Plugging laptop in power adaptor

[edoggsmooth]

I am going on a cross country trip in my '04 Seaside Pearl (5,000 miles) and I wanted to bring my laptop along so that my friends can watch movies on it.

My question is what dangers, if any, do I run plugging my laptop into the power adaptor? Will it drain the battery? Furthermore, will it influence gas milage much?

Thanks in advance.

-Ed

[DaveinOlyWA]

i doubt it. when the car is running, the 12 volt battery would be charged just as in any other car. i havent plugged in my laptop, but i have run my digital camcorder for several hours once on a trip.

one thing that i would like to see would be an outlet for 110 AC. im sure that there will be an aftermarket mod eventually if there isnt one already.

i know that GM's hybrid will have 220 on it.

as far as gas mileage, technically, in the Prius all energy usage will afect gas mileage slightly since the power is generated by the ICE. but at 12 volts, i doubt you would even notice it.

[erinishuman]

I have an inverter ($15 at Fry's on sale) which allows you to plug in up to two regular-plug appliances in the power outlet, maximum 50 watts. I have used it for my laptop, my cell phone, my ipod, my portable DVD player (not all at the same time of course). Works great.

My portable DVD player fits nice and snug between the front two seats so the people in the back can watch.

[mshappe]

i doubt it. when the car is running, the 12 volt battery would be charged just as in any other car. i havent plugged in my laptop, but i have run my digital camcorder for several hours once on a trip.

I agree. You're no more liable to drain the aux battery in the Prius with your laptop than you would be to drain the battery in a conventional vehicle. Obviously, if you're stationary and just running in ACC mode (HV system not running), you're going to drain the battery, the same way you would in a conventional car in ACC mode without the engine running. But if the car is running, the ICE will make sure the aux battery is happy.

one thing that i would like to see would be an outlet for 110 AC. im sure that there will be an aftermarket mod eventually if there isnt one already.

I've heard some muttering to the effect that almost all auto manufacturers are moving toward enhanced electrical systems, even in non-hybrid vehicles, because of the ever-increasing electrical demands of America's gadget-crazed populace :-D

[JB]

I drove from CA to TX with a laptop plugged into the car for most of the way. Everything was fine. No noticable changes in battery charge due to the laptop. I can't say that there was any noticable change to mpg because of it. I didn't do a complete scientific test of it, though. Seriously, I wouldn't worry about it.

[jlmdutch]

I agree with above posts but would add that the aux battery is a smaller capacity battery than the standard car battery and running a laptop with the car off will drain it down faster.

Also, per mshappe's comment about car makers moving to enhanced electrical systems, I've read that they have wanted very much to move to higher voltage systems (higher than 12, probably 48 Volts) because with a higher voltage system, motors for everything from the starter to the power windows can be made smaller and do not require the large heavy conductors (wires) of a 12 volt system. The potential weight savings and savings on copper adds up to a lot, especially over a 100,000 unit production run. What has held them back is the enormous base of 12 volt accessories and the problem with producing a car which takes a "non-standard" battery (non-standard at least until everyone else starts doing it). One of these years an auto maker will take the plunge and the others will happily jump in after the public gets over the shock! (pun intended