Running a laptop without electricity?

songstress

Guest
Hey! Does anyone know if it's possible to use my laptop in my motorhome without being on an electric hook-up? Have got a dongle (ooh matron!) but unsure how to power it. I have 2 x 110 leisure batteries and am hoping to get solar panels soon.:confused:
 
songstress said:
Hey! Does anyone know if it's possible to use my laptop in my motorhome without being on an electric hook-up? Have got a dongle (ooh matron!) but unsure how to power it. I have 2 x 110 leisure batteries and am hoping to get solar panels soon.:confused:
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One of the simplest and safest ways where you are least likely to damage the laptop is to use an Inverter, this will take 12v and convert it to 240v and you can then just plug your laptop charger in and use as normal.

Inverters come in all sizes, some people try to run Microwaves and the like, This will drain a 12v battery very quickly, me I have a small 150w inverter and only use it for my laptop and can run mine for several hours without any issues. Follow the link and see whats on offer then maybe come back to this thread and ask some more questions :)

12v Inverter - Compare Prices, Reviews and Buy at NexTag - Price - Review

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A better option, if it's just for the laptop, is to buy a 12v laptop power adapter.

I bought one from Maplin, but they're also available on Ebay. They plug into a cigar lighter.

The advantage is one of efficiency. Rather than changing DC to AC with an inverter, then changing it back to DC with the laptop power supply, you do it one go.
 
Canalsman said:
A better option, if it's just for the laptop, is to buy a 12v laptop power adapter.

I bought one from Maplin, but they're also available on Ebay. They plug into a cigar lighter.

The advantage is one of efficiency. Rather than changing DC to AC with an inverter, then changing it back to DC with the laptop power supply, you do it one go.
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Thats what I do as well.
Got a power supply from ebay. It has adjustable voltage output to suit different laptops and a selection of connection fittings.
 
Canalsman said:
A better option, if it's just for the laptop, is to buy a 12v laptop power adapter.

I bought one from Maplin, but they're also available on Ebay. They plug into a cigar lighter.

The advantage is one of efficiency. Rather than changing DC to AC with an inverter, then changing it back to DC with the laptop power supply, you do it one go.
Click to expand...


BE CAREFUL not all laptops can safly be run using these. HP laptops with inteligent chargers for instance, you will break if you do that :eek::eek:

Thats why I stick with invertors. Some manufacturers do a 12v carcharger specificaly for their laptops but I would stay away from the 'cheap' fits all options as they can prove very expensive, at work we get a steady trickle of laptops back in with damage caused by people using these and cheap chargers bought from maplins and other places :)
 
Hi all, I brought my self a lap top converter that fits in cig lighter socket about three years ago, it has a load of interchangeable tips to connect to different lap tops, totally brill, about £25 at the time......
 
i always use mine with an invertor thats plugs in the cigar lighter
 
I've had two laptops that run on 14V and 16V - not 12V. They would never power up for very long when connected to a 12V supply - hence a rummage into the battery compartment only to see the higher voltages. I already had a 12V to 240V inverter so was not a big problem.

Best check voltage first, before buying a ciggie adaptor, but I agree with the others that inverters are the way to go. They come in handy for all sorts of other electrical gear as well - video and digital cameras being our main recharge use.
 
I have a 12 volt one from Maplins that has various plugs & can be set for all the different voltages up to 20 volts. Used to use an inverter on my old laptop but reckon it killed the battery. Some of these cheaper inverters (like the one I had) aren't that good, after the inverter died I had a mate look at it to see if it could be fixed. After taking it apart & consulting a friend who knew a bit more about electronics said it was actually pretty dangerous & the output voltage couldn't have been very stable. :eek:
 
Canalsman said:
A better option, if it's just for the laptop, is to buy a 12v laptop power adapter.

I bought one from Maplin, but they're also available on Ebay. They plug into a cigar lighter.

The advantage is one of efficiency. Rather than changing DC to AC with an inverter, then changing it back to DC with the laptop power supply, you do it one go.
Click to expand...

This is what I have for my HP laptop. I tend to charge while laptop is turned off and then run of laptop battery. I used while charging and it appeared to drain the leisure battery more.
 
Kontiki said:
I have a 12 volt one from Maplins that has various plugs & can be set for all the different voltages up to 20 volts. Used to use an inverter on my old laptop but reckon it killed the battery. Some of these cheaper inverters (like the one I had) aren't that good, after the inverter died I had a mate look at it to see if it could be fixed. After taking it apart & consulting a friend who knew a bit more about electronics said it was actually pretty dangerous & the output voltage couldn't have been very stable. :eek:
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Totaly agree, the cheap invertors are just that cheap, ok for running the microwave or similar things. Having said that, by using an invertor and plugging the manufactorers charger into it you are using another layer of protection. The manufactorers charger will regulate the power as they are designed to do that. Replacing a damaged charger is cheaper than a new battery or even a new laptop :)

Modern laptops have inteligent chargers, a third wire back to charger tells it how much power is in the battery and they stop charging once the battery is full or go onto a tricle charge. Without this (using a 'cheap' cigar lighter charger) the battery charger will continue to charge beyond its design which will damage a battery designed to work with an inteligent charger :eek:

I'm not saying don't do it, but first check the price of a replacement battery for your laptop, for my business laptop its £50, is it worth the risk? Also check whether the manufactorer supplies a cigar lead for a car, if they don't there will be a reason, if they do it maybe quite expensive, mine is £40 but it has a box of electronics built in to mimic the original 240v charger.

If after checking you still want to use a cheap Mapilins charger then by all means do but my advise is always stop charging as soon as the laptop says its charged and check carefully that the output voltage matches what the laptop requires. One cable we checked at work when these first came out when charging a flat battery was providing +4 volts of what the laptop required which could damage the onboard electronics or battery.

Also remember that laptop batterys can only be discharged a limited number of times, mine is quoted at only 500 charges, so at work we always ask our users to plug in when they are able to reduce the number of times the battery is totally flattened, new batterys are very expensive.:eek:

The invertor I use for the latop and lcd telly is a small 150w unit but its a good one. I have not had any problems with it draining the battery :)
 
my laptop runs on 15v so it works fine from the cig lighter ,also i can use it whilest the engine is running but i have a dc converter for other electrical stuff like a dab radio that runs on 9 volts, they are by far the best bet dont realy like the idea of running sensetive things like laptops from a cheap invertor. personaly invertors are a big drain on a battery use more power than they give out
 
Hi
I have a couple of ASUS EeePC netbooks with ASUS cigar lighter chargers - I run them via an adapter connected to the 2 pin 12v socket off the leisure battery. Seems to work ok. Chargers and adapter were less than £10 each.
Hope this helps.
Cheers.
Gairn
 
I'd recommend the leisure battery and inverter route. I'm using this at the moment in the Scottish Highlands. The only problem I have is.... how to get a signal in remote/hilly areas.....!
 
kangooroo said:
I'd recommend the leisure battery and inverter route. I'm using this at the moment in the Scottish Highlands.
The only problem I have is.... how to get a signal in remote/hilly areas.....!
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oh i don't believe that roo;).... you normaly have an ans for everything... :rolleyes:suplied by amazon...:p

regards:D
aj

ok.. where the devil are you now then...:confused::confused:
 
ajs said:
oh i don't believe that roo;).... you normaly have an ans for everything... :rolleyes:suplied by amazon...:p

regards:D
aj

ok.. where the devil are you now then...:confused::confused:
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Tucked up in my sleeping bag not too far from Kinlochleven - replying via internet on phone (alas purchased from amazon and not a freebie - and my ranking has slipped a place while i've been away). :'(
The signal is too weak to upload pics and video to my photo blog but, apart from that, a phone is a very easy way to access the 'net, cheap and convenient, simple to charge but slow to type. Roo x
 
mandrake said:
my laptop runs on 15v so it works fine from the cig lighter ,also i can use it whilest the engine is running but i have a dc converter for other electrical stuff like a dab radio that runs on 9 volts, they are by far the best bet dont realy like the idea of running sensetive things like laptops from a cheap invertor. personaly invertors are a big drain on a battery use more power than they give out
Click to expand...

Ah but my point is if you use an invertor then its the laptop charger thats connected to the laptop not the inverter so you have a layer of good protection, The proper cigar chargers supplied by the manufactorer are ok but expensive, the cheap ones from maplins are IMHO far more risky than using an invertor.

Each to their own tho, just make sure you get the voltage correct and that your laptop is wired the same way as the charger and if you have an inteligent charger then stop charging once the laptop says the battery is full, also I would always unplug it before you start the engine in case you get a spike from the alternator :)
 
Our ACER 5920 aspire LapTop is 19volts..
I bought an Amperor power supply that gives a constant 19V at any input from 10v to 16v
Versapower Universal Laptop Power Adaptor - 70 Watt on eBay (end time 13-May-10 15:50:03 BST)


They also do voltage stabiliser to prevent blowing pixels on your flat screen 12 volt TV...
Amperor 12 Volt LCD/TFT Voltage DC-DC Stabiliser on eBay (end time 09-May-10 20:21:07 BST)

Amperor have just taken over this company>>Muvonics
Home
and are selling off their in stock Fantastic leisure battery chargers at a bargain price..
For e.g.
The Muvonics 4 stage MV4/180c nomally £100 plus, I got for £65 inc postage by doing a best offer on
Ebay, @ amperor direct
they thought it better than restickering old stock to Amperor ..:D

I have absolutely nothing to do with the above firm, BUT after buying firstly the Laptop charger/power supply.
I've always looked at their stuff first and not been disappointed yet :)
 
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