Charging Laptop in car

Some of you might already know that in two weeks I will be driving 275 miles to take an exam. I think this car ride would be great to listen to CBT Nuggets on. The only problem with this, is that because of the DRM it has to be on my laptop.

I have a 100watt power inverter that I used to be able to charge my old laptop on. My old laptop only had a 90 watt power supply, so this worked great. My current laptop has a 120 watt power supply and I am unable to find any inverters that will work like this. (I bought a 200 watt one last night, but reading the instructions it says that if I'm using more than 80 watts to wire it to the battery. Only problem with that is that the cords are much too short to reach the battery.)

I'm wondering if anyone else has encountered this before and possibily has a solution for it.

Thanks

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Comments

Devilsbane

Think this will do the trick? Amazon.com: AIMS Power 150 Watt Power Inverter DC to AC: Electronics

I do know there is a limitation as to what the cigarette lighter can put out, however I don't know what it is.

earweed

Check your fuse for the cig lighter P=VI or here it would be P=12x(fuse size)

tiersten

Are you looking at the maximum power draw written on the PSU? If so then it won't actually be using anywhere near that much. It will be rated to handle the CPU at maximum, every memory slot filled, a full power USB device plugged into every port, the battery flat so it has to charge, the screen at maximum brightness, the optical drive running at maximum speed etc... Turn it all down and you'll probably be fine with your existing inverter.

Devilsbane

tiersten wrote: »

Are you looking at the maximum power draw written on the PSU? If so then it won't actually be using anywhere near that much. It will be rated to handle the CPU at maximum, every memory slot filled, a full power USB device plugged into every port, the battery flat so it has to charge, the screen at maximum brightness, the optical drive running at maximum speed etc... Turn it all down and you'll probably be fine with your existing inverter.

I've considered this. If I tested this, and it doesn't work, will it just not charge or will it fry something out?

earweed

Check your inverter and if it starts getting hot then your drawing too much power.

miller811

check a local parts store for a larger inverter. Back in the day we used to travel with a 13 inch tv with a built in VCR (dating myself, I know) but we never had any issues and did not hard wire it to the battery.

BTW. I listen to nuggets on the laptop

Plantwiz

Depending on the Internet coverage of your travels...and your service provider, you 'might' be able to listen to them through the website and your account. Although using the laptop would be more ideal...if you are looking to listen, then your user portal might be an option (worst case).

Devilsbane

I don't intend on using internet. I can tether off my phone if I need to authenticate a video quick, but since it is against the company's policy I try not to use it unless I need to.

As for the larger power inverter, I already bought one (as I said in my post). However after a certain point I need to connect it directly to the battery.

miller811

Devilsbane wrote: »

I As for the larger power inverter, I already bought one (as I said in my post). However after a certain point I need to connect it directly to the battery.

Warning labels are newbs....

as I stated we used to power a TV and a playstation off of one that stated (they recommended it be connected directly to the battery)

used to do some hellacious trips in the car with the kids... and it sure kept them busy.

earweed

If you have a spare fuse space in your fuse box it can be connected there. There are adapters you can buy at an auto parts store to hook it up. Like Tiersten above said you wont draw anywhere near your rated power. You should probably use a ten amp fuse but have a 15 amp handy just in case. If you draw over 120 Watts something may be wrong, you don't want to draw full power from your inverter.

BradleyHU

275 miles??? to take a test??? where do you live son? smallville? thats OD crazy...

earweed

BradleyHU wrote: »

275 miles??? to take a test??? where do you live son? smallville? thats OD crazy...

Yeah, it's so he can take it on a Saturday. Some of us don't have Saturday testing sites near us. I personally take mine during the week and drive 90 miles to a site. There are closer sites (45-60 miles) but I've been to them all and they're crap (old computers, dirty, smelly) plus I relax when I do that 1-1/2 hour drive. My nearest Saturday site is 200 miles.