Xantrex XPower Powerpack 400 Plus Portable Backup Power Source

POWERPAC 400 PLUS (2009-06-29)
WORKS GREAT.KIDS WATCH 15"TV-DVD PLAYER ALL NIGHT WHILE WE WERE CAMPING ON THE RIVER AND THE NEXT DAY IT JUMP STARTS THE BOAT NEXT TO US.GREAT TO CARRY JUST IN CASE.

Storm Readied! (I Hope) (2009-06-25)
Living in South Florida, I have "weathered" over 30 years of hurricanes, back to back. After the last storm which rendered our area with 11 straight days of no power, I was determined not to go through that again so I decided to implement my own little emergency back-up system.

It consists of a:
Xantrex XPower Powerpack 400 Plus Portable Backup Power Source, a O2Cool 1078 Indoor/Outdoor Battery/AC-Powered 10-Inch Portable Fan, S-1116: 12V Briefcase Solar Generator, and last but not least a SnackMaster Jr. 12 Volt Personal Cooler & Warmer. All bought at Amazon.Com with the best prices so far!

Having arrived in heavily wrapped Styrofoam and in an attractive colored box via FEDEX, I was surprised with it's not too heavy weight. It came with all the cords and everything required: AC charger, DC charging cable, and heavy duty jump start battery cable. In short, everything that was needed and stated in the manual came complete.

Out of the box, it came fully charged (or so I think). When I re-charged it from the wall socket, it took about 12 hours so I don't know if unit is defective or the manual was greatly exaggerating when it says to re-charge for 35 hours until fully charged.

Upon initial test run, the Function Display did not light for the Battery Charge indicator or Output Charge indicator. Although, after this first run, all Function Displays lights were working well. There was a slight "plastic-smell" which I have sensed on other plastic items upon first use.

Having tested it on my Black and Decker Coffee Maker, it didn't do a thing. However, on my Sunbeam Crock Pot, it cooked for a full two hours on "slow-cook", which of course is not nearly enough to cook on but I was testing it out. On my standard tower floor fan, it ran for 4.5 hours without re-charging. I disconnected everything on my desktop eMac (printer, scanner, etc.) and simply left the eMac and modem connected.
It ran without a hitch for about 45 minutes before the juice in the PowerPack ran out. I would say more than enough to finish up work on the computer not withstanding a power outage problem with the broadband ISP.

As I am primarily concerned for using this little generator as an emergency backup system, I tested it on my SnackMaster Jr. 12 Volt Personal Cooler & Warmer and it cooled for about 3 hours w/o re-charging again. This was a little bit of a disappointment as it is use with a cooler with which I am mostly concerned.

I am seriously thinking about getting the Xantrex 600 or 1500 model to ensure a longer running time for the cooler and an extra fan.

As I have a O2Cool 1078 Indoor/Outdoor Battery/AC-Powered 10-Inch Portable Fan; several Coleman battery lanterns and have a solar powered battery charger which I will use, I don't worry too much about fans or lights right now. I'm covered there, I think and hope.

Since this XPower Pack 400 Plus can be adapted easily to solar powered energy, I'll be hooking up to the S-1116: 12V Briefcase Solar Generatorto ensure power w/o having to use the auto battery cable charger or A/C charger when there's no juice.

All in all, this unit is really neat to have and offers even a sense of security come some power outages but I think I'll start saving for a higher powered solar powered generator, maybe the 1500 from Xantrex or whatever someone has developed by then.

Of course a propane or gas powered generator would be a better choice for longer run times but I dislike having to store cans of fuel (if you can get them in an emergency) and the fumes leakage possibilities make the PowerPac 400 a better choice for my needs.

Good Tool With Limitations (2009-06-03)
I have had two of these units for years. I take them with me to run my CPAP machine when I am camping. One pack FULLY CHARGED will run a CPAP machine for approximately 8+ hours. I have also run power tools on occasion with this resource. The unit is the best value you are going to get on a small battery pack at a reasonable price. But always keep in mind: if you do not charge the battery inside this pack at least once per month, the capacity for holding a charge will diminish over time and ultimately die. While you can unscrew the face plate on the pack and remove the battery for replacement, it is impossible to find stateside the particular type of battery which is used, given the unique post and cable set up, and the manufacturer (a Canadian outfit) does not respond to emails or phone calls, and lists no availability of a replacement battery for sale in its on-line store. I knock off a star because of the practical inability to replace the battery. Years ago these units could be picked up on sale at your local sears for $67. But while they remain the identical product they have risen dramatically in cost like everything else. Actually, the Amazon price of $101, particularly with free shipping, is a good current deal on this pack.

good product (2009-03-26)
Works as advertised. I bought this one because it is easy to replace the battery when it wears out after a few years. Alot of these power packs want you to send it back to 'em for battery replacement, and after trying to figure out how to do that on the last one I see why.

Good product. Buy it.

Great Car Jumper/Air Compressor/Power Back-Up! (2009-02-27)
I purchased one of these for myself and liked it so much I purchased one for my father's birthday gift. This unit is perfect for jump starting cars, airing up basketballs etc., and even larger tires on SUV's. While I have a large compressor at home, this unit makes the job much easier that firing up my compressor and routing the cord to all 4 tires! The only negatuve is the gauge tha measures how much pressure you have in a tire etc. is not accurate. This unit is excellent for surviving power outages! Simply plug in your tv and a light and you can go for hours, typically your power will be back on well before the battery runs dead. I leave my plugged up about all the time and it has performed well. Would definetly recommend this product and Amazon's price is the best!