Hi,

Thinking of getting something like this so I can run my laptop while I'm out in the car.

Realistically what can I expect out of something like this? Obviously I'll have the engine running so it won't (will it?) drain the battery.

I'm after running the laptop but also could I run other bits off it?

Thanks!

You can run some other things off it, but generally the type of power output it gives is not a sine wave shape, so you have to be a bit sensible.

I bought something like this a few years back for work but I had nothing but problems with it. In the end I changed it for a specific laptop charger which worked great. It was a bit more pricey though, about £90 IIRC. No problems with draining the battery but it was only used in a transit van.

Problem was when we changed the laptop the power inverter wasn't powerful enough for the new laptop so we had to buy another.

i run one in the wagon for my playstation/tv combo and its fine,but it won't wor the toaster or the kettle!!!!!! I have had to buy a real big boy inverter for that:D

we have them in the vans at work for battery chargers etc but they are only 500W.

Should be fine but I'd be tempted to get something with a bit more 'oomph' such as this one from Argos

500W is a lot though, the most common ones vary between 100-150 Watts continuous power. I've got a Belkin one which can handle 150 continuous and powers my laptop charger (125W rated) without any problems, but I wouldn't want to power something much more than that.

With the car I have now, I would think twice about running that much load on the battery without the engine running though, but on the Fabia it was just fine