Simplest way to power my laptop?

[CaptainShiznit]

Hey guys,

So I have the SW 7Ah PowerTank, currently only powering my HEQ5. I'm now looking for a way to power my laptop. I've mentioned this before but I'm clueless with electrics. Is it possible to power it with my PowerTank, even if just for a few hours before draining the tank? If so, what would I need to do it?

Picture attached of the laptops power brick.

Cheers

[DaveL59]

likelihood is that'd drain a 7AH battery pretty fast.

Not sure if a buck converter stepping 12v to 20v at 7-10A would do but also depends a lot on the connector at the laptop end. Some of these PSU's have a sense connector as well as +/- terminals and that may cause issues. Running an inverter to get to 240v off the battery so you can use the OEM PSU would also flatten the 7AH fast so not worth doing.

Can you not get an extended-run battery for the laptop instead?

[CaptainShiznit]

38 minutes ago, DaveL59 said:

likelihood is that'd drain a 7AH battery pretty fast.

Not sure if a buck converter stepping 12v to 20v at 7-10A would do but also depends a lot on the connector at the laptop end. Some of these PSU's have a sense connector as well as +/- terminals and that may cause issues. Running an inverter to get to 240v off the battery so you can use the OEM PSU would also flatten the 7AH fast so not worth doing.

Can you not get an extended-run battery for the laptop instead?

Cheers, if that's that case I'll probably just look into getting a leisure battery or something. I'm bound to want to power more stuff soon enough.

[Davey-T]

One of these would do but not sure how long your power tank would last, maybe OK if it's fully charged to start with.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-Charger-DC-Power-Supply-Adapter-For-HP-ASUS-DELL-Lenovo-Samsung-Laptop-New/193297830938?hash=item2d0172d41a:g:suYAAOSwHwReHA43

Dave

[Cosmic Geoff]

What is the laptop endurance? Several hours is typical.   If that is not sufficient, you'll have to invest in a large heavy battery, plus converters to convert 12v to 240v or 19.5v. Or a long mains cable.

My imaging laptop has a 2 hour endurance, but I manage for the kind of imaging I do.

[CaptainShiznit]

1 hour ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

What is the laptop endurance? Several hours is typical.   If that is not sufficient, you'll have to invest in a large heavy battery, plus converters to convert 12v to 240v or 19.5v. Or a long mains cable.

My imaging laptop has a 2 hour endurance, but I manage for the kind of imaging I do.

First time imaging with it last night using BackyardEOS and it did last about 2 hours. I might try a mains extension and a dry box for home as it did get a bit damp. Thanks.

[DaveL59]

be sure to have the mains extension served by an RCD  

[SimM]

Lenovo sell a car charger to USB Type C. Many newer laptops can be powered by this type of input. 7Ah battery is at the low end but expect better from your car battery.

Even if you can get it to work it would be best to see if the laptop can be powered but not charged and in a low power mode. If that’s not possible then a battery that powers your scope and dew heater etc. isn’t going to last. Trying to invert a battery to 240AC and then using a charger isn’t a viable thing from a small battery.

Simon

https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/charging-via-usb-c/

 

[Oakbeard]

Why not get a second battery? Use one and have the other already charged, swap them and start charging the first one. That ought to last quite a bit.

[DaveL59]

1 hour ago, SimM said:

Lenovo sell a car charger to USB Type C. Many newer laptops can be powered by this type of input. 7Ah battery is at the low end but expect better from your car battery.

Even if you can get it to work it would be best to see if the laptop can be powered but not charged and in a low power mode. If that’s not possible then a battery that powers your scope and dew heater etc. isn’t going to last. Trying to invert a battery to 240AC and then using a charger isn’t a viable thing from a small battery.

Simon

https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/charging-via-usb-c/

 

unfortunately its usually powering rather than charging that takes all the current load, even on low power mode and with the screen set v dim it'll be pulling a reasonable amount of current. Ideally you'd want to turn off/disable all devices you ain't using like wifi/bluetooth etc just to save a bit more juice. 

[CaptainShiznit]

7 minutes ago, Oakbeard said:

Why not get a second battery? Use one and have the other already charged, swap them and start charging the first one. That ought to last quite a bit.

I did consider that. Wasn't sure if it was a better idea to double down on the first battery purchase or cut losses and upgrade.

[Oakbeard]

Can also look into something like this "Laptop's Portable Charger External Battery Pack Power Bank 50000mAh" Im not sure if links are allowed but a quick google is all that's needed.

[DaveL59]

Problem with your 7AH lead battery tank is that you'll quickly see volt drop if you try to run the laptop, given it'll draw >2A most likely and then the mount will be complaining about low volts. You really don't want to be running a lead battery down to 50% if you want it to last any time before it expires completely and needs replacing, unless its a deep-cycle one which it won't be in one of these. A 17AH you'd have a reasonable chance but even then the volt drop would still be there, a LiFePo would be way better for this type of use but are expensive in the short term.

Looks like your PSU does indeed have a sense (signal) pin as well as +/- and probably not easy to get one to wire up  which adds difficulty. Now the sense pin may just be to kick the PSU into life or might be needed by the PC to activate the charge circuits, as in it accepts a valid PSU is connected up. HP I think call it smart-sense or something like that.

Alternative may be to set the laptop power plan to low and dim the screen, disable bluetooth etc so you're only running the components you need and where poss avoid powering USB peripherals. Better perhaps is if the battery is removable see if there's an aftermarket long-run one available. IIRC they used to do a base you could connect that had a battery in it for some models, not cheap tho.