Common power adapter for Macbook Air and Macbook Pro?

Question

I have both a Macbook Air and a Macbook Pro at home, and it would be really nice to have one magsafe adapter by the couch rather than two...
I have actually tried the Air 45w adapter on my Pro and it works fine as long as the Pro is not fully discharged. If the Pro is unable to start up on battery, it's also unable to start up on the 45w AC. But otherwise it seems fine.
In the reverse direction, normally I use the 85w Pro adapter for both the Pro and the Air. That also works fine; the drawback there is that, since the Air receptacle is mounted at an angle, and the magsafe connector on the Pro adapter is straight-ahead, I have to put the Air on a pillow and even so the connector comes out frequently.
The obvious solution would be an 85W adapter with an Air-style right-angle connector. I find the angled connector is not a problem at all on the Pro.
A few questions therefore:
1) Am I doing any damage, in either direction, using the 45W adapter on Pro or using 85W on Air? My guess is that the adapter and the system are smart enough that it's not a problem. Put another way, I suspect the designers accounted for the possibility that idiots like me would plug one computer's adapter into a different model, and they made sure it was not harmful. But that's speculation on my part. Anyone got any real information?
2) I have done the obvious web search and can't find an 85w with a right-angle magsafe connector. Am I missing something obvious?
3) My next step is to snip both cords and splice an Air connector onto a Pro adapter. I'm not super handy so it will probably be kind of an ugly job. Anyone got any suggestions on the cleanest way to do this?

Answer 1

Hi Ottosmo!
Welcome to Apple Discussions.
1) While it's certainly recommended to use the appropriate wattage on the charger, I too have often found myself using a MacBook Pro (85w) and MacBook (60w) with my MacBook Air. I've yet to encounter an issue in the almost 10 months I've been using my Air. The wattage on the power adapter, to my knowledge, is an indication to the amount of potential power that the charger can deliver to the unit. I know I've read various "blogs and forums" indicating that the power adapter is smart enough to 'scale' back power appropriately.
Now with that being said... should something happen, for whatever the reason, with you using the non-supplied adapter then you'd be taking matters into your own hands. (take that as my own little disclaimer)
2) Correct, the 85w adapter does not come with the right angle adapter. The adapter on the 24" LED Cinema Display does have a right angle adapter that supports up to 85w. But I realize that's not what you asked.
3) Regarding "modifying" the cabling. I'd strongly recommend against it, especially if you don't feel comfortable with splicing and then insulating. Too much room for chance and potential problem/failure. If someone else wants to instruct you on how to do this, that'll be their prerogative.
I ended up purchasing an iLap 13" for using my MacBook Air. It's been fantastic and I have it set off to the side just enough to allow plenty of room for a MacBook or MacBook Pro adapter. Not to mention it allows me to easily use the Air in my lap without any ventilation issues.