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hondochica's avatar
hondochica
Explorer
Feb 22, 2016

DC/DC converter education . . where?

OK - the vast majority of electronic equip I have are all battery-power based: laptop, cell phone, bluetooth, tablet, cat-tracker, and portable battery pack. The most power-hungry being the laptop. And all come with AC/DC adapters. And, of course, they all have different size plugs! But I have this great battery bank with solar. And from my limited knowledge, converting dc to ac to dc is just incredibly wasteful - I've read upwards of a 40 percent loss of power. I want to power/recharge my electronics straight dc/dc. This should be possible and seemingly a better use of power. It doesn't seem like rocket science - though could be more complicated than I realize. I see dc/dc converters, modules, boosters, 'bucks' (whatever those are) etc.

Where can one go to get a reasonable education on dc/dc power conversion so I can figure out what to buy? I've spent a couple hours now on google and haven't found a good simple reliable source.

or - better yet - what could I use?

Thanks in advance

Kelly
01 Rialta
somewhere in sw az

17 Replies

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  • hondochica's avatar
    hondochica
    Explorer
    Feb 22, 2016
    Great replies all!! Thanks . .

    Yes, phone, bluetooth and tablet have USB ports - though it seems to take much longer.

    As for DC laptop charger . . Huh!! I had looked for one a few months ago - for my older HP laptop and got 0 results!! And I tried every possible search I could think of . . hmmmm where was this hiding?? Thanks for the link! I had actually called HP and was told that they did not make a dc power cord for my laptop - although they made them for other models - typical!

    Guess I just need another 12v usb device so I can charge 2 items at once (of the smaller stuff).

    Appreciate your help. I don't know what a "buck" converter is . but will look for one on Amazon.

    thanks

    Kelly
  • Gdetrailer's avatar
    Gdetrailer
    Explorer III
    Feb 22, 2016
    hondochica wrote:
    OK - the vast majority of electronic equip I have are all battery-power based: laptop, cell phone, bluetooth, tablet, cat-tracker, and portable battery pack. The most power-hungry being the laptop. And all come with AC/DC adapters. And, of course, they all have different size plugs! But I have this great battery bank with solar. And from my limited knowledge, converting dc to ac to dc is just incredibly wasteful - I've read upwards of a 40 percent loss of power. I want to power/recharge my electronics straight dc/dc. This should be possible and seemingly a better use of power. It doesn't seem like rocket science - though could be more complicated than I realize. I see dc/dc converters, modules, boosters, 'bucks' (whatever those are) etc.

    Where can one go to get a reasonable education on dc/dc power conversion so I can figure out what to buy? I've spent a couple hours now on google and haven't found a good simple reliable source.

    or - better yet - what could I use?

    Thanks in advance

    Kelly
    01 Rialta
    somewhere in sw az


    For laptop PCs you simply buy a Universal 12V laptop power supply, plugs into 12V and is capable of supplying most if not all different laptop voltages.. Plugs DIRECTLY into a 12V Cig lighter power port.

    Like THIS



    Cellphones, Tablets, BT devices now days ALL tend to use a 5V "USB" port charger.. With those devices you simply buy a 12V cig to 5V USB charger and use a USB cable to connect them..

    Looks like THIS



    Make sure you get one that has at least 2.4A per port, modern devices will need this high current in order to charge as quick as the 120V wall plug they came with.

    For any other rechargeable devices look around for 12V to what ever voltage they need type cig lighter power supplies..

    Doing so will eliminate the wasted power of a inverter..
  • MrWizard's avatar
    MrWizard
    Moderator
    Feb 22, 2016
    Your laptop will need a BOOST converter voltage will be in the 17~19v range

    Buy a dedicated dc laptop power supply from best buy, New egg, FRYs ...etc..

    A lot of the other items will be USB powered
    And you can get a multi port 12v to USB, to charge several at one time from one 12 cig outlet
  • 2oldman's avatar
    2oldman
    Explorer II
    Feb 22, 2016
    hondochica wrote:
    .. converting dc to ac to dc is just incredibly wasteful - I've read upwards of a 40 percent loss of power.
    That sounds like a lot, but typical chargers use so little power to begin with, it's peanuts. You may find it's more trouble than it's worth.

    A great battery bank and solar shouldn't have any problem at all.
  • wildtoad's avatar
    wildtoad
    Explorer II
    Feb 22, 2016
    Have you looked to see if you can get USB based charger cords for your devices? Most of the gadgets we have now will plug into a common USB port to get charged. Then it should be fairly simple to connect to a 12v adapter. Used to be you could get a 12 volt charger for laptops (at least some of them).
  • Shadow_Catcher's avatar
    Shadow_Catcher
    Explorer
    Feb 22, 2016
    Essentially what you are looking for is a DC DC buck converter, do a search on Amazon or ...
    I have a couple of them used in our teardrop trailer everything from regulating the fan to supplying 6V power to our weather radio.
  • Chuck_thehammer's avatar
    Chuck_thehammer
    Explorer
    Feb 22, 2016
    problem is, most have different DC voltages.. and different connectors and polarities

    12 volt to 12 volt is just connectors. (11.5 to 14.5)

    everything is a different "Thing" and money.. if available..
    but many are going to "USB" power connectors... like the computer port (USB 2,3) that provides a data line and a 5v power line.

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