Laptop DC power - earthed

The -ve terminal of the DC power supply for my laptop is earthed. Is there any particular reason for this? It is quite likely that if I went abroad I would want to power the laptop from an an earthed socket. Another, much older, laptop of the same brand is unearthed. Has there been some change to the wiring regulations?

Reply to
Michael Chare
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To stop you getting an unexpected tingle if you happened to place your laptop on your bare lap.

Reply to
Andy Burns

Class I vs Class II. One relies on earthing to meet safety requirements, the other relies on a higher level of insulation plus a few other minor features.

If you must use the earthed power block in an unearthed socket, you should wear rubber boots, big rubber kneecaps, a large foam helmet, and paint your face with carbon-free insulating paint. And do send us a pic showing how to do it :)

NT

Reply to
NT

It is quite possible that the laptop has been earthed to reduce electrical fields which some research has suggested are bad for your health.

Reply to
Michael Chare

Nah, it increases the electric field for the wireless function ...

Reply to
Adrian C

It enables the PSU to be made smaller, lighter, and cheaper.

Can you use its PSU?

No.

Some vendors make both Class I and Class II (double insulated) PSUs. The default suppled various with country, but you should be able to order the Class II (double insulated, unearthed) one. I have Toshiba PSUs of both types. Back when the Toshiba M100 was a current laptop, you could order it with 2 PSUs, and you got one of each type for this reason (although mostly it pissed people off because they used different mains cordsets).

Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

The original PSU gave 2.4a ,at 19v, Due to a cable fault, I had to replace the plug that goes into the laptop. I also now longer have the suppression coil.

The new PSU is rated at 3.34a & 19.5v and uses a different laptop plug. The cable and plug are both a bit more substantial than the original, so hopefully they will last better. The new laptop has an i5 quad processor, so it probably does need more power.

This is Dell equipment. The new PSU is a little smaller

Reply to
Michael Chare

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Adrian C saying something like:

Maybe for the Orgone Accumulator and Homeopathic charger.

Reply to
Grimly Curmudgeon

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