Solved Can I charge a Dell Inspiron 15 3535 with 19V or 20V generic charger?

In case of a mains power outage, I want to charge a Dell laptop using a universal laptop charger with a 12V input from a motorcycle battery. But this has 19V or 20V but no 19.5V as used by Dell.

Would either voltage be 'close enough'? It's my brother's laptop.

You can have any wattage but not Volt so if the charger is 19V you can have a new charger that 19 Volt but have any wattage.

kelper said:

using a universal laptop charger with a 12V input from a motorcycle battery

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Clever.
Question, Would you have the MC running whilst charging?

Why not get a proper power adapter for your Dell laptop?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=Dell+Inspiron+15+3535+charger&crid=2HB5E53J5JXHG&sprefix=dell+inspiron+15+3535+charger,aps,208&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

A Universal Charger will power the laptop up enough to power it on and run it but it will not recharge the battery.

Personally (where/if possible) I would try and invest in a small fuel powered inverter generator.

I bought one for $350 a few years back (you can get really small ones cheaper) to do a photo shoot of 900 kids from a Soccer Club in an area that had no power, to run a laptop, lights and my camera.

We had a blackout at christmas, turns out this inverter could run (at the same time):
Device chargers
Refrigerator
Chest Freezer
TV
Surround System
Lamp
Router & Network boxes.

Bonus?

The only thing that made it cut out was when I got cheeky and tried running the over sized PC (Too many monitors maybe)

Downside, they can be a little noisy. But you can put it anywhere (over the neighbours fence maybe? )

$15 solution.

I've a similar power adapter for use in a vehicle, plugs into the cigarette lighter. I also have such a socket, the two wires have clamps for connecting to a 12V battery and converts the DC power. Size of the 12V battery will determine how long it works. It's similar to this one [but I won't speak about TEMU]:

NavyLCDR said:

$15 solution.

Amazon.com

View attachment 94622

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I’d certainly consider that, above direct from the MC to the laptop. The revs could be an issue. But he would need one with an input for the MC, as they don’t have ciggy lighters.

antspants said:

We had a blackout at christmas, turns out this inverter could run (at the same time):
Device chargers
Refrigerator
Chest Freezer
TV
Surround System
Lamp
Router & Network boxes.

Click to expand...

Seeing how you said you have a small inverter generator I'm curious of what the starting watts is. I have a old 4,000 watt generator and a 4550 watt inverter generator. I bought the inverter last summer. I've been debating to myself the pros and cons of making a pigtail to connect inverter to the dryer outlet instead of using extension cords.

19V or 20V is considered the same. The laptop has internal power regulation so a small difference in the AC adapters output will be just fine.

In general, a universal adapter will work just fine. There may be some rare instances where this might not hold true, but I have never encountered it. I have had in excess of 50 laptops over time (that's likely a great underestimate), and every single one worked fine with universal adapters.

Winuser said:

Seeing how you said you have a small inverter generator I'm curious of what the starting watts is. I have a old 4,000 watt generator and a 4550 watt inverter generator. I bought the inverter last summer. I've been debating to myself the pros and cons of making a pigtail to connect inverter to the dryer outlet instead of using extension cords.

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I really have no idea about it past putting fuel in it and starting her up (and maintaining it)

I did find it on the internet (or I have the manual here)

Here is mine



I found it here, Specs at bottom.

Unless the adapter runs off of 12 volts your going to need something like the $15.00 solution posted by @NavyLCDR .

antspants said:

I’d certainly consider that, above direct from the MC to the laptop. The revs could be an issue. But he would need one with an input for the MC, as they don’t have ciggy lighters.

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I don't think kelper wants to actually use a motorcycle. His post said motorcycle battery. As for a ciggy lighter, some bikes do come with 12 volt power outlets. On my bike I added a 12 volt power outlet so I could power my GPS or charge my phone if needed.

Winuser said:

Unless the adapter runs off of 12 volts your going to need something like the $15.00 solution posted by @NavyLCDR .

I don't think kelper wants to actually use a motorcycle. His post said motorcycle battery. As for a ciggy lighter, some bikes do come with 12 volt power outlets. On my bike I added a 12 volt power outlet so I could power my GPS or charge my phone if needed.

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I wouldn’t think that battery would last long without itself being charged, so I just assumed, still in the bike.

antspants said:

I really have no idea about it past putting fuel in it and starting her up (and maintaining it)

I did find it on the internet (or I have the manual here)

Here is mine

View attachment 94625

I found it here, Specs at bottom.

Gasoline Digital Inverter Generators (XG-SF1000F) - China Generator Products, Generator Manufacturers, Factories and Suppliers

www.aboutgenerator.com

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Somebody must of been watching out for you or the compressors on the refrigerator and chest freezer never had to run. That's only a 90 watt generator.

antspants said:

I wouldn’t think that battery would last long without itself being charged, so I just assumed, still in the bike.

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If kelper does what to use the motorcycle I hope it's water cooled. If it's air cooled it's going to run hot. Maybe to the point of over heating. I think kelper would be better off buying a small inverter generator like you have and buying a 120 volt to 12 volt inverter.

Winuser said:

Somebody must of been watching out for you or the compressors on the refrigerator and chest freezer never had to run. That's only a 90 watt generator.

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Did it without a hickup or so much as a stall. And I have a MASSIVE refrigerator. We took in some of the neighbours frozen food for them as the blackout lasted 7 days in our area. A mini tornado went through the Gold Coast.

Not to mention all the other stuff it ran. It was a good buy and I actually forgot I had it until day 2 when I stubbed my toe on it looking for a screwdriver in the dark.

I added it to the invoice (in the total cost, unnamed) when charging for the photo shoot

Winuser said:

and buying a 120 volt to 12 volt inverter.

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pretty sure there is one on this (and most) generators?

Mine has a separate

I totally forgot about these option if kelper is set on using a battery. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=12+volt+...jumper+with+power+oulet,aps,75&ref=nb_sb_noss

antspants said:

pretty sure there is one on this (and most) generators?

Mine has a separate

D. C. Output

12V 5A

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I just check my generators to see what power outputs they have. My old generator has two 120 volt 20 amp outputs and one 240 volt output. The invertor has two 120 volt 20 amp outputs and one 120 volt 30 amp output. Plus it has two 5 volt USB outputs.

kelper said:

I want to charge a Dell laptop using a universal laptop charger

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I did not read the whole topic, but Dells like genuine OEM adapters. There are chips in them that the laptop detects and will not charge if the adapter lacks one.