SkipHuffman said:
BIF said:
EDIT - The last thing I want to have to put in my used-car ad is the line "only used for driving" or "never used to power non-automotive devices".... UGH!
I had never intended this as a long term solution. Grid power is cheaper and more ecologically friendly. But in a natural disaster, where your power lines are down, having the option to plug in a few things to an auxillary power source would be REALLY handy. And think how many Prii Toyota could sell to Floridians with that as an option.
So far as "mileage" as a measure of wear and tear, that is already invalidated for the Prius. The engine is not on a 100% duty cycle like on other vehicles, probably more like 70% or even less. Perhaps the Prius should be recording hours in service, like we do for airplane engines.
That depends on what you consider "long term." Here in Florida, we have had people out of power for upwards of three weeks. We're not talking hours here!
How many hours of operation would that amount to for your Prius' engine? Maybe not 24 per day, but probably more than 12. Maybe more than 16. Either a refrigerator or an air conditioning unit use LOTS of electricity, particularly at "peak" when they switch on. Your Prius' engine would probably be running more than 50% of the time it was plugged in to either a fridge or an AC unit, just to keep the battery from running dangerously low.
And what if your Prius ran out of gas while serving as a home generator? The hybrid battery would probably quickly be depleted by an AC unit or a refrigerator, particularly if one or both cycled on during the fuel-outage.
Operating any engine 50% of the time for any length of time would be considered "hard service" in my book. Not being able to tell would make that engine (and the vehicle it was inside of) virtually useless and worthless. I would not be inclined to make any offer on such a vehicle.
All in all, I think using your $20,000 to $30,000 Prius in place of a $500 to $1,000 emergency generator would simply devalue your Prius on the used car market. And mine, too, even though I would never plan to do this.
So please...just don't do it.
What was it your dad used to say? Oh yeah the same as my dad: "Use the right tool for the right task." Makes a lot of sense to me. Dad's a pretty smart guy.