laptop car charger

kalabdel

Member
Join Date
Feb 2015
Location
Ontario
Posts
1,108
Hello,


I've tried a couple of those small300-400W inverters from Canadian Tire and Walmart to power up my laptop and they didn't work at all.
Does anyone have good experience with one that you can recommend?
How about those ones I see online that plug right into the laptop, so 12VDC to whatever laptop voltage, are these any better?


Thanks
 
Targus AP10US1.


Works okay for me, including keeping the phone with hotspot going for video chats.


It's pretty old, so who know what the current model is.


The fan whines a bit at first, but it's no worse than the tinnitus ;).
 
Thanks gentlemen. I think I will go with 12VDC auto adapter. I am quite puzzled as to why I can not find them locally, I thought they would be allover the place with all the iPads and laptops that we own now a days.
I may be using the wrong key words though.


Cheers
 
Thanks Peter. My laptop AC adapter is rated for 120w and I found one 12VDC adapter online with 120w rating I will grab that tomorrow.
I read many reviews of small inverters with rating as high as 1000w contineous and they all got very low ratings, many did not provide enough power to start the laptop at all and quite few burnt. These were all "simulated" sine wave. As Gary noted best choice for inverter would be true sine wave but I will go the cheap way first and I will be powering a laptop that I can risk crapping out on me for a while and see what happens.
 
I have used a small $30 100W AC converter for laptops for years. I have one in every vehicle.

The only exception was I bolted a larger one to the back of the drivers seat in my work van and wired that directly to the battery with a fuse of its own.
 
I have used a small $30 100W AC converter for laptops for years. I have one in every vehicle.

The only exception was I bolted a larger one to the back of the drivers seat in my work van and wired that directly to the battery with a fuse of its own.


Interesting. Were they all the same brand and what is it?


Thanks
 
Interesting. Were they all the same brand and what is it?


Thanks

Whatever cheap one I picked up from whatever store I was at. I never checked the wave output type and never had a problem with a laptop or using a USB charger in them.

Plus the larger one was good enough for a 20" TV and Playstation unit when I had to take my son with me so he could play.

EDIT: I just checked my newest Toshiba laptop, widescreen with DVD deck - 19.6V @ 2.3A = barely over 45 watts
 
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During the October ice storm when I had no power for a week at the house, I ran my 22" TV from a cheap inverter I carry in my work truck. The inverter has a power meter LED display and it claimed that my TV drew less than 10 watts. I don't watch TV, but when I do, it's OU football. I watched the whole game and never even had to start the truck...the display on the inverter also shows volts, and it never dropped more than a few tenths below twelve volts.

I ran a Bosch hammer drill with that same inverter a few years ago. The drill data plate says 9 amps iirc, and the inverter is claimed to handle 1000W. It ran the drill just fine. Long enough to bore a 1" diameter hole through 14" of concrete at a remote tank with no available power.

In both cases, I raised the hood and clamped the inverter power leads straight to the battery. And running that big drill, I did keep the truck running. I have never gone to the trouble of running 2awg wire through the firewall of my work truck and as rarely as I use that inverter, it really isn't worth the bother.

I don't think modern laptop power supplies are that sensitive to dirty incoming AC. I have a cheap 120w inverter that looks like a coffee mug that seems to do okay running the laptop power supply (just a normal latitude, not a precision!), although it does occasionally fault out (power LED goes from green to red and it beeps at me).

I can run that little one plugged into the cigar lighter. It looks like this one:
https://www.autozone.com/12v-produc...XiJAi5lzoz-Seg5p3qm4DHjaTbWArfWAaAqL0EALw_wcB
 
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Thanks Okie and I_Automation.
I picked up a DC charger, adjustble output 12-20VDC and it works quite well.
I may still pickup a used one of those inverters in the future and try them out again.



Whatever cheap one I picked up from whatever store I was at. I never checked the wave output type and never had a problem with a laptop or using a USB charger in them.

Plus the larger one was good enough for a 20" TV and Playstation unit when I had to take my son with me so he could play.

EDIT: I just checked my newest Toshiba laptop, widescreen with DVD deck - 19.6V @ 2.3A = barely over 45 watts


Mine is 19.6VDC 6A
 
Not a clue. I would say it's a Chinese no brand. I picked it up at a local electronics store and they only had the one and I could tell from the sticker price that it had been there for a long time.

I want d something quick and that was the only one I could find; DC one that is. $55.00

IMG_20210414_074501681.jpg IMG_20210414_074325231_HDR.jpg
 

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