compatible Toughbook power supplies other than OEM

I have run my higher processor Toughbooks with the 5 amp adapter
Remember the times you might occasionally need the full 8amps
Charging the battery while running cpu intensive applications on full screen brightness
I have even used the 3.75 amp adapter with my cf-74/30 ,it seems ok but the battery is usually charged 100%

 

It's just that I read a post in this forum of using IBM power adapters where the Amps were lower than the Panasonic power adapter and they recommended keeping an eye on it and not leaving it alone as it could burst into flames.

I have a the 15.6V 5A Panasonic adapter for my Pentium M based CF-51.
I also have an IBM 16V 5.6A and an IBM 15.6V 3.45A adapter.
The batteries in my Pentium M CF-51 and in my Duo Core CF-51 are completely drained. Is it OK to use the low amperage Panasonic power adapter on my high amperage duo core CF-51? If so, what precautions would you recommend?

 

Charge the battery when the laptop is turned off , on the 3.45A
The 5.6A should be fine
Feel it for heat ,just to be sure , my Panasonic 3.75 used to heat up a bit, but never burned up or caused any operational issues

 

Let's hope we don't have to go through this all again . I have been using IBM adapters from the first day I got a Toughbook with the new style power plug. I am typing this on a CF-30 which has not been plugged into a Panasonic adapter for 3 years. The IBM adapter puts out 16v at 4.5 amps. In the post you refer to someone had a problem with a cheap Chinese adapter, not with one of the IBM ones. My wife's CF-51 MK3 with a Core 2 Duo T7200 processor is sitting across the table happily connected to a IBM power supply. The IBM supplies are physically identical to the smaller Panasonic adapters which came OEM with the CF-18s. They are very high quality, and typically, very cheap. As for amps, I'm not going through the whole amps/watts/volts 101 again. If you have a lower amp power supply you might notice a longer charge time, if you plug your Toughbook into a 16v 100amp power source you will not hurt it! The only time I have ever run into an inadequate power situation was with the docking stations for the Dull Latitude series. If you tried to use the computer's power supply to power the dock you got a message "insufficient power, use xxx power supply" or something to that effect. I don't know if this is true or not, maybe Dull was just trying to sell you a second brick. They are, as far as I know, the only manufacturer who builds a chip into their power supplies which prevents the computer from charging the battery if you try to use any but OEM power supplies. The computer will work but the battery will not charge.
NB: moving from FACT to anecdotal here.I'm not sure, but I suspect that the phenomenal life span I seem to be getting from my now almost 5 year old battery in the MK1 CF-30 might be, in part, due to the fact that I have been "trickle charging" it for most of it's life.
CAP
Caveat: The "IDM" (it doesn't matter) aspect applies ONLY TO THE AMPERAGE of the power supply. It certainly does matter what voltage you use. THE VOLTAGE MUST BE WITHIN A FEW PERCENT OF THE DESIGN VALUE. 15.6v to 16v is OK, 15.6 to 20v is very much not OK! Check your voltage very carefully, you want to keep the magic smoke where it belongs!