Cheapest way I can power a laptop for 24 hours off grid

[Clivet268]

I just need like 5 Amps output at 120V AC, rated for a few hundred discharge cycles, and the ability to keep a not-so power efficient 2010s laptop running for 24 hours straight. This isn't something I'm dead set on but every solution I have seen is either underwhelming or rated for 50+ Amps and maybe going for something rated for lower could cut down on costs, also I just don't need it, if thats just standard then great, more capability. A broad price range would be nice but if you could point me to a few specific products that are close enough that would be even better

[wONKEyeYEs]

 

[Adorable Cat]

you could get a 12 volt drill battery and hook it up to a power inverter like you'd use in a car

[LWM723]

Have you looked at solar/battery/inverter options?

[akio123008]

I have an off-grid setup that I use to power my laptop. It consists of a 30W solar panel and an ordinary 12V car battery. To power the laptop I use a 300W inverter (which is about the smallest size you can get) 

 

I also have an additional wind turbine to generate more power, but to power the laptop the solar panel is usually enough. Get a 50W panel if you want to be on the safe side.

 

[mariushm]

On 5/4/2021 at 4:29 AM, Clivet268 said:

I just need like 5 Amps output at 120V AC, rated for a few hundred discharge cycles, and the ability to keep a not-so power efficient 2010s laptop running for 24 hours straight. This isn't something I'm dead set on but every solution I have seen is either underwhelming or rated for 50+ Amps and maybe going for something rated for lower could cut down on costs, also I just don't need it, if thats just standard then great, more capability. A broad price range would be nice but if you could point me to a few specific products that are close enough that would be even better

Well, we have some issues here.  5 Amps at 120v AC means 600 watts ... so that means you'd need around 700-750w capable device 

 

The ability of a not-so  power efficeint 2010s laptop ... well, look on the power adapter and see how much power it produces for the laptop. Chances are it's either a 65w adapter brick or maybe a 90-100 watts adapter.

 

It would be fairly inefficient to use an inverter to boost your storage energy to 120v AC only to convert it back down to some voltage your laptop wants through its adapter / charger.  So ideally, you'd use a car travel charger which converts 12v or 24v to the voltage your laptop wants, or you make your own "charger" using  a dc-dc converter board that would take 12v or 24v from your batteries and produce 16...20v your laptop expects coming through its barrel jack.

 

You probably won't do better than a 200$ gasoline/diesel power generator ... it can produce hundreds of watts but will consume maybe 2-3 liters of fuel per hour.

 

There's power banks for around the same price, but I can't guarantee they'd be able to supply 40-50 watts for 24 hours without recharging. 

 

Probably the best would be to have a couple big lead acid batteries in series, to get around 24v and a solar panel with the controller to pump the energy into the batteries. 

During the day, the laptop can be powered straight from the sun, and during the night, it could discharge the batteries.