Car Charging a 2011 13" Air?

MBAddict · Sep 7, 2011, 01:53 PM

Does anyone have anything they personally use already to achieve this? I take road trips often and was looking for something before my Air arrives. I check the forums and google but just found out the airport charger(?) doesn't charge it and a bunch of links to no reviews or 1 review items on amazon that look outdated. This is the new 13" Air by the way.

MrCheeto · Sep 7, 2011, 01:57 PM

I personally use a power inverter.

I got mine at Walmart for $40 and it supplies more than 200w, which is more than I'd ever need. Considering the MacBook Air uses 45w, you could definitely find one with that much power for less.

It's great because I can use it to charge anything, including my iPhone via USB.

MBAddict · Sep 8, 2011, 01:05 PM

Oooo, thanks Cheeto

macbookpro45 · Sep 8, 2011, 04:10 PM

I agree the power inverter is the best option because it is more versatile. Just make sure you turn off the power inverter BEFORE turning off your car. A few years back I forgot to do that and my car battery was dead when I tried to turn it on a few hours later. Although nowadays most newer cars probably have systems that do not let you use the lighter ports unless the car is on.

alecgold · Sep 8, 2011, 05:20 PM

Power converters are very inefficient. Certainly the cheap ones. The need to go from 14v dc to 110/220v ac and then it needs to get back to the 18v dc.
The hypermac car charger I have just ups the voltage from 14v to 18v.
I have no idea how well available they are, but it's pretty good in use and economical (less fuell Consumption, less heath being produced) its just not as versatile as a 220 converter.

MrCheeto · Sep 8, 2011, 10:03 PM

I leave my inverter plugged in 24/7 charging my bluetooth headset.

I have a diesel...two 12v batteries. Not sure if that makes a difference, but I've left it sitting for five days with zero problems.

flynz4 · 11:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrCheeto

I personally use a power inverter.

I got mine at Walmart for $40 and it supplies more than 200w, which is more than I'd ever need. Considering the MacBook Air uses 45w, you could definitely find one with that much power for less.

It's great because I can use it to charge anything, including my iPhone via USB.

Image

45W is actually the output power of the MBA charger. You need to have enough power for the input power the charger requires. The specs are 100-240V 1A. That is higher than 45W... but still within the wattage spec of your 200W inverter.

The picture in your post shows a 75W inverter. That would not necessarily be enough to power the MBA charger.. It's been a while since I studied power... but assuming your inverter produces a sine wave, then RMS power would be 120*1/sqrt(2). However, if it is a triangular wave, then I think the RMS factor would be sort(3)... and if it was a square wave... then it would be Root (1)... or 120 watts. It's been 30 years for me... so I might be rusty.

/Jim

VMMan · Sep 8, 2011, 11:24 PM

If I were to get an inverter for the car, I would probably spend the extra $200 for a pure sine wave inverter.

MrCheeto · Sep 8, 2011, 11:51 PM

$200?

Mine cost about $40-50 and charges my 13" MacBook Pro with zero issues...

E'r'y day...

trims · Sep 9, 2011, 01:45 AM

Has anyone got any experience of DC chargers, like this one:

http://tinyurl.com/3dqv8qw

I can't quite see the sense of converting to 240W AC and back again??

billy12 · Sep 9, 2011, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrCheeto

$200?

Mine cost about $40-50 and charges my 13" MacBook Pro with zero issues...

E'r'y day...

Where did you get a pure sine wave inverter for $40?

MrCheeto · Sep 9, 2011, 04:03 PM

What I'm saying is, why even bother when the $40 device has no apparent issues.

billy12 · Sep 9, 2011, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrCheeto

What I'm saying is, why even bother when the $40 device has no apparent issues.

Oh, I see.

Sep 7, 2011, 01:53 PM	#1
MBAddict macrumors newbie Join Date: Sep 2011	Car Charging a 2011 13" Air? Does anyone have anything they personally use already to achieve this? I take road trips often and was looking for something before my Air arrives. I check the forums and google but just found out the airport charger(?) doesn't charge it and a bunch of links to no reviews or 1 review items on amazon that look outdated. This is the new 13" Air by the way.
	0

Sep 7, 2011, 01:57 PM	#2
MrCheeto macrumors 68030 Join Date: Nov 2008	I personally use a power inverter. I got mine at Walmart for $40 and it supplies more than 200w, which is more than I'd ever need. Considering the MacBook Air uses 45w, you could definitely find one with that much power for less. It's great because I can use it to charge anything, including my iPhone via USB. __________________ -I read your post, that'll be 99¢- IT'S OK! I'm from the internetz!
	1

Sep 8, 2011, 10:03 PM	#6
MrCheeto macrumors 68030 Join Date: Nov 2008	I leave my inverter plugged in 24/7 charging my bluetooth headset. I have a diesel...two 12v batteries. Not sure if that makes a difference, but I've left it sitting for five days with zero problems. __________________ -I read your post, that'll be 99¢- IT'S OK! I'm from the internetz!
	0

Sep 8, 2011, 11:24 PM	#8
VMMan macrumors 6502a Join Date: Mar 2009	If I were to get an inverter for the car, I would probably spend the extra $200 for a pure sine wave inverter. __________________ 2011 MBP 17", 2011 MBA 11", iPad, iPhone 4
	0

Sep 8, 2011, 11:51 PM	#9
MrCheeto macrumors 68030 Join Date: Nov 2008	$200? Mine cost about $40-50 and charges my 13" MacBook Pro with zero issues... E'r'y day... __________________ -I read your post, that'll be 99¢- IT'S OK! I'm from the internetz!
	0

Sep 8, 2011, 01:05 PM	#3
MBAddict Thread Starter macrumors newbie Join Date: Sep 2011	Oooo, thanks Cheeto
	0

Sep 8, 2011, 04:10 PM	#4
macbookpro45 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jun 2010	I agree the power inverter is the best option because it is more versatile. Just make sure you turn off the power inverter BEFORE turning off your car. A few years back I forgot to do that and my car battery was dead when I tried to turn it on a few hours later. Although nowadays most newer cars probably have systems that do not let you use the lighter ports unless the car is on.
	0

Sep 8, 2011, 05:20 PM	#5
alecgold macrumors 6502 Join Date: Oct 2007	Power converters are very inefficient. Certainly the cheap ones. The need to go from 14v dc to 110/220v ac and then it needs to get back to the 18v dc. The hypermac car charger I have just ups the voltage from 14v to 18v. I have no idea how well available they are, but it's pretty good in use and economical (less fuell Consumption, less heath being produced) its just not as versatile as a 220 converter.
	0

Sep 9, 2011, 01:45 AM	#10
trims macrumors regular Join Date: May 2011 Location: Nottingham, UK	Has anyone got any experience of DC chargers, like this one: http://tinyurl.com/3dqv8qw I can't quite see the sense of converting to 240W AC and back again?? __________________ 13" MBA i7; 27" iMac 3.06 GHz; iPhone 4S; iPad2 3G; Toshiba Tecra M5; Acorn StrongARM RiscPC 32Mb (yes - 32Mb!)
	0

Sep 9, 2011, 04:03 PM	#12
MrCheeto macrumors 68030 Join Date: Nov 2008	What I'm saying is, why even bother when the $40 device has no apparent issues. __________________ -I read your post, that'll be 99¢- IT'S OK! I'm from the internetz!
	0

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