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Subject Topic: Electrical Power for Computer in FC Post Reply Post New Topic
12/2/2008 at 9:24pm
 Location: UK
 Outfit: Dandy Folding Camper
View Family Smudge's Profile View Profile   Reply to Family Smudge Reply   Quote Family Smudge Quote  
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Hi there,

Can anyone give some advice on electrical power for our Dandy FC. We have been told that electric hook-ups on French campsites may not be adequate to run a laptop from due to amp rating.

Does anyone have any experience of running a laptop in such a situation and what we might need to do / recommendation of separate power source?

Thank you!

-------------
Happy camping!
http://familysmudgetravellingtails.blogspot.com


12/2/2008 at 9:47pm
 Location: West Berkshire
 Outfit: Bailey Olympus 534
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Family Smudge.

Running a laptop off an EHU in France should not be an issue as the power adapter will have a suitable input voltage range and the output will be regulated. My laptop adapter has an input voltage of 100 to 240v.


12/2/2008 at 9:53pm
 Location: UK
 Outfit: Dandy Folding Camper
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Hi Fat Belly,

Thanks alot. I've checked my adapter and it says 100-240v. I guess this means all will be ok to use in the FC then! I'm afraid I'm not very technically minded!

Thanks

-------------
Happy camping!
http://familysmudgetravellingtails.blogspot.com


12/2/2008 at 11:16pm
 Location: sheffield
 Outfit: CAMP-LET CONCORDE
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if in doubt, always carry a power inverter. converts 12 volts to 240 volts . i do, so we will never be without our fridge

a small one is all you will need, about 300 watts, and only cost a few quid. there are dozens on ebay



13/2/2008 at 2:01pm
 Location: Shropshire North Wales borders
 Outfit: Adria Win
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Quote: Originally posted by bobandsuzzi on 12/2/2008

if in doubt, always carry a power inverter. converts 12 volts to 240 volts . i do, so we will never be without our fridge

a small one is all you will need, about 300 watts, and only cost a few quid. there are dozens on ebay


Where are you getting the 12v supply from? You will flatten a leisure battery or a car battery very quickly running a fridge from it, unless the car engine is running. What wattage is the fridge?



-------------
Caz
If you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, just keep going till you go round the bend.


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14/2/2008 at 4:48pm
 Location: Tyneside
 Outfit: Abbey 215 Spectrum and Renault Scenic
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Invertors are not true sine wave and therefor may not be a good idea for a laptop, also is france 50Hertz as this can also affect performance of electrical equipment.

-------------
Fresh air peace and tranquility.


16/2/2008 at 1:06pm
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France is 230V 50Hz like the UK. apart from the tolerances there should be no difference between the UK and there.

A laptop power supply will typically be rated between one or two amps I think. I have just looked at a few and these examples were all rated at 1.5A. However this figure is for a supply that works on anywhere between 100V and 240V. The 100V setting by-the-way is for Japan who  as far as I can tell seem to have the lowest voltage in the world (leaving out areas where the voltage is supposed to be more but isn't). Because the power supply can cope wit this voltage it means that the typical laptop could consumes no more than 150W (1.5A X 100V). This is because the maximum current rating would have to be what it consumed with the minimum voltage.

As a check I have just measured my laptop then for actual consumption and it is drawing anywhere between 23W (screen brightness low) and 28W. However this is with the hard disk idle and with the battery fully charged. If it was charging then I would expect this figure to go up considerably but it would remain below the 150W. Now, continental mains was 220V when we were 240V but we have all standardized on 230V. This is the nominal voltage but being in the countryside and at the end of some long underground cables plus add in your own lead to the trailer would mean that you should expect less than the full 230V. I would think maybe 220V. Assuming a very safe 200V then (surely they cannot be lower than this!) the maximum draw for 150W would be 0.75A. Less than one amp. Now to put this in perspective very little equipment draws less power than say a lightbulb, perhaps a small radio would be below this or a clock but little else nowadays. This value of 0.75A is equivalent to just two or at most three standard light bulbs - ie not that much.

UK pitches seem to be rated at 10A or 15A I believe (I have no direct experience but maybe someone can confirm this). So I would be really surprised if any hookup were rated at less than 1A anywhere, even in France. That would mean the circuit would trip if you put more than two standard lights on it which is not very much at all!

I think that is the question then, are French hook-ups rated at less than 1A? If they are rated at more than this then the supply will support at least the laptop.

What to do if you want to minimize your laptop's consumption then? There are two things you can easily do. First, turn the screen brightness as low as you can (brightness not contrast). The lights in the screen are probably the largest draw of power that can be changed easily by the user. Next remove the batteries. On many laptops this is no issue but check if your laptop is OK with them being removed and running with them removed. Now when you plug in you will find that the consumption will be a lot lower than the maximum rating. As I said mine is less than 30W or about half a lightbulb but it does register 50W at start up while the disk is whirring and it is working a bit harder.



Post last edited on 16/02/2008 18:10:55


18/2/2008 at 9:05am
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I just discharged the laptop's two batteries and have now measured it while it was both turned on with the screen full brightness and the disk whirring away and while charging at the same time. The power consumption measured 66W. All laptops will be different of course but this gives some indication.



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