10 Responses to “Xantrex Powerpack 600 Watt Jumpstarter, Power Inverter and Backup Power Source”

1. Rex Kullmann says:

   November 18, 2005 at 7:23 pm

   Rating

   After spending my vacation in Florida during hurricane Wilma, I learned the value of being prepared for a prolonged power outage. This unit would have been just the thing.

   This is essentially a big 12 volt battery and an inverter that produces 120v AC from the battery. While this unit won’t power a heater or an air conditioner, it can power a small fan overnight so you can sleep. It can also charge your cell phone and laptop. (After all, your laptop’s DVD player might be your only entertainment.) The XPower can power a lamp so you can read or play cards, or you can watch TV for a few hours. You can plug in just about anything so long as the total number of watts drawn is 480 or less. (The 600 watt rating is a 5 minute rating, you can only draw 480 watts continuously.)

   There’s an emergency light built-in. if you place the unit so the light bounces off a near-by wall, it makes a nice low-level room light. With the backside facing you, you see the built-in clock radio. It’s not hi-fi, but it’s not horrible, it has good volume and it can wake you in the morning. There’s also a 12v outlet and a connector for attaching the supplied jumper cables.

   You do have to be mindful of the number of watts you pull from the unit if you want the battery to last. It’s easy to know how many watts you’re drawing because the unit tells you on it’s digital display. Good thing you can charge the XPower from a car cigarette lighter. During my adventure in Wilma’s wake, I would have used the XPower by night and charged it in the car while driving during the day. The digital display also shows the percentage of charge left in the battery.

   The best thing to have during a prolonged power outage is a gas generator. But generators require periodic maintenance. And you have to store fresh gas and remember to change the gas periodically. With this unit you just find an out-of-the-way corner, plug in the AC charger and forget all about it until you need it.

   The XPower has a big 28 amp-hour battery which is good for capacity, but makes the unit heavy, almost 30 pounds, so you won’t want to carry it very far. Xantrex makes smaller units, but I think the 600 is the best compromise between capacity and portability. The XPower’s construction is robust and it looks like it could take some hard knocks.

   I’m almost looking forward to the next power outage.
2. J. Henderson says:

   August 22, 2006 at 8:06 am

   Rating

   I bought this power pack to power a softball pitching machine for my daughter’s team and to have for power outages to run a fan or my gas fireplace’s blower. The pack works great. Not sure it runs as long as stated, but it last about 2 hours running the items I need. Its stated at 600 watts, but only for 5 minutes, 480 watts contimous, and 900 surge. I use it more than I would have used an 1000 watt generator.
3. Sagar S. Mungekar says:

   August 31, 2006 at 1:14 am

   Rating

   I purchased this product to use primarily in case my battery died, and secondarily as a portable power source when camping or away from a source of electricity.

   The powerpack works great when starting any size car with a completely dead battery. The built-in inverter is great to charge cell phones or run small appliances when camping for example.

   The display is very useful, showing either the percentage charge or the real-time wattage being used.

   Be forewarned, though, that this item is heavy and portable only inasmuch as it has a handle. I wouldn’t lug it too far. Also, while charging is quick through the cigarette lighter cable, it takes a long time through the AC adaptor.

   Overall, a great purchase.
4. Rex Kullmann says:

   October 9, 2006 at 12:29 am

   Rating

   After spending my vacation in Florida during hurricane Wilma, I learned the value of being prepared for a prolonged power outage. This unit would have been just the thing.

   This is essentially a big 12 volt battery and an inverter that produces 120v AC from the battery. While this unit won’t power a heater or an air conditioner, it can power a small fan overnight so you can sleep. It can also charge your cell phone and laptop. (After all, your laptop’s DVD player might be your only entertainment.) The XPower can power a lamp so you can read or play cards, or you can watch a small TV for a few hours. You can plug in just about anything so long as the total number of watts drawn is 480 or less. (The 600 watt rating is a 5 minute rating, you can only draw 480 watts continuously.) Keep in mind, if you do pull 480 watts, you’ll only get 15 minutes of run time. It’s best to think of the 600HD as a way to keep small essentials going.

   There’s an emergency light built-in. if you place the unit so the light bounces off a near-by wall, it makes a nice low-level room light. With the backside facing you, you see the built-in clock radio. It’s not hi-fi, but it’s not horrible, it has good volume and it can wake you in the morning. There’s also a 12v outlet and a connector for attaching the supplied jumper cables.

   You do have to be mindful of the number of watts you pull from the unit if you want the battery to last. It’s easy to know how many watts you’re drawing because the unit tells you on it’s digital display. It’s a good thing you can charge the XPower from a car cigarette lighter. During my adventure in Wilma’s wake, I would have used the XPower by night and charged it in the car while driving during the day. The digital display also shows the percentage of charge left in the battery.

   The best thing to have during a prolonged power outage is a gas generator. But generators require periodic maintenance. And you have to store fresh gas and remember to change the gas periodically. With the HD600, you just find an out-of-the-way corner, plug in the AC charger and forget all about it until the lights go out.

   The XPower has a big 28 amp-hour battery which is good for capacity, but makes the unit heavy, almost 30 pounds, so you won’t want to carry it very far. Xantrex makes smaller units, but I think the 600 is the best compromise between capacity and portability. The XPower’s construction is robust and it looks like it could take some hard knocks.
5. Rex Kullmann says:

   October 19, 2006 at 1:12 pm

   Rating

   After spending my vacation in Florida during hurricane Wilma, I learned the value of being prepared for a prolonged power outage. This unit would have been just the thing.

   This is essentially a big 12 volt battery and an inverter that produces 120v AC from the battery. While this unit won’t power a heater or an air conditioner, it can power a small fan overnight so you can sleep. It can also charge your cell phone and laptop. (After all, your laptop’s DVD player might be your only entertainment.) The XPower can power a lamp so you can read or play cards, or you can watch a small TV for a few hours. You can plug in just about anything so long as the total number of watts drawn is 480 or less. (The 600 watt rating is a 5 minute rating, you can only draw 480 watts continuously.) Keep in mind, if you do pull 480 watts, you’ll only get 15 minutes of run time. It’s best to think of the 600HD as a way to keep small essentials going.

   There’s an emergency light built-in. if you place the unit so the light bounces off a near-by wall, it makes a nice low-level room light. With the backside facing you, you see the built-in clock radio. It’s not hi-fi, but it’s not horrible, it has good volume and it can wake you in the morning. There’s also a 12v outlet and a connector for attaching the supplied jumper cables.

   You do have to be mindful of the number of watts you pull from the unit if you want the battery to last. It’s easy to know how many watts you’re drawing because the unit tells you on it’s digital display. It’s a good thing you can charge the XPower from a car cigarette lighter. During my adventure in Wilma’s wake, I would have used the XPower by night and charged it in the car while driving during the day. The digital display also shows the percentage of charge left in the battery.

   The best thing to have during a prolonged power outage is a gas generator. But generators require periodic maintenance. And you have to store fresh gas and remember to change the gas periodically. With the HD600, you just find an out-of-the-way corner, plug in the AC charger and forget all about it until the lights go out.

   The XPower has a big 28 amp-hour battery which is good for capacity, but makes the unit heavy, almost 30 pounds, so you won’t want to carry it very far. Xantrex makes smaller units, but I think the 600 is the best compromise between capacity and portability. The XPower’s construction is robust and it looks like it could take some hard knocks.
6. FNU MNU LNU says:

   April 1, 2007 at 9:31 am

   Rating

   Bought this as a source of backup power due to frequent long and short-term outages we have in the Ameren UE service area. I keep the charger in my basement, where we retreat during tornado warnings. Hence, I have a radio and emergency light ready at all times, plus a power supply for a small lamp. Recently, I used this to power a travel hair dryer on low speed during a morning outage so I could go to work not entirely looking like something the cat dragged in. You can research the product in depth at the manufactuer website. It is a small, not major, source of power. But in a pinch, a few low wattage creature comforts are better than nothing at all.
7. C. Hubbard says:

   May 13, 2007 at 6:50 pm

   Rating

   This unit does exactly what it promises- a recent storm caused us to lose power overnight- We plugged a window box fan in the unit and it ran about 7 hours- it was a lifesaver- allowing us to sleep comfortably that night. It takes about 24 hours to fully recharge – I would definatley buy this unit again and have recommended the unit to friends and co-workers.
   
   p.s.- when it is almost out of power the unit emits a loud beeping noise (like an alarm clock) which scared us -as we were not expecting it – now we know -and so do you.
8. Mysterious Mr Wong says:

   May 21, 2007 at 11:39 am

   Rating

   I’ve been camping for years and decided to “modernize” my equiptment last year. This unit delievers exactly what it says it does and I am exceptionally happy with it’s operation. It was used it to recharge the cell phone, to run a portable dvd player and various other tasks. I had actually expected to run out of power quickly so also purchased a marine battery and used the cables included with the unit to connect the battery with the power unit and ran them in tandem. This worked extremely well and was used like this for 9 days without running out of power but the battery was very low at the last. Your usage may require a more powerful system but for camping this one is a jewel. I love it and have nothing but praise for this item.
9. Kermee says:

   June 27, 2007 at 8:29 pm

   Rating

   First off, don’t think this unit would be able to replace a generator if you need any kind of heavy duty power for an extended period of time. A 1,000 watt generator would do you much better. However, for this little unit which has a 28 Amp-Hour, non-spillable, AGM battery and using it to power some lights (like CFL’s) and a notebook computer or two, recharging small electrical items (mobile phones, iPod’s, portable DVD players, etc.), this fits the bill perfectly.

   I’ve been using two of these units for a little over a month now and couldn’t be happier. As another reviewer said, one of the huge pro’s over this versus a generator is that it’s much quieter. It’s dead silent until you are pulling about 300 watts and that’s where the internal-fan inside the unit starts to turn on and the speed of the fan is dependent on how much load you’re putting on it.

   The display indicator tells you exactly, in 10-watt increments, of how much power you’re pulling. Also, the three 120VAC outlets are a definite plus and in most cases, I do not have to carry a power-strip around with me to plug in all of the devices I need to use while on the road or camping.

   Also, the 12VDC cigarette-lighter outlet doubles both as a power-source and as a way to charge the battery. Using the included AC-adapter to recharge the battery pack is relatively slow, almost a trickle charge, but when you’re on the go, you can use the included DC-DC cable to charge the battery pack at a much higher current rate. There is also a plug for the included jumper cables so you can use the battery as a jump-start source for reviving dead car batteries in an emergency.

   The built-in light and radio are functional. Nothing fancy and works as advertised. More gimmicks in themselves unless you’re in emergency situations a lot. But nice to have. Only small wish is that on top of the AM and FM bands that it supports, having the WX channels would make it truly more of an “emergency” radio.

   If you’re looking for a minimal amount of clean, non-gas burning, portable power for a camping trip or for emergency situations, then this unit fits the bill perfectly.
10. G. Lowden says:

    July 15, 2007 at 4:07 pm

    Rating

    This item is well made and has all the features. After checking around, I found this powerpack to also be an excellent value. I purchased this unit as backup power for my Cpap machine. It runs the machine for 15 hrs which is a good two nights sleep. It is easy to use and not too heavy. The only caution I would add is that it uses ( what I call ) trickle charge. That means approx 35 hrs to charge if the battery is totally discharged. Since it is only backup for me, this is totally acceptable. I really like the rubber casing and the big soft handle. Getting free shipping from Amazon on an item that is fairly heavy just sweetened the deal.
    
    I have had nothing but good experiences with all of my purchases from Amazon.

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