Voltage / Inverters / Laptops

EarthDemon

Full Member
Posts
209
Likes
142
Hi,

My laptop is beginning to refuse to charge when not on EHU.

I was wondering if anyone has any insights into the problem. When new van happily powered inverter, wondering if the problem is likely to be with leisure batteries, inverter or even the laptop... Macs sometimes refuse to show the charging light even when plugged into the mains.

thanks
 
hairydog said:
A MUCH better approach is to use a proper 12v adapter for your laptop.

They are usually no more than about £20 and are about 95% efficient. So that 65 watts output is only costing 5.7 amps of battery power.
Click to expand...

While this is true for most laptops it doesn’t necessarily follow for MacBooks, last time I checked for mine a generic 12v psu was around £90.
 
Well, what do you expect if you buy an expensive half eaten apple.... :lol-049::lol-049::lol-049:
 
Nabsim said:
While this is true for most laptops it doesn’t necessarily follow for MacBooks, last time I checked for mine a generic 12v psu was around £90.
Click to expand...

Very glad I asked - any chance of a link to the sort of thing you are talking about?

Also, perhaps I am misunderstanding this but I though we were stuck with inverters because macs run on 14V or thereabouts, hence the inverter.... That could be complete b*ll*x....
 
Alf said:
We always had 2 apples and 2 oranges per child sent free at school just after the war.

Alf
Click to expand...

Did someone mention orange,it was old but it was beautiful and the colours they were fine and it was on the twelth i used to sing the sash my father wore.:giggle:
 
My Lenovo laptop charges at 19v and 5 amps I think. I managed to find a 12v cable (car socket type) that outputs the right power and works a treat, so I'm sure you'd find one for your Macbook. I also charge my iPad on 12v with no problems.
 
mark61 said:
Bought 12volt mac charger years ago, definitly wasn't more that £30. Loads around now, this ones similar. I make sure it charging while driving.

85W Car Charger for Apple Magsafe 1 Macbook Pro A1172 A1175 A1189
Click to expand...

Yes you get some but depends on model, mine is MagSafe 1 but A1278 needing 16.5v 3.685A max.

I did see those in the link when I last looked And the claim they are made by Apple but when I checked forums they were warning folks off them. I didn’t see them in the linked store though think it was a US site.

Do you know if these come boxed as Apple products? I am not against buying generic products if they are correct spec, done it with a mains charger, but not wrecking an expensive bit of kit using wrong parts
 
QFour said:
One on EBay

Replacement Macbook Air 13" A1304 A1369 14.5V 3.1A 45W DC Car Adapter Charger | eBay

It's just a step up Dc to DC Converter. Far more power efficient than an inverter. The only inverter you should use with a laptop power supply IMHO would be a Pure Sine Wave one. The square wave ones use more power and can damage some power supplies.
Click to expand...

I think I will end up getting a couple of adjustable buck converters as you can buy the MagSafe 1&2 cables. You know it’s going to be right that way (hopefully)
 
Silent Inverter Located

Thanks for all the posts, some of which I understood and some I didn't.

My crappy old inverter was on the blink having been pulled out from the socket too hard too often so I bought an Energizer 500W from South Downs Motor Homes for £69. They also sell a 1000W model but I only need it for a Mac laptop. I was delighted to find that it is completely silent - maybe this is not news to many people but I had formed the impression that all inverters resonate at that horrible pitch like last couple I had.
 
EarthDemon said:
Thanks for all the posts, some of which I understood and some I didn't.

My crappy old inverter was on the blink having been pulled out from the socket too hard too often so I bought an Energizer 500W from South Downs Motor Homes for £69. They also sell a 1000W model but I only need it for a Mac laptop. I was delighted to find that it is completely silent - maybe this is not news to many people but I had formed the impression that all inverters resonate at that horrible pitch like last couple I had.
Click to expand...

Better to use a voltage buck charger taking you from 12v to 19v,they can be bought on ebay cheapish.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who viewed this discussion (Total:0)

Back
Top