Cigarette Lighter Inverters

[Hitchhiker]

I'm considering one of those low wattage (100 or 200 watts) cigarette lighter inverters to power my laptop when it's in the cab of the truck. Are these any good or am I at risk of damaging the computer with it?

The computer is a Dell XPS M140 and the power cord adapter it uses indicates 65 watts and says the power input requirements are 100-240 volts 50-60 Hz and the output is 19.5 volts, 3.34 amps.

Is the power from one of these inverters pure enough to satisfy that power adapter. If not, what are your thoughts on just using the inverter to charge the laptop's battery and only booting up the laptop on the laptop's battery while used in the truck?

[Hitchhiker]

I'm considering one of those low wattage (100 or 200 watts) cigarette lighter inverters to power my laptop when it's in the cab of the truck. Are these any good or am I at risk of damaging the computer with it?

The computer is a Dell XPS M140 and the power cord adapter it uses indicates 65 watts and says the power input requirements are 100-240 volts 50-60 Hz and the output is 19.5 volts, 3.34 amps.

Is the power from one of these inverters pure enough to satisfy that power adapter. If not, what are your thoughts on just using the inverter to charge the laptop's battery and only booting up the laptop on the laptop's battery while used in the truck?

[doc]

Richard, I see them in truckstops all the time. I looked at a Coleman today, I thinkk it was 400 watts as something like $89+.
This was at TA at US441 and I-85. Sound like they would be ideal for what you want. My only concern would be the size of the wire coming to the lighter being big enough. But thinking back I don't recall seeing a lighter type plug on the 400 watt model, but there was on the 150.

[Fuzz]

Purchased a 400W at Costco for $24.95.
I use it to power my laptop.
My laptop is large,(desktop replacement)and requires 150W.The cigarette lighter cord will not run it.I needed to go direct to the battery.
Seems I have read that anything over 75-100w would not work with cig plug.Mine is a modified sine wave and the computer seems to run fine with it.Your computer should run fine with the
cigarette lighter plug..If it is only pulling 65W.My laptop BTW is a Sager 9860.

[E Z Livin]

I bought a DC converter to run my lap top with. The laptop battery does not last long enough for me to enjoy the GPS. This works great for me. You could use this in your truck or fiver assuming you have a plug in the camper.
This is not as cumberson and I keep it stored in the lap top bag.
Just a thought.

[Hitchhiker]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">This works great for me </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks for the reply, E Z Livin.

Have you noticed any adversities with the computer when using the DC inverter?

[Gary RVRoamer]

The computer won't be harmed, but it is conceivable that your AC adapter could be. Some AC adapter don't like the modified sine wave of the cheap inverters and can overheat, so keep an eye (a hand?) on it the first few times you use it. Most relatively recent laptops have AC adapters that can tolerate modified sine wave, though. I'v used three different laptops with such inverters with no problem, but several years ago had a Thinkpad whose adapter got very hot.

If in doubt, get a DC adapter from the laptop's manufacturers. Will cost somewhat more but its foolproof. These don't invert the power to AC (laptops run on DC input anyway) and so don't have a sine wave problem.

[E Z Livin]

Hitchhiker, I kinda did what RV Roamer suggest. I bought mine off ebay and it was listed for the laptop I have. Has worked great, no problem at all. When sitting at the table, I use the 110v adapter.

[Hitchhiker]

Gary and E Z Livin,

Thanks for the tips, if I go with an inverter I'll surely observe the temperature of the AC adapter.

[96PSD]

Richard,

I've been running my laptop off of my inverter in my cab for 4 years now without any problems. Nice to have a full screen GPS (Copilot Live9) to view and catch a little Wi-Fi when passing hotels and places to catch up with my email.

[Zimectrin]

I run a Dell cnotebook off a 100 watt inverter that I picked up at Harbor Freight for 14.00.

No problems after 200 hours on.

Be aware that Harbor has a 75 watt inverter also. That is too small.

Get at least 100 watt continous.

Look on your notebook adapter at the output information. Multiply the Volts * Amps.

Mine is 20V, 4500mamp (4.5amps). 20*4.5=90watts.

That will be appox. the watts you need for your device.

[N9UOM]

I run a 300 watter everyday for my dell, it works fine now for the past year

[Hitchhiker]

Thanks for all the input and suggestions, I picked up a 200 watt (continuous) inverter at Wilmar yesterday. I haven't tried it yet, may test it out this afternoon to see if it'll run my 65 watt laptop.

Again, thanks for all the tips, pointers, and comments.

[JudyandJim]

We use a Xantrex Micro Inverter 175 for our Dell laptop. Got it at Camping world and it has worked fine with no problems for two years.

The package info said for laptop computer use.