Hi all
being a newish van owner, I'd like to be able to run my laptop in my van when away for a day or so (ie more than the hours battery time) and also to recharge my phone on multi day trips. So I'm looking for a power pack/charger type thingy (not a leisure battery, thats total overkill for what I need and takes too much space). seen a few things on amazon, but they only seem good for "5-7 phone charges" which I suspect wont be enough to run a laptop off.
any suggestions from the ukc massive?
If you're technically minded, and space is a premium, you can probably do better than anything you can buy. If you use a battery, an inverter, and a mains power lead to charge a laptop, you are converting from low voltage DC to mains AC then back to low voltage DC. It would be more efficient to use a DC-DC converter. The only problem is that different laptops use different voltages, so the system isn't universal.
I know you've said that you don't want a leisure battery but I suspect it might be the best option. You won't get very many charges of a typical laptop out of any of the portable options.
Zoro17 Jun 2015
In reply to pebbles: id just go with a leisure battery then use an inverter, that way you can plug anything in. I bought a 85 amp/hour battery online for £45, and a inverta for £15. I've used this system fir a while now, i can charge my laptop, phone, and the kids gadgets many times over. Recently i used this system for 3 weekends away, and i only had to recharge the battery after the 3rd weekend.
Agree that a leisure battery is the way to go, but with a DC-DC converter (Kensington do a good one with a load of different tips). A solar charging panel would be an easy alternative to the split-charging relay, which is a road you probably won't want to go down.
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