My Outlander saved my ice cream!

[nathankingcole]

A massive thunder and wind storm hit the Montana town I live in two days ago. Trees were knocked down, taking out power in my neighborhood and other areas in the city. One detail about the Outlander that increased the car's value and utility to me when I was thinking about making the purchase is the 120 volt power outlet. I have used it in passing for a few situations, such as running a sound system, but this was the first time time I truly used it as a battery backup for my house. I successfully used it to run the fridge and a couple of small appliances for 4 hours the first part of the day, left the house, then ran it again for 5 hours in the later afternoon into evening , doing some battery recharging for 30 minutes using the engine 3 hours into the second session, after which power was restored. A generator or battery backup with the size and capability of the Outlander would be a significant expense. I love that I have this capability built into my vehicle!

 

[AndyInOz]

Woot!

I'm so jealous that mine cannot do this.

 

[ronnieracoon]

A massive thunder and wind storm hit the Montana town I live in two days ago. Trees were knocked down, taking out power in my neighborhood and other areas in the city. One detail about the Outlander that increased the car's value and utility to me when I was thinking about making the purchase is the 120 volt power outlet. I have used it in passing for a few situations, such as running a sound system, but this was the first time time I truly used it as a battery backup for my house. I successfully used it to run the fridge and a couple of small appliances for 4 hours the first part of the day, left the house, then ran it again for 5 hours in the later afternoon into evening , doing some battery recharging for 30 minutes using the engine 3 hours into the second session, after which power was restored. A generator or battery backup with the size and capability of the Outlander would be a significant expense. I love that I have this capability built into my vehicle!

I was thinking the same, although my use would be for a sump pump which has to keep working in heavy downpours.
My traction battery to power the 120v plug is reassuring and thanks for the perspective.

 

[DougF]

I was thinking the same, although my use would be for a sump pump which has to keep working in heavy downpours.
My traction battery to power the 120v plug is reassuring and thanks for the perspective.

Since you might be away during a power outage, you might consider having a battery powered sump pump. I have a dual sump pump: a main pump that runs off house current and the other pump that runs off 12 volt battery power. The 12 volt battery is attached to a trickle charger. I bought the dual pump as a single assembled unit, although you might add a battery-powered pump. With my setup the float switch for the battery pump is slightly higher than the main dump. If the amount of water is too much for the main pump, the battery pump assists. During a power outage the battery powered pump does all the pumping.

 

[littlescrote]

I just installed a Tesla Powerwall to automatically power the house. In the UK at least, they are quite a good deal at the moment as the PW3 has been released but is not yet here.

 

[ronnieracoon]

Since you might be away during a power outage, you might consider having a battery powered sump pump. I have a dual sump pump: a main pump that runs off house current and the other pump that runs off 12 volt battery power. The 12 volt battery is attached to a trickle charger. I bought the dual pump as a single assembled unit, although you might add a battery-powered pump. With my setup the float switch for the battery pump is slightly higher than the main dump. If the amount of water is too much for the main pump, the battery pump assists. During a power outage the battery powered pump does all the pumping.

Thanks Doug
Good points to consider