Jed Rothwell wrote:
Edmund Storms wrote:
I suggest if you want to power serious items that you attach the DC-AC
inverter directly to the 12 V battery.
Yes, that's what guy suggested here:
http://www.invertersrus.com/priusinverter.html QUOTE:
"I have two inverters in my Toyota Prius. I use an AIMS 75 Watt Power
Inverter plugged into the 'cigarette lighter' outlet and use it to run
my laptop . . .
I also have an AIMS 1250 Watt modified sine wave power inverter mounted
in the rear beside the rest of my disaster preparedness kit, in the
event of an earthquake . . . It is set up to power the refrigerator,
TV, computer and selected lights in the house. . .
[The inverter] connects to this 12v battery to provide the 120v AC to
the house. A full tank of gas (10 gallons) could keep my house powered
for weeks."
1250 watts is more than you might think, especially with today's
low-wattage refrigerators, compact fluorescent lights and personal
computers. My 3 kW generator is more than enough during most outages,
even at night. The only thing it does not do is run the gas furnace (the
blower, lighter, controls, etc). I would have to modify the house wiring
for that.
I would be a little bit concerned about putting such a large inverter on
the battery for hours or days at a time. Could that hurt the battery?
Success depends on how much current can be supplied to the 12V battery
by the 200V battery. As long as this current is equal to or greater
than the current being drawn from the 12 V battery, the 12 V battery is
hardly being used. If the supplied current is less than the current
being drawn, the 12 V battery will naturally be drained.
Ed
- Jed
