Xantrex Reviews

I bought this item about a year ago so that I could plug my xbox and lcd display in my car. I'm still using it to this day.

I COULDNT FIND A CIGARETTE LIGHTER CHARGER FOR MY DELL INSPIRON 9100,DELL DOSENT MAKE ONE.THE Xantrex Technologies 851-0400 X-Power 400 Power Inverter IS PERFECT IT WORKS LIKE A CHARM IT HAS A CIGARETTE CHARGER AND ALSO DIRECT BATTERY CABLES IN WHICH I DONT NEED TO RUN MY INSPIRON 9100. THIS MODEL IS QUIT AND EASY TO USE. I AM GLAD I BOUGHT THIS PRODUCT, ITS A LIFE SAVER I CAN NOW BE TRULY MOBILE.

I couldn't find a 'factory' DC adapter for my Inspiron 9100. This Dell brick power supply that powers my lapop sucks juice faster than a Hummer. The Xantrex fan comes on only when needed and is moderately quiet when used with my laptop. No sound problems when watching a DVD on the laptop with the fan spinning. Even so, the fan doesn't come on but only 3-4 times during a movie for approx 10 secs. The Xantrex unit gets warm just to know its working, not warm such as it was working hard at all. Nice unit which replaced my 300W Tripp Lite.

I've been using this product for only 3 weeks so I haven't done the test of time to see if this lasts, but I'm quite impressed with this so I thought I'd write a review. So far I've found this to be a great multipurpose tool suitable for a whole range of things that may suite you.
INTERNAL BATTERY & JUMPSTARTING:
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I've used the internal (12Ah) battery to drive 12V tools, even a 600W car amp and subwoofers (for an hour). When you plug it back in it charges the internal battery very quickly. Has correct polarity detection, very useful LED indicators, remaining internal charge display etc. I've only used it to jumpstart a car once and it worked great, you can use it probably 5-8 times to jump start before you deplete the battery. This is a very smart charge, so you can leave it plugged in indefinitely to the AC outlet. The only downside is the charging fan is really noisy, so it's best to leave in the garage, indoors might irritate you.

RECHARGER
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This is the primary function of this product, and it does a superb job. It quickly and smartly charges car batteries (mine which I think is 65Ah) in about 4 hours. It also automatically uses 3 phases for charging which keeps the battery healthy and means you can keep this thing plugged in the AC outlet forever without worrying about the battery condition. This is what the manual says:

Bulk: Replaces 70-80% of the battery's state of charge at the fastest possible rate.
Absorption: Replenishes the remaining 20-30% of charge, bringing the battery to a full charge at a slow, safe rate
Float: Voltage is reduced and held constant in order to prevent damage and keep batteries at a full charge.

The downside is the noise again from the internal fan. I've used the charger to supply DC power to a car amp and subs and it works fine, but I'm not sure if that's a good idea.

The overall build is good and solid, doesn't look like a cheap product. It's difficult to fit all the wires inside the housing. Not sure how well it's going to last, but so far doesn't seem like it'd break on me.

This item works as advertised, but it is a modified sine wave inverter. If you are planning on using it to charge cordless tool batteries---don't. The owners manual contains a caution about using with cordless tool chargers (such as Dewalt). Do a quick Internet search on "cordless tools" and "modified sine wave inverter" to confirm whether your tool is effected. Some other items that may not work well are appliances with clocks, microwaves, etc. Be sure you understand the limitations of a modified sine wave inverter.
For those smaller appliances that will run on modified sine wave, this item works well.

I own 2 of these, and they both work great. My only complaint is that they don't have a 12v passthrough outlet. But, I used one of these on an extended trip charging my laptop, cellphones, and video game system. Comes with extra cables to hardwire this into your car to run at higher wattage.

Used this baby to power a DVD player on a long car trip and it worked like a champ.

The unit failed after I owned it only five weeks. I was only actually used it a few times for short durations. I tried to use it one day and the fault light was illuminated and no ac power was coming out of the outlets. I returned it for repair or replacement 3 weeks ago after receiving a RMA number. I contacted Xantrex and they say they don't know anything about it, and the RMA number is not in there system. The customer support is impossible to get on the phone, and email support takes days to get back to you. They do offer to sell you another unit for 40% off though instead of sending me a replacement.

I needed a powerful but sealed power-pack (sealed battery + converter) for poolside use, to power a large 110-volt karaoke machine for five hours a day. The Xatrex 1500 is the only power-pack I've found that meets this requirement.

It was a pleasant surprise to find that the wheels have rubber rather than (noisy) plastic treads.

The first 1500 stopped working with a bang after two hours. When I phoned the Xantrex company, the technician I soon was talking to quickly concluded that my 1500 had malfunctioned and recommended that I return it. I was pleased with this candor. The second 1500 has worked for about a month now.

Not obvious is that the 1500 has a small storage cabinet, in which I store an extension cord.

Both 1500s arrived undamaged. A disclaimer is that I bought my 1500s from costo-dot-comm, which is relevant because perhaps Costco uses different packaging for shipping.

The "large karaoke machine" is a MegaStar CM-K1100, and its average draw has been 30-something watts.

I wanted a backup power supply to run the sump pump in my basement after spending big bucks on basement repairs and to prevent another flood. What good does the sump pump do when there is no power to run it if the electricity goes out after a heavy storm or wind storm? I got this Xantrex Xpower 1500 and also an automatic relay switch from www.tekrispower.com. Now I'm covered if the regular power supply goes out as the Xantrex automatically kicks in using the automatic relay switch and I don't have to worry about the sump pump not working and the basement flooding again. It's a heavy piece because of the batteries, but it works extremely well for my purposes.

This unit is NOT A GENERATOR - it's a BATTERY. You can charge it up, and use the power later. Don't be confused at the name.

This storage battery is pretty good. I am using it right now to run my laptop computer. It is reasonably quiet, all you hear is a small fan blowing air, not the usual buzzing noise of an inverter. The battery performs as promised and is reliable. The only drawback I noticed is the awkward DC charging system which uses the output of your car's cigarette lighter - if you forget to disconnect the charging cable when you stop for gas or whatever, then you undo some of the charging already accomplished. My battery takes 32 hours to recharge from an electrical outlet. Now I see they are advertising only 10 hours to recharge.

I was looking for a good but enxspensive generater to buy for house and card. Well after looking found this generator at amazon. Read about and thought this could be just what I am looking for. I purchased this generator over 4 months ago and felt now would be a good time to write a review. This works great. I had to jump a car and (following the instructions) the car came to life. It also has a light that comes with the unit. This has been proving very helpful at times. It also has a magnet so you don't have to hold the light just stick it on a metal part and hands free. It does not take long to charge except when you first open the box. It tells you to charge the unit as soon as possible. This helps protect the rechargable battery from becoming damaged. Over all this unit has been great no complaints and thinking about (probably will) purchase the Xantrex 852-1830 C X-power 300c Portable Electonic Generator. This has a built in light, air compressor,along with the jumper cables the same as this one. And it is cheaper. Looks like a good deal. And it is at amazon. Over all, good purchase just keep the unit charged when it needs to be charged to protect the battery.

This is a fabulous item to have around the house or cabin. No gasoline required, these contain a deep cycle battery and an inverter. Simply leave the Xantrex unit plugged to an outlet or charging on your solar array until needed, and when you need portable power you'll be ready. This model will run a compact fluorescent light or two and a small fan or other essential item until the power is back up. I've used mine many times powering all sorts of electrical things. If your needs are small or you can make do, buy this item, if not go for the 1500 model. It is also great for jumpstarting your car.

I bought the xPOwer a couple of weeks ago in anticipation of the next blackout - but I was almost disappointed that I hadn't had to use it until yesterday!!!

I live in an apartment so a gas generator is not an option. I continued to power a fan (to keep me cool) and my laptop - What an excellent product - I am definately recommending this to all of my friends and co-workers.

The xPower 600 has been perfect for getting me through the rolling blackouts that keep hitting my area. As I work from my apartment, the xPower 600 was able to keep me productive by providing me with power for my desktop computer, printer, and lights for quite a few hours. The best thing...no fuel,fumes, or noise, and my wife is not scared to use it.

This unit gives you 600 watts of AC power, so just make sure that the things you want to run don't add to more than 600 watts. I just leave my unit plugged in when I'm not using it, and it's always ready to go the next day. Very cool. I'm looking forward to bringing this baby camping next week. (The kids need their video games and TV!)

The inverter works as adverstised and powers my laptop adequately while driving. The only drawback is that the build-in fan is very noisy, so be forewarned.

This is an overall useful device, but beware - it can wreack havoc on your battery if your engine is not running. The inverter may drain a car battery within a few hours if you are not careful. Otherwise, I highly recommend it - it works great with most small devices (laptops, cell phone chargers, etc).

This little inverter is perfect because there are no bulky boxes or wires running all over the floor of the car. Perfect for my laptop and for my cell phone charger. It has it's own little fan built in that keeps it from overheating. So far so good!

I used this product on my Honda Odyssey 2002. This casue the SRS light lit on. I brought the van to Honda Dealer and they said this took away the power from the vehicle that cause the SRS module failure. The cost to repair may upto $800.

I plan to return this product to Amazon.

What is the return process?

Thanks,

Peter

The product I believe is possible very good for what it was meant to be. I have never tried it. This was my fault as I was seeking a converter that would plug into a car cigerette lighter and power small items while driving the car. They exist. They are about 100 watts and would draw a little less than 10 amps. This one was 700 watts and the power draw from the battery would be greater than any fuse size utilized within the auto. It must be attached with alligator clips directly to the car battery terminals. I wasn't thinking about the amp drawing requirement. The review should have somehow indicated how it needed to be attached to the battery.

I received two of the inverters and both worked great. I was able to easily run a 27" TV and a VCR off one inverter without problems. I would suggest the use of a deep cycle battery if you want to use them long term, multiple times.

We had the problem noted below but the mfg. did the right thing and replaced it. Terrific and appreciate integrity.



We charged it immediately and put it away for our first power failure that didn't happened until last night (almost a year after buying it). It didn't work. One of the fluorescent tubes lit but it wouldn't take a very small LCD TV.

And we can't figure out how to contact Amazon about taking it back or exchanging it.

Very disappointing from two aspects: (1) it never worked, and (2) Amazon doesn't seem to have any way to contact them about it so they can attempt to replace it.

I purchased 2 of these Xantrex compressors. I planned on keeping one the trunk in case of a tire emergency. What a joke!! The compressor started to make a horrible noise about 2 minutes into the tire inflation and never worked again. Well, I had the "spare" compressor, but the same thing happened to it.

I contacted the company by email and was given a confirmation number stating that technical support would contact me -- that was last week and I am still waiting for an answer. I am very disappointed with the product and more disappointed in the "support", which was just as useless as the item.

Firstly, you should note that I have the earlier 250 watt version of this powerpack (very similar, but without the compressor).

I am buying a 2nd 300 watt version because my experience has been so good with my first one. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I had no charging problems and it has held the charge for the past several years without fail (comforting green light). The real test came during the big NYC blackout-- I was the only one with any lights on! Worked like a champ. As I said, I'm buying another one.

The charging indicator light did not illuminate when plugged in . One unit worked properly for one hour, the other unit not at all. Did not want to trust this system as an emergency backup for medical equipment.

It is everything that it is advertised to be. It is a good feeling to have a small amount of reserve power available during power outages. It is versatile as a compressor and an inflater.

After reading some of the reviews on this item, I was a bit skeptical. I decided to take a chance, since the price was far better than anything similar out there. I bought this item primarily for power at outdoor events, to operate a sound system and run an electric fan. I am typically at these events for close to 8 hours at a time, and was expecting to totally exhaust the power supply. Surprise! I went through an entire day's event with still 75% power remaining! I have also found lots of uses for it while traveling, like running my daughter's portable DVD player and recharging her game-boy in the car. We will also have a reliable power source for our frequent storm related outages in the home. Overall, a fantastic bargain, with many, many uses!