Is there a way to plug a laptop into the car adapter so the battery wont be used up?

Answer 1

Sure.

If your laptop takes 12-14 volts, you can get a simple adapter.

If it takes something different, get an "inverter". It converts your car to a 120volt outlet! Here's a sample:
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=PNOTEAC150-DT&cpc=SCH This is what I use. That way I can charge my digital camera batteries too.

Answer 2

Possibly thru the use of a 12 Volt DC inverter to provide 120Volt AC to your laptop Power Adapter. Thus giving you a constant power source to Charge Battery / Operate laptop.

A lot of Laptops require 19 Volts DC , with the 'Center Pin as the Positive 'as there power source.

Have used this ' Principal ' with other ' Special Power Requirements ' on other Electrical Equipment with no ill affect. ( Refrigerator, Television, DVD Player, ETC. ). Must remember to ' Torn Off / Unplug ' when ignition is off or will deplete car battery.

Best of luck.
daveo5624

Answer 3

some people use a power inverter to go from 12 volts to 125
it creates a lot of heat, which is not electricity.
and robs efficiency.
plus, cig lighter connections fail frequently.

then you plug into the laptops ac/dc converter....
which produces heat and decreases efficiency.

most laptops run 12 volts anyway...
some 117 or 24... so 2 bateries and step down.
-
also.... power saving features in the OS:

have a BLANK screensaver... no bright flashy colors.
that uses cpu too... and power.
have screen shut down after 1 min if not watching a movie or something.

have optical drive shut down if not using them.
shutting down hard drives always causes me problems.
-would not recomend.

flash drives use less power than cd/HD
use them whenever possible
-----------
editing... didnt see you meant laptop at first..
was thinking full pc. here are some full pc ideas:
use 2 batteries.
use a lower wattage cpu
get a $30 pico-psu find links on mini-itx.com
it goes from 12v-12v... very nice.. and tiny.

Answer 4

There are power converters you can buy. They plug into the cigarette lighter in your car and have a regular outlet on the other end. This will drain your car battery (if your car is not running) quickly. If your car is running, it will simply just use up more gas. But it works, I've used one before. They are more for long trips than for just your everyday commute.

Answer 5

You mean the laptop battery and not the car battery rigth?

Look for something called Power Inverter like on radioshack:
http://www.radioshack.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=power%20inverter&origkw=power%20inverter&sr=1
Make sure you know how many watts your computer needs, it will usually be less than 120W, so an inverter that delvers between 150W and 300W wll be OK.

Answer 6

You can buy a converter that plugs into your car's cigarette lighter or dc outlet, and provides a 120 volt 3-pronged AC outlet. You can buy one at Wal-Mart, Best Buy, or at most auto parts stores.

Answer 7

buy it here :
http://www.laptopsforless.com/laptop-accessories/dc-ac-power-inverter/