Customer Reviews

Black & Decker PI200AB Inverter

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

As I listen to my iPod in the car every day, I need to keep it charged so it doesn't have to be plugged in every night at home and unavailable for use while working out. After doing some research, I purchased the Black & Decker 200 Watt Power Inverter. This product contains a standard 110V outlet, a USB port (in the middle) and a cigarette-lighter outlet as well. I often charge my iPod and phone at the same time, with the option of using the standard outlet for a laptop on longer trips. IMPORTANT: if you want to run more than 110V-120V of products through ANY inverter, you will need to wire it directly to your car's battery or it may overload the standard cigarette-lighter outlet in your car. Fortunately, this inverter comes with wires for both options. Also, at around $30, this strong performer is one of the least expensive multi-option inverters out there. Unless you plan on bringing a TV or blender into your car, 200 Watts is all you need. Overall, an excellent product which I use every day.

I purchased this to use with my laptop for a long car trip. My laptop is rated at consuming a max load of 90 watts. As soon as I plugged in my laptop, the fault (red) light lit up and the device no longer functioned. I tried resetting and it still doesn't work.

This inverter has no trouble charging my BlackBerry or iPhone, but that isn't the reason I purchased it.

For reference sake, an old off-brand inverter I had rated at 200w powered this very same laptop last year on a car trip.

This product does not work as it is marketed and therefore I will be returning it. Shame on Black and Decker for trying to pass this off as a 200w inverter when it clearly cannot even handle half that load.

It bought this product and it works quite well

Pros : Has low battery protection, over current and over voltage protection. Has a dc/110V ac/usb outlet.

Cons : A little bulky. The ON/OFF switch and indicators are too small to operate with one hand. If you forget to turn off the device before turning off the car, sometimes it doesn't start again when you turn your car back on. You would have to unplug all the outputs & inputs and put the whole setup together again for the device to begin working again.

In a nutshell, the power inverter works well. I could charge my cellphone throughout my camping trip. But there are minor improvements needed in the product.

I bought this unit for charging all my little gadgets: phone, Nook, iPod & laptop, and it works great! Plug too much in and the fan starts going, but it's just a little white noise that won't bother too much, especially if you muffle it by placing the unit under your driver seat. Works great!

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Update 10-8-2011: Make sure you check the load on your input. My fuse had a 120W limit, and though I never plugged more than one item into the inverter at one time, the fuse blew.

I agree with previous reviewers who state this will not even power a small laptop. I have an Eee PC(is a very small laptop) and draws about 70watts of power... this inverter will not power it because of an over load fault... 200Watt inverter... I think not.

Hey, I know, let's put exposed hot positive leads out in the cabin. WHAT A GREAT IDEA! Seriously, this entire range of products needs to be recalled. What idiot engineer thought this was a good idea. How simple would it have been to just use a standard plug of some sort on the end of each lead instead of the flat-connectors. Maybe because it wouldn't looks so "tough" or something. This is going straight back in the box and back to the store.

I bought this inverter for my car and generally it worked fine except for a couple very frustrating things.

For one, the power button is miniscule and EXTREMELY unresponsive. I turn the device on and off frequently when I turn on and off my car--I have to push very hard on the button and get it just right for it to work properly.

Secondly, the fan makes noise, like most fans do, but it is a higher pitched sound that really drives me nuts. Even while driving with my AC and radio running, I can still hear the darn thing.

I actually purchased the older (discontinued) model VEC1045BD after I bought this and I'm much happier with it. It has an actual on/off switch and the fan is a lower hum that isn't as noticeable. The only thing lacking on the older model is the USB port, but eh, that's not a big deal.

I bought the inverter just over two years ago. (missed the warranty by 3 months) but have only used the inverter twice since purchasing it. When I pulled the DC adapter out of the socket in the car, it broke into pieces. After calling the company to see about getting a replacement, the DC part would cost half of what the unit cost originally. They could do nothing for me. This product is very poor quality, noisy, and unstable. DO NOT BUY! Choose a different company!

I bought this primarily to charge my laptop, figuring 200 watts would give me more than enough overhead to power/charge the battery. Unfortunately, the low battery sense function on this unit, while a good idea, does not allow the inverter to continue to operate after shutting the engine off and leaving the key in accessory. If it is initially powered up with the engine off, it seems to work fine, but it is a hassle to have to use the soft power button to reset the unit every time I switch the ignition off. Since my plan is to put the inverter under a seat out of the way, this is more than a minor inconvenience.

I bought two of these. One for each car.
Only problem is, the USB port doesn't work on either of them.
My wife and I both use our iPhones like crazy so I thought this would be a good way to keep them charged on the go. Nope.
When I plug a usb cable into them and then into the iPhone, nothing happens.
I can still charge them using the plug-in charger and plugging that into the inverter, but the usb port in the middle is useless.
Again, I bought two of them and it doesn't work on either.