Although I'm a bit of a techie, I'm seeking advice on what model of inverter to buy. I'm looking for a reliable 230/240v pure sine wave inverter of 400 to 1000W rating to power a laptop and router so I can have online access during a prolonged local power cut. The rating I seek seems high, but power supplies such as those used for laptops take a big surge at switch - on, and can trigger the inverter cut - out.
Just out of interest, I already have a square wave inverter. Has anyone tried such an inverter with laptops or similar kit?
Mains Inverter.
-
Yorkshire Andy
- Posts: 9073
- Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2013 4:06 pm
Re: Mains Inverter.
Of your running a router and laptop no way will you need a 1000w unit ..PPrep wrote: ↑Sun Sep 22, 2024 9:41 am Although I'm a bit of a techie, I'm seeking advice on what model of inverter to buy. I'm looking for a reliable 230/240v pure sine wave inverter of 400 to 1000W rating to power a laptop and router so I can have online access during a prolonged local power cut. The rating I seek seems high, but power supplies such as those used for laptops take a big surge at switch - on, and can trigger the inverter cut - out.
Just out of interest, I already have a square wave inverter. Has anyone tried such an inverter with laptops or similar kit?
First take a big step back
Are you still on BT copper lines if so you'll only have one box / router to power.. if on fibre you'll need to power the fiber box and router... Or very soon if you have copper you'll get upgraded to fiber anyways to factor that Into the equation....
Look at the router data plate you'll probably find it's 12v....
Likewise with your laptop if it's a newer one it's probably USBC so also low voltage (5v immsmc)
At this point do you need an inverter... Why ... Losses your stepping up to come back down virtually needlessly inverter units are not overly efficient devices lots of heat loss for a starter...... And bigger inverers = bigger losses even at standby Vs smaller inverters
Big battery travel adapter for the laptop and a adapter cable for the router.....
If your wanting to run other things I'd start looking towards the ecoflow/ jackery / Anker power banks. . . .
Why... Because by the time you've bought an inverter/ battery / mains charger / solar controller/ wiring 12v sovkets usb adaptors your close to the fully factory built unit
If your roughing it, Your doing it wrong 
Lack of planning on your part doesn't make it an emergency on mine
Lack of planning on your part doesn't make it an emergency on mine
Re: Mains Inverter.
As above but for different reasons......I didn't understand a word he said
Two is one and one is none, but three is even better.
-
GeraldTheBonzai
- Posts: 30
- Joined: Fri Oct 08, 2021 7:52 pm
Re: Mains Inverter.
What is your definition of a prolonged power outage? And just your house or the area?
I have an EcoFlow which will run the router and recharge my laptop. However, last time we had a local power outage, it took out Virgin Media and the local cell tower. So having a power supply was academic - couldn't connect to anything.
I have an EcoFlow which will run the router and recharge my laptop. However, last time we had a local power outage, it took out Virgin Media and the local cell tower. So having a power supply was academic - couldn't connect to anything.
Re: Mains Inverter.
If your need is for IT kit (laptop/router etc) then you could consider a UPS. This uses a 12V lead acid battery and produces suitable smoothed power. Usually they are left plugged in all the time as a power surge and circuit smoothing tool for mains. You can swap the batteries very easily so could have 2 batteries - one on solar charge and one in the unit.
I suspect that a lot of IT recycling firms may have old ones of these available just in need of a new battery if funds are tighter.
I suspect that a lot of IT recycling firms may have old ones of these available just in need of a new battery if funds are tighter.
Re: Mains Inverter.
Thank you for all your advice. I already have a solar setup with 180PW solar panels and 150Ah Lithium batteries. Buying a Jackery or similar kit wouldn't be economic for me. Also, I prefer the flexibility and ease of repair using separate parts for my solar setup. The downside is that it's clunky.
500 to 1000W does sound over the top, but my old laptops need some 80W of power at 19v. Multiply this by a factor of about 5 to allow for the switch-on surge from the laptop PSU and we have 400W. Also there's little difference in cost between a 500W and 1000W inverter as a rule. Yes, I will also need to power the fibre box, but this doesn't take much power. It may be 12v, but I'll have to disconnect it and lose this post to find out. I'll check later. The router is 12v, but to run straight from a 13.5v nominal source (lithium battery) would risk blowing the router.
I could use diodes to drop the voltage, but I have to bear in mind that the battery voltage varies and the router or fibre box may or may not stand it. The connectors to these units look fairly standard, so I could make up my own cables as I don't want to modify the router or fibre box cabling.
To me a prolonged power outage is in the order of a week or more. I'm considering both an area and my home only power outage.
With the help of my 5v power banks and 12v solar system, I can currently provide basic lighting, and music plus the occasional film. Can also power my multi - band digital short wave radio, PMR radios, phone (if there's a service) and other low power devices for maybe two weeks or more. I've ordered some "cheap as chips" small USB lights from ebay as recommended elsewhere on the forum to add to what I already have. I've been working on all this for a few years, but am only just beginning to consider trying to stay online.
I'll look into a UPS, and will also reconsider my entire approach to this!
Any more thoughts are welcome.
500 to 1000W does sound over the top, but my old laptops need some 80W of power at 19v. Multiply this by a factor of about 5 to allow for the switch-on surge from the laptop PSU and we have 400W. Also there's little difference in cost between a 500W and 1000W inverter as a rule. Yes, I will also need to power the fibre box, but this doesn't take much power. It may be 12v, but I'll have to disconnect it and lose this post to find out. I'll check later. The router is 12v, but to run straight from a 13.5v nominal source (lithium battery) would risk blowing the router.
I could use diodes to drop the voltage, but I have to bear in mind that the battery voltage varies and the router or fibre box may or may not stand it. The connectors to these units look fairly standard, so I could make up my own cables as I don't want to modify the router or fibre box cabling.
To me a prolonged power outage is in the order of a week or more. I'm considering both an area and my home only power outage.
With the help of my 5v power banks and 12v solar system, I can currently provide basic lighting, and music plus the occasional film. Can also power my multi - band digital short wave radio, PMR radios, phone (if there's a service) and other low power devices for maybe two weeks or more. I've ordered some "cheap as chips" small USB lights from ebay as recommended elsewhere on the forum to add to what I already have. I've been working on all this for a few years, but am only just beginning to consider trying to stay online.
I'll look into a UPS, and will also reconsider my entire approach to this!
Any more thoughts are welcome.
-
Yorkshire Andy
- Posts: 9073
- Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2013 4:06 pm
Re: Mains Inverter.
Fair enough 
What brand is your laptop most sell a car adapter which works like an mini inverter to hop up to 19v
Eg
https://www.amazon.co.uk/TAIFU-Universa ... d_source=1
If you do go for an inverter look at Victron
What brand is your laptop most sell a car adapter which works like an mini inverter to hop up to 19v
Eg
https://www.amazon.co.uk/TAIFU-Universa ... d_source=1
If you do go for an inverter look at Victron
If your roughing it, Your doing it wrong
Lack of planning on your part doesn't make it an emergency on mine
Lack of planning on your part doesn't make it an emergency on mine
Re: Mains Inverter.
Or for the UPS idea, something like this. The batteries are the standard ones available for stairlifts etc.
https://www.criticalpowersupplies.co.uk ... s-npw-600/
https://www.criticalpowersupplies.co.uk ... s-npw-600/
Re: Mains Inverter.
Ditto all the posts above.
Square waves should be fine. 1000w probably overkill, but as you say, what will hold a lot will hold a little . Consider getting a mobile hotspot or a spare phone for internet resilience as any outage might take out your local mast and good to have multiple networks available
Square waves should be fine. 1000w probably overkill, but as you say, what will hold a lot will hold a little . Consider getting a mobile hotspot or a spare phone for internet resilience as any outage might take out your local mast and good to have multiple networks available
Graceful Degradation! Prepping's objective summed up in two words. Turning Disaster into Mild Inconvenience by the power of fore-thought
Not Feeling Optimistic. Let me be wrong
Not Feeling Optimistic. Let me be wrong
Re: Mains Inverter.
I've put together a 12v to 19v converter using a bare circuit board and fitting it inside an enclosure, and I've made up a cable to fit to the old HP laptops that I have. The converter can be adjusted to give up to 40v output if I remember rightly, so is multi - purpose. The fibre box and router still need powering, though.Yorkshire Andy wrote: ↑Mon Sep 23, 2024 9:45 am Fair enough
What brand is your laptop most sell a car adapter which works like an mini inverter to hop up to 19v
If you do go for an inverter look at Victron
I agree, Victron kit is probably the best.