Help needed buying a new laptop charger please

lv1109

Hi all,

My puppy has chewed through not 1 but 2 laptop chargers! (unplugged at the time thankfully!) So now I need to try to buy 2 new laptop chargers. I have spoken to Gateway (my laptop) and they want nearly £40 to buy from them and I think by looking at Dell's website they retail at about £35 to buy from them. So I thought I would look at the universal type, rather than specifically for our actual laptop models. I am just struggling to understand the input and output information so would appreciate some help.

Gateway output: 19V 3.42A -+ 65W
Gateway input: 100-240V 1.6A 50/60hz

Dell output: 19.5V 3.34A -+
Dell input: 100-240V 1.5A 50/60hz

Now the Gateway one seems a bit easier to buy for having the 19V output but I can't seem to find one that suits the Dell 19.5V output. My question is: can you get one that has 19V or 20V output and see which one works or does it have to be 19.5V? Sorry if that is a stupid question but I just really don't know. If it means we have to get the Dell one from Dell then so be it but just trying to save some [strike]pennies[/strike] pounds! And is there anything else I should be aware of when looking?

I hope that someone more knowledgable than me can help!

TIA

LV

tomsutton529

cant you solder it back together? the lead for my laptop looks like a patchwork quilt. and works fine... you could buy a soldering iron, some solder and give some one a few pints for less than the cost of a power supply.

if you dont like the idea of soldering it then try ebay... type in the power and amps into the search (19V 3.3A) and see what comes up. all you need to check then is the pin size. which is the outer sixe of the barrel and the size of the hole in the middle.

lv1109

Welly I did say to my DH about reconnecting it but he didn't seem keen. There are loads of really fine wires poking out and he seems to think that every single one has to be connected? I thought they could have just been twisted together and patched over with electrical tape but then I am a girl, lol!

So if I look on e bay for the Dell one I would put 19.5V 3.4A into the search?

Thanks for your reply Tom! Much appreciated!

LV

tomsutton529

lv1109 wrote: »

Welly I did say to my DH about reconnecting it but he didn't seem keen. There are loads of really fine wires poking out and he seems to think that every single one has to be connected? I thought they could have just been twisted together and patched over with electrical tape but then I am a girl, lol!

So if I look on e bay for the Dell one I would put 19.5V 3.4A into the search?

Thanks for your reply Tom! Much appreciated!

LV

twist them together and solder. is it like the pic bellow?



as for ebay, yes do that.

damo24

As a general rule a good universal charger will for fine. Trust chargers will work with pretty much any laptop and you can even check on their website first. If the charger only has 19 and 20v ALWAYS go for the lower voltage. You shouldn't have any major problems.

Have a look at this http://necables.co.uk/nec/index.php?target=products&product_id=30300 for a suitable replacement. It is advertised as a trade supplier but he will happily ship them to you.

lv1109

yes Tom just like that (but the wires are a lot more frazzled due to puppy having a good old chew on it - he enjoyed himself, lol)

I actually pre-empted your answer and went onto ebay to have a look and found one for the Dell for £14 including p&p which I think is very reasonable compared to Dell's price.

Damo, thanks for the link will have a look now to see if I can beat e bay price

LV

tomsutton529

lv1109 wrote: »

yes Tom just like that (but the wires are a lot more frazzled due to puppy having a good old chew on it - he enjoyed himself, lol)

I actually pre-empted your answer and went onto ebay to have a look and found one for the Dell for £14 including p&p which I think is very reasonable compared to Dell's price.

Damo, thanks for the link will have a look now to see if I can beat e bay price

LV

lol, arnt puppys great. My pup (Bulmastiff cross Ridgeback) tryedt o chew through the cable for the dyson WHEN IT WAS PLUGGED IN, she got a good smack she has never touched a cable since..

anyway, looking at the cable i would repair it.

Cut the cable so its ends are clean, strip back around 2 inches of the black outer sleeve. twist the silver wires together, then strip back some of the inner sleeve and twist those wires together. repeat on other half of cable.

this shoul leave you with 4 wires, 2 silver ones that match, and 2 other ones that match. Tin the wires and then solder them together. now get some electrical tape and wrap each conection leaving no gaps. then wrap it al togehter to hold it together.

youtube is full of vids on how to solder, go get it done before tea time and you can have a blue peter badge.

if the dog has made a real mess and you get a clean starting point then its time to buy a new one. but have a good look at it first.

sweetiepie2121

lv1109 wrote: »

Hi all,

My puppy has chewed through not 1 but 2 laptop chargers! (unplugged at the time thankfully!) So now I need to try to buy 2 new laptop chargers. I have spoken to Gateway (my laptop) and they want nearly £40 to buy from them and I think by looking at Dell's website they retail at about £35 to buy from them. So I thought I would look at the universal type, rather than specifically for our actual laptop models. I am just struggling to understand the input and output information so would appreciate some help.

Gateway output: 19V 3.42A -+ 65W
Gateway input: 100-240V 1.6A 50/60hz

Dell output: 19.5V 3.34A -+
Dell input: 100-240V 1.5A 50/60hz

Now the Gateway one seems a bit easier to buy for having the 19V output but I can't seem to find one that suits the Dell 19.5V output. My question is: can you get one that has 19V or 20V output and see which one works or does it have to be 19.5V? Sorry if that is a stupid question but I just really don't know. If it means we have to get the Dell one from Dell then so be it but just trying to save some [strike]pennies[/strike] pounds! And is there anything else I should be aware of when looking?

I hope that someone more knowledgable than me can help!

TIA

LV

If you browse ebay I am sure you would find a charger very cheap.

lv1109

Thanks Tom, I really appreciate your help and advice. My Mum's OH is going to have a look at the chargers and see if he can fix them because he is quite good at that sort of thing. He said no promises but worth a go, taking them to him this weekend. Oh and yes puppies are great, Max is an American Bulldog and he is just going to be 13 weeks tomorrow so lots more chewing to come. The thing is he does something naughty and then gives us them puppy dog eyes and he gets forgiven for everything! Hey ho, the joys of puppyhood!

sweetiepie, thanks hun, gonna take a look on ebay if they are irrepairable. Fingers crossed for the moneysaving solution of a repair though!

LV x

totalsolutions

Collect the power supply up off the floor when you have finished with it, if the puppy chews the other leads he won't get away with it so easy next time ! there is 240 volts available and we all know that's lethal.

lv1109

Definitely totalsolutions! I should have learned after the first one then made the same mistake the very next day! My bad!

Now we have nothing, literally nothing (well except toys for him), on the floor. At the end of the day its not his fault, its our fault for leaving it there.

LV