12 Volt DC power inverter instead of a generator?

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scooter123

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 16, 2017
Messages
50
Has anyone thought to use one of these to power things around your house during a power outage.?
I know Volt users are doing it but does the car power the 12v battery when STATIONARY like an ICE?

http://a.co/d/cUq1BqX
or a volt user said he has this one
http://a.co/d/bsxVOrj
http://a.co/d/81ndzCs (pure Sine)

I would be curious ?
I used a 1k amp one and it work for small things.

It's much cheaper than a noisey generator and in theory if the car battery is juiced up , It can power the 12v battery
for a long time.. y/n ? THoughts?

I hybrid user said this about the first one
"After sitting in my garage for 4 years, I finally got to use my Power Bright PW2300 thanks to hurricane Matthew. It works as advertised, connected to my Escape Hybrid, which cycles on and off to keep the batteries charged.
If I had my druthers, I'd druther have a pure sine wave unit, as my UPS units for my computers refuse to start up on the modified sine wave.
Powered my refrigerator, computer, U-verse box, monitor, one hit coffee pot, receiver and the light over my chair all at the same time.
Had to unplug the refrigerator to run the microwave, which did not sound happy at all using the modified sine wave.
Way better than sitting in the dark waiting for the power to come back on."


A Volt user mentions this for the 2nd one

I have a Volt EV that I use to power my house when faced with a power outage. My previous 1500W Ramsond inverter presented a couple serious problems for me:
- The Volt continuously maintains the 12V battery via a dc-to-dc converter using the high voltage traction battery. However, occasionally, the converter would reach a level ever so slightly above 15V, which exceeds the maximum input voltage for most inverters, including the Ramsond. This caused the inverter to shut down. The AIMS unit allows up to a 16V input, so no problem.
- My refrigerator, although a newer energy efficient model, would start the compressor(s) and the surge would cause the inverter to shut down. The surge capability of 3000W should have been sufficient to cover it, but it wasn't. The AIMS has no such issue.

I've used it about 4 times so far, for up to 3 hours with zero issues, and so far it has been perfect. Whether it will fail prematurely, who knows, but so far so good. Couldn't be happier, especially at this price point. There are big name models from Samlex and Xantrex, but the come at a premium or major premium. If it holds up, this is absolutely perfect.

Lest anyone be concerned, I realize can't draw anywhere close to 2000W from the Volt without exceeding the capability of the Volt's converter.

Edit: After an additional 7 months use, guess what happened -- it continues to impress. Using it 1 or 2 times per week, it runs my TV and DVR, Fridge, router, wireless phone basestation, and thermostat. Never an issue so far."
 
Well, a quick search found these related threads :


(Apr '17) : http://www.mychevybolt.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=6082

(Aug '17) : http://www.mychevybolt.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=6882

(Dec '17) : http://www.mychevybolt.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=7416
 
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