vic008 17 Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Is it OK to use an inverter to charge a laptop, phone,drill battery etc? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
too_tall 15 Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Generally, yes, but its inefficient. Some switch mode chargers are a little unhappy with modified sine wave inverters however. I have not really ever used one, so have not had reason to look into this issue so others will have to assist. Phone and laptop - get a 12 volt charger. Drill might be harder to source, or very expensive to source, a 12v charger.Phone chargers ( assuming it will charge off USB ) are a dime a dozen on DX.com or still pretty cheap at supercheap, JBhifi etc. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
erice 732 Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 something like this off tm works for me http://www.trademe.co.nz/computers/laptops/power-adaptors/toshiba/auction-1045670297.htm had a spare plug, salvaged off an old hand vac,? to go into the computer so didn't care what plug it came with as long as the voltage + wattage were right or you can get universal adapters http://www.trademe.co.nz/computers/laptops/power-adaptors/universal/auction-1045647210.htm Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tuffyluffy 76 Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 I put a nice large pure sine wave inverter on the boat a number of years ago for this type of thing and I've never used it. As the others have mentioned, nearly everything can be plugged into a 12 volt plug these days, cheaply. If you were away cruising for long periods of time it might be a different story Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin McCready 83 Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Storm Fantasy is back in the water with mast steps and I was thinking of a related problem. I'm imagining flexible solar chargers I can wrap permanently around the mast and put together in series to supply enough charge for two laptops? Any advice? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beccara 25 Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 The biggest issue i ran into with 12v laptop chargers was the heat generated. I have a modest laptop but it's power draw whilst charging is around 90w, With the HP 12v charger the plug and socket on the 12v never mated well and would get "melty" hot so i tried a targus laptop charger and whilst it works it will cycle on and off charging due to the laptop's draw while charging. I'm considering going to a 2 pin figure 8 connector setup for high current 12v devices as no matter the mix of 12v cig sockets and plugs once your above 5a or so they become iffy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
eruptn 95 Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 My Dell has a unit like these: http://www.bixnet.com/uncardcpoadk.html Great as you can use it in car, truck, boat etc. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
too_tall 15 Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Beccara - heaps of good options around. http://www.sparkshop.co.nz/Catalogue/List/Category/125 would be a place to start. The Britax B62a connectors are used extensively in agriculture with 12V applications. I have a fair few sprayers which draw around 14 amps using them without any issues at all, even when wet or covered in cowshit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JK 28 Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 You have to be careful you have a good quality inverter. I once tried with one I'd bought from Dick Smith - problem I guess is that it is not quite a sine wave & the switch-mode power supply on the laptop whined like a jet engine for a few seconds before going pop. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Island Time 1,235 Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 There are "modified sine wave" and "true sine wave" inverters. A proper "true sine wave" inverter will run anything within it's power range. Don't waste your money on a modified sine wave unit for a boat. You can buy a good 1500 w true sine wave inverter from Jaycar for about $1500 IIRC. As above though, they are not the most efficient for charging a small dc device - use a 12v supply for that, just match the voltage, polarity and wattage of the device's mains charger output. It will be written (sometimes REALLY small) on the mains charger. You can get good DC power supplies with adjustable output voltages from about 5v to 22, and easily up to 15 watts or more. These are much better for your small battery devices including laptops. A large inverter can have quite a high standby power consumption, even when you are not using it - so switch it off!! Oh, and if anyone is interested - if you want to power a microwave, you NEED true sine wave. My microwave (not large) draws 120amps, so it usually run the engine as well when using it. A minimum of 1500watts continuous power inverter is required for this - with a peak load of about 2500 - 3000 watts. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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