MBP + Power Inverter

[Sdao]

Hey guys,

Im going on a road trip in about a week and im wondering if this power inverter will work with my MBP. I have heard the MBP requires a certain amount of wattage and that some inverters dont do the trick/cause electric currents to run through the laptop. I obviously do not want to do any damage to my laptop... so will this 150 watt power inverter work without harming my brand new 15" 2.4 MBP?

http://www.4lots.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=23

 

[Sdao]

*bump

anyone know anything about this?

someone please let me know, Im going on this roadtrip soon.

 

[Sdao]

??

 

[Sdao]

Someone has got to know something about this... I dont want to plug this thing into the power inverter until I know it will do absolutely no damage.

 

[observer]

inverter power

This inverter looks like a reasonably good one -- overload protection, regulated output.

I've used an inverter to run my macbook off a 17 amp-hr gel cell, and it worked fine. Apple's power bricks are better than most in the industry, and they seem to be quite happy with inverter-supplied AC. You have to be sure to get one with enough wattage (150 watts is plenty for an MBP, which needs 85), and you have to pay attention and not run down your battery too far. And you shouldn't use the absolute cheapest inverter you might find.

Sure, go ahead.

 

[Sdao]

This inverter looks like a reasonably good one -- overload protection, regulated output.

I've used an inverter to run my macbook off a 17 amp-hr gel cell, and it worked fine. Apple's power bricks are better than most in the industry, and they seem to be quite happy with inverter-supplied AC. You have to be sure to get one with enough wattage (150 watts is plenty for an MBP, which needs 85), and you have to pay attention and not run down your battery too far. And you shouldn't use the absolute cheapest inverter you might find.

Sure, go ahead.

Thank you for the helpful information. Do you think using an inverter will decrease the health of my battery?

 

[observer]

It's the same electricity you'd get out of the wall -- at least, after it goes through the Apple power brick. The AC that comes out of the inverter isn't as smooth a sine wave as "real" AC current, and that can cause problems for machines that depend on the AC properties. But the power brick just converts it back to DC, and filters and stabilizes it in the process, so it's pretty robust.

The battery you need to be cautious about is the one that feeds **into** the inverter, the one that supplies the power in the first place -- not the laptop battery. If you're not careful, you can drain the source battery down to zero, which will kill it. If you're running off your car battery, that can be a major inconvenience. If you're out in the middle of nowhere, it would be a good idea to have along a cheap voltmeter to check the source battery. Or, just make sure to recharge soon enough. For a car-battery size battery, you can run your MBP at least a couple of hours, maybe 5 or 6.

 

[Sdao]

It's the same electricity you'd get out of the wall -- at least, after it goes through the Apple power brick. The AC that comes out of the inverter isn't as smooth a sine wave as "real" AC current, and that can cause problems for machines that depend on the AC properties. But the power brick just converts it back to DC, and filters and stabilizes it in the process, so it's pretty robust.

The battery you need to be cautious about is the one that feeds **into** the inverter, the one that supplies the power in the first place -- not the laptop battery. If you're not careful, you can drain the source battery down to zero, which will kill it. If you're running off your car battery, that can be a major inconvenience. If you're out in the middle of nowhere, it would be a good idea to have along a cheap voltmeter to check the source battery. Or, just make sure to recharge soon enough. For a car-battery size battery, you can run your MBP at least a couple of hours, maybe 5 or 6.

Ahh alright, sounds good. I'll make sure to be careful with it and to only charge it when I've run down my laptop's battery. The car is a brand new BMW X5 so I'm pretty sure I shouldn't have to be *too* worried about draining it and getting stuck in the middle of nowhere. Good to know, thanks for the info.

 

[Papajohn56]

It's the same electricity you'd get out of the wall -- at least, after it goes through the Apple power brick. The AC that comes out of the inverter isn't as smooth a sine wave as "real" AC current, and that can cause problems for machines that depend on the AC properties. But the power brick just converts it back to DC, and filters and stabilizes it in the process, so it's pretty robust.

Note one thing: Because it is NOT perfect sine wave power, your power supply (not the inverter) will make a buzzing or a humming sound, because it is not alternating as smooth. It will work

 

[Sdao]

Note one thing: Because it is NOT perfect sine wave power, your power supply (not the inverter) will make a buzzing or a humming sound, because it is not alternating as smooth. It will work

haha alright, I can live with the buzzing sound, as long as my MBP isnt damaged and/or I get electrocuted