Charging Apple Mac Book Without Inverter

[EarthDemon]

It has taken me two years to stumble upon the answer to this. I realise this is either obvious or irrelevant to most of you but just in case there are any other Mac users out there, this thing is the doberman’s danglies:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08CDTGDSY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Mac charger that actually fkg works for MacBookPro and iPadPro

Hooray! No more inverter sucking the life out of me.

 

[barryd]

Will be interested to see how you get on with that. Mrs D has a new laptop with
a USB C type charger and I considered one similar to that but after starting a thread about it I was concerned it wouldnt charge fast enough so I just bought one of these. https://www.amazon.co.uk/BESTEK-Power-Inverter-Smart-Adapter/dp/B076P9PGX3?th=1

Did you find the invertor used a lot of power then? Only time will tell I guess. This time of year though we have plenty of power from the sun.

 

[EarthDemon]

Yes an inverter will charge faster but drains the hell out of my leisure batteries. They are inherently inefficient. My knowledge of electronics is very limited but I think I am right in saying that batteries supply DC and laptops etc require DC, so by using an inverter you are changing DC into AC only to turn it back into DC again. That is horribly inefficient (I’m guessing you will use triple the power), plus I have heard inverters stress out your wiring system generally so are to be treated with caution. The gizmo I have recommended means I can now run a fridge pretty much all the time as well as be on the laptop hours a day. I only hook up to mains about once a fortnight by the way.

As for fast charging… I’m always in the bloody van so not really an issue!

 

[trevskoda]

Be very careful what current you draw from a ciggy socket, best with a sep one heavy wired from the battery with a inline fuse.

 

[EarthDemon]

Be very careful what current you draw from a ciggy socket, best with a sep one heavy wired from the battery with a inline fuse.

What could happen? Anyway thanks.

 

[barryd]

Yes an inverter will charge faster but drains the hell out of my leisure batteries. They are inherently inefficient. My knowledge of electronics is very limited but I think I am right in saying that batteries supply DC and laptops etc require DC, so by using an inverter you are changing DC into AC only to turn it back into DC again. That is horribly inefficient (I’m guessing you will use triple the power), plus I have heard inverters stress out your wiring system generally so are to be treated with caution. The gizmo I have recommended means I can now run a fridge pretty much all the time as well as be on the laptop hours a day. I only hook up to mains about once a fortnight by the way.

As for fast charging… I’m always in the bloody van so not really an issue!

Will be interesting to compare notes. I would have preferred a dedicated 12v charger for her Honor laptop but I couldnt find anything I was 100% sure would work or get a recommendation or approval from Honor. I cant imagine it will draw much power though with it being new and only a 14" but time will tell.

 

[trevskoda]

What could happen? Anyway thanks.

Wires behind dash may melt if the fuse dont blow first, seen this happen with a inverter pluged in.

 

[barryd]

Be very careful what current you draw from a ciggy socket, best with a sep one heavy wired from the battery with a inline fuse.

someone in the reviews for that invertor I just bought said that. They reckon it will only put out 100w in a cig socket. The one I use is the two pin type fitted by swift in the back of the van so Im guessing its beefier than a standard car cig lighter socket. Anyway 100w is more than enough to charge any laptop.

 

[EarthDemon]

Wires behind dash may melt if the fuse dont blow first, seen this happen with a inverter pluged in.

Yes but the gizmo I am talking about is not an inverter - just a transformer

 

[EarthDemon]

someone in the reviews for that invertor I just bought said that. They reckon it will only put out 100w in a cig socket. The one I use is the two pin type fitted by swift in the back of the van so Im guessing its beefier than a standard car cig lighter socket. Anyway 100w is more than enough to charge any laptop.

Great if you’ve got power to waste - like I said I reckon you’ll be using double or triple the amount of power via an inverter vs a transformer. Inverters get warm and sometimes buzz .

 

[barryd]

Great if you’ve got power to waste - like I said I reckon you’ll be using double or triple the amount of power via an inverter vs a transformer. Inverters get warm and sometimes buzz .

Dont see how I have a choice really. The spec of your charger says 18w and 30w I think. Thats not enough to power a laptop I dont think.

 

[EarthDemon]

Dont see how I have a choice really. The spec of your charger says 18w and 30w I think. Thats not enough to power a laptop I dont think.

Charges up a MacProBook which is rated at 20W I think and I believe PC’s require less. I posted because I am pleasantly surprised - I have tried a couple of other adaptors before with no joy but this one does the job. Really makes a difference to my life. I was having to run the engine while stationary most days at some point during the day which I really don’t like doing.

 

[barryd]

Charges up a MacProBook which is rated at 20W I think and I believe PC’s require less. I posted because I am pleasantly surprised - I have tried a couple of other adaptors before with no joy but this one does the job. Really makes a difference to my life. I was having to run the engine while stationary most days at some point during the day which I really don’t like doing.

20w!! Thats low. Actually most Windows laptops I think are between 45 and 65w

 

[EarthDemon]

20w!! Thats low. Actually most Windows laptops I think are between 45 and 65w

You’re right - just checked - it’s 60W for the MacBookPro - and it’s charging as we speak, no inverter needed.

 

[barryd]

You’re right - just checked - it’s 60W for the MacBookPro - and it’s charging as we speak, no inverter needed.

Does it charge when you are using it? The dedicated chargers we have do a pretty good job of that. I tend to leave them plugged in and never let the laptop discharge as it seems more efficient that way but my concern with a 30w charger would be that if you were using the laptop at the same time it may not charge. If it does I might well get one of them also.

 

[EarthDemon]

I need to test it more but yes I’m pretty sure it powers up faster than you can use it - iPad so good now and with Keyboard that I am mainly using that now.

 

[trevskoda]

Yes but the gizmo I am talking about is not an inverter - just a transformer

DEpends on the draw at plug.
If its a up converter then it will burn more at the plug, prob about a third higher, should still be ok.

 

[Nabsim]

I use a 300W Bestek inverter when I need to charge my old MacBook, I couldn’t find a suitable 12v charger whenever I looked, mine is the magsafe1 connector. The inverter I have uses very little to charge mine. My iPad Pro just charges okay from normal USB socket though, may take a bit longer than using the 240v that it came with but okay.

Glad you found something that works for you

 

[barryd]

I use a 300W Bestek inverter when I need to charge my old MacBook, I couldn’t find a suitable 12v charger whenever I looked, mine is the magsafe1 connector. The inverter I have uses very little to charge mine. My iPad Pro just charges okay from normal USB socket though, may take a bit longer than using the 240v that it came with but okay.

Glad you found something that works for you

Is it this one? This is the one I just ordered. At that price its not much more than a dedicated 12v charger (if I could have found one)

Amazon.co.uk

 

[Nabsim]

This is mine, may not do it now as I have had it a few years, only a modified sine wave but does what I need one for. Must admit it doesn’t get a lot of use as I normally use iPad unless I need to do some work for someone.