Inverter doesn’t seem to be charging laptop?

[nicholsong]

Most people do not realise that their charger for a laptop at home does not use 230v to charge as the charger drops it down to something like 19v. As one poster pointed out abovetaking 12v supply from the MH to invert it up and then drop back down to 19v is inefficient and crazy.

Chargers which plug into 12v sockets and can supply a variety of volts incl. 19v and 19.5v are easily available.

That is how we have been doing it successfully for 8 years.

Geoff

 

[chenderson1965]

What is the name of this computer and where did the 200W come from?

It’s a very powerful 17” HP Pavilion. I know it’s a bit wattage, but that comes directly off the manufacturer supplied power block.

 

[chenderson1965]

Are you really sure it’s a pure sine wave invertor? For £15 when they are normally £200 +for a very low wattage one . To charge a laptop you really should be using a pure sine wave one.

Sure as I can be. It was advertised as such and seems to charge both my laptops without complaint.

 

[Raul]

It does now? Can you update?
Thanks.

 

[chenderson1965]

It does now? Can you update?
Thanks.

Sorry. Thought I had done but the post isn’t showing. Connected it directly to the battery and seems to work perfectly now. Might invest in a better quality inverter as well though.

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[nicholsong]

Sorry. Thought I had done but the post isn’t showing. Connected it directly to the battery and seems to work perfectly now. Might invest in a better quality inverter as well though.

You still seem to be bent on usng an inverter to charge a laptop at about 19v when a 12v charger would do it, as explained by several of us above.

Can you explain why please.

Geoff

 

[chenderson1965]

See my earlier post. Laptop requires 200w at 19.5V (it’s a very powerful one for my wife’s graphic design work) and I can’t find a DC adapter that will do that.

 

[DBK]

See my earlier post. Laptop requires 200w at 19.5V (it’s a very powerful one for my wife’s graphic design work) and I can’t find a DC adapter that will do that.

If you've got it all working then I suggest just stick with it. But I'm not convinced you need a 200W 12v charger. If the charging voltage is around 20v then the charging current for this power level would be 10A. Laptop batteries are typically only a few (single figures) Ah in capacity so at 10A it would be completely recharged in under an hour.

But if you use a smaller charger it will just take longer. The only trick will be finding one with the right plug, polarity and voltage.

Might be better sticking, as you are, with the inverter.

 

[chenderson1965]

If you've got it all working then I suggest just stick with it. But I'm not convinced you need a 200W 12v charger. If the charging voltage is around 20v then the charging current for this power level would be 10A. Laptop batteries are typically only a few (single figures) Ah in capacity so at 10A it would be completely recharged in under an hour.

But if you use a smaller charger it will just take longer. The only trick will be finding one with the right plug, polarity and voltage.

Might be better sticking, as you are, with the inverter.

DBK I suspect the 200w rating is to allow it to run the machine and charge the battery at the same time (plus some overcapacity headroom).

I’ll keep looking around for a larger 12v unit of the right spec. I even considered building one using a step up transformer but decided I didn’t trust my skill/knowledge not to mess it up and fry an expensive laptop).

I’d be interested. In your take on whether my super cheap PSW inverter is a risk so I should buy a better one (and,if so, which brand/s you’d trust)?

Thanks. Chris

 

[DBK]

DBK I suspect the 200w rating is to allow it to run the machine and charge the battery at the same time (plus some overcapacity headroom).

I’ll keep looking around for a larger 12v unit of the right spec. I even considered building one using a step up transformer but decided I didn’t trust my skill/knowledge not to mess it up and fry an expensive laptop).

I’d be interested. In your take on whether my super cheap PSW inverter is a risk so I should buy a better one (and,if so, which brand/s you’d trust)?

Thanks. Chris

I don't think I know enough to advise. Reports on here suggest non-PSW inverters can destroy electric tooth brushes. It apparently does happen immediately but happen it does.

If having access to the laptop at all times is essential it maybe wise to carry a spare charger - or only use it on EHU.

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[chenderson1965]

Thanks everyone for your contributions. I thought you might be interested to hear the end of the story.

I got anxious about whether the inverter I have might end up damaging the laptop so did some research into replacing the power block which I guess would be the bit which would be damaged. Unbelievably, to buy a spare would be £70 so I decided instead to spend the money on a quality inverter.

In the end, I opted for a Victron 500w unit to go with my two Victron solar chargers (so all can be monitored and controlled via Bluetooth by the same phone app). I can now see the difference - with the new one being more than 4 times the size and probably 10 times the weight of the cheapo unit.

I fitted it and tested the laptop. It works a dream. Absolutely silent (the cheap one was very noisy), the laptop charges fine (whether working or off) and the current draw was comfortably covered by the solar panels with enough to spare to still have a positive charging current to the leisure batteries.

It’s more than I’d planned to spend at the beginning but I think it’s a great solution which should last many years - so I appreciate all your guidance.

Cheers.

Chris

 

[Vipar]

And they all lived happily ever after