Charging a laptop in a car

stefano

Is it possible to charge a laptop in a vehicle via a usb cable and cigarette charger?

googler

Can you charge it via USB elsewhere? I plug my laptop into a mains charger which connects to the power socket on the laptop, not the USB port.

RobTang

Nope, no usb offers the kind of power draw a laptop needs.


You need an inverter you can plug the mains charger into, you also need to check what you can draw; a laptop charger will pull 50-100w of power, most cig lighters are fused for 10 or 20 amps but aparenty there are a few with 5 or 8 amps.

stefano

I will be on a road trip with my son next week, I guess we'll charge it in McDonalds every night.

bod1467

It depends on the power capability of the charger socket. You can get inverters (examples) that plug into the charger socket then provide 230VAC mains into which your usual laptop charger could plug in.

But the key is how much power the laptop charger needs versus how much an inverter can supply (and how much the charger socket can cope with).

bluesnake

stefano wrote: »

... I guess we'll charge it in McDonalds every night.

you are either really very slow eaters, or your laptop charges extremely fast!