Laptop Battery Questions

[sea23usa]

I will be working on this laptop for about 9 hours, but could recharge via my car-if thats possible.

I was wondering if anyone knows how much a battery that lasts this long would cost? I'm looking to pay the least I can. Also, is a power cord an adaptor and if not how much do adaptors usually run and power cords run?

I'm going cheap and these are the models I'll probably need batteries/adaptors for:

ez book 500
IBM Thinkpad 390

Thanks in advance if anyone knows

[kjanz]

for those models, the bats would last 1.5 hours.

[opscomp]

If you want decent battery life, you really should get a laptop with a pentium M chip, ie. an intel centrino laptop. Get a second-hand one and buy 3 batteries, and maybe you will get nine hours... I have never heard of a consumer laptop getting nine hours from one battery!! It would be a record wouldn't it?

[sea23usa]

I was counting driving time for some reason..
I'm going to have the laptop turned on for only 2-3 hour increments, twice daily(about 5 hours a day).

1.5 hours? oh crap..

Already bought a laptop- its a ezbook 800, all I can afford right now, and I bought a new battery 12v.

So it sounds like I'd need 2 more batteries?
Can the batteries recharge in your car?

Thanks for your replies I would've responded sooner but I think I have the notification emails option off.

[Insomniac]

No one is going to be able to accurately tell you how long the battery will last anymore than they can tell how long a piece of string is.

There are too many variables, even with identical models, to judge.

You may get a very rough indication, but that's about it.

You should be able to buy adaptors that run off the cars cigarette lighter.

[opscomp]

I agree that your best move logistically and financially would be to get a good car charger. Will cost considerably less than extra batteries. I have a car charger and a few extra batteries, but the only time I need the spare batteries is when I am flying longhaul. Otherwise the car charger is a great accessory. Try something like:
http://www.ebatts.com/ctx_ezbook-800...rt_aa-c10.aspx
or:
http://www.ebatts.com/ctx_ezbook-800...rt_dk-c10.aspx

[sea23usa]

Yeah I didn't know if there was a set amount of time, I'll watch to see how long mine lasts.

Car charger would be better since I'm driving alot, thanks for the link I didn't know what type you have to get that do a good job.


The issue is less important since a friend of mine mentioned that I could just plug it in while I'm at the courthouse computer station though-he said he does it all the time, wherever he is he just plugs in-so I'm going to try that first and see if I can get away with it.

[Rob M.]

Originally Posted by sea23usa

... Also, is a power cord an adaptor and if not how much do adaptors usually run and power cords run?
....

A power cord is just that -- a conductor that carries electricity from the wall socket (or wherever) to where you need the power. The electrical characteristics of that power are not changed.

An adapter will serve that function, but its primary function is to change the nature of the power to something other than what you get out of the wall socket.

For example: the wall sockets (in North America, at least) provide 110-120 volts alternating current (AC) at 60Hz. An adapter for most electronic equipment will convert that to something in the general area of 6-15 volts, and may (or may not) rectify the AC current to provide DC (direct current) to the appliance.

If you use a power cord where you should be using an adapter, spectacular destruction of the connected equipment is a predictable result -- with a significant fire risk. Using an adapter with the wrong electrical characteristics can have the same result, though it may be less spectacular.

Cost will depend on the quality and complexity of construction of the adapter or power cord, as well as the production volume. An adapter used by only a few pieces of equipment is usually proprietary and made in small production runs. These can be quite expensive. Mass-market items of similar quality and complexity can be much cheaper.

[sea23usa]

I was thinking that in a way a power cord could be considered an adapter but wasn't sure of the terminology.

Guessing that means I'd have to be very careful about getting an appropriate car adapter then, I'll keep this in mind.

[Adrynalyne]

Get a converter, then you just plug it in like you would to the wall.


http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1075583463235