Laptop computer power questions

[charlie56]

FWIW
I went with a 12v (only) system and added (myself) a Xantrex Prowatt 1000 to run my laptop and recharge the camera batteries.
I went with the Prowat over the Xpower (sold at Costco) because it has a remote on/off switch and was able to hard wire in a dedicated power outlet. I have an Isotherm (Highly recommend) 12v (no 110 component) refrigerator with the ASU option. (You need a stethoscope to hear this thing run) One- 4d battery, and one 130w solar panel. So far, with lights and refrigerator (no microwave) I have never had my house battery drop below 12.56 volts. I have never had to shut the refrigerator off, nor plug the converter in.

I don’t use a surge protector for the laptop. If I get hit hard enough to fry something, the laptop is the least of my worries.

We initially wanted a MW oven, but due to forces beyond our control SMB installed a drawer instead. After living with it for 3 months, I’ll take the drawer over the MW any day so, I think if I was doing it over I would even drop the small inverter and just use a power brick for the laptop and camera battery.

[kzemach]

Guys, you never win by using a laptop with an inverter. Both the laptop power conversion and the inverter are sucking up extra juice. See my post with actual data here:

http://sportsmobileforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=139

By using AC with a laptop, you are wasting ~30% of your power, and probably more if you have a larger inverter. If you care about saving energy/increased runtime/less cycling of your house batteries, avoid inverters at all costs.

Plus, a 12V power supply for your laptop is a whole lot less expensive than a good inverter.

Charlie: I avoided the inverter req by getting a digicam that uses AA batteries (I like the Canon A series best), and have a 12V AA battery charger. From a lot of overseas travel, I’ve found that standardizing on AAs is pretty reliable for months away from conventional sources. Thus, AAs run my camera, UV water purifier, headlamp, GPS, electric toothbrush, electric razor, cell phone backup battery, etc etc and I can charge them from 12V, 110, 220, etc and if they fry, I can replace easily in a pinch.… For the van I have a AA charger running off the 12V system.

[zugg]

Hi Kzemach,

Thanks for your insights.

How did you put the flat plate water heater inside your van?
I asked if SMB would do this and they say no.

Thanks,

Zugg

[kzemach]

Originally Posted by zugg

Hi Kzemach,

Thanks for your insights.

How did you put the flat plate water heater inside your van?
I asked if SMB would do this and they say no.

Thanks,

Zugg

:f3:

Hey Zugg,

One of these days I'm going to do a write-up for the Forum. Until then, see the pics of this transformation at the Yahoo group. You have to be a member (free) to view them. Once you're a member, follow this link:

http://autos.ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/ ... rowse/bc41


I will state that I think SMB is _still wrong_ placing the flatplate outside the vehicle. I think it increases the chances of something going wrong and someone getting poisoned, although they've certainly decreased the probability considerably. I do note that you're in Santa Barbara. If you're not going to go skiing or below freezing with the van, then it's not an issue at all.

Bringing it all back to laptops: avoid the inverter if you can at all costs. Get a ac/dc power supply for your laptop. Usually your laptop manufacturer will have the best option, but you can always use an iGo if they don't have one. I do carry a small 150W radio shack inverter in the van just in case, but the smart money is on DC appliances only.

Regards,

Ken

[zugg]

Hi Ken,

I will be doing lots of winter camping, so this flat plate heater being mounted inside is very important to me.
Did you do the mounting yourself, and if so where and how?
No propnae onboard, so do you have any other suggestions?

Thanks,

Zugg

[windom]

As kzemach points out, inverters waste a lot of power - but when you're underway, your alternator produces a lot more than you are using. So what I do is use a cigarette-lighter plug small inverter (I have a Statpower Jazz from when we used to live on a sailboat) to charge my laptop while driving, and then work off the laptop batteries while camping. (I figure, if I need to use the laptop more than 5 hours a day, there's something wrong with this picture!)

(Obviously, this is not a solution for people who stay in one place for longer than two or three days, or who need to spend lots of time on the computer.)

[Oni]

I got an iGo DC to DC power supply from RadioShack for my notebook to power it in the car.

http://www.igo.com/

They have adapters to power most any computer, phone or electronic gizmo.