My install and review of the AIMS Prius 2kW Pure Sine Wave Inverter for Backup Power Generator

Bob,

A little off topic but, I was thinking about getting the power cable from the inverter out of the Prius and in to the house during bad weather. How do you get your cable out of the car but yet keep it sealed from wind and rain?

Dwight

 

I had a chance to check out TECHNTREK's Prius-to-House setup - he uses a Gen II. His house power cord exits the Prius at the bottom of the rear hatch, where the weather seal has enough gap to let the cord out while still providing a decent seal. The hatch lip protects the exit point from direct weather. There was enough space between the body and the inside of the hatch to let the cord out without pinching it.

 

Thanks. I need to go back and revisit his thread and take a look. I was not sure that the weather seal was deep enough for the cable to allow the hatch to close. Apparently it is. I have a fairly large SO cord that I plan to use and will try this and see.

 

I have a similar arrangement in my garage and was thinking along the same lines. I would prefer to have the Prius in the garage during storm conditions, especially hurricane force winds. I need to start looking for flexible exhaust hoses and see what I can find.

 

No these inverters are not stackable you cannot feed 2 of these 120V AC inverters into a panel that has an input of 240V AC. You can use 2 of these inverters on the same battery bank and feed 2 isolated 120V AC panels. If feeding a panel that is also fed by GRID power you will have to install a manual disconnect to isolate the inverter and grid source to the panel.
The inverter is protected from overload by lowering the AC output voltage. The surge time on this inverter is 40 milliseconds anything longer and the inverter will shut off and require a restart.

 

Welcome aboard. Thanks for the feedback.

 

I went by Advance Auto on the way home from work and while there looked for flexible exhaust hose. They had a few different ID's around the 2" size, 2 1/8", 2 1/4", etc. in 6 feet lengths for ~ $28. I came home and measured the Prius tail pipe and it is about 1 7/8" OD. So the 2" flexible hose would be just about right.

 

Thanks. I will check that out next time. The one in the link is only 18" long. I need more like 6 feet minimum.

 

Thanks!

A manual restart, right? If so, this is good as our first inverter had an automatic restart and it led to a slow-speed, oscillation due to inrush surge.

I've seen reports of 'soft start' inverters which if I understand correctly, they ramp up the output voltage. This allows handling inrush loads from bridge rectifier fed, capacitor banks common in many power supplies. Not so great for motors but the ramp up is within a second or so motors can still start.

Do you have a program for reaching other, early customers who might not be aware of the B- to ground problem? The 1991 ISO-9000 standard required keeping customer records so any revisions could be communicated to them. Later versions were less precise about customer records and updates when problems are found and corrected.

I have your 12V, 1.5kW inverter in my wife's 2010 Prius. On a recent trip in cold weather, freezing rain and scattered showers, I could not turn on the inverter. Does it have a low-temperature sensor that inhibits turning on if too cold? Later, on a warmer day, it started right up.

I prefer to keep my inverters mounted, safely in the car. This way we have power for laptops on trips and avoid I**R losses from connectors and other circuit protection devices. But it also means the inverter is exposed to temperature ranges of a parked car. Just curious how this unit handles the cold.

Some of my electronic design magazines have identified electrolytic caps as being the primary, low temperature constraint. Does this match your understanding?

BTW, welcome to the forum. This is not the only place where Prius folks gather but it is a good one. Many of us have presence in other forums and I for one have no problem with sharing with others.

Bob Wilson

 

I just got a call from Andrew with AIMS. He said the problem was a metal washer had been used rather than a nylon washer on a stand-off insulator screw close to the DC input on the inverter board. He said he found three metal washers had been used but only one was making a ground connection. So my unit should be on the way back tomorrow with the DC input isolated from case ground.

The thing that ticks me off is that it sounds like it was one of the screws that I had loosened but did not completely remove to inspect the washer. I think I wiggled the screw around to see if I could get a change in the resistance but did not.

Andrew said he would email me a picture of the screw and washer. I will post this once receive it.

 

Metal screws or did the washer make the short to case by itself?

I'm used to seeing insulating washers that have a raised inner rim and a wider flat. The inner rim holds the metal screw away from the center screw.

Where their screws nylon?

Bob Wilson

 

I am sure they would let you repair your own since they let me try with mine. It can be easily repaired once you know what the issue is. I will post the picture that Andrew sends me that should show you where the metal washers were found.

 

The screws were metal on both ends, from top side of board and underneath where it attaches to the case. I am used to seeing nylon screws used with nylon standoff insulators also.

The washers were just small ones that were hidden by the screw heads. That is why I had a hard time telling whether they were nylon or metal without fully removing the screws

 

The more that I think about this I remembered that they are not screws but metal threaded rods that are screwed in to the nylon insulator. Then there are nuts with washers that anchor the board to the nylon insulator. The washers are hidden underneath the nuts and are hard to see without removing the nuts completely.

The ones that were easy to get to I remember removing the nut and checking the washers. All of the washers that I checked were nylon. The others that were not easy to get to I just loosened the nut to the top of the threaded rod and then tried wiggling the rod to see if I could see a change in resistance.

 

I sent AIMS an email inquiring about the use of metal screws (rods) versus nylon. Andrew's response was due to the weight of the board that the nylon screws would have failed under the weight of the board and any side shifting inside the case.