Hi,
I’ve purchased an Anker 100W GAN (model A2343) charger that is reportedly grounded. I like how compact and versatile it is. However, the ground pin is plastic, and it gives a (what I found annoying) vibratory/tingling sensation on the metal case. The official charger doesn’t give this.
Can anybody recommend any fully-grounded 100+W chargers that avoid this sensation, ideally with some of the same compact/versatility (multiple ports) features?
Thanks in advance!
Which metal case do you mean? The Anker is made out of plastic.
The laptop chassis
This might be a broken charger then, you would normally don’t feel 20V DC. The low voltage side is seperated from the high voltage side with a gap inside the charger. So it doesn’t matter if the high voltage side is grounded or not.
Just had a reply from their support actually:
I noticed you mentioned it gives a vibrating sensation on the metal case. Please note that our chargers are equipped with a Y capacitor, which is a standard component in the design of modern chargers. This capacitor plays a crucial role in mitigating electromagnetic interference that can affect other devices, such as touch screen malfunctions when a phone is charging. This design is not unique to our products; other well-known brands like Samsung and Apple also utilize this type of capacitor in their chargers. As a result of this design, there is a very slight leakage current that can occur.
The sensation you are feeling is likely due to this leakage current. However, it is important to note that this is a common and expected phenomenon that typically does not pose any risk or harm to the user. The leakage current in our products is strictly controlled and measured to be below 0.25mA, which is well within the safe range for human perception and health.
Don’t know what thoughts are on this?
Completely true is what it is.
There is indeed a small current, which you can notice, and it is indeed completely harmless.
The FW charger grounds the output, so this current goes to the ground connection instead of through your body.
Harmless as it may be, it can be annoying if you are using your laptop without external peripherals while charging, but that is a personal preference. My previous laptop (Toshiba Protégé) had the same ‘issue’.
How do they use the Y capacitor if there is no ground connection? That statement does not make sense.
It may be a standard component, but it does require a metal ground pin to be effective. The bottom leg of the Y should not be connected to the output side.
Thanks for the information so far! I suppose my question is: this laptop has already killed my bank balance, is there a chance it will kill me?
(Loving it by the way)
I would be very surprised if it killed you. You can get similar tingling feeling (what you are terming a ‘vibration’) from things like electric blankets or other unearthed appliances that have mains supply. In most cases it requires a metal case (like the laptop has) to get a good enough contact to the source of the (extremely low) current that causes the tingling feeling. anything with a plastic case normally keeps flesh contact far enough away from the electrics that the the current is that low you don’t feel it.
Nope.
The charger contains mains voltage, the laptop itself does not. (That is, if a decent charger with the proper safety isolation is used. Like for example the FW and Anker chargers.)
The laptop works on a safe, low voltage, as the output voltage is a maximum of 20V for the charger. That is too little to generate a dangerous current through your body.
Even if the FW is powered (and charging), you remove the input cover and then make contact with the electronics inside, you will be perfectly safe. (Nonetheless: don’t do that, as you can destroy the laptop itself like this.)
For the new FW16, that supports the new PD standard with up to 240W charging, the details are slightly different. The charging voltage will be higher, up to 48V, but the conclusion is the same: still safe to touch, no need to worry.
Up to about 60V DC is considered safe to touch (dependents slightly on the used standard). So even when you’ve just had a shower and are using your charging laptop in the damp bathroom without the input cover, you will be perfectly fine.
You will however not make friends with support.