Car Power Inverter for Macbook?

hiiamamac · hiiamamac #1 (**permalink**)

05-23-2009, 09:19 PM

I'm going away on a trip soon, and want to be able to charge a macbook but won't have access to any power supply except for the cigarette lighter in my car. Apparently I need a power inverter to plug a macbook into the cigarette lighter.

I went on the apple website, and they had a power inverter, but it cost more than I wanted to spend on a power inverter. So instead, I went to a local auto zone, and bought a power inverter from there for less than half the price.

It's made by Schumacher, and it's a 70 watt power inverter. The front of the package says "Converts 12V DC car power to 110-120V AC home power". Here's a link to the inverter on amazon, Amazon.com: Schumacher PI-70 70 Watt Power Inverter: Automotive

Here are the specs:
10 Minute Continuous Output - 70W
Continuous Power Output- 60W
Surge Capacity (0.1 second) - 150W
Full Load Input Current- 8a
Optimum Efficiency- 85%
No Current Load Draw- <0.2A
Output Frequency- 60Hz+/-2Hz
Output Wave Form - Modified Sine Wave
Output Voltage Range- 115V+/-5V AC
Input Voltage- 12V DC
AC Receptacle- NEMA 5-15 USA

The package says it's meant for laptops, but I've been looking online and have read that the wrong inverter could screw up the macbook. Does this inverter sound like it will do the trick? Do I need an inverter higher than 70 Watts? What should the specs be on the inverter I use?

Thanks for all your help

cwa107 · cwa107 #2 (**permalink**)

05-23-2009, 09:21 PM

NOTE: Thread moved to appropriate forum. Not just anything goes in Anything Goes

Lankysean · Lankysean #3 (**permalink**)

05-23-2009, 11:20 PM

I'd say go down to Radioshack and pick up a 150 watt power inverter for like $40. I'm pretty sure the Macbooks need 65 watts and the Pro's need 85 watts.

Collin Bl · Collin Bl #4 (**permalink**)

05-23-2009, 11:32 PM

Seems like these guys think the same.

cwa107 #2 (permalink)
Member Since: Dec 20, 2006 Location: Middletown, Pennsylvania Posts: 25,917 Mac Specs: 15" MBP, Core i7/2GHz, 8GB RAM, 256GB Crucial M4 SSD	05-23-2009, 09:21 PM NOTE: Thread moved to appropriate forum. Not just anything goes in Anything Goes Liquid and computers don't mix. It might seem simple, but we see an incredible amount of people post here about spills. Keep drinks and other liquids away from your expensive electronics!
	QUOTE Thanks

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hiiamamac #1 (permalink)
Member Since: May 23, 2009 Posts: 1	05-23-2009, 09:19 PM I'm going away on a trip soon, and want to be able to charge a macbook but won't have access to any power supply except for the cigarette lighter in my car. Apparently I need a power inverter to plug a macbook into the cigarette lighter. I went on the apple website, and they had a power inverter, but it cost more than I wanted to spend on a power inverter. So instead, I went to a local auto zone, and bought a power inverter from there for less than half the price. It's made by Schumacher, and it's a 70 watt power inverter. The front of the package says "Converts 12V DC car power to 110-120V AC home power". Here's a link to the inverter on amazon, Amazon.com: Schumacher PI-70 70 Watt Power Inverter: Automotive Here are the specs: 10 Minute Continuous Output - 70W Continuous Power Output- 60W Surge Capacity (0.1 second) - 150W Full Load Input Current- 8a Optimum Efficiency- 85% No Current Load Draw- <0.2A Output Frequency- 60Hz+/-2Hz Output Wave Form - Modified Sine Wave Output Voltage Range- 115V+/-5V AC Input Voltage- 12V DC AC Receptacle- NEMA 5-15 USA The package says it's meant for laptops, but I've been looking online and have read that the wrong inverter could screw up the macbook. Does this inverter sound like it will do the trick? Do I need an inverter higher than 70 Watts? What should the specs be on the inverter I use? Thanks for all your help
	QUOTE Thanks

Collin Bl #4 (permalink)
Member Since: Apr 07, 2009 Location: Napier NZ Posts: 3,273 Mac Specs: 27 iMac i5, 2.4 C2D MBP & iMac 20, 1TB dual TC, AppleTV, iPh4	05-23-2009, 11:32 PM Seems like these guys think the same.
	QUOTE Thanks

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