R1T provided power during bomb cyclone

[reggie]

I charged our R1T to 80% before the recent winds here in Washington. Once the power went out, connected two refrigerators, some lights, the fan on the woodstove and of course phones and smaller rechargeable items. As a result, it kept the house warm, the food didn't spoil and for the most part we didn't have to stress too much other than the cleanup of the yard. Plus I can haul away all the branches that fell with the truck. My kids wanted to know if I would have to go charge the truck and the answer was no. In about 40 hours without power, we used 12% of the battery. If I did have to go charge, I heard some people had to wait 9 hours at some charging stations that did have power. Next time, probably will charge a bit higher given that we still have friends that are without power after about 5 days. Glad to have the R1T to help. Also, we have owned it about a year and loving it. No significant issues, 4-5 longer trips out of state, first time EV owner and happy with the switch to electric.

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[Thedude]

Definitely charge to 100% next time, no harm in having extra capacity in reserve if needed.

 

[CompilerBreak]

Ditto, it used 4% battery to run our big french door fridge + a few misc things for the 24 hours we were without power. If you are going to find yourself in this situation highly recommend a 10 or 12 gauge extension cord reel with multiple plugs, like this: https://www.amazon.com/CRAFTSMAN-Contractor-Retractable-Extension-Outlets/dp/B09BGCB9DX?th=1
What I run my miter saw and dust collection off normally.

 

[VSG]

I'm pretty sure almost everyone with a Rivian around here was/is doing the same thing. Some like me still are - power has been down here since Tuesday afternoon and isn't going to be back until Monday. At least that's what they're saying...

I'm only using 8% a day, so easily enough battery capacity to last me a week without the power.

 

[Redmond Chad]

My power was out for 3 days. Not all went as I'd hoped, but I was able to use the truck to replenish some power banks that I was using to power the whole house like a generator. More details in THIS thread.

BTW the issues I had were with the power banks, not the Rivian.

 

[Feetdry]

When, I saw the news with one of you using your Rivian as an emergency generator, I immediately changed mine to 100 per cent. But, alas, to our lights never even flickered during all the wind and rain.

 

[Dave Cundiff]

When, I saw the news with one of you using your Rivian as an emergency generator, I immediately changed mine to 100 per cent. But, alas, to our lights never even flickered during all the wind and rain.

Here's one possible reason Samish Island kept power: .

Best wishes!

 

[Feetdry]

Well, I am the first one on the island to receive power from PSE. I get my power just to the right of that sign on the island...So I receive my power a mile plus before the emergency generator.

 

[Robin]

I charged our R1T to 80% before the recent winds here in Washington. Once the power went out, connected two refrigerators, some lights, the fan on the woodstove and of course phones and smaller rechargeable items. As a result, it kept the house warm, the food didn't spoil and for the most part we didn't have to stress too much other than the cleanup of the yard. Plus I can haul away all the branches that fell with the truck. My kids wanted to know if I would have to go charge the truck and the answer was no. In about 40 hours without power, we used 12% of the battery. If I did have to go charge, I heard some people had to wait 9 hours at some charging stations that did have power. Next time, probably will charge a bit higher given that we still have friends that are without power after about 5 days. Glad to have the R1T to help. Also, we have owned it about a year and loving it. No significant issues, 4-5 longer trips out of state, first time EV owner and happy with the switch to electric.

Awesome ???

 

[Jake Stone]

I charged our R1T to 80% before the recent winds here in Washington. Once the power went out, connected two refrigerators, some lights, the fan on the woodstove and of course phones and smaller rechargeable items. As a result, it kept the house warm, the food didn't spoil and for the most part we didn't have to stress too much other than the cleanup of the yard. Plus I can haul away all the branches that fell with the truck. My kids wanted to know if I would have to go charge the truck and the answer was no. In about 40 hours without power, we used 12% of the battery. If I did have to go charge, I heard some people had to wait 9 hours at some charging stations that did have power. Next time, probably will charge a bit higher given that we still have friends that are without power after about 5 days. Glad to have the R1T to help. Also, we have owned it about a year and loving it. No significant issues, 4-5 longer trips out of state, first time EV owner and happy with the switch to electric.

Reggie-that is very impressive. Please forgive if this sounds so elementary, but I am not particularly mechanical. How did you hook up the appliances to the Riv? Did you use the Riv to power your house rather than individual appliances?

 

[reggie]

Reggie-that is very impressive. Please forgive if this sounds so elementary, but I am not particularly mechanical. How did you hook up the appliances to the Riv? Did you use the Riv to power your house rather than individual appliances?

I used 12 gauge power cords and power strips. I am not mechanical or electrical inclined either so I kept it simple. I only powered a few select items. See a few comments earlier from CompilerBreak and the link provided for a 100ft 12 gauge extension cord with reel. So basically that is what I used except I don't have the reel.

 

[Jake Stone]

I used 12 gauge power cords and power strips. I am not mechanical or electrical inclined either so I kept it simple. I only powered a few select items. See a few comments earlier from CompilerBreak and the link provided for a 100ft 12 gauge extension cord with reel. So basically that is what I used except I don't have the reel.

Got it. Thanks for the quick reply. I’ll pick up the reel so I am prepared to. I have the same experience. Best of luck and enjoy your Riv as much as I do mine.

 

[Fmc]

Condolences to all in the PNW dealing with this. I am in the gulf south and have a backfeed on my electrical panel and an Anker solix 3800. I use the Anker as an inverter and keep the battery charged from my Rivian.

 

[BCondrey]

Condolences to all in the PNW dealing with this. I am in the gulf south and have a backfeed on my electrical panel and an Anker solix 3800. I use the Anker as an inverter and keep the battery charged from my Rivian.

I think this is the best approach. You can power more things concurrently like this (higher output on the battery pack than the rivian). Need to make sure the battery pack can be charged from the Rivian at the same time it is discharging. I don't think all units can do that. Having a backfeed and interlock on the panel is an important safety feature.

 

[Cal]

Started the infor below before I found this thread. Please help me understand an R1T's true capabilities.

I test drove an R1T this past weekend and was very impressed. Wife loved it and we would have bought one on the spot but 1500w limited outlets stopped all consideration. I know my Lightning was designed for job sites and I don't need that much. E.g. I'll never use the 220v outlets.

What do I run? Home office: computer, starlink, lamp, Rest of the house: cable box, LCD tv, apple tv, fridge, freezer . Outside: drill, vacuum cleaner, power saw. I don't run everything at once. I switch depending on what and where we are. If I'm working on the green house, it's power tools, when we lose power it depends on the room we're using.

Power outage backup for my house it a big deal. I don't want an expensive switching system. I want to use my truck battery (like I do the Lightning).

Not being able to use this huge R1T battery to run a minimum of devices in a power outage is a deal killer for me. Maybe a future redesign? Maybe I'm underestimating it>

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