Powering laptop via a generator

Here's a question a friend asked me through an email and I'm not quite sure as to the answer...
The real question is in bold if you want to skip all this.
But this was the email I got.

I have a laptop(Presario 2500) that I will be using in my 24 ft enclosed car trailer next season. The 'puter will be hooked up to a weather station that will record the weather changes,and also be used as a "log book" to keep track of all my runs,BUT,it also has the ability to PAGE me with weather updates,PLUS,it can also predict the cars ET on the next run,based on the previous run and the weather conditions!!!

ANYWAY......I may not ALWAYS be able to plug the trailer(and the computer) in to a local track recepticle.

I may have to run it from a generator from time to time. I know they have newer gen-sets that have very "clean" power,but I already have a little Coleman 1850 watt generator that should provide more than enough juice.

Now....I have a 12 volt deep cycle marine battery in the trailer.....and an 800 watt DC/AC invertor wired to that.....If I use the invertor to power the laptop,and the generator to just charge the deep cycle battery,will that provide clean enough power to the laptop so that I don't blow it up or melt it down??

I really don't want to drop the coin on a new generator if I don't HAVE to.....BUT if you think it would be best.....
Any thoughts or ideas on this will be greatly appreciated!

 

Hi ya bocaj...
So basically he (your friend) has a 12 to 13.5 volt generator hooked to a DC to AC 120 volt inverter?
That should work.

The laptop is basically using a AC to DC converter in itself to do allot of it's own cleaning of the power coming in.
So any fluctuations coming into the computer power inverter itself should be adequately cleaned for the computer to function properly.
Even if the generator isn't completely to spec.
As long as there is no substantial over voltage or heavy voltage spikes...
His setup should do well.

 

If I was using this setup, I'd install a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) in between the PC and the power source. This will smooth out your power source and should give your PC better protection.

It would also allow you a few minutes to shutdown your PC in a normal fashion if anything happens to the power source. You only need a few minutes of protection to be able to carry out a normal shutdown. Bazza

 

There is virtually NO portable generator that generates "clean power". Only a few fixed-base units actually output an acceptable representation of a sine wave, like the Gillette brand for instance (I used to sell them-this is not a sales plug, just a fact I learned when I was in the industry a couple years ago). Even they recommend against using electronics devices, if possible, unless a Hardware Line Conditioner is used on the output. An HLC is a device that "smooths" the inevitable pulses in the frequency of the output voltage which would otherwise play havoc with integrated-device electronics. No consumer PSU will "condition" this kind of input-you would be playing a very dangerous game with you computer investment.

By the way, HLC's are like surge arrestors- the real thing is expensive, and should be recommended by a knowledgeable contractor for your application. If you think you're protected by a low-dollar item you bought at the local building center, then you've got a bad case of "blue-sky eyes"....