Battery question

[Joe Bo]

I'm am currently a commuting college student i spend long periods of time in my car using my laptop and other electrical devices. i was using a 300w converter last semester but when hurricane Irene hit i blew all my fuses. bought new ones .....

i have recently been researching inverters, and connecting it directly to my battery. so i don't need to waste gas and or even need my key.

I wanted to get some other peoples advice on getting a second battery so i don't need to worry about killing my battery.

Some direct questions i have regarding it are.....

1) type of battery, deep cycle possibly?
2)will adding a second battery put strain on my alternator? I don't have a serious sound system

any advice would be greatly appreciated. thank you

 

[00siboy]

So you use your laptop while driving, or you just use it while sitting in the car? My first thought is why wouldn't your laptop battery last long enough until you can re-charge it somewhere?

 

[Joe Bo]

i have 4 classes twice a week i am in classes from 7am till 945pm battery doesn't last that long and i go to a community college in the worst city imaginable (last semester thank god, transferring to engineering school this fall) i just want my to transfer my car into a mobile power station. for my lake house in Maine and in the past 6 months my town has lost power twice once for 7 days then the Halloween ice storm we lost power for 2 weeks. i want to be preparred and have fun

 

[THEDARKONE]

just buy another battery pack and have it in your backpack or soemthing

 

[lethal6]

just buy another battery pack and have it in your backpack or soemthing

What is the extra laptop battery going to do him when the power is out for 2 weeks at a time? Then he would have 2 laptop batteries and no way to charge them.

Op: To answer your question, yes it will put strain on your alternator. What will be worse than having 2 batteries though would be the constant draining, then charging again. It will strain both batteries AND the alternator. Deep cycle would be better, but it will still kill the life of the battery. At the least you would need an isolator so the stronger battery doesn't get the juice constantly sucked out of it by the weaker one.

I personally would say that it would be cheaper in the long run to just idle your car when you are in need of charging the laptop, then when it is charged, shut the car off. You are going to waste gas, but it would be cheaper than constantly replacing batteries and alternators.

 

[Bramblerose12]

That is a bit of a tough break on the battery situation, I wonder if there is a portable device that recharges these things?

I Goggled it, there are some roll up solar panels that can recharge your battery, you could just slap it on the roof of your car when you need it but they are costly the 12 watt runs about 245.00 but it is renewable energy and pretty nifty "It can also charge larger items like laptop computers or car batteries" two birds in one stone if you ask me, I suppose it would be worth looking into.