Prius: What electric appliances can I safely run?

[awpz0r]

Hey all. Just trying to see what I can run in a Prius safely. I realize some things will require a cig lighter inverter and for the car to be running while in use. Can ready mode support everything or do you actually need to be driving around to produce the power required?

How big of a cig lighter inverter is safe?

I like the idea of only needing 1 type of energy, and I wouldn't want to store propane, butane, or white fuel in the car so I am hoping to cook with an induction cooktop. I know nothing about electricity but the one I am looking at on amazon right now requires 120volts and 15 amps. Can a simple cig lighter inverter work for this? Will the car being in ready mode provide the required power without risking anything?

Electric kettle would also require 120v, don't see an amp rating but it says it needs 1500 watts. 

Can a 12v dometic or similar compressor fridge work 24/7 even when the car is off by using the 12v battery? Not sure if these need to be on 24/7 or how often you should run the car when using electricity from the 12v. 

Other than charging my phone/laptop those would be the only things. Laptop might require a lot of power actually.. I am looking into getting a low powered laptop in the future.

 

[awpz0r]

Also, I am guessing these draw 2 much power so I will probably need a separate power source such as a yeti or some sort of golf cart batteries. Can these be recharged by the car?

 

[awpz0r]

Would a roof rack with a solar panel + battery system be something I should look into?

 

[Rabbit]

I maybe shouldn't answer this, since I know very little about Priuses. But...

You can buy an inverter of pretty much any size you'll ever need so long as you have a place where you can connect heavy cables with proper fittings directly to an adequate right-voltage battery. I was just minutes ago shopping for a 2000 watt inverter for a home project of my own-- they're measured in terms of watts, and as you can see a 2000 watt unit should take care of all the devices you mentioned, so long as you only use one at a time. Watts are what you want to track for this purpose. (I'll note in passing that I found several slow, small boilers on Amazon all the way down to 400 watts, though it took considerable digging. They were cheap, too. It may be that if you give up on the induction cooktop and go with a fossil-fuel stove to cook on and buy a lower-powered boiler, you could save a _lot_ of money on the inverter.)

Given that the drivetrain on a Prius is partially battery-powered, there's about got to be adequate battery power aboard for this sort of thing, and the engine ought to be able to act as the most convenient generator I can imagine. What I don't know is if there's a good place to tap serious power at the 12 volts nominal that you'll require. Given such a wonderful and efficient free generator and battery, I'd personally consider solar to be a pointless pain in the behind if there is indeed an easy way just to hook up an inverter. Or even a not-so-easy way-- that's inherently a _beautiful_ setup, in my eyes, and I'd go to great lengths to find a way if I had to. But, if I were a betting man I'd put my money on it being easy-peasy.

Here's a few links you might find useful. By the way, if you're going to hook an inverter to anything electronic it really ought to be a "pure sine wave" type, not "modified sine wave". You want to be very sure of that, even with the little ones. All the below are pure sine, though they are of various price and quality. I'm just forwarding a few random large ones of many available. Smaller ones are _much_ cheaper, if you find you can go with the slower boiler and fossil-fuel stove.

I accidentally intermingled the boilers and inverters in the list below. Sorry!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D8TWPE...olid=16YEP39VJOBUP&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DNXUIG...olid=16YEP39VJOBUP&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015S8B48...olid=16YEP39VJOBUP&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M2CARA...olid=16YEP39VJOBUP&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078LSBLZ...olid=16YEP39VJOBUP&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Off-G...d=1531824506&sr=8-3&keywords=Renogy+2000+watt

 

[John61CT]

Standard ciggie sockets are IMO a dangerous abortion, avoid like the plague for anything important, or that you use regularly, or for more than a few minutes. inherently poor design, IMO a dangerous abortion,  avoid like the plague

Never more than 5-6A and for short periods, even then they are risky.

Blue Sea has a nice socket design that twist-locks with the matching plug, but will also accept standard ciggie plugs for smaller (<10A) loads.

Also the BMW/ Hella/ Merit/ Powerlet "Euro-style DIN" (ISO 4165) style is very robust.

Anderson plugs for high amps.

If you standardize on one of the last two types, there are adapters for guests, temporary use of devices with standard ciggie plugs.

 

[Ken in Anaheim]

Stop by the "Prius Camping" group on facebook. Lot'sa good info.............

 

[kygreg]

You can use the cigarette plug for small inverters, like 200 watt. But that will not power anything that has a heating element or compressor. You can go up to about 1500-2000 watts if you attach directly to the battery in the back of the car. However that's a lot of power to draw from just one 12 volt battery. It will drain fast and the prius engine will be starting all the time to keep it charged. Some people have tapped into the main traction battery, but that's a big project that requires a lot of skill and money for the expensive inverter, it also voids your warranty. It's best to cook with propane / butane / alcohol and use the car for sleeping with AC or heat.

 

[Ken in Anaheim]

From what I've read, keeping the Prius in "on" position and using an inverter the Prius actually uses less gas-per-volt generated than a Honda 2000i generator. And if you get an inverter, definitely hook it up to the 12v battery in back. The ciggy socket is for very low draw items. With a 1500-2000 watt (pure sine wave) inverter you can run an induction cooker, microwave, computer, TV, lites,fan , lotsa stuff. Just NOT all at the same time.

 

[kygreg]

From what I've read, keeping the Prius in "on" position and using an inverter the Prius actually uses less gas-per-volt generated than a Honda 2000i generator. And if you get an inverter, definitely hook it up to the 12v battery in back. The ciggy socket is for very low draw items. With a 1500-2000 watt (pure sine wave) inverter you can run an induction cooker, microwave, computer, TV, lites,fan , lotsa stuff. Just NOT all at the same time.

I think everything you said is right, and senn youtube videos of people installing them, well 1500 is the most I've seen, but it just seems to me that's a lot to ask of one 12v battery. I also know I don't have the evidence to prove that, it just seems too much to me. If you have a better background than me, could you explain, I would like to know.

 

[John61CT]

The battery is not carrying large current appliances for long, soon as voltage drops the vehicle genny kicks in and feeds the device and recharges the batt.

Adding batts to the vehicle's can extend the off-time, but only a little for thirsty loads like that.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

From what I've read, keeping the Prius in "on" position and using an inverter the Prius actually uses less gas-per-volt generated than a Honda 2000i generator . . .

Best experimental number I could find is 4 kW/gal for the Prius.
From Great Northern Tool catalog data for Honda EU2000i is ~ 5.5 kW/gal.

http://hiwaay.net/~bzwilson/prius/priups.html

 

[mpruet]

For a while I was car camping in my Prius.  I eventually got a class-B (Travato) - not so much for the additional space or comfort, but because I got tired of cooking in the open and being attacked by gnats.  I guess I could have gotten a 'cooking tent', but didn't.

What I did was to plug a 150 watt inverter into the cigarette lighter which in turned charged a Goal Zero Yeti 150. Then I plugged in my dometic 18 liter fridge into the Goal Zero.  I also used the Goal Zero to power and charge other devices.  I did this set up because I wanted to keep powering the fridge when I turned the car totally off without having to change cables to a 12 volt battery.  By going through the Yeti 150 I didn't have to change out cables. Also the Yeti provided a buffer between the car and the device when I wanted to run something requiring more than I wanted to run directly from the cigarette lighter. 

As for the max stuff you can run... check out https://axleaddict.com/cars/Installing-And-Using-An-Inverter-In-A-Prius

 

[John61CT]

When Yeti comes out with a way to recharge from 12V directly, that will be A Good Thing.

And really, don't use ciggie ports - a dangerous abortion of a design never meant for electrical connections - for anything that high current. Maybe 5A.

Or anything left in for long.

Or anything really

Intermittent arcing can melt plastic, start fires even at low currents.

Blue Sea has a nice socket design that twist-locks with the matching plug, but will also accept standard ciggie plugs for smaller (<10A) loads.

Also the BMW/ Hella/ Merit/ Powerlet "Euro-style DIN" (ISO 4165) style is very robust.

Anderson plugs for high amps.

If you standardize on one of the last two types, there are adapters for guests, temporary use of devices with standard ciggie plugs.

 

[Feelit]

hi, I am assuming you mean extra appliances not the ones in the van. because they will run on either gas or electric.
obviously there is a limit to what you can use as most electric hook ups [in the uk] are only 16 amps. some are only 10 amp though so you need to know when arriving. [ask at the office] if it's a 16 amp. you have about 3600w to use.
so you may have to juggle your consumption to keep it below this.

for instance. if you have the heating on 1kw then there's 2500w left. and say you put the kettle on with a 1kw element your fine.
but if say you have during the night the lights on [mains] heating on full. tv on. fridge running electric. put the kettle on while someone is using a hairdrier it may trip the box.

you very soon get used to how much draw you can put on the system though. we used to have most things duplicated for gas use. the heating went on gas. gas kettle. ect and never had a problem using coffee makers, micro waves, hair driers. even used a halogen cooker without issue so don't worry over it to much. try to use alternatives for mains where possible if using other things on mains and you will be fine.
also no neighbours will knock on your door as each hook up has it's own trip switch your power consumption will not affect theirs.

 

[maki2]

You are worrying way too much over the safety carrying a couple of small canisters of butane gas. They are not going to explode on you. Just don't leave them sitting in the direct hot sun shining into the window.

I recommend getting the small gas one duel fuel stove. It is well made, not too heavy or large but it is is nice and stable. It has a built in lighter, no need for matches. It comes with a carrying case. I am giving you a direct link to it but sometimes you can find it at a discount on Amazon. https://gasone.com/products/gs-800p-portable-dual-fuel-twin-stove There are a lot of reviews on this stove on youtube. There are built in safety features. When you turn off the flame the gas bottle is disconnected. It is made to be impossible to accidently turn on the gas unless you intend to light the burner. The flame on this stove does not shoot way up, its height is limited.

If you are not yet on the road go ahead and buy one. That way you can get used to cooking with it without the stress of trying to figure everything out at once. Like much in life practicing doing new tasks will makes you feel a lot more comfortable doing them after just a few sessions. Worry makes you unhappy. Just go for it, it is a very practical way to cook.

I also ordered their small folding windscreen, in addition to wind protection it is stainless steel and will reduce splattering and other types of accident. A little portable protective metal barrier that stows away in a very small plastic box. It is meant for backpackers so it is idea for car camping as well.

 

[John61CT]

hi, I am assuming you mean extra appliances not the ones in the van. because they will run on either gas or electric.
obviously there is a limit to what you can use as most electric hook ups [in the uk] are only 16 amps

Topic is free camping not powered camp site.

Running everything off the EV generator while off grid, no mains.

Gas not used, everything electric.

 

[awpz0r]

Appreciate the effort. This thread is about 7 months old and I no longer need assistance with this topic, can it be deleted? sorry!

 

[John61CT]

No, old threads don't get deleted, unless mods decide they're just outrageously inappropriate, and even then usually just offending posts.

Content contributed in the past by the community may be valuable to those searching later.

Just ignore threads you find irrelevant or annoying.

 

[WanderingRose]

I found in a truck stop store a small, 12 volt water kettle.

Works great, quick and simple for anything that only needs boiling water.

 

[kygreg]

You can use the cigarette plug for small inverters, like 200 watt. But that will not power anything that has a heating element or compressor. You can go up to about 1500-2000 watts if you attach directly to the battery in the back of the car. However that's a lot of power to draw from just one 12 volt battery. It will drain fast and the prius engine will be starting all the time to keep it charged. Some people have tapped into the main traction battery, but that's a big project that requires a lot of skill and money for the expensive inverter, it also voids your warranty. It's best to cook with propane / butane / alcohol and use the car for sleeping with AC or heat.

Update: I have since learned that the 12v battery in the ready mode has a direct connection to the big 220 v battery through a dc to dc converter so you are really drawing power directly from the 220v battery not relying on just the 12 v. This is why you can safely run a 1500 watt or more sized inverter if you have that much need. It also makes more sense to run an electric blanket at night for heat instead of using the cr heater.