Is there a way to keep the REx on to keep 75% SOC while parked/idle?

Greetings All,

With hurricane season here, I was reevaluating out backup procedures should we be stuck in the path and without power for 7+ days....

Is there a way to keep the REx engine running and producing enough energy to keep 75% SOC while idled/parked running the AC?

I recall a while back reading about how to turn on the REx for emissions testing - would this procedure work for this application? Can it be run 3+ hours at a time?

Initially I was thinking that the "just in case" generator I have (still in the box...may not work since I've never used it) could run the level 1 EVSE and could plug that into the i3, but realized its not one of nicer ones that has a good simulated sine wave, and the EVSE/i3 probably won't like it...

Generally, the REx tends to shut off when at idle unless the battery is low, and only comes on when there's a bigger load (caused by moving).

The car can be fooled if you exit it without opening the driver's door, but I don't know exactly what benefit that would have. Some people do this to not reset the starting point for the REx hold level while refueling.

At idle, not sure the gas tank is large enough to run for 3+ hours, either. I think two would be probably stretching it, depending on the load.

If the REx is running and the car is idle, it will be adding power to the battery much faster than the AC will use it. So even in hold mode it would shut off at 75%. You could of course start with a lower charge on the battery and let it build.

It's not clear what you are doing here, sleeping in the car? But please keep in mind any gas burning engine is going to be creating CO gas that will kill you in a confined space. So doing this in the garage or something is a really bad idea.

I believe the REx can only be started for the emissions testing mode if the rear hatch is open... which might not be ideal in a hurricane

Tacfoto said:

If the REx is running and the car is idle, it will be adding power to the battery much faster than the AC will use it. So even in hold mode it would shut off at 75%. You could of course start with a lower charge on the battery and let it build.

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I've had different results. I noticed while having the REx on a long drive (its coded), then stopping at a drive through and then parking the car - keeping the Car on and not turning the REx off and not opening the door, the REx will eventually stop itself and the SOC will go down roughly 1% every 5-8 minutes.

Tacfoto said:

It's not clear what you are doing here, sleeping in the car? But please keep in mind any gas burning engine is going to be creating CO gas that will kill you in a confined space. So doing this in the garage or something is a really bad idea.

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Yes, for sleeping in an emergency situation, will pull out of the garage before turning on the Rex....