I’m a bit north of Orlando and getting ready for Irma. Last year after hurricane Matthew I was without power for three days. I have a large saltwater fish tank that can go for a few hours without power if necessary, but the less time without power the better. I have a large portable generator to power the house and the fish tank if (when) the power fails, but it occurred to me today that if the power goes out toward the beginning of the storm I could have a long wait before it’s safe to put the generator outside and I could potentially still be without power for some time. Luckily with Matthew my power failed at the very end of the storm.
I happen to have a 700 watt 12V to 120V inverter that I was considering connecting to my Model S and using it to power the fish tank and maybe a light or two in the event that the power fails before I can safely use the generator. Luckily I have a 2015 Model S with the 12V posts behind the nose cone, so it would be pretty easy to pull the nose cone and connect the inverter and run an extension cord though the garage door into the house.
However that inverter can draw a decent amount of power (the fish tank pumps and such probably draw about 200 watts to 250 watts as they run). I know that the car will top off the 12V battery as it drains even as the car is off, but how quickly will it do so? I’m afraid that I may be drawing more power than it can provide to top off the battery and eventually I’ll wind up with a dead 12V battery. Alternately I could start the car and leave the door open a bit so hopefully it would stay on which may provide more power to the 12V system.
Has anyone tried anything like this? Do you know if the car will be able to keep up with my power draw for hours?
I happen to have a 700 watt 12V to 120V inverter that I was considering connecting to my Model S and using it to power the fish tank and maybe a light or two in the event that the power fails before I can safely use the generator. Luckily I have a 2015 Model S with the 12V posts behind the nose cone, so it would be pretty easy to pull the nose cone and connect the inverter and run an extension cord though the garage door into the house.
However that inverter can draw a decent amount of power (the fish tank pumps and such probably draw about 200 watts to 250 watts as they run). I know that the car will top off the 12V battery as it drains even as the car is off, but how quickly will it do so? I’m afraid that I may be drawing more power than it can provide to top off the battery and eventually I’ll wind up with a dead 12V battery. Alternately I could start the car and leave the door open a bit so hopefully it would stay on which may provide more power to the 12V system.
Has anyone tried anything like this? Do you know if the car will be able to keep up with my power draw for hours?