Anyone use a Power Inverter Car Adapter?

Executioner · Post by **Executioner** » Wed Mar 25, 2009 11:17 pm

We we go on vacation to Pismo Beach, I would like to take my laptop. I was thinking of getting this device:

or

It takes your car 12vdc source and converts it to 120vac. Just curious if any of you guys have used something like this.

http://www.amazon.com/Laptop-Notebook-1 ... B0011E5V1M

http://www.amazon.com/Xantrex-Technolog ... FRMZG1TGS7

eGoCeNTRoNiX · Post by **eGoCeNTRoNiX** » Wed Mar 25, 2009 11:23 pm

That's not bad, but you can find them for that price or cheaper at walmart for a higher wattage.. I think I bought a 250w Black & Decker one for my car when I take trips and it was like $38... I may be a little off on the wattage.. Search of WalMart.com shows several for a lower price than that one and you might be able to just go grab it

GL!

http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng ... &Find=Find

eGo

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Wed Mar 25, 2009 11:28 pm

Just make sure that the rated amperage is sufficient to power your laptop power supply. 175 watts is just a little over 1 amp and unless you have a small laptop most laptop PSUs draw 1.5 amps and up.

I would look for a 240 watt unit (2 amps) which should be adequate for anything but a beast laptop. Check the PSU for the 120 volt amperage.

normalicy · Post by **normalicy** » Thu Mar 26, 2009 12:56 am

I've used the low amperage ones like that on larger laptops with success. Though, who knows how long they last under load. However, so long as you aren't gaming or decoding stuff, I doubt that the laptop will be using full power anyhow. If you want to be safe though, yeah, aim for around 240 or so watts (though they are typically pretty large in comparisson).

renovation · Post by **renovation** » Thu Mar 26, 2009 8:31 am

i own 2 power inverters - one is from radio shack a 140 watt -cat no 22-132b its older model i use for my lap top in the car. its rated at 140w continuous,200w 5 minutes,400w 0.1 second.
then in my work truck i use a APC dual plug PNOTEAC350 to charge my battery power tools. http://www.apc.com/resource/include/tec ... PNOTEAC350
i used this one to run some small power equipment. but its sells for $60-$80

canton_kid · Post by **canton_kid** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 7:15 pm

Yep, Watch your power needs when buying those things like FP said.

Those little ones like that are often expensive because they may be Pure Sinewave types. That would be more like real grid power. But the smaller ones like those are also seldom very many watts.

Something like this may be allot better deal and should run about anything fine though it's most likely a Modified Sinewave inverter.
http://www.donrowe.com/inverters/cobra_400.html

That is $34 for 400watts continuous! You should be fine running it from a cigarette lighter plug or you can do a simple easy hard wire direct to a battery.
Should run the laptop fine, also charge your cell phone, and if you have a flat tire late at night in the dark in a heavy wooded area it will also run a 100watt house lamp for you to change the tire while you listen to the coyote's howl very nearby! Don't ask how I know the lamp and tire change part LOL

I use small ones like that allot, though the one I linked looks better than what I actually have. Mine are older because I have used them for years.

Wal-mart sells something like that type I listed. Also another couple things to think about with these is some vehicles have a hard to access lighter plug, so you may not always be able to use the little types that plug directly in. I have several vehicles those would not fit if I had one. The Jeep with a 5speed I dought one would even plug in and if it did it would be in the way and I couldn't use it anyway while driving. I think same problem with the Cougar and Lebaron with floor shift automatics the way the lighter is set up near the shifter.
The bigger ones with the plug on the cable and just sit inverter in floor work in about any vehicle.

Other thing is always get bigger than you need. You never know when you might want to run something else also later. Maybe a portable DVD player?
It's nice to have those like I linked around too. Though I have several LARGE ones and BIG UPS Matrix 5000 and SU 2200 rack mount to run half my house and several computers, it was still nice to have a little 450watt inverter when we were without power for about 2 weeks for that big ice storm.
I use the 450watt one for allot of things and they can be fun to have around and very useful.

For nearly same costs I'd go with the larger one, that little direct plug in type may be prettier and use a little less space, but not nearly as userful!

normalicy · Post by **normalicy** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 11:27 am

For me, those small ones are the only way to go when I'm travelling. If I can't keep it in the laptop bag, then it's not worth taking. That said, get a good quality one. However, if you're just going on a road trip & will have it in the car the whole time, then sure get a larger one & stuff it under the seat.