Making an emergency whole house generator out of 3rd Gen Tacoma?

I’m bored so I’ll bump the thread.

It’s wood gas, you basically convert whatever engine to a gasifier engine. There were government manuals produced during WWII on how to do it for folks back at the home front. It’s regained a little popularity with the SHTF subculture. Lots of info on it. I’m going to second whale fat and add soylent green to the list of possible combustibles.

 

Me too. I'm annoyed that I clicked on that ad for the 1000w of power from your car. fucking cookies are shipping that ad to me at random times.

 

Wouldn’t be easier to get a agm battery perhaps a dual setup or a solar setup for the single agm. Wire up a fridge for cold beer and sammich meat and a propane grill.

 

Thanks everyone for the info you provided. I don't know much about this topic, and am still looking into it. I don't expect to be using a generator much, if at all. There are not as many emergencies and power failures in my area it seems compared to hurricane areas and such. Also, I live very close to some kind of power station or something, not sure what it is. I have very big, tall, metal power lines near my street as opposed to the regular wood power lines, that seem to be coming from that power station thing. Not sure if that makes any difference in my case for how reliable my grid power source is. Something to look into I guess. So I think whatever generator I get will be sitting somewhere for a long time taking up limited space in my small house. I can't afford a whole house generator if it costs in the several thousands, but something to look into to see if I can do it cheaper.

I did some research and found that you don't necessarily have to power your entire house with a generator, but can create a transfer switch next to your circuit breaker and then hook up a smaller generator to it to power some things in your house, so not a whole house generator, but a house generator of some kind. If this doesn't cost very much I think I would prefer this option, because I don't like to run wires into my house to plug into things individually.

So now comes the question of which small generator to choose. Or, instead of a small generator, can I use a big car inverter, one with 3000 watts? I saw this article about using your car as a generator which mentions this inverter setup: https://www.outagehacks.com/can-i-use-my-car-as-a-generator/ I guess my question is, can this be done to power a transfer switch, which then would power some of my house? If so, this would be a cheaper and easier option in my case I would think, because even a small generator takes up space, needs fuel, maintenance etc. All these things a car already has. Also, is it possible and a good idea to make that car inverter permanent attached inside the truck somehow? That might be nice because I could tap into this power if I'm away from home. I don't expect to be using the generator for long, so a car, if it can power this transfer switch of the house, I think might be a better option for my situation than an actual generator. Is this still possible to do for this transfer switch setup that needs less power?

 

Ummm. No.

A 3000w inverter will draw more than 250a and needs 4/0 wire.

Your car will not supply 250a continuous, unless you are one of those guys who does audio competitions or has big CB RF amps.

 

What's the biggest inverter I can normally put on my Tacoma, 4cylinder?

 

You can get a portable generator for a few hundred dollars, by far the most reasonable solution.

You’re trying to force fit your truck into a solution it’s not designed for.

 

If a Tacoma can power a transfer switch to power some essentials in the house I think I would prefer that option. Otherwise I may end up getting a small portable generator.

 

It's not the engine size, it's the alternator size. You can go buy a bunch of batteries as a buffer, but that costs more than a generator.

Just from a wiring perspective alone, someone who has no electrical experience should stick to an inverter less than 1kw. Otherwise the potential for melting and burning could be the higher.

Hooking a car inverter up to a transfer switch is a waste, IMO.

 

So something to mull over OP,

I grew up on the outskirts of DFW. Even when we had the tornado that hit downtown years ago, and the absolutely devastating 1995 Mayfest storm before that, nobody lost power for more than a few hours. (With exceptions to the structures that were in the strike zones, but they had bigger problems than just no electricity.)

Point being, power loss is not a big concern here. During my time in Houston, Ike knocked out our power for 2.5 weeks. I didn't have a generator then. It sucked, I wished like hell I had one, but we still got by without it.

I'm going to say that you really don't need a generator if you don't want one. The risks are pretty low in this area. If you still do want one, in case you want to bring one camping, or would just like to have as that extra piece of mind, a 2000w generator is the size of a briefcase and will happily run your fridge while charging your electronics. (If you want to power a window air conditioning unit, a 3500w is the size of a large suitcase.)

They have about the same amount of maintenance as your mower. Change the oil once a year and run it about 5 minutes a month.

There's really no need to install a switch on the house. Events here are so rare that you'll never use it. Heck, most of the time, by the time you took out the extension cords and start the genny, the power is already back on.

 

Good to know. Sounds like you know some things about electrical stuff. Thanks for your insight.

Thanks. That's what I was thinking about, a smaller generator for my situation. As you describe, it seems very unlikely to be that bad in my area. However, just the idea of being without power for even a few hours made me realize how dependent I am on it. I remember that night, when the Tornado hit recently, the lights flickered and that's when I realized this. I'm into prepping a bit. Although I don't practice it much, I'm informed about it and am hoping to add some preps, so a small generator might be a good idea.

 

Ok let me say why it is impractical then. Obviously you can install a decent size inverter but for this I will use the stock inverter.

With the vehicle running the inverter is capable of 3.3 amps (400 watts)- this will be your limiting factor.

You are in TX so I am going to assume a space heater will not be needed. I'll give some basic items amp draw;

Refrigerator- 2-5.5 amps (5ish during start up and surge to defrost etc.)
Ice box or deep freezer- 2 amps

Want hot food or hot water?
Hot plate- sorry, propane stove or cold food it is (10 amps)
Coffee? 5-8 amps, again it looks like you need to use the old jet boil or grill
Hot water heater? Sorry- its 9-13 amps.

So it looks like you can switch off running the refrigerator and freezer. Good news is, everyone likes soft popsicles for dinner.

As far as gas goes, a generator will take 2-5 gallons of gas and run for 24 hours on one tank depending on load. You're probably going to have to fight at the gas pumps, that may or may not be working in a major power outage. Expect to refill your truck at least a couple times and spend $50 a day to run your basic appliances.

Thats why using your truck for an emergency generator isn't practical and why I said you are forcing something to work for a purpose it wasn't designed for.

The engine is geared/designed for horsepower and torque, not electrical power distribution.

That is also not taking into account on your draw vs what the alternator can charge. Of course you are limited to 3amp output so you may be good on that end.

Amps = Watts/Volts.

 

OP, I have this

BELTTT 1000W Pure Sine Wave Inverter 12V DC to 110V AC with 2 AC Outlets 1 USB Charging Port and Remote Switch (2000W Peak)

1,000w pure sine wave inverter in my truck camper and it works pretty good!


I also use the small ego inverter, a portable power station that can be recharged with a flexible

WindyNation 100W 100 Watt 12V Bendable Flexible Thin Lightweight Monocrystalline Solar Panel Battery Charger for RV, Boat, Cabin, Off-Grid

solar panel. But for bigger items, I use a generator inverter

 

I was just given one of these


There are so many more reasonable (and cheaper) means of back up power than trying to convert your truck to handle the task.

 

Thank you!

btw- 1000 watts, awesome for camping or just vehicle use. 1000 watts for backup power for basic house items, congrats you can now run your refrigerator and freezer. Not much else.