powering domestic devices from charging station
- Thread starter nusrat
- Start date
miimura
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It is technically possible but it requires special hardware and it's not worth the effort. You're better off getting a battery operated or 12V lighter socket powered vacuum.nusrat said:
nusrat said:
Won't work. Some of those pins on the j1772 are for the charging station to communicate with the car's onboard charger. Think of it as 2 computers talking to each other over an old fashioned serial port.
You won't have that on a vacuum thus the charger won't dispense any current.
Yeah, I expected as much. I mentioned vacuum cleaner just as one example. I never expected to be able to just plug it in, but thought maybe someone might have devised & manufactured a gadget which spoofs a compatible vehicle, and also handles inverter / rectifier and transformer functions. Frankly, surprised it hasn't been done.Zeuser said:
Well, in all fairness, those are two separate issues. #1 "nobody thought", well, there are lots of things no one thought were needed, until someone made them available.RonDawg said:
#2 "wouldn't want", I agree, and that's why there are lots of discussions about charging station etiquette. I know *I* would immediately step back if someone else drove up -- just as I would if I were almost finished charging, or could easily forgo the charge I was doing.
nusrat said:
I will tell you as someone who has driven electric for the last 4-1/2 years, I've never come up with the thought of "this sure would be nice for powering my vacuum cleaner", and nobody else (besides yourself) has. And that includes the Tesla crowd, who tend to be the geekiest of all EV advocates.
The only alternative use I have seen for electric cars (but not the charging stations themselves) is to use the car as a backup power source for your home. Nissan sells the "Leaf to Home" system in Japan, and had advertised it in the US but for some reason has yet to actually offer it. Probably because they realized that once you power your fridge, electronics, etc. now you can't use it to get to work. May be OK in a public-transit-dense nation like Japan, not so much in the US outside of certain metro areas.
miimura
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It has been done. If you build an EV conversion, you need a device to talk J1772 to allow the power to flow to your on-board charger. These exist - here is one example - J1772 Adapter Box by TucsonEV. However, to plug in your vaccum, you have to deal with the fact that it's 208VAC or 240VAC, not 120VAC. If you try to pull 120VAC between one hot wire and the ground, you will trip the GFI because an EV would never pull current between hot and ground, it pulls current between the two hot lines. So, you would also need a transformer. I told you before, it's not worth it.nusrat said:
Actually, that's how I got started tilting at this particular windmill. I decided to get some WeatherTech "FloorLiners" (precision-cut all-weather mats with high walls), and thought, "When all that snow melts off my boots, or someone spills their coffee etc., can I empty this mat without spilling?" Then I thought, "wet-dry vac". But I couldn't find a 12VDC wet-dry that gets convincingly well-reviewed by customers. But I did find a cheap and very small A/C wet-dry at BOBS (Big Orange Box Store), small enough that I'd be willing to carry it around. And then I thought, "Where to plug it in, when I'm on the go and not willing to wait to get somewhere with an outlet?" Even that one from HD peaks at 1.75hp (=1300w). which is too much for the inverter I already own (and probably more than a cig-lighter circuit is made to tolerate).forbin404 said:
I'm regretting mentioning "vacuum" because, having thought of using a public charging station, I started getting that Mr. Toad look in my eyes ("What about a hair dryer? Microwave oven? Tanning bed?"), and some of this thread seems fixated (understandably) on my original mention of "vacuum". (btw, I already own a 12VDC Shark, which works very nicely, and a Miele A/C with CarClean kit.)
Speaking of toads (and mushrooming ideas)... Old joke: Man walks into a bar with a frog growing out of his scalp. Bartender says to the customer, "Gee, that's unusual, how'd that happen?" Frog replies, "Would you believe it started out as a wart on my *ss?"
Actually, it might be worth the $150 just for the coolness factor. Seriously. And step-downs are cheap. And now I know why I didn't find anything when I googled for this; I was searching for 'J1772' and multiple variants of '120V' (never 240), thinking that someone else must have already done this (after all, even more eccentric than a vacuum would be someone driving around looking for someplace to plug in a laundry dryer). Thanks for the tip, I'll talk to TucsonEV!miimura said:
I once heard that a vehicle can be used as a backup battery by connecting a power inverter when there is power failure. I have two concerns, one is that whether the car battery will be drained quickly. I think that will bring damages to my car battery. Second, the car power inverter should be used while the car is running, right? If for home use, can I use the inverter when it stops but with the engine on?RonDawg said: