Wagan EL2200 Elite 180 Watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter

by Wagan

Product Features

• 180 watts continuous power, 360 watts peak surge power
• 1 AC outlet and 1 USB port
• 12 volt DC plug allows for connection in your vehicle
• Overload, overheat and low battery protection
• Recharge appliances faster and extend life of appliances using pure sine

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B003INJ3VI
• Item model number: EL2200
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,368 in Automotive (See Top 100 in Automotive)

Product Description

Wagan Elite 180 Watt Pure Sine Inverter is perfect for recharging devices on the go and for people with mobile lifestyles. Provides 180 watt continuous power and 360 watt peak surge power. Features 1 AC outlet, a USB power port, overload, overheat and low battery protection plus a 12v DC plug to connect inside your vehicle. Sample appliances include: cell phone charger, digital camera, video games, camcorder, cordless drill, MP3 or CD stereo system, medium LCD TV, laptop and standard incandescent light bulb. Wagan tech elite pure sine inverters are ideal for sensitive electronics. Designed to be efficient, the pure sine technology allows appliances to recharge faster, save energy costs and extend the life of appliances. It also reduces electronic interference, and is perfect for operating sensitive electronics such as medical devices, audio and video equipment, computers, HDTVs. Appliances with dimmers, speed controls, and certain battery chargers require pure sine to operate. Compared to traditional inverters which output in modified sine wave, AC power in pure sine wave is more similar to commercial power. The electronic appliances run cleaner, cooler and quieter when running on pure sine power. Wagan pure sine inverters are especially designed to increase the efficiency and running time of electronic appliances and motors. Our inverters operate at less than 3 to 5 percent of total harmonic distortion on average and 90 percent efficiency across the line.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Pain in the rear, January 14, 2011

By 

Edward Baines - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wagan EL2200 Elite 180 Watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter (Automotive)

This unit borders on being barely useful for powering my notebook computer while traveling. On road trips with my wife, the passenger pretty much stays on the computer -- previewing traffic, finding good restaurants, and checking e-mail. As long as we are driving on the interstate, all is well. However if I come to a stop and the engine goes to idle, the unit alarms and then shuts down. It is a complete shutdown from which it does not automatically recover. You have to reach back and push the power button when in motion again. My prior inverters at least would come alive again when the supply voltage from the vehicle rose once the engine RPMs increased again.
Further, the 12 V cable was improperly soldered. I had to disassemble it and re-solder the wire to the tip connector. Further, the tip did not fit securely in the jack therefore I was concerned that it could come out and the hot side short to ground potentially blowing fuses in my vehicle. This required a little bit of hot-melt glue to secure it. Not a huge deal, but I should not have to repair Manufacturing defects before I put an item into use. I repaired it myself because I could do that far faster than the act of boxing it, generating a label, and shipping it back. Now if you are not comfortable with soldering of electrical connections, you may have more extensive issues.
I am currently in search of a modified-sine inverter that does not have such bad behavior.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Worthless, Smoking Pile, November 3, 2011

By 

S. Bice (OHIO, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wagan EL2200 Elite 180 Watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter (Automotive)

I researched the plethora of inverters on the market, and I finally decided that a pure-sine inverter was the best way to protect my MacBook Pro while I charge the battery in the car. Considering that the power adapter on my MacBook Pro is 60 watts, I felt confident that a 180-watt pure-sine inverter would be able to handle the electrical duties. I couldn't have been more wrong. Even though this Wagan inverter should be able to handle electrical devices of three times the wattage that my MacBook requires, it was unable to generate enough power to charge my laptop.

I tested the inverter with the 45-watt power adapter from my wife's MacBook Air, and the inverter WAS able to power that computer. I then tried to charge my mobile phone, and again, the inverter worked...for a short while.

Despite the very low power requirements to charge my mobile phone, the Wagan inverter started SMOKING excessively and emitted the most putrid odor--like someone was attempting to char-broil a skunk.

Needless to say, I immediately disconnected the inverter and have deemed the device a total FAILURE.

As I said in my title, the thing is a WORTHLESS, SMOKING PILE.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Smoke., August 29, 2011

By 

EJL - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wagan EL2200 Elite 180 Watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter (Automotive)

My disappointment in this device starts with the difficult to open clamshell packaging. Once open, the inverter felt very light and cheaply constructed. The end caps feel as though they are made with a very low grade plastic. When I plugged this device into a 12V connector in my vehicle, nothing happened. I assumed this was because the plug wasn't fully inserted. I tried the plug in five different 12V outlets several times and it just wouldn't work. On my final attempt, the little green light on the device finally illuminated. I began to smell something burning, and smoke started pouring out of the back of the inverter. I guess I could give it two stars because the ten seconds it was plugged in it did charge my phone properly. I did not get an opportunity to try the outlet. I should have listened to the bad reviews on this site.