I have an inverter already but it doesnt power up my laptop. I need a good invert to power my lap top or a desktop motherboard I plan to install in my car as a car pc made from spare parts. So whats the best invert for that? Any ideas. Thanks all. also would I need a better battery?

 

We need to know what is the total wattage will you be running?????
Example inverter:
Monster Mobile PowerStation™ 300-Watt Power Inverter (w/Hard-Wire Kit) model# MCPI- 300 list at $129. Look on e-bay + do a google search you can buy it at $35- and up$$

 

i plan on running a laptop that requires 19.5v or a desktop that uses 200-240v but i know there is somesort of power supply card i can buy for like 50$ to make the desktop safe with the 12v power supply.

 

It's seems nobody wants to chime in on this one. I have limited knowlege + am trying to help you. Or am I making matters worse? LOL What do you mean by inverter?

You only listed volts of I believe is sometimes printed by the adapter plug hole , which is the type of ac plug adapter need to run it AC . Are you looking for a universal AC adapter plug with selectable voltage settings to plug into so you can run it under AC current?

Household AC current/electricity is normally 110 volts or special installed 220 volts for example air conditioners.

You can run anything AC (including your cell phone charger if needed) on a power inverter because an Ac to Dc power inverter generates the wattage, so you can run it out of your car. You won't blow up a cell charger. You could'nt run a 1000 watt microwave oven on a 300 watt inverter, not enough power. You would need to get a larger wattage power inverter. It's just plug and play to make that computer work in your car. A power inverter unit will run off your car DC battery via a hard wire connection ( just like a speaker amplifier) or use of a cigarette lighter socket connection.

As for a need for another battery, are you talking about a car battery? Not necessarily.

Then again that's another topic "aftermarket high output alternator"+ "dry cell car battery" + how many total amps number you are running in you car. Meaning the total power of your ICE amps is using vs what you stock alternator 80 amps for is producing. Is it enough to charge your battery correctly? Do your headlights flicker at nite when everything is on in your car.

I have learned a lot on Scionlife and am willing to help others with what I may not know LOL

 

I have a 200watt inverter. And when i hook up my laptop to it and turn on my laptop, the inverter makes a hissing sound like beeps, and the error light blinks or is on steady. Meaning there is not enough power "low battery" Maybe the inverter is not generating enough wattage "200w" or maybe my car batt is low. I used to have some aftermarket bulbs before that generate like 140ws from 55watt bulbs. idk. I just dont want to order something online and figure its junk and have to go through the hassle of returning it "shipping it back"

 

Is the car on when you do this?
I don't think 200watts is enough to power a laptop. Try picking up a 400watt inverter and a hardware kit.
If you have the inverter connected through the cigarette lighter with a 400w inverter, you're going to blow a fuse if you try to run something heavy duty.

 

So as long as i have a 400w inverter and dont use anything that needs more than 400w total i wont blow a fuse?

 

well, if you tap the positive battery terminal, there are no fuses to blow, except the internal fuse on the inverter. You shouldnt blow a fuse. Just make sure you have the car running when youre using your laptop

 

i have my car running every time when i use the inverter and laptop. So its better to hard wire the inverter to the batt? If so how?

 

Its actually not that difficult. As long as you have a nice powerful drill and some drill bits.

SORRY I HIT SUBMIT BEFORE I WAS FINISHED

You're going to have to drill a hole in the firewall of the car. You can cut a nice grommet right above the brake pedal. It will allow the leads to come through the engine bay close to the battery. run the lead to the positive terminal battery, and ground the ground lead to any unpainted metal part of car. Mount the inverter behind the glovebox or whereever you like where you can have easy access to it.

I'm going to be doing all of these things to my car as soon as it comes in from port. So if you want to wait a week or so i will take pictures of everything.

 

wow, that would be great. Thanks, I will wait for the pics. Im not sure where to drill, etc. I've been looking for a spot to run some wires to the hood, but cant find an easy one. Thanks. BTW what are you going to use the inverter for? I want to run a desktop motherboard, because its cheaper than getting a carpc motherboard. Thanks again.

 

LOL
im going to use the inverter to power my nintendo64, and any other misc. things i have running in the car. But the nintendo will be the main unit running off of the inverter.

 

A>The problem is not your car battery. Depending on the wattage you are using you have at least 15 minutes of power time before it will totally drains you car battery, if your car is not running. Some power inverters have a overload alarm /shut off feature when your car battery voltage drops to about 10.5 volts. A laptop doesn't draw 200 watts maybe about 100 watts and 150 is pushing it.

B>Are you sure you have a 200 continuous watt inverter? Some inverters are rated as a 200 watt peak, but only 100 watt continuous watt, meaning it will take that 200 watt surge for only a couple a minutes, but only rated for 100 watts use max.

C>Maybe this is why it blinks and make noises or it's no good. About correct ratings, think about when you buy a speaker amp rated at 1200 watts, but it is only 600 RMS speaker power.

D>Now, about the 55 watt car bulb and drawing 140 watts. I am not sure about that .

I figure as an example: you can have a 55 watt bulb thats draw 55 watts of energy, but puts out light/lumens like a 140 watt bulb is more probable.

So , now you need to find the answer for B and post your answer for maybe additional guidance. Then, we can help you decide on the best converter type/ features as they are not grounded and may cause electrical noise in your sound. Maybe you could research into purchasing the inexpensive $35 -$50 price (if you do a buy search) well know brand Monster 300 watt with a noise filter, that I told you about , which as a bonus comes with the battery hard wire kit if needed ( it lists at $129 and I seen it for this much on some sites) or find an inexpensive sine wave style converter. But, you need to know the total continuous wattage you will be running on that power inverter.

I hope I'm making sense, cause I don't understand what I wrote. LOL

Oh! The joy of car mods, it can suck sometimes. but it's great when completed LMAO

PS you going to the Scion Vip F1 Boston event 2/10. I'll be there

 

I think its not 200 continuous watts. it was cheap ebay junk. I read about pure sine waves this morning. So yeah I think I will need a pure or true sine wave inverter.

and to your PS, yup, I plan on going to that F1 Winter Event. Maybe not for go carting but to be my first scion event and to eat, and have some fun with my girl, etc, meet pppl. Etc/ Maybe some ScioNRG members will be there.

I'll look into some monster inverters, but i couldnt find any product info on the monster web site.

 

Monster only makes 2 models: 150 watt + 300 watt. I don't know why they are not on their site at this time?? maybe they weren't popular and discontinued??

Monster Mobile PowerStation™ 300-Watt Power Inverter (w/Hard-Wire Kit)
Converts 12V DC Vehicle Power to 110V AC Household Power
Perfect for Car, Truck, Boat, SUV, RV
Monster Price $129.95 - but you can get them for way less than half$$ on line.
Model: MPC MCPI-300 (125076)
Features:
Create two 120V AC power outlets using vehicle's 12V electrical system for power wherever you travel
Power larger electronics like a 25-inch TV, mid-sized boom box or a small power tool
Complete hard-wire kit included
Built-in cooling fan for optimum performance

Monster® Exclusive Clean Power™ Circuitry - Reduces inverter generated interference so you can enjoy the best possible sound, picture and performance from your connected equipment
Complete Hard-Wire Install Kit - Includes all the parts and connections you need to permanently install your PowerStation™ in your vehicle
Remote Output - For optional PowerStation accessories like AC/AV extension cables, remote power switch and LED display
Built-I n Cooling Fan - Helps your PowerStation keep cool for long life
AC/DC Power Isolation Circuit - For enhanced safety (reduces risk of shock from connected electronics) and improved car radio and connected electronics performance.

Another inexpensive well know brand is "Vector", but only models with "MaxxSST" in the name, will have a noise supressor built in. See model#VEC061 it is a 350 watt continuous, but they don't include the hard wire kits.

 

so the monster mobile will work? have to tried it? And yup, i know about vector, i looked it up on bestbuy.com and saw it was like 1/4 best buys price on ebay. But yeah, if this thing "monster mobile" will work for my application of a laptop or desktop setup, i'd be eyeing for that. i dont want to just order junk online and have see its junk and dont want to pay $$ to return it back to them if they even take returns.

i found this,
Vector MAXXSST 400

Monster Cable MPCI-300-600

Are any of those any good?

 

Check my inverter model numbers. These are only suggestions based on my recent research and my present need to buy. I don't know how much total wattage you require.

As far as maybe getting noise on a PC, maybe it won't even happen for you. Every car is different on how everything is wired. I tapped into my stereo amplifiers power source to run my power inverter. Plus, the fact I also have my PS2/DVD player sound coming out radio stereo sound system, didn't help. So I may have created my noise problem cause I didn't have it before + know the inverter is the source when on. I have used cheap inverters in my other cars and not have a noise problem. :D

I just received from e-bay today the Monster MCPI 300 $38.00 total shipped. New and not used/referbished. Sorry, no more... I got the last one. . I'll be hooking it up in the next couple of days. I'll keep you posted.

 

If you try the inverter again plug the laptop in for a while to it before you start up the laptop so the battery can charge a little first. Laptops take a lot of power to charge and run at the same time but if you let the charging finish first then it is not so bad. Also make sure you have a good connection to the lighter and better yet wire it to the battery directly because at 300 watts you need about 25 amps and the lighter is not going to handle that and neither is the ignition switch! Use some heavy wire to the battery like really heavy speaker wire or 8 AWG if you keep the 12 volt wire run from teh battery as short as possible it will work better.

 

thanks, but i think i will definently get a new inverter with the perks. "higher wattage"

JIMXB- Thanks. I would like it if you keep me posted. Thanks again.