2000w Inverter Install

Every now and then I see a high power inverter pop up on amazon or aliexpress... 220v dc input (from traction battery) to 120v ac out.

They used to be thousands of dollars. Now they're maybe one thousand. Progress.

 

Cheaper than what I bought? I haven't needed it yet, but I did try it out and it seems to work great.

 

Asking the dumb questions: Basically you installed an inverter that draws power from your 12 volt to power things you plug in the back?

 

I'm not sure who you're asking. As for me, I have an inverter so that I can connect it to the 12V battery to power my refrigerator and a few lights and fans if we lose power for an extended time after a hurricane.

 

I am waiting to hear the information on soon to be released 3kW and 5kW inverters from PLUGOUT POWER (formerly known as ConVerdant Vehicles). I suspect it will be super expensive, but if it is less than a stand-by generator, I may give a serious thought on getting one for our whole house hook-up.

 

You have to do some calculations to see if this would work. Prius modules are 7.2 volt 6.5 amp-hour (when new) capacity. This is about 45 watt-hours per module. Using 4 packs in series (~29 volts) gives 180 watt-hours which at 4000 watts would be fully discharged in less than 3 minutes. Besides, the current draw would be more than the 100-130 amp maximum that the modules can support for short periods. You need to keep the current draw below about 30 to 40 amps continuous (they need cooling to keep from overheating) which limits you to about 1000 watt loads and a duration of about 12 minutes to full discharge. Paralleling modules is possible, but needs to be done carefully and maintaining system balance will be complicated.

 

By the way, I did not discover this. Someone else here on PC found it, but I can't remember who it was. I searched and came up empty even with google.

 

I got a 2,000-W harbor freight inverter running off my 12-volt battery. I use around 1800 watts of it

 

Wow, what do you use that requires 1800watts and do things start running hot after long duration of continuous power?

 

There is a 100 amp fusible link that provides power to the 12v buss in a Prius. If you are really using 1800 watts, which is about 150 amps at 12v, you are risking blowing that fuse (about a $25 part). The 12v battery smooths out short peak loads, but the 100 amp limit is why it is suggested that a 1000 watt inverter is the highest capacity one suggested unless you get an inverter that directly connects to the 200v traction battery.

JeffD

 

So what do you think is the max watt for an inverter that directly connects to the traction battery in Prius Prime? Would the Prime having larger 8.8kwh traction battery compared to 0.75kwh in regular Prius able to have larger inverter?

 

From a simple electrical standpoint, oh yeah! You could put something huge in there.

From the standpoint of a balanced system, I would not want to install inverter capacity beyond what the car's gas engine can resupply during stationary charging- I've heard this cited as around 20kW for MG1.

And from the standpoint of the consumer, this kind of thing is sort of worth doing with small and cheap inverters. Once you get to a certain size it is going to be cheaper just to get a dedicated generator in most cases. Right now I'd call that break-even for about 3kW.

 

I am interested in new version v4 of PlugOut inverter formerly know and sold as Converdant. PlugOut Power

They have soon to be released new models of 3kw and 5kw inverter that works with Gen4 Prius. Priced at $2400 for 3kw and $2900 for 5 kw, they are pricier than portable gas engine generator of the similar size, but benefit of having a quiet and fuel efficient generator that also functions as a car is very attractive to me. My current set up of portable 6kw dual fuel generator works fine, but it requires refuel every 8 hours, and it is so loud that we cant sleep when it's on.

Here are threads that discuss older model of their inverter.
Prius Prime plug-out, backup power supply for house | PriusChat
Prius Whole house Converdant Inverter | PriusChat

 

The low noise and large fuel tank/long runtime from a hybrid car are nice advantages, I can't deny that.

You can buy extra fuel capacity and means of silencing your current rig for much less than a car-based replacement. Although I haven't done anything for the current generator at the current house, I have installed aftermarket mufflers and baffles on others very successfully.

Now this one is a biggie: There is essentially a zero probability that a family member will be using our generator out of town when a power outage strikes, but that's a non-zero probability for the Prius.

Related: My emergency generator has never been rear-ended at a stoplight and then been stuck in a body shop for a month while I rented a car.

Related: I never had to complicate my car-replacement plans by figuring out whether I could use the new one as an emergency generator.

Let's not forget reliability. With the offgrid vacation house we've had plenty of practice at mailing dead inverters back to the manufacturer. Sometimes you see the lightning strike, sometimes you have no idea why it just won't turn on. With the generator, most zipcodes have easy access to a small engine repair shop or three. I do think it's worth differentiating here- we want that vacation house to run from solar fed batteries via inverters, so we've made the investment and accepted some equipment failures to get clean quiet everyday power. Converdant/Plugout may not be that far from you, but hey... they already went under once, is that the track record you want backing your emergency system?

For emergency power, I prefer a lower-tech, high-availability approach. Mufflers and gas tanks aren't hard.

 

I have an 8 kwatt emergency generator that handles my whole house (except the AC), but it is not very portable. Having an inverter that uses my Prius as a power source means that I always have AC power with me on trips.

 

Yeah, I hear you. Simple is better for most part. But for emergency power need I would think daily drive Prius to be used as a generator via inverter is likely to be far more reliable than my $500 portable generator that sit in the garage with stale gasoline for months if not years. For that day of emergency, I like one push starting engine in Prius. I was thinking of installing automatic back-up generator, but in our local without natural gas line, that means I have to have a large tank of propane on site and regular maintenance. Yes, its 100% automatic, but the cost of maintenance and installation alone will exceed the inverter price. In fact total set up would be close to the cost of a Prius.

 

I like your approach- a generator well-attuned to the home + the convenience of portable power in your car.

 

Huh, how likely is this to happen.
I've been using a 3000 watt inverter on my camping trips. My inverter is located in the engine compartment.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

I wish this was easy. Converting 400v down cost as much as a whole inverter setup.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

It's ok to use a 3K watt inverter, as long as you're only making use of a max of 1500w... Some argue using 1/2 or less of an inverter's potential output is more efficient and less problematic than using max watts of an inverter that's 1/2 the output.