Has anyone ever used one of these??.....

[lushy]

I was wondering if anyone has ever used one of these rechargable power packs for camping, and if so, what is your opinion on them? They also look like they would come in handy for other things too??!!

http://www.xantrex.com/web/id/182/p/1/pt/29/product.asp[/URL]
http://www.xantrex.com/web/id/182/p/1/pt/29/product.asp
Thanks! :U

[tlhdoc]

I have a one and it is nice to have the portable power.  I have used it to recharge stuff and to run a fan.

[mlslocks]

It looks interesting. How long will it run a fan or radio or both at the same time?

[mike4947]

Most have a 20 amp AGM battery as the power source.

[dthurk]

Looks impressive.  A rechargeable battery with built in 600 watt inverter for AC.  Wow.  Must have been a camper that developed it!  

20 amp battery sounds good, but still doesn't give me any idea of how long it'll go before needing a recharge.  How many charging cycles might it be good for?  How much does it cost?  I couldn't find that information on the link listed above.  Didn't spend a lot of time searching, though.

[aw738]

I sell one similar to these at work. We haven't had them very long and I don't know how well they hold up.

[lushy]

Here are a couple tables from the manual that gives some info on the power pack for wattage/run times on the unit.

Table 3-1 AC Appliances and Run Times
AC-powered Products Watts
a. Represents actual power consumption as measured on sample products.
Run time (hours)
b. Operating times assume a fully charged 28 Ah battery and may vary
based on model/brand used.
[INDENT]Cordless telephone 5W 56 HRS.
[/INDENT]Fluorescent work light 14W 20 HRS.
[INDENT]Laptop computer 40W 7 HRS.
[/INDENT]Table lamp 40W 7 HRS.
[INDENT]13" colour TV 60W 4.5 HRS.
[/INDENT]3/8" drill 190W 50 min.

Table 3-2 12 V DC Appliances and Run Times
12 V DC Appliance Watts
a. Represents actual power consumption as measured on sample
appliances.
Run Time (Hours)
b. Operating times assume a fully charged 28 Ah battery and may vary
based on model or brand of appliance.
[INDENT]5 W incandescent light (built into the unit)5W 56 HRS.
[/INDENT]Cellular telephone . Represents talk time available from 10 recharge [INDENT]cycles.  6W 46 HRS.
[/INDENT]Portable cooler 30W 9 HRS.

[mlslocks]

Thanks Lushy. The tables are helpful.
Lee

[lushy]

Thanks Lushy. The tables are helpful.
Lee

Your welcome Lee.

I have another question and I am hoping a "resident" electrician could possibly give me the answer?

In the manual it says that the charging times are as follows:
DC charging time......4-6 hours
AC charging time.....24 hours +-

Does anyone know why the DC charging time is significantly lower than the AC charging time??

Thanks! Todd

[beacher]

I have a smaller Devilbiss 12v portable power pack that has a built-in air compressor.  It's very handy.  Both as a cordless air compressor, and as a power supply.

For AC power I use a 400w inverter that I found on the Sam's Club clearance rack for $14.00.  My notebook computer's charger works at 90w.  I have been able to run it from my tiny power system for a little over 100 minutes.

A nice portable propane powered DC fuel cell with a 3000w AC inverter is what I'm looking forward to one day.  It should be able to run the A/C unit as long as the 20lb propane tanks lasts.

[jakelaw]

I use a couple of these (not exactly the same, but similar with no built in inverter) for power in our PU.  Using LED bulbs in my celing lights, normal use of the water pump, and light use of the porch light, (no fan on the heater) they will last about 2 1/2 to 3 days each.  I never use them for more than two days though.  I use them currently because I already had them, and a previous owner to our unit had wired in a 12v plug to plug it into their TV.  I am going legit this year though and puting in a grp 27 battery and a 1000 watt genset to charge it.

[Kavoom]

I researched these quite a bit and they seem pretty interesting but they are very limited.  I read a couple of threads that said for the Xantrex to not get the one with the air compressor.  Don't know about DeVilbis.  

In following my research path, I eventually realized that what I really "needed" was a genset.  That then took me down the path of Honda vs everything else and the Honda knock offs (Kipor) and Yamaha's (another quiet expensive one) and decibels and $500 to $1000 up.  

Sheesh, all I was looking at was some extra juice...and look what happened...but I have talked to a couple of "tent" campers who loved the Xantrex units.  That's what got me started...

But a good 1000 watt (quiet) genset will charge your battery.  A 2,000 ($832 cheapest I have seen) watt has been said to even run some air conditioners and you could set your house up and if you lose power at least keep your fridge going or run the furnace (I said or).  And with Honda's 2000 watter you can hook two of them up together and run most anything...and carry them...

Oh, here I go again...

Kavoom