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Looking for a Power Inverter

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7 replies

by borginva

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I figure I give this community a try, as I have been trying to contact numerous companies. They either not have the product or, like Newegg, would not help me at all.

I am looking for a power inverter for a laptop that matches all of these specs:

> 150W min into laptop.

> DC > AC power.

> Airplane seat power plug.

> USB power connection (optional).

> Portable (lightweight) for laptop carry bag.

> THIS IS THE BIG ONE... able to run off its own power if no input is available. So, if you are on a plane, in a car, at the dentist, and you got no AC or DC power, the device has enough to power the laptop for a good few hours until it runs out itself.

> Mainly USA use (in case someone needs to know).

There may be some out there with a similar device, or knows of the place that sells these types. I have found similar ones but only 90-120W, when I need 150.

Thank you!

7 replies

by rahouseholder

A quick search for laptop inverters turned up quite a few that surpass 150w. There are some that will power your laptop for the time you want, but they aren't really "portable". Your best bet there would be to purchase a second battery for your laptop and carry it with you.

by borginva

I come up with similar searches and I also can not find the portable versions. Just the portable ones that do everything I mentioned, just not 150W+. Nuts!

by thechas

First off, if your plan is to power a laptop, a DC to AC inverter is a waste of power. You will be taking the DC power, converting it to AC, then using the power adapter for your laptop, convert it back to DC.

A better option would be to check with your laptop maker for a DC power adapter.

Next, there is no way for features 5 and 6 to exist at the same time. You can't have a lightweight DC to AC inverter system that will run from hours from it's own internal storage.

Let's say you have a 60% efficient inverter. At 150 watts out, that equals 250 watts in. With a 12 volt source, that equals around 20 amps. For 5 hours of run-time with a reserve, so you don't kill the battery, you would need a 120 or 150 amp hour battery. I found a 90 Amp hour battery that weighs 72 pounds!

If you need this level of portable power for your laptop, I think you are best off getting several high capacity batteries and a AC/DC charging station. This will keep the weight down, and the efficiency up. Plus, the charging station won't need to have as much power capacity as the straight inverter would.

Chas

by borginva

You are suggestion using spare batteries with an AC/DC charging station? Hmmmm, could keep one fully charged and charge another right before not having anymore AC access. Not a bad thing to look into it.

Now I need to look into one of those charging devices. I shall keep you posted on my searches. Thanks.

Got any recommendations towards one you would trust yourself?

by shady108

so basically ur looking for a UPS?

another cheaper option is to buy a second battery and carry them both aroudn with you :)

by borginva

Guess you could think of it as a small, lightweight UPS. No bigger than a small modem.

As for carrying around extra batteries, no way to keep them charged when the laptop is already using the other one. Then, when I need to use one, the charge has been lost in them. Also, in order to keep a good extra 9h of charge, as the ones I saw but for a lower wattage, I would have to carry a few extra batteries. That is actually not something I wish to do. :/

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