Cybertruck vs ice storm power outage (Outlet power to the rescue!)

[cyberRL]

We live in Nashville and were hit pretty hard by the ice storm, with the power going out Sunday at 6am. The Cybertruck served as our "backup generator" for 4 days and now my kids love me (and my truck again), so thought I would post our experience.

I had decided against the Gateway & PowerShare because of how rarely we lose power at this house. Thankfully, we had some extension cords that I was able to run to the deep freeze, refrigerator and internet. Then I ran some more for TV, gaming PC, lamps and chargers. It was getting cold fast in the house despite running the gas fireplace (I think it's mainly for show, as it felt colder with the vent open). But I could only get one space heater running before exceeding the max 20A current output on the truck bed 120V outlet.

At that point, I remembered the outlet inside the cabin had a separate 20A outlet, so we were able to run a second space heater and warm things up a little. By Monday morning, it was 55 degrees in the house (the low was 10 degrees outside) and I didn't sleep at all worrying either the fireplace or the space heaters were going to burn the house down. The next night was predicted to have a low of 2-4 degrees. So I got to work with the gas furnace, turned it's breaker off, then disconnected the power source from the house to the furnace, and instead connected the furnace to a stripped power cord coming from the cabin 120v. Voila! The house heated up to a comfy 70 degrees in no time.

Battery charge went from 95% Sunday AM -> 45% Monday at Noon (most of that had been spent running the two space heaters), so since the roads were clearing, we drove out to the Brentwood supercharger and topped off the truck battery before heading back home. We ran like this off the truck for 48 hours using 28% capacity every 24 hours until the power came back Wednesday at Noon. Family got to stay in the house and stay watch in the neighborhood as everyone left their homes to seek warmth and shelter. And yes, my kids who had been embarrassed to be seen in the truck now are very happy we have it. Many thanks to the Tesla team for this amazing product.

Sponsored

 

[DFeredinos]

Wow this was awesome to read, I’m so glad yall are safe and thanks for sharing ANOTHER great reason to love these trucks!

 

[dpoll995]

You could install a 14-50 receptacle in the garage or somewhere close to where you park and then make a 14-50 male to male cord and plug it in the bed and the garage receptacle and back feed your whole house with it. Probably can’t run everything all at once but should be enough for all the essentials. Just make sure to turn the main off so you’re not back feeding the main lines.

 

[cybersky]

You could install a 14-50 receptacle in the garage or somewhere close to where you park and then make a 14-50 male to male cord and plug it in the bed and the garage receptacle and back feed your whole house with it. Probably can’t run everything all at once but should be enough for all the essentials. Just make sure to turn the main off so you’re not back feeding the main lines.

Have you tried that? Technically, you need a transfer switch to connect ct 240v outlet, just like a generator. I don't think you can find a pre-made male to male 14-50 cable.

 

[skinzy]

Thanks for sharing. Great story.

 

[btcrealm]

Not an electrician so NFA ...err NEA (?) (Not Electrical Advice).

Here is an example from using a 30A generator
It is not hard to run 50A from the 240v on the truck to each side of the main power panel (120v per side), neutral, and ground. Fusing it is important and having a good system for ensuring main power is off when this connection is on (even if you have to manually do it, a switch is common).

People have also used things like this off the 240v plug https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09P398XMP

 

[CyberGus]

You could install a 14-50 receptacle in the garage or somewhere close to where you park and then make a 14-50 male to male cord and plug it in the bed and the garage receptacle and back feed your whole house with it. Probably can’t run everything all at once but should be enough for all the essentials. Just make sure to turn the main off so you’re not back feeding the main lines.

Have you tried that? Technically, you need a transfer switch to connect ct 240v outlet, just like a generator. I don't think you can find a pre-made male to male 14-50 cable.

Male-to-male cables are called "suicide cords" and are unsafe for you, your house, your truck, and possibly power-line workers.

Configure a simple transfer switch, just as you would for a generator, with an interlock. It is not expensive and reduces risk significantly.

 

[vandytom]

We live in Nashville and were hit pretty hard by the ice storm, with the power going out Sunday at 6am. The Cybertruck served as our "backup generator" for 4 days and now my kids love me (and my truck again), so thought I would post our experience.

I had decided against the Gateway & PowerShare because of how rarely we lose power at this house. Thankfully, we had some extension cords that I was able to run to the deep freeze, refrigerator and internet. Then I ran some more for TV, gaming PC, lamps and chargers. It was getting cold fast in the house despite running the gas fireplace (I think it's mainly for show, as it felt colder with the vent open). But I could only get one space heater running before exceeding the max 20A current output on the truck bed 120V outlet.

At that point, I remembered the outlet inside the cabin had a separate 20A outlet, so we were able to run a second space heater and warm things up a little. By Monday morning, it was 55 degrees in the house (the low was 10 degrees outside) and I didn't sleep at all worrying either the fireplace or the space heaters were going to burn the house down. The next night was predicted to have a low of 2-4 degrees. So I got to work with the gas furnace, turned it's breaker off, then disconnected the power source from the house to the furnace, and instead connected the furnace to a stripped power cord coming from the cabin 120v. Voila! The house heated up to a comfy 70 degrees in no time.

Battery charge went from 95% Sunday AM -> 45% Monday at Noon (most of that had been spent running the two space heaters), so since the roads were clearing, we drove out to the Brentwood supercharger and topped off the truck battery before heading back home. We ran like this off the truck for 48 hours using 28% capacity every 24 hours until the power came back Wednesday at Noon. Family got to stay in the house and stay watch in the neighborhood as everyone left their homes to seek warmth and shelter. And yes, my kids who had been embarrassed to be seen in the truck now are very happy we have it. Many thanks to the Tesla team for this amazing product.

Nashvillian here. I was telling my mom about the option when the area across the street went dark. Thankfully we didn’t lose power. I was ready to go too. The part where you had to top up at SC proves that the CT is superior bc it can crawl to get juice. No other Tesla is that capable. Love it more with each passing apocalypse

 

[btcrealm]

I'd like to see the statistics on how many cybertrucks in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic have been charging to 100% the last week, LoL. Mine was.

 

[Fugue]

I'd like to see the statistics on how many cybertrucks in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic have been charging to 100% the last week, LoL. Mine was.

Mine too.

 

[Carlos Thomas]

This is the way:

 

[CyberGus]

Thankfully we didn’t lose power. I was ready to go too

I'd like to see the statistics on how many cybertrucks in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic have been charging to 100% the last week, LoL. Mine was.

I charged to 100% in advance of the storm, and was properly mad when we didn't lose power

 

[Jager]

Please don't do what post #3 suggested. That's against code, is illegal, and if something goes wrong you could kill someone and/or burn your house down.

Use a proper transfer switch or panel interlock.

If you're just looking for 120v, you could use something like this to give you access to all 40 amps without having to go into the cabin:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08ML1QYQ3?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_5

Congrats on being the hero of the hour!

 

[cadamo001]

I use this to avoid male to male. Much safter and can be used with a generator or the CT.

https://a.co/d/aBEZaXc

 

[BeFamousVideo]

We live in Nashville and were hit pretty hard by the ice storm, with the power going out Sunday at 6am. The Cybertruck served as our "backup generator" for 4 days and now my kids love me (and my truck again), so thought I would post our experience.

I had decided against the Gateway & PowerShare because of how rarely we lose power at this house. Thankfully, we had some extension cords that I was able to run to the deep freeze, refrigerator and internet. Then I ran some more for TV, gaming PC, lamps and chargers. It was getting cold fast in the house despite running the gas fireplace (I think it's mainly for show, as it felt colder with the vent open). But I could only get one space heater running before exceeding the max 20A current output on the truck bed 120V outlet.

At that point, I remembered the outlet inside the cabin had a separate 20A outlet, so we were able to run a second space heater and warm things up a little. By Monday morning, it was 55 degrees in the house (the low was 10 degrees outside) and I didn't sleep at all worrying either the fireplace or the space heaters were going to burn the house down. The next night was predicted to have a low of 2-4 degrees. So I got to work with the gas furnace, turned it's breaker off, then disconnected the power source from the house to the furnace, and instead connected the furnace to a stripped power cord coming from the cabin 120v. Voila! The house heated up to a comfy 70 degrees in no time.

Battery charge went from 95% Sunday AM -> 45% Monday at Noon (most of that had been spent running the two space heaters), so since the roads were clearing, we drove out to the Brentwood supercharger and topped off the truck battery before heading back home. We ran like this off the truck for 48 hours using 28% capacity every 24 hours until the power came back Wednesday at Noon. Family got to stay in the house and stay watch in the neighborhood as everyone left their homes to seek warmth and shelter. And yes, my kids who had been embarrassed to be seen in the truck now are very happy we have it. Many thanks to the Tesla team for this amazing product.

Thanks for sharing.
CT is the ultimate truck.

Sponsored