CarGenerator

CarGenerator is the worlds lightest generator at 11 pounds
Your car is a Generator
Start your car... you've got power for days

Finally, there’s no need for a big, smelly gas generator you need to maintain.
CarGenerator is sleek and light and requires no maintenance.
CarGenerator easily powers your gas or oil furnace/boiler, or fridge, for 50-70 hours.

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50-80 hours
continuous use

High efficiency power
conversion > 90% efficient

3-year extended
warranty

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Car Generator

You already own 75% of a backup generator, sitting right there in your driveway!
Add CarGenerator™ to your vehicle, and you have the world’s most reliable, longest running, ultralight, no maintenance backup power solution.
Works on gas, diesel, hybrid, pure electric EV vehicles.

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PORTABLE WEATHERPROOF AC POWER – FROM YOUR VEHICLE.

So my car is a backup generator for my house, cottage, or camping off-grid? What can it run?

Your home furnace and sump pump, to keep your house warm and dry when the power goes out.

If you’re camping, run fun things like blenders, beer coolers, fridges, party lights, or even that espresso machine your wife gave you heck for buying back in 2015. Plug it in, make her a macchiato.

Your fridge, to keep the food (and beer) cold in the summer weather.

Bouncy castles, kids toys, projectors for movie nights, speakers and disco lights to keep the party going.

A few lights and TV’s, computers, and more

Medical devices: if you haven’t been camping in a while because you need your CPAP, oxygen machine, and other medical device, now you can go!

RV or Trailer batteries! Find the best spot, even if it’s not serviced, and charge your trailer quietly and conveniently with the car that towed it there.

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Why Your Vehicle Is Better For Backup Power, Instead Of A Traditional Gas Generator?

Lightweight and Convenient

Starting at just 9 pounds, this tiny device hooks up in a minute, and powers your home for days.

Longer Runtime

You get 50-70 hours of runtime from your car gas tank, versus refilling a small gas generator tank every 4-6 hours.

Electric / Hybrid cars

Electric / Hybrid cars work great with CarGenerator, and in the case of a pure electric vehicle you use no gasoline at all.

Environmentally Superior

Gas generators are known to be loud and smelly for a reason, they have almost no emissions control or filters. Your car on the other hand, has thousands of dollars of pollution controls and engine management, with regular government emissions testing.

Less Gas

Surprise! Running a compact sedan at idle uses less gasoline than running a generator. Honda 1000watt generator .19 gal/hr, compact sedan 2 litre engine .16 gal/hr Source: energy.gov

Ultra-Reliable & Hassle Free

Ready when you need it. If your car starts you have power. Hassle Free no maintenance or oil changes, ever.

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Watch CarGenerator customers Barb and Bruce run their house furnace easily from their family mini van.

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Customers Reviews

CarGenerator is a wonderful device. I had thought of purchasing a whole house generator (significant cost, space issues, _might_ never use it) or a portable gas-powered generator (noisy, fuel storage danger, constant refilling, might not work when needed), but didn't like either solution. Finally started thinking, "Gee, my car has gas, is safe and quiet, runs for hours and hours; there must be a way to use it as a house generator." The Internet immediately revealed CarGenerator.com.
We got ours installed this past week with the home integration kit, and it works like a charm! So easy. Idle the car outside the garage, plug the generator into the house, visit our electric panel, flip one or more transfer switches, and our furnace, fridge, freezer, and/or sump pump is seamlessly running off the CarGenerator. Beautiful!
Finally, the company offers good old-fashioned warm and personal customer service. I post reviews only when I'm absolutely delighted with a product/service; only 4 in 3 years. CarGenerator makes it 5. I'm delighted to recommend CarGenerator to anyone considering an easy, compact, high-quality solution to intermittent power loss at home.
Tom Loveland

Jonathan spent time helping me installing a cool adapter and then we tested it all out. I was able to heat my house and run my furnace with this really cool device – plugged right into my car battery. It’s so cool and I’m so impressed. Jonathan, you’ve got an amazing invention here. I look forward to seeing you again soon and enjoying some fine wine.
Kevin Howey

I have had a CarGenerator since before Christmas. Thankfully I haven't had to use it.
But I really wish we had it back in the ice storm of 2013, when my sister's power was out during Christmas day and into the evening.
A BBQ saved the day for the turkey, but if we'd had a CarGenerator at the time, we would have been able to have heat and light as well.
My favourite part of it is the fact I can keep it in my car's trunk, ready to use it in any weather if and when I need it. I was going to buy a full-on gasoline generator, but storing that would have been a royal pain as I don't have much room in my garage to begin with.
Also, I can't easily schlep a gas generator around, if it's needed somewhere else.
The CarGenerator literally goes where I go. I'm going to take it with me on car camping trips, as it's very handy for providing clean 110V for my laptop, etc.
I've tested it with my new furnace (DC variable speed motor, peaking at about 200W), and it works perfectly, with wattage to spare. It requires the installation of a 110 volt outlet, which is straightforward, but an electrician can help you if this is something you aren't confident doing.
Great for wherever/whenever you need power in a pinch. It's a great little device and very useful!
Jason Goodburn-Moffitt

My wife and I picked up a Car Generator from Jonathan in order to give us some peace of mind at the cottage. Power outages are more frequent and in the winter it can be quite cold. Definitely would not be fun in an extended power outage. Jonathan came up to the cottage and helped us install an adaptor for the furnace so we could still power it from the Car Generator during a power outage. It will also run our fridge when power goes out in the summertime. Worked like a charm and now we have peace of mind if we are up there that we can still keep everyone safe and warm.
Paul Van Der Zanden

We are now the happy owners of a CarGenerator which has to be one of the most impressive inventions I've seen in a long while. Jonathan delivered our unit on Monday and provided us with a demonstration of how the unit would keep our furnace and fridge running in a power outage. My husband turned on his 2010 Dodge van and the furnace, attached to the van via the CarGenerator and a 100 foot extension cord from COSTCO, started up. AMAZING!!! The unit is lightweight, compact, takes up no room. And no diesel fuel to store. So clever. It will save us during the next power outage - kinda' looking forward to one just to see it work!
Barbara Willitts

I bought one and my friend Jonathan Schloo came over to my house and hooked up a prototype, easily done by someone comfortable with a little bit of DIY. It works great, I had the furnace hooked up with plenty of power to spare so we also added the refrigerator too, still with enough power to charge phones and laptops, and run my wifi.
Next time there is an ice storm, which is very likely in this area in the few years as we move into an El Nino cycle, I will be toasty warm with all my modcons.
David Black

Jonathan is a genius and is sharing his invention with the world. We get many power outages here in Vaughan, winter and summer. It sucks! But not anymore! Jonathan’s invention has changed all that! This power pack goes were you go – cottage, home, camping.
Danielle Soullierre Sinclair

Exceptional, well-designed product. We're excited about the potential this holds. Great job!
Jeremy Swampillai

We first heard about CarGenerator from a friend and looked into it as the product sounded interesting. We think it's a terrific invention that really meets our needs. The CarGenerator can heat our house using either of our vehicles. Its compact design takes up less space than traditional generators and is light and portable to carry and hang from your vehicle. Jonathan is very knowledgeable, professional and down to earth friendly. We would recommend CarGenerator!!
Sandy Christeas

When the ice storm hit us this last winter, we took out our gasoline generator and… surprise it wouldn’t start. The gas was bad, battery dead and it would not start. I ordered this CarGenerator and jonathan the owner delivered it and also did a demo for me. He showed me how to hook it up. It ran my furnace, Fridge and Freezer without any issue. I am pleased with the product and recommend it!
Amazon Customer

I normally don't get blown away by many products but my friend Jonathan Schloo invented this amazing product that uses a something most of us already have - our car! He re-framed the car as 'power' and his invention can power up essentials in the event of a power outage. I watched in slack jawed fascination as my furnace and fridges were powered up by the car with house power off. Awesome! Wished I thought of it! Best of Luck on Dragon's Den October 4th on CBC. I love this thing!
David Andrew Smith

Received my Cargenerator last Friday and hooked it right up to my Ram 1500 . HAD TO DO A TEST RUN ! Plugged in my compressor and , tada , it fired right up ! Wired the furnace with the supplied kit and it’s ready to rock if and when we need it !
Great product and saved tons of money if I was to go the traditional route and get a gas powered generator ! Thanks Jon ....

Ernie Lansing

A few weeks ago Hurricane Dorian passed through NB Canada and luckily for us we had just purchased the Car Generator and were able to use it. Since it was the first time using it, we did need a few directives in starting it up but Jonathan was there to answer our call and easily walked us through it. Fridge scanned in at 161 kw and the Satellite TV at 262 kw and by using a power bar, were also able to charge our phones and whatever else needed to be charged. The best part of this is you can call the Company 7 days a week for assistance and Jonathan is right there to take your call. It is a life saver when you have no power and always have a vehicle in your driveway to hook up the generator.
Francine Caissie

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CarGenerator A Smart New Generation Of Portable Weatherproof AC Power - From Your Vehicle

YES! I WANT IT NOW

FAQs

Do I need to leave my car engine running?

Unless you own a wind farm or a giant solar array, when the power goes out, there are only two ways of generating backup power; 1) Producing power from backup batteries, which will only last a few hours at best, or 2) producing power from an internal combustion engine. Like a traditional gas generator, with CarGenerator, a gas motor provides the power, turning fuel into electricity. Where CarGenerator is different is that it has a much larger gas tank, so 50-70 hours of runtime is possible instead of 5-8, and it’s only 16 pounds, because you are using your car’s engine instead of one that’s permanently coupled to a generator. Thanks to the superior emissions control systems of modern vehicle, CarGenerator is actually more environmentally-friendly as well.

Will I run out of gas?

A typical vehicle can provide power for 50+ hours up to 80+ hours on a tank. Compare this to a typical portable gas generator that needs attention every 4-5 hours because of its tiny little gas tank. Prove this to yourself, get an OBD vehicle scanner connect it to your vehicle and watch the “fuel rate” number and you will see with your own vehicle how minimal fuel is consumed at idle.

Will it drain my battery?

Nope. Not even one tiny bit… Once your motor is running, your battery isn’t even necessary in the equation (true fact, ask your mechanic). Power for the car’s electrical system (or your house or RV) actually comes from the alternator. Batteries are there just to start the car and get the motor running, so your battery won’t even notice CarGenerator being attached.

ISN’T IT BAD TO IDLE A CAR FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME?

Nope, not unless you were planning on hooking up CarGenerator to a ’59 Studebaker. Modern cars are designed to handle all kinds of operating conditions, and at idle, the car’s computer makes sure its engine is adequately cooled and lubricated. Police vehicles and ambulances are typically idled all the time, and usually enter their second service lives at 100,000+ miles. If you need CarGenerator more than a handful of times per year, you’d likely be better off with a natural-gas-powered, hard-wired permanent generator at a cost of $11,000+ dollars. For everyone else, rest assured that your car is operating well within its design limits.

WILL SOMEONE STEAL MY CAR?

Nope. Not a chance…. Once you start your engine, just lock your doors with a spare key (see our instruction manual), and depending on your location you can put a steering wheel lock on for additional protection (about $12 at Wal-Mart) which makes it almost impossible to steal the vehicle. If you’re still worried, or you live in a neighborhood with a lot of chalk outlines on the sidewalk, CarGenerator can supply you with a wheel boot, to make theft impossible without a trailer or an angle grinder. If a thief brings a trailer to steal your car, it won’t matter if the key is in it or not. If they bring an angle grinder, you will definitely hear them, and should probably call the police. In any event you would know immediately because your power would go out! Six years in market with thousands of customers coast to coast, not one theft or problem.

Why not just buy a regular gas generator?

Three words: Reliable. Ultralight. Run-time.

RELIABLE – the #1 problem with traditional generators? F.T.S. – fail to start. When you need it most they don’t start up because of old gas or no maintenance. If your car starts, you have power.

ULTRALIGHT – CarGenerator is just 16 pounds, versus typical generators that are 60 – 160 pound beasts.

RUN-TIME – CarGenerator has a run-time of 50-80+ hours, where typical generators need to be refilled every 4-5 hours.

What about the environment?

Its actually more environmentally friendly because typical vehicles already have thousands of dollars worth of emissions controls systems in place; computers, oxygen sensors, and catalytic converters. In some cities, a ULEV (like a Toyota Prius) actually puts out less pollution than there is in the ambient air! Gross, right? A standard generator is basically a glorified lawn mower, with no emissions equipment at all!

Why not just get a cheap inverter then?

Totally an option. If you want to jerry-rig an inverter in a waterproof container, you certainly could, but if you want to plug in any sensitive electronics (like your furnace, laptop, or medical device) you’ll need pure-sine wave power to avoid damage and ensure good performance. A 1000 watt, pure sine wave inverter can be purchased from Walmart for about $400. Then you need a set of heat-proof booster cables for prolonged use under the hood (about $100), and finally, you need a weather-proof housing that also allows for ventilation. If you’re an industrious, DIY-er who loves saving money above all else, you could definitely build your own CarGenerator; you’ll save about $150, providing your time isn’t worth anything. For the rest of us, who value our time and want an easy, proven solution, CarGenerator is simply the best possible option for worry-free, temporary power.

Is up to 1000 watts enough?

1000 watts is not a lot, however consider the following:

- To run your your gas or oil furnace and heat your entire house, only requires between 200-300 watts on average.

- To run a fridge only requires 200-300 watts typically

- The number one identified problem with gas generator is….? F.T.S. = Fail to start. CarGenerator is always ready.

- Keeping a good supply of gas cans stored, and keeping them all fresh every few months, is a nuisance and a fire safety hazard.

- If you need lots of backup power for all your house appliances and big draw items like a hot tub, wine cellar, Air Conditioning, or if you often need backup power, then you’re better off with a traditional gas generator.

- If your need for backup power is occasional and modest, then a CarGenerator is a better choice.

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