c130king wrote:How bad will a 150-watt inverter drain a battery? Will it only draw what the item plugged into the inverter draws or will it always draw the full 150-watts? ...
No, it won't draw the full 150 watts.
However, it WILL add some idle load whenever it's on ... maybe 5 to 10 watts?
Just a SWAG, figure it will draw your laptop's load plus 10 percent, when working.
Check with your manufacturer. Most do make an air/car charger, and you really should try to use the manufacturer's approved power supply - it can make a significant difference. And it's going to be more power-efficient than converting to 120v and then back again to whatever the laptop requires.
I have one for the Thinkpad, and it's particularly nice in that it has air/car/mains (120/240v) all in one zip-case, so I can get proper power virtually anywhere. You just switch input cords.
Typical LCD TV about 30 watts
Typical Laptop about 70 watts
Cell phone - too small to worry about for battery load purposes
There is a new multicharger adapter on the market called IONHUB which lets you charge 6 devices at once through tip selection - very cool. Can be used ac/air/auto as well. I never travel without mine.
I run the Verizon wireless card unlimited internet through cell network (also WIFI card installed) for 60 USD per month. They have a new internet card which is USB based which you can swap from computer to computer easily.
you can also tether most internet ready phones to your computer and add a data plan for about 10 USD per month for light usage - probably a better way to do this for cruising internet use.
One last thing - on the moisture problem - does everyone know you dont have to keep buying the CaCl2 based (white pellets) drying agents each season? You can dry them for an hour in the oven on low heat (200F) to rejuvenate them of course. Take them out of the cheap plastic and put them in a yogurt container and cut holes in top
Kelly Hanson East wrote:Typical LCD TV about 30 watts
Typical Laptop about 70 watts
Cell phone - too small to worry about for battery load purposes
Stephen,
Can you translate this into battery-eze. How much/fast does 30 or 70 watts drain a typical battery. I think I have a book that translates...I will look for it when I get home this afternoon.
Until then I will continue to squander the taxpayers $ and surf more sailing sites...
One thing I do with my LT onboard is take out the LT batt when using it off the inverter. Not as optimal as getting a DC kit for the LT, but have not found one for mine as of yet. At least this way I am only drawing the power to run the LT and not charging the Batt at the same time.
That is exactly the kind of info I was looking for.
Another number I will have to figure out is at what rate does my alternator recharge the battery...and at what RPMs does that rate change. In other words, how long will I have to run my engine at full power (or at idle or slightly above idle) to put back those amp/hours.
And once again, I have hijacked a thread and changed the subject. My apologies...again.
You don't really need tons of power. I spent $50 and got a used Panasonic Tough Book. Water and Impact proof...Pentium II with 256 MB ram. I really only need it for checking email, maybe playing a game on, checking weather...some GPS. Added a few extra bucks for a Wifi Card....good to go.
Why spend the money and overkill something you really won't use much? But, if you feel inclined to get a mega system....best bet in geeting a tough book. Remember, if you break it and send it in...they WILL see water damage and corrosion (they can tell in a second)...which will void the warrenty as it exceeded acceptable normal use.
Go for an older tough book....I've seen P3's for around $800...really all you need. My PII does all I need....don't get caught up in the spec hype.
Don't know if it makes any difference but I have a 40HP 2-Stroke. Don't think it is a BF. I have searched on-line but haven't found much useful info. The Merc website doesn't even list my engine...at least I haven't been able to find it.
Of course now that I have said that somebody will send me the info that they easily found...
Also, thanks again for the sail sale...I contacted Andy (actually it was the girl that worked there...Andy was on the phone...probably with another Mac owner ordering a sail) and things are moving along.
My experience of using a 12V inverter in a car to run a laptop ...
You'd think 150W inverter is plenty for a laptop whose power brick is rated at 60-odd W max. Not so! Electronic-controlled power supplies such as for laptops and lots of other gear present an extremely non-linear load. An inverter is designed to drive a linear load (e.g. light bulbs), and the power rating assumes that.
My 150W inverter just burnt out after a few weeks use. I bought another 150W, different brand, and it failed the moment the laptop was plugged in. I sent it back and got a replacement - did the same - so got my money back. I then found a 300W on offer, got that, and it works fine. Moral - make sure you get an inverter with a lot of spare capacity for that type of application.
There is an Azus, eeePC that will be released here (Australia) in next couple of weeks. 9inch HI Res screen. Solid state, no hard drive, access thru ports only. $AU600, less than a second hand laptop & it runs on 10 volts, so it can use a 12v cigarette lighter with a step down, no inverter required. I already have Memory-Map software and a Holux GPS running on the admirals Compaq but don't want to take an expensive business tool into salt air environment. If the eeePC is as good as they say I'll have a robust, <12volt, GPS colour chart plotter running Windows for less that $AU1000. Hope I'm not dreaming. C ya.
