Charging a laptop in the car.

Pierre3400 · May 2, 2013

Hey guys,

This weekend i am going on a long road trip. My GF has a lot of homework and needs to use her laptop while we drive. The battery on it has seen better days, and she refuses to use my laptop.

I need an inverter/converter that takes 12v to 220v (europe)

How many watts to i need to charge a laptop?
300watt?
600watt?
1000watt?
2000watt?

EarthDog · May 2, 2013

I would imagine the 300W is plenty considering the less than 100W draw.. I dont recall what we had, its was a cheapo thing though ($40?), and did just fine with my wife's full size lappy...

Pierre3400 · May 2, 2013

Ty sir! I was hoping it would be a cheapo! Cheapo it is

Do they drain a battery (car) fast? or can i leave the 220v converter on while car is off of 30mins?

EarthDog · May 2, 2013

Not sure on that. We had it running when we were driving. I personally wouldnt let it run too long with the car off, but that is just my opinion with no scientific merit behind it.

Pierre3400 · May 2, 2013

Thats the feelings i always have. Cant have the bat dieing since a BMW cruise haha..

But i talked her into using my lappy in case, holds power for at least 3 hours working in word.

Robert17 · May 2, 2013

Don't know if you have a Walmart there, but I picked up a 90watt power inverter that I use regularly to charge a laptop, mobile phone, or run an air pump. About $19 US at the time (5 years ago) and have seen more powerful ones since then for less $. It doesn't have to be extravagant. Peak usage loads vs. charging loads are much different and for charging only you won't need much wattage.

mbentley · May 2, 2013

I know you mentioned that she is going to be using your laptop but if you want to know what sort of wattage a laptop's charger will require by just looking on it. Most laptops won't take much over 100, if that. My laptop that I am using right now is a 65 watt. Some faster charging are 100+ watts.

TiZakit · May 2, 2013

I'd look at the power supply vs guessing. My laptop PSU is 240w.

Pierre3400 · May 3, 2013

Im looking at getting a 300watt, so in any case i should be okay, shes going to be writing in word.

Thanks for the answers. My lappy is Asus K53E, havnet looked at volts, and dont ahve time before i buy the converter.

noxqzs · May 3, 2013

The laptop charger should tell you how much power it consumes. You do not need more than the laptop charger will use. A higher capacity inverter will not make the laptop charge faster.

blakehenry00 · May 3, 2013

I know you can only pull around 120w (120v) from a cars 12v accessory socket. Anymore that that and you'll fry the wiring or blow a fuse.

m715 · May 3, 2013

Pierre3400 said:
Im looking at getting a 300watt, so in any case i should be okay, shes going to be writing in word.

Thanks for the answers. My lappy is Asus K53E, havnet looked at volts, and dont ahve time before i buy the converter.

Like others have said check your AC adapter, my 1st gen i7 used a 150w adapter and then is one of the larger ones I've seen. Chances are a 100w adapter will work...that's what I use just a cheap 100w one.

Pierre3400 · May 5, 2013

m715 said:
Like others have said check your AC adapter, my 1st gen i7 used a 150w adapter and then is one of the larger ones I've seen. Chances are a 100w adapter will work...that's what I use just a cheap 100w one.

The cheapest the shop had was a 300w, and i bought it, worked just fine, apart from not working for what i needed it to work for, but thats not the fault of the converter.

Charging a laptop in the car.

Pierre3400

annnnnnd it's gone

EarthDog

Gulper Nozzle Co-Owner

Pierre3400

annnnnnd it's gone

EarthDog

Gulper Nozzle Co-Owner

Pierre3400

annnnnnd it's gone

Robert17

Premium Member

mbentley

Gloriously Lead, Overclockix Chief Architect

TiZakit

Member

Pierre3400

annnnnnd it's gone

noxqzs

Member

blakehenry00

Member

m715

Member

Pierre3400

annnnnnd it's gone

Similar threads