During power outages I do not stay in the dark

What I use:
1. My 1997 Audi A6 C5
2. A DC-AC Power Inverter
3. Extension Cord
4. Power strip

 

What I use:
2. A DC-AC Power Inverter
What's up bro, how do I get this DC-AC Converter? I'll love to have it.
Can u run the car for about 2hrs on idle?

 

any auto parts store sells these inverters, and you could idle the car until you run out of fuel. Not ideal, but for a short time would be OK. That said, why not buy a cheap small generator. My son has smallest Honda generator that would run the refrigerator, cable box, TV and a few lamps. The Honda unit is expensive, but super quiet. If you don't car about quiet that much a cheaper one for a couple of hundered would be fine.

I wouldn't try to run a refrigerator off a car inverter unless you get a 5000 watt one, and they are more expensive than a small gas generator. The cheapie inverters that run a few hundred watts would be OK for a few lamps.

As I write this, my 11kw whole house natural gas generator has been running for 24hrs. It looks like another day or two before they get power on, due to Noreaster in NJ. We lived through Sandy in another house with the small Honda unit to run the refrigerator, router and a few lamps, but now I'm in the woods with a well pump that draws a lot of current. My neighbor has a large gasoline powered generator, which works fine but goes through about 10 gallons a day. The problem I had during Sandy even with the small Honda unit was finding gasoline stations open, although it would run for 8 hours on a gallon of gas. Stations are open here now, so not an issue, but still a PITA to have to refill multiple 5 gal cans for a large generator.

 

This thread made me laugh. thank you.

Mike


(I have a 18kw whole house natural gas generator, much better than a car and an inverter LOL)

 

Ignition was off. I always do it with the ignition off. Having a battery charger can be helpful in the event the battery dies. I also take the risk because I have a second car that I could use. Furthermore, the car is a manual so I can also just push it and engage 2nd gear while it's moving to start it. Battery would charge while driving. I wouldn't plug a fridge or any other powerful equipment to that. TV, fan, a few lights, phone chargers, for not too long. It usually takes less than 2 hours for the power to get restored here. But if you've got a power generator, there's no need to do this.

 

Why would you do this if you had a generator? Wouldn't make sense. This is for cases like no generator but urgent need of electricity.