If you have a car, you have a generator
You need an invertor, an extension cord and gas
Do that before the power goes out
With that you can run your car, invert the electricity and run it into your house to run any number of small appliances, chargers, lights and more.
Replies (4)
Please don't.
12V inverters that are more than about 300W in capacity are:
1. Really hard on most vehicle charging systems
2. Require way bigger cables than most people use, thus creating a fire hazard
3. Are super inefficient as a system, as nearly any sized gas generator is significantly more efficient than a setup like that
4. Idling a vehicle with a significant electrical load at lower RPMs is horrifically awful for your alternator and possibly even cooling system, even in a very cold environment
Sure, do what you gotta do... But you gotta at least do it right so you don't roast something and make your situation worse.
No. Just no.
The first time an appliance with a big motor (or fridge compressor) kicks in, you will likely toast your inverter or your car. Even if the smoke doesn't come out, your voltage will brown-out.
A car with a long 12v cable IS an excellent choice for recharging 12v batteries & running 12v electric blankets, lights, USB chargers, and any other camping / automotive kit you might have.
A car is potentially very useful in an outage, but its a long way short of being a whole-house generator.
This is true. I common mistake is not properly calculating the wire size needed from the battery to the inverter. Don't just use the cigarette lighter. Go direct from the battery with large gauge wire. Watts in is watts out. 3000w inverter takes 250 amps @12v. That's something like 4/o cable. Massive. 1500w will allow you to grind coffee.
