Power inverters - What to look for, what to look out for, recommendations, good place to buy.

AntMan76 on 05/02/2010 - 22:55

I am in need of a Power Inverter to be used to charge/keep my laptop running while at a racetrack. I have never bought one before so any tips or advice is appreciated. Such as what I should look for? what to avoid? is a brand name better than a no-name? at x00 Watts it will kill your car battery in x hours. And most importantly, where is good to get one (already looked on DSE and Jaycar).

The laptop charger has input rating of 100-240v @ 1.5A and output rating of 19.5v @ 4.62A (90.7W). Does that mean 100W will do the job or do you need to go above this to be safe so as not to be running it too hot and stressing it out?

Cheers guys and girls.

Find Me A Bargain

Comments

  • inherentchoice on 09/02/2010 - 20:04

    Well there's a 350W one on COTD right now for $37 shipped, which seems like quite a good bargain to me.

    http://www.catchoftheday.com.au/smallfish_info.php?products_…

    Also, you can probably rig up a spare car battery without too much fuss. Personally though I don't know enough about how long your car battery will be able to keep it going, though if you keep the engine running it would surely last as long as your fuel.

    As an alternative have you looked at getting a second or higher capacity laptop battery off eBay?

  • AntMan76 on 09/02/2010 - 21:50

    Ended up getting a 300W model from DSE for $47, down from around $90.

    Haven't tried it yet but I figured a bricks and mortar shop will be easier to return if it doesn't cut it.

    The big question will be the battery drain although it's only 90W but still, no idea how much of a drain this is on a car battery (car not running). Will know in around 2 weeks. If it drains too much I will get a second battery.

    • inherentchoice on 09/02/2010 - 22:04

      Found this on the interwebs for you:

      Will it flat my car battery? It is all about watts.
      At 240V a 70 watt device (such as a laptop charger) will draw 0.29 amps.
      A inverter chops up a 12v supply into psueo 240v AC. If we assume there are no losses in the inverter then current drawn would be 5.8A.
      A typical car batter has a capacity of 100's of Amp hours (how long it will last with a 1 amp load)
      You should be fine running a laptop for a few hours!!!!

      Another site advises that you start the vehicle every hour to recharge the vehicle's battery system, which will also ensure that there is sufficient battery capacity to start the engine so you don't get stranded.

      • AntMan76 on 09/02/2010 - 22:12

        Awesome mate. Thanks. (I could have been less lazy and found that but I thought there would be a nerdy type on here with some experience. You know, like they have installed a playstation in their fully sik car).

        Appreciated.

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