Cheap Xantrex XPower Powerpack 400 Plus Portable Backup Power Source (Automotive Parts and Accessories) Price

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Customer Reviews of Xantrex XPower Powerpack 400 Plus Portable Backup Power Source

Lets me turn off the generator
Like many other reviewers here, I agree, "THIS WORKS AS ADVERTISED." Thanks, Xantrex. I've bought three, two I use regularly, one I gave to a contractor after we used it to refill his slow-leak tire. <
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>26 pounds is a luggable weight. For me, this is about the right weight considering the tradeoff between portability and battery life.<
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>A few notes. I'm using my two powerpacks in an off-grid RV. I also have a generator. They stay plugged in, so when I run the generator, they are being charged. And when the generator is off, the first powerpack lets me stay connected to a wireless internet service (the dish needs a little power from its connected USB/power cable). And the second powerpack lets me power a nice bright little halogen reading lamp at night for a few hours (the 12V lights are fine for navigation, but not so great to read by). And they are both handy to recharge the cell phone during long calls. I have also used it twice to start a vehicle with a drained battery and it worked fine (except for a badly fitting connection, see below).<
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>If you have to run from a generator for any extended time, they will really save your generator. I figure they cut my generator time by two-thirds. Which saves me fuel, and the life of my generator, but more importantly lets me enjoy the peace and quiet of the wilderness.<
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>I wouldn't try to run a heater or a fan off of them. But either one, fully charged, will more than double the time I can use my laptop from about 5 hours (with the big battery) to about 10 hours. So if weight is not an issue (if, for instance, you are a road warrior roaming around in a vehicle instead of an airplane), this is a helluva deal compared to buying more laptop batteries, or having to run your car just to recharge your laptop.<
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>Here are my only complaints:<
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>* while charging from an AC connection, it would be nice to see the level of charge; currently, I have to unplug it, then press the button, then plug it back in again<
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>* the cigarette-lighter 12v connection to recharge from the car is sticky--not a good fit; also the charging light does not come on to let me know it's working<
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>* the jumper cable connection to 12v is REALLY sticky, I had to break off a piece of the plastic on one of them to get it seated--the people in the factory who were making each part clearly weren't talking to each other that day--and why this particular kluge is ugly is that when you need to jumpstart your car, chances are your nerves are already a little frazzled, and having to jam the connection to get it working had me swearing<
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>* 20 amp hour battery just does not last that long--like all of these devices, optimistic estimates of usage time should be cut by one-third to one-half<
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>Otherwise, really, I think every household should have at least one of these. At this price and weight, it just can't be beat. You'll be happy you have it when you need it. So will anyone you buy it for.

Works as advertised...
So-far so good on the Powerpack 400. So far I've used it to jump my car, inflate more than a few tires and power my laptop when the battery ran low, and so far it's come through like a champ. At $80 with free shipping (when I bought it), the price was right, and when I compared it to similar units, it just seemed like the more versatile, robust unit available at this particular price point. So far it's gone through the paces and worked like a champ. If you need something like this to power your appliances on a trip or have a little extra security when things go wrong, you could definitely do worse.