I'm looking to buy a 12v inverter to power the laptop on our trip to south france.Can anyone aadvise as to which one to buy, also do i need to look at 150 watt or higher.
Thanks.
Thanks.
12v inverter
- Thread starter MichaelT
- Start date
I run my HP laptop off this little Ring 75 Watt inverter. You need to check your laptops adaptor's INPUT power rating to see if this is adequate. I also have a more powerful 150 watt one but the advantage of the smaller unit is that it has no cooling fan and to my and my wife's hearing is silent. The Ring 150 is far from silent.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/In-Car-Mini-Power-Inverter/dp/B000G73YD2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1272053080&sr=1-2
http://www.amazon.co.uk/In-Car-Mini-Power-Inverter/dp/B000G73YD2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1272053080&sr=1-2
Does this mean that you are going to the South of France and not using mains electricity at all on your trip?
Not sure why you need to go down that road, I simply plug my laptop in to the car or caravan.
Although my mains adaptor is 240v ac to 20v dc, it works perfectly on 12 v dc
Although my mains adaptor is 240v ac to 20v dc, it works perfectly on 12 v dc
The description of the inverter referred to above doesn't say whether it produces true sine wave AC current or not. Judging by the price it probably doesn't. Although this may not be an issue for powering a laptop, because the laptop's power pack converts back into DC anyway, some electrical equipment will not work unless current is true sine wave.
I bought a 1200 watt pure sine wave inverter for around
I bought a 1200 watt pure sine wave inverter for around
I am pretty confident, given the price to assume that the cheap Ring 75 is only a modified sine-wave inverter. However I run various and many other product AC adaptors from this unit and its bigger 150 Watt sister, all without issues.
I would go for the 150w version myself, the extra capacity can be used for other applications. I use my 150w inverter to run a LCD tv, HUMAX, and ariel amplifier, should there be a power cut, i then plug the inverter into the 12volt caravan socket (some new vans don't have one, so you may need to wire one).
Needless to say the tv and humax are full of electronics.
Needless to say the tv and humax are full of electronics.
Unless you go for an expensive sine wave output inverter, the cheaper ones may not do your electronics much good. I needed a laptop power supply to connect to the 12V car / caravan system recently for my new Dell lap top, I first tried using my cheapish inverter with the standard 240 to 19.5V power supply but noted that the dell power supply hummed somewhat with it, which may not be that good. (I cheated and used my works dell to test it). In the end I bought a 12V to 19.5V (Dells odd voltage) converter and that works well. I got it from ebay.
What I'm after is something to run the laptop for the lads to watch dvd's whilst driving, we'll have hookup when on site.
The answer to that is simple - buy a twin screen DVD player. The screens are usually about 7", they hook over the front headrests, and there is at least two headphone outlets on the player. The player either runs from 12V or comes with a 12V convertor.
They used to be expensive, but you can now get them for
They used to be expensive, but you can now get them for
I was going to buy the dvd players that go over the head
rests but the inverters seem to be a much cheaper option-that's the reason for advice on them.
rests but the inverters seem to be a much cheaper option-that's the reason for advice on them.
Michael t, I've just bought an inverter from Maplins, a 300w one, and use it to charge herself's mobility scooter when in the car. Works a treat.
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