12 V charger for a laptop?

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Robin

How does everyone charge their laptops at sea? 2.5 hr battery time really doesnt help much. Are there 12 V chargers made? Hate to use my inverter for that long to charge it up.
 
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Don Alexander

12 Volt Socket

I fitted a 12 v cigar lighter socket to my instrument panel and bought a 12 v charger lead for the laptop. whilst under way I run a navigation program interfaced with the GPS so the laptop runs permanently from this socket. It draws about 2 amps. If your laptop makers do not make a suitable charger there are several other proprietary makes. Whilst fitting the socket why not fit a multiple outlet then your mobile phone, rechargeable torch, hand held VHF, lead lamp, soldering iron, searchlight, dinghy inflator, etc can be operated as well.
 
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Peggie Hall/Head Mistress

Inverter and "cigarette lighter" receptacle

For about $50 at any computer store you can buy an inverter that will let you run your laptop off your boat or car battery instead of its own battery. Mine is called Power2Go. If a 12v receptable isn't conveniently installed where you need it, it's no big deal to install one.
 
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Peggie Hall/Head Mistress

Don, be careful how much you add

to same circuit! If all the 7 of the devices you named were plugged in and recharging at once, and if each only draws 2 amps, you've just added 14 amps to a wire going back to the main 12v breaker that's only rated for 15 amps in the first place, and may already be carrying 10. I've had experience with this problem...a previous owner of my boat was "12v gadget happy." His idea of how to install 'em was, bolt it down where he wanted it & splice into the nearest wire--without ANY regard for wire size or already existing load. He also didn't see any need to cut any extra length off any wire he spliced in--I must have pulled 2 miles of it out--and before I was done I practically had to rewire the entire boat to unscramble the mess. I hadn't finished the job yet, when one evening not long after I'd gotten the boat running again, I was committee boat...due to VERY light air it was starting to get dark before they'd all finished, so I sent someone to the flybridge with a handheld spotlight to shine sail numbers as they crossed. When he plugged it into the chartlight receptacle ("cigarette lighter" plug), the starboard engine turned over! I let my mechanics solve that one.
 
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Carl Reitz

Radio Shack Transformer

I bought a Radio Shack device that steps up 12 VDC to the DC voltage ourlaptop uses. One end plugs into a cigar lighter receptacle and the other end plugs into the same PC port that the AC power cord goes in. (Our AC power cord puts out 19 VDC.) A DC transformer is more efficient than inverting and rectifying.
 
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