. Enough to run typical laptop much of the day. If your laptop consumes 65watt. A 500watt power station can give you 8 hrs of run time. 500whr/65w = 7.7hrs. It will also charge from solar, car or regular plug.

Lead acid car batteries don't like to be drained too low (usually below 40%) or they will die faster. Which doesn't give you much run time.



Life isn't easy but take the steps to be responsible for things that happen in life. Stuff like this is a good experience toward responsibility and self reliance.

 

Given your circumstances you definitely need to be on the lookout for a spare (used) 12v battery,
for boosting (it will happen again) and try to get a cheap charge controller ($20) and use it for your isolated laptop power !
(be sure to fuse both terminals of the spare battery at the posts(due to multiple battery), keep it separated from anything to do with your car except when charging with a charge controller)
(get a cheap meter to monitor things, watch it drain)
(get a FIRE/co alarm and be careful) (secure it and vent it?)

Offer free pickup on Craigslist of car batteries, there are people wanting someone to take these away,
they are heavy and cannot be put out in the trash, you will be drowning in batteries, find a good one,
sell the others to wreckers expect 3-7$ (or so at least years ago)

You sound like a good kid.
Good Luck

 

i got this battery free on Craigslist.org / select for_sale /select free and then search for batteries.

It's a lithium motorcycle battery (12v) that I've used 3 times to jump start my car. i also 2 more regular (wet cell)12v batteries t that i could use as well.

i feel your pain about living in your prius - I'm doing the same these days.

i feel your pain about the police too. i had an officer from Castro Valley knock down my privacy shields (silver reflectic cut for all windows $9.99 Home Depot. When he came thru my window shields, i let out a massive way cry (high pitched and shrill) - his was apparently the same.

Once we caught our respective breath, his partner immediately accused me of being a meth user because i have a torch (type of lighter that can't be blown out) out on my seat.

I passed all thier tests (not talking fast, something about my tongue, and counting a minute almost to the second - except standing still. i stood still when they challenged me. one wanted to arrest me regardless - for the torch and my great big knife. And i think they would have, except i mentioned thier b and e while i was legally parked and thier illegal searches. of my car. surprisingly, they left me alone.


Honestly, i haven't slept a full night and i have become uber paranoid ( see what i did thurr) all the time. i had to get new shields since mine went missing the next day.

i have the same questions about solar/wind turbines for extra power when the car is off. i was given a deep cycle agm solar battery which needs repair (see pics)

I'm probably going to do door dash for some spending money while i figure out this whole work thing.


Posted via the PriusChat mobile,,/c app.
1

 

Hey, pay attention to that max charge rate on that battery. Yours says 7amps, and you'd be wise to stick to it as well as using a charger that will kick off automatically. Lithium does not take kindly to being overcharged or charged too fast. You see any signs of swelling, take that battery a good 50ft away from you and leave it there. Lithium will explode and catch fire, so be sure you put it in an area where your not going to start the next forest fire.

 

thank you. i went back and read the whole battery. this is a little powerHouse.

jerome

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Check it. (Luscious Garage link)

 

Feel for you, but if you were driving that slow and had cars stacked up behind you then "maybe" it would have been a good idea to pull off the road and let them go around. I hate to say it, but 7 cars stacked is quite a bit. On a sidenote, the Amish buggies here in Indiana all have the "slow moving vehicle" triangle on them. It's also quite obvious that a horse drawn vehicle is not capable of high speeds. So is driving your disabled vehicle comparable? No not really.

As for impounding your vehicle. Yeah, that is a bit questionable. I could understand if it was incapable of moving....

 

Read that ticket to make sure you aren't to appear in traffic court. Bad as this already is you probably don't want it to grow into a warrant.

 

Thanks for the update. I'm glad to hear you are back home. If the car has been sitting in your parents' yard for the last 3 months, I guess you have found a way to keep from annoying each other too much. We need to stay close to family in these times of uncertainty. I hope that things go well for you, even if we never hear from you again, now that you no longer own a running Prius.