# Gasoline generator for a Laptop? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 9, 2009, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasoline-generator-for-a-laptop/495830 "2009-05-09T05:51:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasoline-generator-for-a-laptop/495830/1 "2009-05-09T05:51:40Z")
Fuel cells schmule cells. Fossil fuels… now that’s the technology of the future. What I want is a micro 50W generator with a fuel tank, with which I can sit in the park for hours. Can I buy one? Can I make one? ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasoline-generator-for-a-laptop/495830/2 "2009-05-09T06:11:26Z")
If you had the equipment and the skills yes. Better just get a larger battery. Or a small solor panel. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasoline-generator-for-a-laptop/495830/3 "2009-05-09T07:17:15Z")
[Laptop fuel cell](http://www.gizmag.com/go/5325/) [Fuel cells](http://blog.fuelcellstore.com/?p=51) ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasoline-generator-for-a-laptop/495830/4 "2009-05-09T07:27:52Z")
> [@Alex\_Dubinsky](#): > > What I want is a micro 50W generator with a fuel tank, with which I can sit in the park for hours. Why would you need a generator for that? There are many laptops currently available that can be configured for 10+ hours of battery life. The [Lenovo X200s](http://shop.lenovo.com/us/notebooks/thinkpad/x-series) with 9-cell battery claims 13.2 hours of battery life, for example. If you need much longer life than that, sure, you can use a generator. Though last I checked, the smallest commercially available generator I could find was a Honda 1000W unit, which is about 20 times more power than you need to run a laptop. I suppose you can make your own using an engine intended for R/C models. I’m not sure why you’d want to though, what’s wrong with fuel cells? ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasoline-generator-for-a-laptop/495830/5 "2009-05-09T10:26:08Z")
Good luck on being allowed to run it in a park for hours making all the noise it would. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasoline-generator-for-a-laptop/495830/6 "2009-05-09T12:45:26Z")
How about a [Stirling](http://www.ministeam.com/acatalog/Bohm_Stirling_Engines_and_Kits.html) engine. You would get extra points for being ‘steam punk’ (or whatever that is). ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasoline-generator-for-a-laptop/495830/7 "2009-05-09T14:07:33Z")
[Here today](http://www.heliocentris.com/en/customers/systems/products/fuel-cell-systems/50-w-constructor.html) ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasoline-generator-for-a-laptop/495830/8 "2009-05-09T18:02:13Z")
> [@astro](#): > > [Here today](http://www.heliocentris.com/en/customers/systems/products/fuel-cell-systems/50-w-constructor.html) Not really helpful. My laptop needs about 4.5 amp at 19v. That’s over 80W. But even if 50W is mostly sufficient, the voltage is`wrong. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasoline-generator-for-a-laptop/495830/9 "2009-05-09T18:07:42Z")
[a pricey but quiet, and more long term solution](http://www.gogreensolar.com/products/icp-sunsei-se6000-solar-100w-generator) Just in case you need to power your laptop in the feild for a few weeks off the grid. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasoline-generator-for-a-laptop/495830/10 "2009-05-09T18:14:03Z")
> [@astro](#): > > [Here today](http://www.heliocentris.com/en/customers/systems/products/fuel-cell-systems/50-w-constructor.html) Doesn’t that need pure hydrogen? > [@](#): > > I suppose you can make your own using an engine intended for R/C models. I’m not sure why you’d want to though, what’s wrong with fuel cells? I admit I haven’t been keeping too close a tab, but they don’t exist yet? And have the prototypes solved the annoying feature of using very dilute fuel? And have the commercial proposals shaken off their greed and demand to use manufacturer fuel cartridges (like a printer)? An R/C engine strapped to a motor is what I was thinking. Very strange some hasn’t done it already. I wonder why. A tiny IC engine can’t be that loud, can it? ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasoline-generator-for-a-laptop/495830/11 "2009-05-09T18:22:06Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > Lenovo X200s with 9-cell battery claims 13.2 hours of battery life, for example. That’s very, very cool, if true. But that comes with a significant sacrifice of performance, doesn’t it? There’s also this: [http://www.electrovaya.com/products/powerpad/models/PowerPad130Battery.aspx](http://www.electrovaya.com/products/powerpad/models/PowerPad130Battery.aspx) But say I want to go live in the woods for a week, enjoying nature with a vow not to leave until I finish my novel… and for some reason a huge solar cell won’t be conducive to my creative juices. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasoline-generator-for-a-laptop/495830/12 "2009-05-09T22:52:48Z")
Maybe what I need for this is a sterling engine. > [@Wikipedia](#): > > During the early part of the twentieth century the role of the Stirling engine as a “domestic motor”[40] was gradually taken over by the electric motor and small internal combustion engines. Until by the late 1930s it was largely forgotten, only produced for toys and a few small ventilating fans.[41] At this time Philips was seeking to expand sales of its radios into areas where electricity was unavailable and the supply of batteries uncertain. Philips’ management decided that a low-power portable generator would facilitate such sales and tasked a group of engineers at the company’s research lab in Eindhoven to evaluate alternatives. > > After a systematic comparison of various prime movers, the Stirling engine’s quiet operation (both audibly and in terms of radio interference) and ability to run on a variety of heat sources (common lamp oil – “cheap and available everywhere” – was favoured), the team picked Stirling.[42] They were also aware that, unlike steam and internal combustion engines, virtually no serious development work had been carried out on the Stirling engine for many years and asserted that modern materials and know-how should enable great improvements.[43] > > Philips MP1002CA Stirling generator of 1951 > > Encouraged by their first experimental engine, which produced 16 W of shaft power from a bore and stroke of 30mm × 25mm,[44] Philips began a development program. This work continued throughout World War II and by the late 1940s handed over the Type 10 to Philips’ subsidiary Johan de Witt in Dordrecht to be “productionised” and incorporated into a generator set. The result, rated at 200 W from a bore and stroke of 55 mm x 27 mm, was designated MP1002CA (known as the “Bungalow set”). Production of an initial batch of 250 began in 1951, but it became clear that they could not be made at a competitive price and the advent of transistor radios with their much lower power requirements meant that the original rationale for the set was disappearing. Approximately 150 of these sets were eventually produced. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasoline-generator-for-a-laptop/495830/13 "2009-05-09T23:51:48Z")
> [@Alex\_Dubinsky](#): > > Doesn’t that need pure hydrogen? > I admit I haven’t been keeping too close a tab, but they don’t exist yet? And have the prototypes solved the annoying feature of using very dilute fuel? And have the commercial proposals shaken off their greed and demand to use manufacturer fuel cartridges (like a printer)? > An R/C engine strapped to a motor is what I was thinking. Very strange some hasn’t done it already. I wonder why. A tiny IC engine can’t be that loud, can it? Have you ever _heard_ an R/C plane? You can hear them 1/4 mile away, easily. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2009, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasoline-generator-for-a-laptop/495830/14 "2009-05-10T00:00:14Z")
If a car adapter is available for your laptop (eg: One that plugs into a cigarette lighter socket) I’d wager that a deep-cycle “marine” battery would power you for a good while. ---
**Author:** ![dbuzman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de0a6/32.png) [@dbuzman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dbuzman)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2009, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasoline-generator-for-a-laptop/495830/15 "2009-05-10T07:21:26Z")
Why not get something like [this](http://www.freeplayenergy.com/product/freecharge12v)? Buy 2 and modify them so you can crank both with one handle, have the output in series(24v output), step it down to 19v. You would prob have to charge your laptop battery then run your laptop instead of powering the laptop itself. There may some made that already output the voltage you need. I found this with my first google search and didn’t look any further. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasoline-generator-for-a-laptop/495830/16 "2009-05-11T04:53:17Z")
Get a 900 W professional, reliable portable generator for a couple hundred bucks. Use it to charge your laptop battery, then run the laptop off the battery. Mind you, there’s no reason to run off the laptop battery. You could make a large external li-on battery pack, and hook your laptop up for it. Get something big enough to run for a day or two at a time, and then just run the generator to keep it topped up. You can choose when to run it and for how long, and run it at whatever its peak efficiency is for that time. I think that would be your most efficient solution, and you wouldn’t have to listen to that generator yammering away while you’re trying to complete your magnum opus. ---
**Author:** ![HorseloverFat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8e8cbc/32.png) [@HorseloverFat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HorseloverFat)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasoline-generator-for-a-laptop/495830/17 "2009-05-11T05:16:08Z")
\*That’s very, very cool, if true. But that comes with a significant sacrifice of performance, doesn’t it? \* What kind of performance do you need? I sometimes use very underpowered equipment to remote desktop to my desktop and use all of its horsepower. Best of both worlds. [There’s no shortage of cheap 2000watt generators but they are loud.](http://www.nextag.com/2000-watt-generator/search-html) Even a hypothetical RC engine is still loud as heck. Honestly, in a park there’s always a field house or some gardening outlet just sitting there for your use. Most park employees dont seem to mind people plugging into them to power laptops or charge cell phones. Barring that, just drag a car battery to your spot and plug in. Plug it into an inverter and my guessitmate for a typical laptop’s drain on a car battery would be in the neighborhood of 40 or 50 hours of usage. Its lighter than a generator and 100% quiet. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasoline-generator-for-a-laptop/495830/18 "2009-05-11T05:41:18Z")
> [@dbuzman](#): > > Why not get something like [this](http://www.freeplayenergy.com/product/freecharge12v)? Buy 2 and modify them so you can crank both with one handle, have the output in series(24v output), step it down to 19v. Actually, that touched on another idea. I’ve seen hand-cranked devices before, and that the OLPC project has a hand-cranked accessory. I’ve been thinking about them, and they’re fucking stupid. _Hand_-crank? Makes a million times more sense to use leg power. Old-time sewing machines used the principle to great success. Those sewing machines also used an interesting mechanism, which was a reciprocating step instead of pedals (good for low power since there’s less travel and all you’re doing essentially is twitching your legs). ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasoline-generator-for-a-laptop/495830/19 "2009-05-11T06:20:46Z")
I found just the thing for you: [20-40W treadle generator](http://www.modernoutpost.com/gear/details/fp_weza.php). Works just like Grandma’s sewing machine. Mount two on a board, attach a metal plate between them, and you’ve got a 40-80W treadle-powered generator. ---
**Author:** ![dbuzman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de0a6/32.png) [@dbuzman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dbuzman)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasoline-generator-for-a-laptop/495830/20 "2009-05-11T08:57:44Z")
> [@Alex\_Dubinsky](#): > > Actually, that touched on another idea. I’ve seen hand-cranked devices before, and that the OLPC project has a hand-cranked accessory. I’ve been thinking about them, and they’re fucking stupid. _Hand_-crank? Makes a million times more sense to use leg power. Old-time sewing machines used the principle to great success. Those sewing machines also used an interesting mechanism, which was a reciprocating step instead of pedals (good for low power since there’s less travel and all you’re doing essentially is twitching your legs). Well, since you would have to modify what I linked, nothing says you couldn’t modify them to be foot powered. That company makes a foot powered one with a battery but it only has 12v output and costs over $200. ETA: **Sam Stone** linked to the foot powered one I saw.