Compact Mac on a battery…

iantm

Tinkerer
Sep 8, 2025
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I started thinking about modern battery tech (e.g. EcoFlow or Jackery power stations) and how it might feasibly drive a compact Mac for some appreciable amount of time. Hopefully hours, not minutes, and definitely not days. For focused writing sessions.

How long would a 245Wh battery be able to run a Mac that's not primarily designed to be portable? I assume it could run a laptop for some time, but as absurd as it sounds I wanted to consider using a compact Mac for writing in a remote place. Think "cabin in the woods" more than "backpacking". Definitely not roughing it, but wanting to bring that experience with me. There's electricity in the intended use case, but I want a bit of freedom to be on the back porch.

What would be some of the better ways to optimize power use? I have a @zigzagjoe LCD mod for SE/30. I imagine that has a much lower power draw and consumption than a CRT. Currently (pun not intended) it's using the original (recapped) power supply. How much of a difference will it make a difference if I were to use a modern power supply? Or is it more about power reliability than consumption?

Not talking about heavy gaming use. Really just writing. Yes, I recognize I could use my modern laptop, a vintage laptop, iPad, FreeWrite, or ReMarkable. But the point is more experiential than practicality.
 
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This Does Not Compute

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Oct 27, 2021
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You could start by connecting the Mac to a power monitor like a Kill-a-Watt and see how much it draws. My guess is probably in the 50W range. Then it's simple math to figure out how long your battery pack of choice would run -- maybe it's enough as-is.
 
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YMK

Active Tinkerer
Nov 8, 2021
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The measurements I took while developing MaciNap on an SE with no spinning drives were:

Active: 36W
Sleep: 14W

If you take breaks, it will extend your running time by shutting down the analog board.
 
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