Stealth camping and my laptop

[Resfeber]

Perhaps this will help
130watts / 12volts = 10.8 amps ( say 11amps)
Would be the current draw by the 12volt charger that you buy for you laptop.( which will transform 12v to 19.5volts that your laptop needs to charge its battery correctly).
Your leisure battery will be rated as able to deliver about 80 amps continually for 1 hour.
So your charger would flatten your leisure battery in 80/11 = 7.27 hours assuming no other usage.
Therefore all you need to find out is how long it takes to charge your laptop from say 20% to 100% and how long you can run on a 100% laptop battery to 20%.
Think you will find that your leisure battery can stand this extra load as you will charge for around an hour and get 2 to 4 hrs use from charged laptop battery.

 

[MarkVw2017]

Nice fit and Exploria have a great reputation, how long did it take them to do it.

Dropped it off at 8am and got a phone call saying they finished at 3pm. I'm not from any where near Brighouse but there a free carpark from 6pm -8am if you need to travel night before ;-) and depending how you roll, a wetherspooms or lovely Italian restaurant next to car park ;-)

 

[MarkVw2017]

I find that helps (sorry).

Roof down, blinds down in the back, curtain dividing the cab off behind the front seats in driving position, so it just looks left overnight. An air safe hook can be used for ventilation (still not much).

I feel roof up screams 'camping!!' which is absolutely fine, but with me, it has to be roof down when stealth camping ;-)

 

[MarkVw2017]

Perhaps this will help
130watts / 12volts = 10.8 amps ( say 11amps)
Would be the current draw by the 12volt charger that you buy for you laptop.( which will transform 12v to 19.5volts that your laptop needs to charge its battery correctly).
Your leisure battery will be rated as able to deliver about 80 amps continually for 1 hour.
So your charger would flatten your leisure battery in 80/11 = 7.27 hours assuming no other usage.
Therefore all you need to find out is how long it takes to charge your laptop from say 20% to 100% and how long you can run on a 100% laptop battery to 20%.
Think you will find that your leisure battery can stand this extra load as you will charge for around an hour and get 2 to 4 hrs use from charged laptop battery.

Wow, thank you

 

[HectaTheSpecta]

Get a laptop with USB C charging (I've got a MacBook) - You then just need a 12V USB C PD charger (anker sell them). I hardly ever use the inverter.

is it not possible to usb-c charge the laptop from a USB port from within the van? failing that, buy a usb cigarette lighter charging adaptor that will hopefully do the same job?

 

[Resfeber]

is it not possible to usb-c charge the laptop from a USB port from within the van? failing that, buy a usb cigarette lighter charging adaptor that will hopefully do the same job?

Only issues is that by design a usb c cable can only handle up to 5amps (at 12 volts this equals 60 watts) so the charging time will more than double compared to the standard 120 to 130 watt charger that comes with most laptops.
Also for MarkVw2017 don’t be tempted to us a 12 v socket doubler to use a “full fat” laptop charger and another device. All the interior 12 volt sockets are fused at 15 amps, so the 11 amp of the charger will will have warmed the fuse up and any current surge at plug in of another device (usually a mobile phone) to a doubled socket may well cause the fuse to blow.
As Scotty may have said to to Capt. Kirk “ Yee canny change the laws of Physics Jim” apologies to all.

 

[MarkVw2017]

Only issues is that by design a usb c cable can only handle up to 5amps (at 12 volts this equals 60 watts) so the charging time will more than double compared to the standard 120 to 130 watt charger that comes with most laptops.
Also for MarkVw2017 don’t be tempted to us a 12 v socket doubler to use a “full fat” laptop charger and another device. All the interior 12 volt sockets are fused at 15 amps, so the 11 amp of the charger will will have warmed the fuse up and any current surge at plug in of another device (usually a mobile phone) to a doubled socket may well cause the fuse to blow.
As Scotty may have said to to Capt. Kirk “ Yee canny change the laws of Physics Jim” apologies to all.

Thank you for that!!! Very helpful

 

[Legin]

Get the power details off the laptop not the charger as they are not the same. Rather like you have a 150 engine but only need 75 to get up the hill.
Put simply the charger will only deliver what the laptop demands. One trick to limit peak demand is to use a lower capacity mains charger.
I do this with my Mac (to stop the connector burning out) so its downrated from 75w to 45w in my case, the only negative is it takes longer to charge.
If you can find someone savvy they can measure the actual power consumption for you very easily .Im in Chester not far from you so if your passing I will do it.
So you will find your power consumption isnt anything like 11a continuous.
I would then buy a quality pure sine inverter say 250w in your case , wire it direct to the battery and away you go. I use the Victron 500 va which is too big for your needs so get something about 250VA, I recommend Victron.
The invertor route is useful as it will give you options for other small electrical goods, yes there is an efficiency drop but small beer for your load demand.
Just make sure you turn it off when not in use as they consume about 1a just sat there.
Be careful of poor quality invertors and dc/dc convertors its the reason I dont use a dc convertor with my mac.

 

[HectaTheSpecta]

Only issues is that by design a usb c cable can only handle up to 5amps (at 12 volts this equals 60 watts) so the charging time will more than double compared to the standard 120 to 130 watt charger that comes with most laptops.
Also for MarkVw2017 don’t be tempted to us a 12 v socket doubler to use a “full fat” laptop charger and another device. All the interior 12 volt sockets are fused at 15 amps, so the 11 amp of the charger will will have warmed the fuse up and any current surge at plug in of another device (usually a mobile phone) to a doubled socket may well cause the fuse to blow.
As Scotty may have said to to Capt. Kirk “ Yee canny change the laws of Physics Jim” apologies to all.

thanks for the reply, does that mean it will charge? albeit at a slower rate?

would this work and any ideas of the pros and cons

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003FOOY32/?tag=eliteelect-21

also any of these:

The best laptop power bank in 2024: stay charged wherever you work

Stay charged when working from home with our pick of the best portable laptop battery chargers and power banks around

www.techradar.com

sorry for all the questions But I plan to Digitally work off grid

 

[Resfeber]

Worth considering Legins advice as the pure sine wave inverter plus your laptop OEM charger is less risky for your laptop electronics and you get the added advantage that availability of mains voltage allows many alternative appliances (provide they will not exceed the rating for the inverters power output) to be used with their original power supply.

Having said that the smart Power supply you linked to will do the job and the power bank gives you a reserve option (provided you keep it plugged in when driving to keep it topped up) rather than finding that the single leisure battery in a beach is struggling to keep up with all the demands.
Worst case is that your intended usage may mean that the Leisure battery needs uprated to a higher capacity or a solar panel on roof ( typically 100watt power input to your battery which would offset the laptop use in reasonable daylight ) or to the double leisure setup in the Ocean.
I am sure there are other “off grid” workers who can help with what they power in their vehicle and typical off grid usage before their leisure battery “runs out of steam”

 

[andyinluton]

Theres loads of 12v - 19.5 v converters available, I use the one below from ukadapteronline.com on my company dell.
The output amperage is a bit low so it doesn't really charge the laptop whilst its being used, but it keeps the battery at the same level. If the laptop is turned off it charges, if that makes sense.





Original 19V DC Adapter Car Charger Dell Latitude 14 Rugged - P46G
£19.35

Specifications:

• Input Voltage: DC 11-15V
• Output Voltage: 19V
• Output Current: 3.34A/ 4.62A
• Power: 65W/ 90W
• Plug Size: 7.4mm * 5.0mm with pin

 

[HectaTheSpecta]

Worth considering Legins advice as the pure sine wave inverter plus your laptop OEM charger is less risky for your laptop electronics and you get the added advantage that availability of mains voltage allows many alternative appliances (provide they will not exceed the rating for the inverters power output) to be used with their original power supply.

Having said that the smart Power supply you linked to will do the job and the power bank gives you a reserve option (provided you keep it plugged in when driving to keep it topped up) rather than finding that the single leisure battery in a beach is struggling to keep up with all the demands.
Worst case is that your intended usage may mean that the Leisure battery needs uprated to a higher capacity or a solar panel on roof ( typically 100watt power input to your battery which would offset the laptop use in reasonable daylight ) or to the double leisure setup in the Ocean.
I am sure there are other “off grid” workers who can help with what they power in their vehicle and typical off grid usage before their leisure battery “runs out of steam”

thanks for the elaborate reply.

i noticed the 6.1 come equipped with usb c so will need to research whether thisll be sufficient and yes, for definite i plan On running roof panels to keep the batteries topped up.
cheers

 

[Sp0_0k]

Took me 2 years struggling with dell charger.
For normal laptop you can just use a simple upstep converter and tune it 12 to 19v, minimal losses.
Dell smart asses though have 3rd pin that detects original chargers and screws you bad, sometimes even with original ones.
I had 2 usbc chargers, 1st from batpower turned out crap and died in most inappropriate moment.
This one is really good so far. Not getting hot. Own long and thick usb-c cable.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003FOOY32/?tag=eliteelect-21

 

[Sp0_0k]

Another small tip, adjust the battery settings in bios so it doesnt charge all the time to full. Unnecessary power loads and battery wear.
Set it like 50-80%. Means the charger just supplies working power and only charges the battery to 80% and only when it drops below 50%.