Hurricane Irma Prep

[Mievo]

Hello all. I am in Orlando in the middle of Central Florida. There is a distinct probability that we will be directly in the path of the hurricane. One back up option for prolonged blackouts his to use an inverter on our cars to power cookware. She has a Corolla and I have an iMiEV.

Can our little cars cope with a 750 watt 1500 watt Peak inverter off the battery?

 

[Don]

The DC to DC converter is rated for 80 amps max, which is about 1KW of 12 volt power. The car must be in the 'Ready mode' to use it though and that consumes a good bit of extra power you probably wouldn't want to waste

If I knew I was going to be without power for several days and intended to use the limited power from the car for something really important (like keeping your refrigerator from defrosting or some other badly needed use) I think I would do my cooking on a little propane camp stove. Using DC power to heat things isn't very practical unless you have LOTS of power available

Don

 

[PV1]

750 watts is about all I'd pull through the 12 volt system. 80 amps could really warm some stuff up.

Personally, with a category 5 coming towards me, I'd pack up the cars and take a trip out of town. Are you located somewhere high and dry?

 

[siai47]

I would agree that heating something is a bad use for electricity. You would go through the pack fairly quickly drawing a kilowatt of power through an inverter. Better use would be for refrigeration, lights (led of course) and device charging. I live just East of you in Deland and have made my preparations which includes the possibility of leaving if the track warrants it. My elevation is reasonable, I have hurricane rated windows and doors, backup natural gas full house generator, a gasoline backup, backup generator, water, food etc. for weeks. However, I have been through a Hurricane in the Keys and never want to go through one again. If I still lived in the Keys and had that monster out there, I would have been gone yesterday. I have a bi-fuel CNG powered Impala with an 800 mile range fueled and ready to go. I will leave soon if that thing looks like it is coming anywhere near here. I'm not crazy :twisted: !