![]() Try getting other PSU that still works with your laptop. ![]() Statistically, smaller (in terms of both power and physical dimensions) PSUs have smaller input caps. It's more of hit and miss without knowing their insides. What can you do about it? Find a PSU with smaller input caps. Unfortunately, plane's grid is neither big nor strong - so airplane makers install faster breakers that are successfully tripped by your big PSU. Simply, the grid is so big and inert that such spike isn't harmful. It means you can draw much more than breaker rated current, as long as it's ultra-short. It doesn't trip the breakers in your home or a train, because regular breakers work with a delay. The PSU doesn't even need to be turned on, it's about charging it's input capacitors that always stay connected to mains. ![]() This can sometimes even visually manifest itself as a tiny spark when plugging it in. It also happens when I plug the charger alone without the laptop at the other end.īecause of the way power supplies are constructed, they draw extremely short, but very large "inrush" current. The Kill-a-Watt will tell you power draw second by second, or the logging ammeter wil tell you about inrush-current spikes. You can test it by sticking it on a Kill-a-Watt or logging ammeter and plugging the power supply in. Your best bet is push back on your manufacturer to give you a better power block, or go onto the aftermarket and get one. I agree that the laptop isn't pulling that much power if you're not crunching/gaming, so it may be possible. Your gaming laptop is custom enough that there hasn't been a huge amount of engineering to reduce things like inrush current, which is caused by lazy power supply design. So provisioning power to passengers is a big deal, and it is tightly controlled. Further, fire is the worst nightmare in aviation, and electrical fires are the #1 cause, so extraordinary circuit protection is installed and all this equipment must be aerospace grade not COTS like the train. Further, this power is not 120/230V mains for that it must go through exotic converters, where wattage costs money, and surges are absolutely intolerable. This must power all the galley, lighting and avionics loads. A 737 has two 90,000 watt generators, which together couldn't even power an Amtrak dining car. Whereas on an airline, power is at a high premium. The labeling is statutory: so the conductor can prohibit people from cooking or running heaters, and because the whole car must share 1 or 2 3680W circuits. In fact, cleaners use it for their vacuum cleaners. Power distribution is just like to your house: transformers, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) Siemens panelboards with normal trip curves (tolerant of surges) and receptacles handling mains 230V power. This electricity is divvied up between electric drive motors and hotel loads (galley, HVAC, your laptop). Trains are electric beasts - even a diesel train has the diesel engine driving a giant electric generator on the order of 3 million watts (with electric, a lot more with no hard upper limit since it is part of mains distribution and can cheerfully surge 10x or more). It might also be looking for ground faults/residual current (GFCI/RCD) or listening for arc faults (AFCI). Overcurrent isn't the only reason for an airline circuit to trip. So, why is is a problem when done in airplanes? ![]() In France, for instance, the train sockets are labeled 100 watts max, therefore my laptop should be drawing less. Rail cars are equipped with sockets nowadays and my laptop was powered by them without issues in all situations. I usually ride trains quite a lot in Europe. This was my experience so far on Delta and United. Surprisingly, it also happens when I plug the charger alone without the laptop at the other end. It means that the breaker has tripped, likely because I am trying to draw too much power. Let's say that typing documents requires less power than playing a top-tier 3D game.Įach time I plug it in, the green light on the airplane socket goes off. I do not find a clear power rating indication in watts, and intelligent power management of nowadays should modulate the actual power drawn according to the current usage. It is a gaming-grade machine, meaning it should suck a little more power than the average MacBook. ![]() In my current case, I have an Acer Predator Helios 300 as my main laptop. So far, I have not been able to know limitations of the supplied power, such as maximum power output. Some airlines offer power sockets at their seats where it is possible to plug a computer. Even if the question may go into the technical details of a laptop computer specifications, I would like to know general experience of travellers concerning that topic. ![]()
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