Power Inverter question

Sirius_Doggy

Sirius_Doggy

Veteran
I'm a total idiot when it comes to electricity so someone give me a hand here.
I'm looking for a power inverter so I can run my laptop off my car battery. Here's the specs on my laptop powersupply:
Input - 100-240V, 2.9A
Output - 20V, 9.0A

All inverters are rated by Watts.
I read the conversion table on one site that said to multiply Amps x 120 to get Watts. If I use this calculation: 9.0 x 120= 1080 Watts
So does that mean I need an inverter capable of 1100 Watts?
Any suggestions on brands, models?
 
The formula is Amps X Volts=Watts. In the post you read, the volts specified was regular household AC (which is rated from 110-125 volts). For your lap top specs you have listed: 9 amps X 20 volts = 180 watts. This is the output of your power supply. This may not be the draw of your laptop. Check your owners manual for the specs.
 
Ahhh now that makes sense. So 180 Watts would be the max my laptop powersupply would require? Then a 400W inverter should more than cover my needs?
 
Yep. I have a 500 watt one that runs a TV, VCR and DVD player. My wife only lets me watch porn in the car.
 
I remember buying one from Wal-Mart and on the back of it, it said what electronics can be used by it, etc. I think we had a 1200wat one, I'm not even sure. I don't use it anymore but I was able to play my playstation, TV, laptop, camera battery charger.


did someone say porn?
 
Sirius_Doggy said:
Ahhh now that makes sense. So 180 Watts would be the max my laptop powersupply would require? Then a 400W inverter should more than cover my needs?
Click to expand...

180 watts is the standard output of your power supply. Yes, a 400 watt inverter should work fine.
 
I actually have a watt meter built into my inverter, and my lapto only pulls 80 watts from the inverter.. so you should be fine.
 
I will echo what everyone has said about a 400w inverter - we used one on both expeditions (8000 miles altogether) for laptop and DVX / PD150 / Anton Bauer quad charging and the ±4 amps is really quite adequate when your alternator is returning a typical 14-16 amp charge.

One thing to keep in mind is that you might want to upgrade your car battery a bit if you are planning an extended use as we did. You're drawing off your alternator for the most part, but you should treat the battery and inverter as major system components when you wire it in. The 12v lighter cord is usually included as a separate item of convenience, but it isn't recommended for longer-duration (read: cross-country treks) installations.

We switched to dual Optima spiral cells (yellowtops) in my Land Rover with radio terminals to ease the burden on the alternator and associated regulating components. Others who run refrigerators and inverters commonly do the same.

Have fun on the open road!

e
 
power inverter in the car

power inverter in the car

So, does this mean i can re-charge the battery of my dvx100a in my car?? Will this mess up the battery in any way?
 
You can definitely recharge your DVX battery in your car. I bought a 400W inverter recently for this purpose. Worked like a charm.

I can't think of any reason why it would harm your battery.
 
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