Reddit users gave a sobering assessment to a portable power station owner looking at their plug-in hybrid as outage support.
While a Toyota RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid can theoretically feed a large power station through its 12-volt outlet, the Redditors warned that the charge rate may be so limited that it is hard to treat it as a serious blackout backup.
Here's what to know
The question surfaced in a post to Reddit's r/Jackery community from an owner trying to figure out whether that vehicle could do much to keep a Jackery HomePower 3600 topped up during a power loss.
This original poster wrote, "I am curious how practical it would be to charge the Jackery from this 12v outlet in an extended power outage scenario. Has anyone done this with an EV or PHEV before, and what was your experience?"
Most replies came down to the same point: the setup is possible, but not especially practical for a battery this large. One commenter who had looked into a similar Jackery model wrote, "To charge it from 0% to 100% would take about 30 hours. Yes 30, not a typo." Another commenter joked, "It's like trying to charge it using a hamster on a hamster wheel."
More background
Even if the vehicle has a substantial battery pack, that does not mean the accessory outlet can deliver power quickly. In this case, commenters treated the 12V port as the real bottleneck rather than the plug-in hybrid's larger battery.
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The discussion also turned to a feature found on some higher-trim RAV4 plug-in hybrids: a rear 120-volt AC outlet rated at 1,500 watts. One commenter estimated that option could deliver about 800 to 900 watts to the HomePower 3600 when the unit is set to quiet charging mode.
That was not available on the original poster's vehicle, however. As OP explained, "Not my trim level. It was thousands of dollars to step up, and I just didn't see the value for me."
Instead of relying on the 12V outlet alone, several commenters pointed to faster vehicle-based charging hardware. One commenter said Jackery's DC-to-DC charger could bring a similar unit from empty to full in about 5.5 hours. Another commenter said a DC-DC converter installed in the car might produce around 500 to 600 watts, which would cut a recharge from empty to roughly 6 to 7 hours instead of around 30.
Where can I learn more?
For a broader look at outage backup options, these stories show how batteries, EVs, and home charging setups perform when the grid goes down.
• Portable battery systems are showing startling capabilities during outages when solar keeps them charged off-grid.
• General Motors is rolling out a vehicle-to-home service that turns EVs into generators.
• In a world-first trial, researchers showed EVs can support the grid during outages instead of sitting idle.
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