Hi all,

Does anyone have any experience using the car as a power source? E.g., using the 12V "cigarette lighter" adapter to power an inverter and run 110V stuff? I tried that today with a vacuum cleaner and I think I broke my radio shack inverter. (The inverter fuse is intact but the light doesn't come on and neither does the vacuum, after turning on initially for one second...)

Also, is there a hack to use the giant battery as a 110V source, to run power tools or whatever? Seems like there should be. I asked these questions of the tech people at my dealer (Marin, California) and they had no idea.

thank you!
Rob
Novato, CA
2021 XC40 Recharge

 

you can do some simple physics math to estimate the power. DC power in Watts is voltage times amps, so if you have a 20A fuse on a 12V adaptor, the DC wattage is ~ 240W max. Now power inverters are not 100% efficient and AC power is .7 x DC wattage (ie RMS) so now you are in the 150W of AC power range. If you were to directly wire with a 40A fuse, then you could get up to 300W. So now its time to decide what power tools. First problem is, anything with an electric motor produces a power spike when the motor initially starts up so think of your 300W as the steady state and you probably only get 2/3rd of that for running a tool with a motor since the start up surge will pop your fuses otherwise. For things like recharging batteries etc you are in better shape, so maybe the thing to do is use battery powered tools and use the inverter as a way of recharging the batteries. PS if you want to read up more on this, you can find tons of info on sizing a power generator for your home or job site. Same principles apply.

 

Thank you mt6127! That helps, I have no experience with this kind of stuff. And that said -- any practical suggestions (from anyone reading this) about how one can tap the big battery? Volvo provides the cigarette lighter, and there's the 12V battery with contacts, but so far that's just like a gas-powered car, and doesn't provide too much power. Theoretically there should/could be some way to plug in regular 110v appliances to the car...

 

Yes, install something like pictured below - and you will be able to do that. Or as Ford advertises, some Pickups have that built in. But not a Volvo.

 

Maybe someone else has better info than this but I'd be very leary of using the car to power anything other than what the built-in plugs are designed to power. The manual for the T8 clearly states you shouldn't even use the car to 'jump start' another car. Just tossing that out there as an additional thought. You don't want to do anything that could void your warranty.

 

I'm certainly not recommending someone do or install something like that - But the OP wanted to use his cigarette lighter to power his vacuum cleaner! And was distressed that he broke his radio shack inverter! Then asked for a hack to use his battery directly to run his power tools! This is an option to provide 3000 watts. Granted it does costs several hundred dollars for the inverter.

IMHO - buy a Ford pickup with the on board generator- that would be a more reasonable choice.

https://news.pickuptrucks.com/2020/0...generator.html

 

LOL,, if I still have more than a couple of nickles to rub together after the 'new' and back orders are gone from the new F 150, I might just get one . But by then, almost every manufacturer will have similar features probably. Polestar anyone ???

 

Interesting. I wouldn't try anywhere near 3000W thru the 12V (I presume that's for a direct battery connection), but am curious to see if 200W is doable.

How does the car charge the 12V battery? I assume it must be charged from the main battery vs just when it's plugged in. I am curious to know more about that process.

Also, I presume Volvo has no way to power something from the high voltage battery itself, with an appropriate stepdown and inverter, at least not yet?