How a Toyota Prius (& other hybrids) can be used as a GENERATOR!  

Beware! great idea but you are shorting the lifespan of your hybrid battery ($$) by much more than you think, as well as your 12 volt gel battery. I recommend the following: 1. use a deep cycle battery when connected to the inverter (set your little 12volt gel battery aside for only driving). 2. install inline fuse if you use a cheaper converter (the gen2 Prius has a 100 amp fuse for the DC-DC converter between the HV and 12v batteries. As watts = volts x amps, therefore, you wouldn't want to run more than 1200 watts (1000 or less, to be on the safe side) off of the 12v battery). 3. do not use if it is a hot day, your hybrid battery could die, at least make sure fan is working and your windows and back are open. 4. installing a 12 volt solar panels can keep your battery lasting longer. 5. disconnect inverter when not in use, you could be draining battery when car is off either by wire resistance or capacitors. 6. Prius are the best car ever made.

I just love that NO ONE would ever look suspiciously at a Prius parked on any street in the US. Never be considiered as a tight but comfortable habitat.

FYI, you need a fuse between the battery and the inverter. The factory fuse on the battery is protecting the power from the DC to DC charger to the 12V accessory battery. If the cable connected to your inverter shorts out it could start a fire. I have this set up in my Prius and I used a heavy duty, inline fuse. All the best

I don’t even want to look at another Prius set up. This is so good, neat and clean. Wow.

You can easily add another larger deep cycle 12v battery, run it in parallel with the little Prius one in the rear. That's an inexpensive way to add more power and stored capacity

What a wonderful, thorough and well-done review! Great information! Thanks sooo much!!!

Wow! A really great and helpful video!!! I enjoy how you explain things to where even a kid could understand it! Thanks again for posting valuable content such as this!!

Be aware, AFAIK, the gen2 Prius has a 100 amp fuse for the DC-DC converter between the HV and 12v batteries. As watts = volts x amps, therefore, you wouldn't want to run more than 1200 watts (1000 or less, to be on the safe side) off of the 12v battery continuously, as the DC-DC converter will not be able to replenish the 12V battery as quickly as it is being drained. For higher wattages, an alternator would need to be connected directly to the HV battery. TL;DR ---> inverters of 1000w or less are recommended for attaching to the 12v battery

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I do the same thing with my Prius -with the inverter. The difference is, and I think it's an important one (not so much with a Prius but it does make me feel better. However if you have any other kind of vehicle you DEFINITELY want to USE ANOTHER 12 VOLT BATTERY AS A BUFFER BETWEEN YOUR INVERTER AND THE OEM 12 VOLT, preferably a DEEP CYCLE. (By the way you don't NEED a Pure Sine Wave Inverter for most applications, but it is far safer as well as usually a lot more quiet and efficient. Modified sine wave inverters basically Approximate the level of actual electrical current that you get from a real sine wave current -as in your home, for which your appliances are built. Because a pure sine wave is curved and so ...it's complicated and there are manyany videos that cover the math of why modified sine wave inverters are usually sufficient and when they are not and why it all is this way BUT I DIGRESS So, In my case I had a great deep cycle 12 volt -and a deep cycle is what you want really, as they are specifically built to draw down and recharge many many times all the way up and down which destroys of course a regular car 12 volt battery, which is functionally almost more like a capacitor in the sense that a regular 12 volt car battery is made to charge relatively slowly but build up a huge amount of potential current which it holds, running with alternator going at around 14 volts, and then it let's out a huge amount of stored amp hours all at once when you start the car, instantly pumping out between maybe 350 amps or so on the low end for a small 4 cylinder commuter car and up to 2500 amps on a big diesel V8. So like a capacitor a lot of amps real fast, but instead of draining down 100% a car battery can only be drained to the point that you can still measure 12 volts across it. At that point it probably will not start your car and that is the point below which you ought never drain a regular car battery because a little bit like those old nicad rechargeable batteries from way back in the 20th century the battery sort of "remembers" the lower level and will tend to settle towards it and you'll not be able to start your car with that battery after between half a dozen to maybe a couple dozen drains below that mark. A deep cycle will not, pound for pound, out out the same amount of AMPS, and to use one to start your car you'll need one at least one and a half times the size of your current battery, but that are specifically built to charge and drain down all the way if becessary, and to do this many many many times, also a reg 12v will only give you a few minutes of power at or above 12 volts whereas a deep cycle will give you 12 volts for many hours and stay at or near it's high voltage capacity for almost the entirety of the use cycle. So, the benefit for using one in a non-hybrid vehicle is obvious: you can charge it as you drive around as you charge your regular 12 volt and then when you stop the motor you can still draw the voltage necessary to run all your appliances and things for several hours depending on your deep cycle batteries rating before you have to start the engine to charge it again, which is basically how a hybrid runs anyway so that's why I say it's much more important for a regular gas or diesel engine vehicle. However I still keep mine hooked up in the Prius because it gives me extra time before the motor has to start thereby saving gas. And I can run a lot of my appliances for hours without the motor needing to kick on charge anything because it's not pulling it all from either the Prius 12 volt or the main Prius battery. So it's another way to make things more efficient and save you money. And all you have to do is run just as you were run running from your 12 volt to the inverter, red to red and black to Black, just replace the inverter with the deep cycle, Red to red and black to Black, and then run the inverter to the deep cycle the same way. I initially thought that it would still drain from the main battery because it's essentially just adding another battery to the line but without breaking the line at all. But this does not seem to happen it will drain the first battery in the line first even though it's got a direct line to this cars batteries. PS I apologize for the terrible grammar and any autocorrect mistakes but I've just been dictating this while I drive I realize it's intimidably long as well so I apologize on that count also. Thank you for the video! Keep traveling!

thanks for sharing, man. you live a cool free life and I admire you. definately going to get that invertor for my Camry Hybrid and I bet it'll work just as well...the battery is in the same place.

You should do a video on you cooking a few meals, like a day in the life of Prius kitchen. Love the video and channel. Keep up the great content. Prius fooo life!! Lol. Thanks for all you do and will do.

Excellent and very helpful information. I see why you said the Prius is called "a generator on wheels".

I keep watching your vids bro and am constantly amazed by your genius and creativity

You just perfectly explained what a power converter is, much needed information. Thank you 😊

Thanks for the visuals!!!This is the only video that has made sense.

Great video, brother! This inspires me to start saving up for a Prius, a battery, and inverter (and perhaps some panels).

Thanks for this helpful advice! I had been thinking about getting a Toyota Sienna for camping but you’ve convinced me a Prius is a better choice! Better MPG and more stealth ☮️

Thanks so much for explaining how the engine and battery work. So many of these videos are just a show and tell of items without explaining how any of it works. This is what I need!!! A+!!!!

You are one smart dude. It seems to good to be true. I'm a single female and can't figure out solar, too difficult for me. This is better than the most expensive rvs. The vehicle generates power, amazing. Thank you for sharing this....

I did this, too. It's nice. I tied it down to a board under a rubber mat, and made it modular so that I can easily remove it and put it back in. 12V × 120 amps = 1440 Watts. Some have 150 amp fuses, so 1800 Watts. Just FYI.

Smart idea and great video. Simple, direct and it works.

GREAT VIDEO!!!!! Looking forward to more. Keep them coming.

Thanks for the amazing information -- amazing because you explained it so that even I could understand it. And that's sayign something!

Bo, good stuff , just subbed. By the way, I just read an article that said : on a volt-to-volt comparison, the Prius actually burns less gas than a Honda 2k generator.

I added an extra 12 volt deep cycle battery that I got from Toyota and wired it in parallel to my first battery. I then wired in a 2000 watt Pure Sinewave inverter onto the 2nd battery which runs my 700 watt microwave. This configuration seems to work very well for me. 👍 One more thing, I only run the inverter when I use the Microwave and then I turn it off to save power.

Bro u Totally have me sold on getting one of these. With the way this World is headed I can become homeless at ANY time. Just isn't something I'm comfortable with. Think having this car will help settle my fears. As well as being able to travel and camp affordably. Nice job guy

Nice setup! I have a RAV4 Prime and am thinking about installing an inverter for some camping trips coming up. I do have a concern with the size of the inverter you chose with no fuse for protection. The largest recommended inverter I've seen installed in a Prius is 1200w due to the 120 amp fuse for the DC-DC converter. You want to keep the 12V load below 120A x 12V = 1440W. Running the 1500W inverter at full load plus the power needed for the rest of the 12V electronics in the car, runs the risk of blowing the DC-DC converter fuse. I would recommend installing a 100 amp fuse between the inverter and the 12V battery to limit your power use to 1200W. It doesn't matter if there is a fuse inside the inverter if that fuse is 125A (125A x 12V = 1500W), which is larger than the DC-DC converter fuse.

Good info. Thank you. Blessings in your days.

Inverter takes from DC direct current battery power to AC alternating current used by your appliances.

To explain the need for an inverter: It's because a 12v battery is "direct current" and low voltage, so there is a constant flow of electrons from the positive terminal. It is harder for a low voltage electrical source to overcome resistance, so all of our homes are on a much higher, generally more efficient to generate current called "alternating current." Instead of a constant flow of electrons, it is off 50% of the time and on 50% of the time. If you hook a DC light bulb to an AC source, it will shine for half a second and then burn out because the circuitry was designed for DC. If you hook up an AC appliance (microwave) to a DC source, it will just melt the wiring because it was all designed for AC (Lower volts = higher amps = you need very thick cables or you will have very melted cables)

I really want to set this up in my prius. I don't have much understanding of a lot of what you're saying here though. It would be really nice to get like a step by step guide showing exactly how to set this up. All the materials and a detailed description of how to put this together from beginning to end would be incredibly useful for me because I'm still fairly lost on how I would do this myself. I have no clue what a ground is or anything like that

You can plug in direct to the battery if you are using DC devices. You only need an inverter if the devices require AC. When using an inverter you are wasting electricity as you are getting power as DC into the small battery, however if you are using AC, you have to convert DC through the inverter losing part of it due to the inverter and then sending it to the AC device. When I went camping, for a laptop, I would get a DC in cable to the laptop. Most computers run in DC so it's a DC direct to the DC device. No loss from an inverter.

THANK YOU for being so detailed!!

Agreed you want thick small gauge wire, but it can be very rigid and hard to bend. Might want to get welding wire as it’s much more flexible.

You should really install a fuse between the battery and your AC inverter because blowing that 120 amp fuse is a real pain to fix because you have to take a bunch of stuff out to replace it, the car will not drive if it blows, and it's likely to also blow your inverter pump at the same time. I went with an 80 amp circuit breaker when I installed mine.

I have a Prius and always thought of her as delicate. Your videos are making me appreciate her more. Thanks! Maybe I don't see the vids on this, but how do people manage using the bathroom while living in a car?

That inverter u have hooked to your 12v battery allows use of electricity from a DC car battery to AC household appliances. It converts DC (direct current)to AC (alternate current).

Thanks a lot. I like your videos and I am planning on full time RV setup with my Nissan NV 3500 van. You gave me an idea I can tow a smallest hybrid car like Smart Hybrid behind to run around when I setup my camp anywhere. So I don't have to drive my gas guzzling Nissan and in the same time use my hybrid for all electric needs.

I have a solar generator which is amazing. A Bluetti. Charges with solar, car socket, wall, or propane (I think). It’s a small, lightweight box that has saved me in several situations. You can charge while you drive to your next destination, or set up the panels when you arrive. No noise except for fans, no fumes! If you leave it plugged into your Prius, it will charge while you sleep. Jackery makes some good generators too, as do many other companies.

I'm listening to all your videos. Wow you are chock full of information. I'm ready to switch out vehicles. Well not quite. I love my 1995 Toyota Tacoma too much. Ha.

Very informative video 👍🏾

This is so great! I thought I would need solar or a jackery but this sounds like a better option for me.

Great video!

Pure sinewave is for more Sensitive electronics like phone laptop. And modified sine wave is for Electric motors and tools It won't be affected as much is compared to a microwave which might do a humming noise.

Can you do more cooking videos? Its so much fun to watch... I've noticed you like beans alot, if you go to Indian stores, they have all kind of beans, lentils, spices you can buy for good price.

Great video!! Thank you!

Hello, Glad I happened to find your video. I’m considering using my 2013 Prius as an emergency generator….hope I’ll never have to. Anyway, how do I determine if my Prius can be used for that purpose.

You can use the prius not only as a generator, but also as an ac unit and heating unit for a cabin. Run an insulated pipe from the the vents in the car, into your cabin, and you are good to go. So you have a car, a generator, and ac unit, and a heating unit all for the price of about 3k.

Very informative! Thank you.wonder if my Ford Fusion Hybrid can do that???

I got your setup and i use the George Forman grill and it makes great hamburgers and chicken breast.

nice setup, and how did you connect the 12V battery to the car hybrid battery?

If you are traveling with a microwave you may as well travel with a convection oven/ microwave combination. Then you get quick dry baking for roasting, baking bread, etc. (All travelers should learn to make bread products from scratch. So easy and fun) They might not make them small enough.

I like your videos. One channel you should check out is PSC Camper Conversions. He converts a Prius, too by adding a second 12v battery. One idea: instead of a space heater, why not use a 12v electric blanket? Anyway, you are doing what I would like to do but think a Prius might be too small for me. I was looking at the hybrid Toyota Sienna because a minivan has a lot more space. Are you able to go way off road in the Prius? That is one thing I would want to do since I am not a fan of humans.

Bro. I have a Prius also and would love to pay u to help me setup my Prius. I wanna travel the states with my Prius and it would be really cool to have a guy like you to travel with. Should start a Prius community rv camper to let people know where to camp with the Prius. I would join your Prius community right away. U seem pretty chill and humble. Ima pretty simple guy myself and I like it that way. What state do you live in? If you ever wanna visit Seattle I’ll show u around and I’ll pay u to help setup mr Prius. I enjoy all your videos. Keep it up!

Love to see one with a heater or ac working on one. I just wish this setup would work without the car running

Thank you for the video. I just want to let you know that your positive inverter cable is not fused the way you have it hooked up. That is a good way to attach it to the terminal but you should add a fuse if you want the protection. Happy travels.

Super helpful

I rock a Tacoma now, and also have a Corolla. Maybe I should invest in a Prius?!?! Saw your other video showing all the quirks of your "Primus camper". It was pretty cool!

Actually the Prius has a power DC to DC inverter that handles power to and from the traction battery, along with maintaining the 12 volt starter battery. When the inverter senses the charge status of the 12 volt is low, it will draw power from the traction battery to recharge the 12 volt. When the traction battery level drops below a preset level, the engine kicks on and charges the traction battery. As long as there gas the engine will maintain the traction battery, which will in turn maintain the 12 volt battery via the DC to DC inverter.

Great video

Hey quick question. So additional 12v battery needs to be installed and you connect your 12v battery with dc adapter right? And do you connect your hybrid battery to 12v battery with fuse?

Do you know if you can do this awesomeness in a kia niro hybrid or hyundai hybrid?

What are your thoughts about utilizing this system to power a CPAP for us older guys with sleep apnea?

I'm gonna do this to my Sienna Hybrid!!

Forgive question, Can this be done with a 2028 Toyota Sienna Hybrid? Guessing yes?? If so wondering may I pay you to connect mine? Thanks for the fantastic video

Haha yeah bwoi, see ya got that Tony’s 😎

Hi, is it will damage the 12v battery? usually power inverter requires deep cycle battery.

Great video! I'm just getting started on my Prius hotel journey and was wondering if you (or anyone in the thread) might be able to advise who I should inquire about getting the inverter connected to the 12V battery done for me. Would it be a regular mechanic? I know absolutely nothing about the mechanics and although your video was very descriptive, I don't trust myself setting up everything properly (with the additional 120 amp fuse). I appreciate any advice, thanks in advance!

you should probably mount that inverter somewhere to limit movement to limit the chance of the wires coming loose

I am a Prius lover and there is a fact that our 12 volt batteries need replaced more often. So, if the big battery is charging the 12 volt battery, that could never be the case? I have to believe you because you have tested this out for a long time, but I am going to do some research now, because that is not what I have been told. Thanks for this video. You have a great set up. I was also wondering why not just use the car heater. I leave my car running with the air conditioner a lot as I live in mostly hot weather.

Where did you g et that 120amp fuse box? Thanks!

I'll check out your other videos too. Act as an alternator to produce AC (for the Prius the engine CVT produces AC) that is rectified & regulated to DC (inverter changes CVT AC to DC and converter changes ~600V max VDC to ~220VDC to charge the battery I think and another converter converts 220VDC to ~12VDC) that charges the 12V battery. The 12VDC battery input to the inverter is processed to ~120VAC 60Hz most likely not 1500VA (Volt Amps) which equals basically 1500W. The 1500W is usually a surge rating for some duty cycle before trips a breaker or fuse. If I understand correctly, as long as all your VAC appliances are under ~700W, you're good to go. I've read some say under ~1000W most likely will be fine as long as there is no surges. If you have something that surges you might want to consider a hard or soft start capacitor for the device. I've seen this with Air Conditioner units that are like the wall mount design modified for tents, campers and as indoor units. Seems like with power tools are the same. Cool you're on the ball with the limits. I read about on this site that is very inspirational regarding a range of topics: www.aprs.org/FD-Prius-Power.html (reads like this latest article regarding notes 800W continuous for hours).

Any way to tap off the 240Vdc Li battery (in a Prius) to an inverter for 220Vac conversion to run a well pump. No videos seem to exist on how to do this.

Can you do this through the 12V lighter outlet ? The car battery on my hybrid is in the front under the hood making this pretty unusable....

This works for a Prius Prime as well right? I was going to buy a Jackery for camping before seeing this video.

Hi how often does the ICE kicks in when its under load? How much does it affect on fuel efficiency? MPG etc...

Does this setup apply to a Prius 2006 model ? will the car charge the small 12V battery in time with a 1000-1200W load from electronics ? I'm currently gather some info coz I want to convert my Prius in a mini camper for recreational activities

How does high woltage hybrid battery charge 12v battery without an inverter in the car ? I think there must be inverter in the car Do you use your 1500w inverter when prius ready light is on ? Does it work when prius is turned off ?

Do you have to turn off ac turn off light etc.. when you use the microwave?

You ROCK!!!!

My power inverter won't work with the 14 volt auxiliary battery in the Prius. The inverter needs to be closer to 12 volts. How do I bring the auxiliary battery down to 12 volts?

I have a 2016 prius and the accessory battery is under the hood (not in the trunk) so would I install the inverter under the hood as well? Thanks Love the video, great info.

Does anyone know if this system would be able to charge ebikes? Wife and I both have cube bikes with 625 batteries, would charging both simultaneously be way too much of a draw?

I know this might be much more expensive, but it might be safer for me not knowing anything about electricity- if I plug in a jackery to the car (lighter) outlet, it would work the same way? as in it would just keep charging as long as i keep the car on "ready-mode"?

What about when your car is off but you want to power fridge etc? My inverter keeps going when the car is off and keeps running out. Now my car is dead. What do I do when its off?

I am captivated by what you have created with your Prius! I have a 2005 Prius, with the battery is under the hood directly in front of my steering wheel. 🤔 *see EDIT below Can a cable be run to inside the cabin where there's room for an inverter? I don't have the skills to install an inverter. I would want a professional to do the wiring. What kind of professional should I seek out? One of the other commenters said his brother installs stereos in cars. Is that the skill set I need to find? I sure won't go to my local Toyota dealer! The mechanics union successfully ended their strike with sizeable pay increase. I believe the dealership is now charging $170/hour for their labor! I know the mechanics aren't receiving that much, but they sure have mad skills. But I digress.... 🙄 * EDIT: I just learned that the thing under the hood is a terminal, and the battery itself is somewhere in the back. 😳 I learned that from The Car Care Nut: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-y5oaQ0LW3A4.html

Toyota is now producing several hybrid minivans, including all Siennas from 2020 onwards. I wonder if that will become the go-to camping/living minivan since it probably has the benefits you've described here while also giving the added space of a minivan.

A trucking company I worked for allowed drivers to buy an inverter for their truck and they would install it. They limited the inverters to 1500 because higher watt inverters invite using higher-powered items. Higher power means more current and heat in the wires. Fires resulted, so the company said no more than 1500w and they would install it to ensure it was done properly.

Hi Can anyone tells me please, what is above the 12V battery. Do we need any adaptor to connect Shine inverter?

Great vid thank you

if the car is in ready mode you can run the heater from the car so why do you use the tiny heater?

Nice

Wew, that's awesome.

The inverter is converting your ~13V DC (direct current) battery power into a 120V AC (alternating current) sine wave. Yes, very different systems, and things built to use the power for one won't work at all off the other. I was wondering if you could use a cheapo not-pure sine wave inverter in series with a UPS power supply that will clean up its crappy 120V to a clean 120V. If there aren't electronics involved, you can usually get away with using a "modified sine wave" invert, which can be significantly cheaper per watt than a pure sine wave inverter. Use the dirty power where you can, and the clean power where you have to. I've got a Ford Escape Hybrid and have always intended to try a little offroad camping using the car as a generator too. Love the Instant Pot.What really is the peak voltage needed for that, and how much steady state?

Maybe this is a dumb question, but my inverter has a 12V cigarette lighter plug on one end, could I just plug it into a power port, instead of connecting to the battery with cables?

Thank-you !

Genius!

Does the elect ingine burn out die out faster ?

You ended up getting a 2nd 12V right? Are you in FL @ the moment? Would you be interested in setting this up for me for pay? I can’t find anyone down to do it.