inverter to charge laptop when in the car

jimricho · Guru

inverter to charge laptop when in the car

jimricho · Guru

magraret wrote:
we will also be going free camping and will be getting solar and an other inverter for for the van to convert power but do we need two batterys or wil one be enough for us we would like to free camp for about 4 days ony and who do we get to conect all of this to our jayco starcaft

If you wish to conserve your house battery power there's a couple of strategies that may help...

Charge the laptop from the tug's main battery while on the move, the Jayco box can be plugged into the car's cig lighter socket. Then use the laptop on it's internal battery.

Charge (and use) the laptop when house battery is being charged from the solar and again use the laptop's internal battery when the solar is not active.

PS: A former member of this forum some time ago did a test to compare the inverter option against the Jayco option and found that the inverter option drew 60% more power.

-- Edited by jimricho on Sunday 27th of May 2012 11:38:14 AM

magraret · Senior Member

could any one please advise what is the best gadget to charge my laptop when traveling and where to go i believe that you can get an inverter to plug into the other cigerate lighter to charge it when the engine is going

we will also be going free camping and will be getting solar and an other inverter for for the van to convert power but do we need two batterys or wil one be enough for us we would like to free camp for about 4 days ony and who do we get to conect all of this to our jayco starcaft

musketeer · Veteran Member

hi

we bought a charger for our laptop at jaycar and it cost about $35 ,but I took my laptop in to make sure I got the right connection and the right size set-up for it ,it works great

magraret · Senior Member

thanks for that i would take my lap top in thats for sure

jimricho · Guru

The Jaycar laptop charger is a better arrangement than using an inverter. It's cheaper and more efficient. (If using an inverter one should use a Pure Sine Wave unit, not a Modified(?) Sine Wave.) And yes, if you take your laptop with you the sales "wallah" will be able to ensure you have the right one and set it up for you.

magraret · Senior Member

just a q what is the differance between a pure and modified sine wave please

rockylizard · Guru

Gday...

It appears as a complicated subject ... but fairly simple actually ...

Try this website - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_inverter

Cheers - John

rockylizard · Guru

Gday...

I have an inverter (180W unit) which I have been using for charging in the car for the laptop for about two years. I also have solar panels on the roof of the van and I charge the laptop through the 12v socket inside the van using the inverter.

Both ways works excellently.

However, I only have a "modified sine" inverter and the dude in the computer shop who sold it to me said that it was perfectly good for charging the laptop battery without having the laptop on. He said that I would be wise to not use the laptop while on the "modified sine" inverter as it may cause damage to the harddrive.

Hope that helps

Cheers - John

Happywanderer · The Master

The adaptor that I bought from Jaycar to charge laptop from 12 volt ciggie lighter when car is running, comes with a range of sizes to fit different laptops. My Toshiba is 19 v so I picked the appropriate attachment from the range. Works well. Think it cost about 59.00.
As RockyLizard says above, a pure sine wave is the more appropriate to use. I was also told not to charge a laptop from a modified as it can damage the laptop. Safer to get the pure sine wave and be sure. Not very expensive, mine is a 300 w and cost around 139.00 from supercheap auto. Never had a problem.

bill12 · Guru

I tried the inverter path, and found that they didn,t last long for me. I have a powertech plus 90w laptop power supply which plugs in to a cig lighter . I bought it from jatcar and it seems to work well charge my toshiba laptop, but be warned, it draws 3.9 amps, so is better to charge while the motor is going. I also have dual battery setup, which helps.Bill

rockylizard · Guru

Gday...

Jimricho - I agree to be very cautious with a Modified Sine Inverter. The computer bloke who sold me my modified sine inverter stressed to NEVER use the laptop while charging using the inverter.

If you want/need to use the laptop WHILE charging then ONLY use a Pure Sine Intverter.

The way you describe "how to use" is perfect and is how I use mine. I charge the switched off laptop in the car when on the move using the Modified Sine Inverter or when camped through 12v socket in van from house battery - which is getting juice via the solar panels. Works great. I only use the laptop when camped using the internal laptop battery. Much safer.

And - you say -

PS: A former member of this forum some time ago did a test to compare the inverter option against the Jayco option and found that the inverter option drew 60% more power.

I was told to look at it this way. Car alternator/solar panel produces 12v to charge 12v car/house battery. Inverter then changes that to 240v which is then available to laptop 240v charger cord. The laptop 240v charger cord then changes it back to somewhere between 12v and 19v depending on the laptop. Very inefficient process.

If you buy a reliable, recommended 12v charger direct to laptop then it is 12v/19v direct to laptop.

But again, I have been told by computer places to be VERY careful of using the laptop while charging with the 12v "direct to laptop" laptop charger you purchase. Some cheaper chargers can affect the harddrive - ultimately killing it.

Cheers - John

Hylda&Jon · Guru

Use a charger that plugs straight into your laptop so you don't use the laptop's 240v power cord.

The chargers that use the laptop's 240v power cord are the inverter types which convert the cars 12v into 240v then your laptop power lead converts it back down to the 19v etc that it needs. This is an unnecessary waste of power.

The ones that plug straight into your laptop without using the 240v lead converts the cars 12v power directly into 19v or whatever is needed to run your laptop. This method is a much more economical method.

The guy at a Dick Smiths store would know it (I believe many passangers use them on planes to run their laptops)

Cheers

Jon

Happywanderer · The Master

Thats what I've got HyldanJon. Its a completely different power cord to the one that goes into 240v. I didn't know you could get them to go from the 240v plug to the 12 volt set up.