Xantrex XPower Powerpack 400 Plus Portable Backup Power Source Reviews

• This rocks! Emergency power on the go!

  
  By A3QCKIXE7HFRF8 on 2005-03-20
  This powerpack pretty much works as advertised. The coolest thing is the builtin 400 Watt inverter which allows you plug in almost any AC powered device. Great for emergency power or just portable camping power! Unit charges quickly using the supplied DC adapter or in about a day using the supplied AC adapter.
  The only drawback is that the builtin air compressor isn't fan cooled so it can only operate about 10-15 minutes at a time before it over heats and air flow could be higher. Another option would be to plug in a high flow, heavy duty air compressor into the builtin 12V outlet or inverter.
  
  
  

• Nifty safety backup.

  
  By A1R88Y7TKLK03E on 2005-08-21
  This is a solid product. I didn't think I needed the built-in air compressor, but it suddenly saved the day for a few bike tires. And after you deflate your vehicle tires for beach travel, you can get back to street pressures without a lot of hassle. The Powerpack 400 is a bit pricier for a reason - it packs more ampere-hours into a small unit. I take it camping into remote locations where I'm guaranteed that I won't have to walk out due to a dead battery. So then I'm comfortable running some low wattage lights in my tent. I can even watch a DVD movie on my iMac G5 computer without running out of power. It recharges using the car's cigarettte lighter and, while you're at home you can leave it on the AC-DC charger indefinitely. A super product, compact product.
  
  

• Do not buy...unreliable...no service for repair

  
  By AMVDTSIP8UGKD on 2005-12-12
  A plastic gear in the compressor was stripped after just one year of use (the compressor was used maybe 5 times).
  Xantrex would not service the unit (at any cost), sell a replacement gear, or provide any discount on a replacement unit.
  Don't buy this.
  
  

• W orks like a charm

  
  By AN4111HMQ89PA on 2005-04-02
  Bought this through Amazon because they sale it at a lower price then what others sale it for and free shipping to.But the Powerpack works like a charm,best if you charge it for more than 35 hours before useing.But it has everything you need if you go camping or just useing it around the house.If it gets to hot(Esp. when useing the air pump) it will automatically shut down untill it has cooled down,it shocked me at first when it happend thinking I just fried the thing,so don't let it run for to long.It has 2 AC outlets for small appliances.Has indicater to show how much percent of power is left and how much juice you are useing when useing the AC outlets.It has everything you need in case of an emeregency either away on the road or at home.A great size and easy to carry and handel.It has a cigerate liter port for charging the Pack or useing a device that has that type of plug. 5 stars ........
  
  

• Great product, works as advertised. Tested some actual run times.

  
  By A1DLLF8DG3SGQS on 2005-12-07
  I bought this mainly for some kind of backup power during our hurricane season in Florida.
  I tested the following items separately to see what kind of duration I'd get:
  
  Dell Inspiron 8100 laptop - 4.8 hours before alarm sounded (uses 70 watts)
  Emerson 13 inch color tv - 4.1 hours before alarm sounded (uses 72 watts)
  
  The unit actually came almost fully charged for me. When recharging after totally drained it took about 30 hours until I got the solid green light. One person had a great idea, during a power outage for a couple days, and after using up all the juice in the generator, he used his car to recharge it. It says it would take 3 hours to charge a fully drained generator through the cigarette lighter but when you don't have power for a week, that's a nice way to keep the unit going.
  
  Fred
  
  
• Not for tire inflation
  By A27V2DBCLZ39TX on 2005-11-16
  It takes about 2-3 minutes to inflate a 44psi max 15" low profile tire on a '91 Acura legend.
  While inflating the fourth tire, the compressor failed.
  Total run time was under 10minutes and I let the unit rest 2-4 minutes between tire inflations.
  I have not tried the other functions.
  
  
• Very good product.
  By A3QNJU6UML079J on 2006-09-09
  I've had one of these units for about a year. It's been very useful. Jump started my (seldom used) full size pickup truck twice, my wife's Honda Civic once. Also used the 120VAC outlet to make smoothies with a blender, just for fun. Plenty of power. A couple of shortcomings... The air compressor has very small capacity (high pressure but low flowrate). Works fine for filling basketballs and footballs. But, when I tried to use it to blow up my daughter's inflatable wading pool...forget it. It would have taken hours...was much faster blowing it up the old fashioned way. Also, the jumper cables are kind of short. You have to balance the (heavy) unit somewhere in engine compartment, in close proximity to the battery, so that the clamps will reach the battery terminals.
  
  
• Good power pack for the money
  By A169PKUY5HRBL6 on 2005-10-05
  I am very pleased with this unit, it has all the features one needs when traveling to places without power when camping and can be recharged by plugging it back into your vehicle. It provided over 20 hours of run time on a single charge using small appilances on it and took 3 hours to recharge from the 12V vehicle plug provided with the unit. Remember, you need to have your vehicle running or you will run down the cars battery.
  
  
• Indispensible Gadget For Road Trips
  By AET43UB3HXOUL on 2006-08-06
  I bought the X Power Powerpack 400 Plus last year for powering a fan for my dogs while attending trials. I can run a small, portable fan all day and still have power left at the end of the day. It recharges in a few hours when plugged into a vehicle, or overnight when plugged into an electrical outlet. It's also handy for recharging cell phones, and I've used it to jump a dead car battery and inflate a flat tire. I searched the Internet before buying, and Amazon had the lowest price of anyone with free shipping to boot.
  
  
• Excellent portable power source
  By A1MJ9K8L2ZFOYH on 2006-08-22
  This model is designed for car emergencies (it has a trouble light, jump starts a dead battery with its own suppplied very high quality cables and will inflate a tire), but we bought it for camping trips so we could power a regular fan on hot days and recharge our cell phones. It did both very well--running a good size fan for about an hour a day for five days and recharging four cell phones daily. Its a big lead acid battery in the shape of an old eighties boom box. Because it is essentially a car battery, it is fairly heavy (@ 23 lbs), but it has two sockets rigged to an inverter for AC devices and a standard car DC input. It charges up much faster than it says to expect from a wall socket--just a few hours, and is said to do so faster direct from the car; you get adapters to do both. We will keep it out in the open in case the power goes out. A great investment.
  
  
• GOOD Product!
  By A1ABXDNQXM4UFU on 2005-09-15
  This was a great buy for what I am using it for- CAMPING! It is simple to use, and has power enough to do what I require from it. Blow up an air mattress or brew hot coffee, it's handy for a dead vehicle battery or plug in a TV or stereo.
  
  
• Lets me turn off the generator
  By A2D9KJTG0EEY3R on 2007-08-18
  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.
  
  26 pounds is a luggable weight. For me, this is about the right weight considering the tradeoff between portability and battery life.
  
  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).
  
  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.
  
  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.
  
  Here are my only complaints:
  
  * 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
  
  * 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
  
  * 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
  
  * 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
  
  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.
  
  
• Fantastic Little Trooper!
  By AQLJB59F8C7RE on 2006-07-02
  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!
  
  
• power to go
  By A2RGWPI3QWQNHP on 2006-08-15
  I bought the xpower powerpack for powering some electronics on my Boston Whaler. I have been using it for about a month. It has been exposed to some harsh conditions, left out in the rain, exposed to salt spray, among other things. It works as advertised, and the battery life seems to be a little longer than spec. I have not used the air compressor. Everything else works like a charm. No problems to report. I would buy it again.
  
  
• Great Product
  By A1LKD8V2V6LDUN on 2005-07-19
  This is a great item. I own a condo and wanted a back-up easy to store and useful. This is it.
  
  
• Air Compressor Failed Prematurely
  By A2D4D8O4QCG3KR on 2007-04-21
  Air compressor failed prematurely shortly after warranty period (only used in 3 or 4 times to inflate tires.) Product only has a six month warranty, hardly time to really put any stress on the product. Also, AC output (converted from DC battery) is OK for lights but the power is "dirty" and causes terrible static in a boom box. It did jump start a car, however. Once. Not worth the money with this level of reliability and quality.
  
  
• Failed after 3 uses/Xantrex would not fix
  By A2VMD53CQBES8N on 2007-08-21
  I used this to power a low-wattage shop light 2 or 3 times, then it stopped working. Through email with the company, they told me that the inverter had failed and they wouldn't replace the unit without a reciept. This was a gift to me, so no receipt and they refused to do anything more to help.
  
  
• Poor Quality
  By A133ZYIXNL0WAP on 2005-09-22
  After charging the unit for 24 hours, I could not get the inverter to turn on.
  
  
• Not reliable - two units sent with same defect & returned
  By A2T2BJ07QKK77B on 2006-07-17
  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.
  
  
• So far so good
  By A2Q7FA6WA3MHFM on 2005-10-10
  I bought this item so I could put christmas lights up at our campsite. It works great - very quiet.
  
  
• Excellent Product
  By A1767MM7MRE2TU on 2007-05-19
  This all-in one power system is really great. It's saved me a couple of times with respect to low air pressure on my car tires.
  It's super handy when you go camping, and all your friends with ooh and ahh because you can make blended margaritas with it's power output capacity =)
  I've had no problems with this unit (owned it for 6 months now).
  Buy it and leave it in your trunk for emergencies. You just need to make sure it recharges every 3 to 4 months, as is the case with any rechargable battery (they lose charge over time). But plugging it in overnight will give you another 4 months of standby power.
  
  
• adequate
  By A1M661ED2E1L0V on 2007-01-03
  Battery life with very minor load excellent. Have not used it to jump start any thing yet and frankly don't think it will cut it. AC outlets trip off with small loads.
  
  
• Little Sister of the 600
  By A3PP0PC7K7QQD8 on 2007-01-17
  A regular patron of Amazon recognizes that when something goes on sale it means that Amazon intends to discontinue the item. So for anyone who has considered the purchase, it's now or never. Per the instructions, the power pack is gangable with another battery for supplementary capacity.
  
  The reviews for the 600 model pertain to this baby and vice versa.
  
  
• EXCELLENT PRODUCT FOR THE PRICE!
  By A2WZII7FY61US2 on 2007-05-30
  I must say, you will not get this kind of device for this price!.
  i buy one of this and i are amazed how versatile is, a little heavy. but no matter.
  1- the running time for the build in power inverter is very good.
  2- build in flash light, work when you need!.
  3- air compressor. not very powerfull, but do your work.
  4- the jump start feature. you can jump start a truck with no problem
  
  many features for a single pack, he will work well. of course if you do
  not abuse. every system have limit! like you know.
  
  for me is an excellent product! i love it!!!!!!
  
  
• A good back up power supply for a short power failure
  By A1NGA84UAGO2WI on 2007-12-15
  I bought this item around 8 months ago and have used it maybe a half
  a dozen times. One time my power at home went out while I was at
  work. When I got home I have to upload my data via phone line, but
  my laptop has to be plugged into an electrical outlet. I plugged
  the laptop into the Xantrex and it worked like a charm.
  
  I plugged in my phone with the removable handsets and it worked
  fine. In stand bye mode the phone works, but it draws almost no
  power. Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to use the phone in
  an emergency during the power outage which lasted all night.
  
  Another time I wanted to use a heating pad in an area of my
  home where there aren't any outlets close enough. I was hesitant
  to plug in an appliance that generates heat, but it only drew
  40watts. I used it for around four hours without any problems
  before the battery was 90 percent drained.
  
  The only thing I found doesn't work with the xantrex is lamps.
  I tried a small table lamp and a floor lamp, but niether one worked.
  However a chord with only a socket for a lightbulb works fine.
  Go figure?????
  
  The air compresser....well it works, but it took a very long time
  to add air to an automobile tire and it made a very loud and
  annoying banging sound the whole time. It also took forever to
  inflate a kiddie pool.
  
  The battery is kind of small (20 AH), so it doesn't last very long,
  but it will work in a pinch. The unit is not to heavy for a women
  to carry and it can be charged three ways, AC, DC and solar. I thought
  that was convenient. You have to buy the solar panel. It does not
  come with the unit.
  
  If all you want is back up power in a pinch, this item is good bang
  for the buck.
  
  
  
  
• Good device, with limitations
  By ARB3GAY105SDN on 2008-04-25
  I bought this for emergencies and for it's multiple uses. Somehow, I have needed almost all of it's features since I purchased it. Let me review each;
  
  Jump starting a car: Worked flawlessly and repeatedly. We had a minivan that was used quite infrequently and had a dead battery in it. One thing to note: the jumper cable is fairly short. We had to have a stool or someone holding the unit to jump start the vehicle. It did not reach from the bumper to the battery.
  
  Powering a portable DVD player/DC: It worked well and gave over 2 hours of play. It probably could have provided more.
  
  Powering laptop & Air mattress pump(AC): Used briefly with laptop without problem. The air mattress pump worked well off the plug and was used repeatedly on the campsite. It made a very convenient combination. The drain on the battery was negligible.
  
  Light: Too heavy for a flashlight, but good for lighting up an area or room during a power outage. Easier to remember where this was put and batteries didn't need to be checked. Surprisingly useful, even at home.
  
  Compressor: The big let down. The air compressor gets hot pretty quickly. This is perfectly fine if you are topping of a slightly flat tire or inflating a basketball, but I would not trust this to inflate a real flat or anything large. I'd rather buy a cheap compressor and plug it into this thing. This is perhaps the weakest link in the device and that seems to be correspond with other reviews.
  
  All in all: a fine portable power unit with multiple uses. It's a nice tool for a vehicle, camping or in an emergency. Read the instructions and warnings before use. This isn't intended for use with all electric devices.
  
  
• Powerpack 400 plus
  By A247PLARU3IHK9 on 2006-07-17
  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.
  
  
• Peace of Mind
  By A2BDACJEQQ4E4Z on 2007-03-08
  I am a single older lady and the Xantrex XPower Powerpack does everything that it advertised. It is simple in design. I charged the unit and put it in my trunk. I know if I have a dead battery or flat tire, I will be able to fix the problem without help. I check the battery to make sure I always have a full charge.
  
  
• All ways something wrong with this
  By A2SGJTVMZ13JZ7 on 2007-06-07
  The first one I got had the AC converter break beyond repair so I got another the second one came with a radio but soon after recieving he second one the recharging light and the indictor lights stoped working, so now I have no idea if it is charging or how much the battery is depleted.
  This product is not reliable I would not recommend it.
  
  
• Portable Power on a Camping Trip.
  By A1MM7BZBSBWCCW on 2007-06-12
  I read many of the reviews I saw and while many seemed somewhat negative, I thought I'd give this a try. The packages arrived in good shape and there was no product damage (ground shipping). They were near fully charged so no delay there. Used the one unit to power our DVD player and the bigger unit for odds and ends. After three days, they both still had a fair charge left and had not quit yet.
  
  The only negative is that the one unit has a radio that kept comming on at odd times. I still haven't fixed that problem yet, but I will.
  
  

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