Customer Reviews

Xantrex Powerpack 300EP Emergency Jump Starter with Built-In Power Inverter and Air Compressor

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've had my Xpower Powerpack 300 EP for over 4 years now and can't imagine my home without it. I've taken it camping, jumped my truck battery with it, inflated a flat tire, and most importantly used it to charge my cell phone, light a table lamp (using a 9 watt spiral fluorescent bulb) & run my portable DVD player after losing power during/following Hurricane Ike last September! Clicks for a little while when recharging from being completely drained but that goes away after the battery starts holding a charge. A real comfort to have!

This is an all purpose emergency tool.

It provides 300 watts of AC power, which you can use to recharge your cellular phone, run a laptop computer, radio, or even a television.

It provides 12V DC power, which you can use to run anything that runs on a cigarrette lighter.

It can jump start your car if the battery is dead (4 cylinder and most 6-cylinders).

It has a rechargeable LED Flashlight.

It has a air compressor/pump that can inflate your tires.

And you can recharge/power it using the cigarrette lighter in your car or using an AC power source.

Haven't gotten the opportunity to use any of the power pack features other than the flashligh. Very bright. One caveat is that I ordered the Xpower POWERPACK, but the Amazon's affliated parter sent the DURACEL brand which got low marks from users, but has the same features as the Xpower. I questioned the retailer, and their response was that DURACEL manufactures the powerpack for Xpower. My response - "Hmmmmm..... why not just advertise and sell the Duracel?"

Update: I used this unit on 7/29/09 after a bad tstorm in the DC area, and the extra power outlets came in handy when using my laptop, and charging the cell phone. Used it again on 9/7/09 to assist my elderly neighbor with her Mitusbishi Galant that would not start (Car is less than 1yr. old so I was wondering why it wouldn't start). Connected the DURACEL power pack to the battery terminals and the car started right up. Excellent.

Very happy with the Xpower 300 Ep Powerpack, works very well, I carry it with me whenever I am traveling, very handy.

The overall design is well layed out. One exception being the jumper calls that are stored separately from the base unit. I really loved it, until it stopped holding a charge. Now its a big paperweight, and I really don't know how to dispose of it responsibly.

Yes it works! I was able twice to jump start my dead battery. But don't expect it to do more than it's meant to do. For instance, it wouldn't operate a 60 watt light bulb for more than 20-30 minutes.

We purchased this product to recharge cell phones while camping. Having charged it as directed, we were dismayed to find out that the battery was completely discharged on arriving at our campsite. We checked to make sure we had not somehow left something "on", but that was not the case. On return home, we tried charging the battery again, and found that the unit would not hold a charge. On contacting Xantrex, they said the unit might be defective and we could try returning it to where we purchased it! Since this was outside the return period allowed by Amazon, we then asked if Xantrex would take it back. Needless to say, after numerous e-mails to them, which "customer service" appeared to not read carefully if at all, we were told they would look at it but if it wasn't under warranty we would be responsible for any bench time to diagnose the problem! This despite the fact that the item supposedly comes with a 6 month warranty and it had been purchased less than six months before. They repeatedly asked for information we had already sent. There was no offer to pay shipping to them.

Given the relatively low price of the product, the cost to ship, and the risk that they would somehow decide the problem was our fault and charge us for the privelege, we've elected to simply discard the unit.

I would rate this as no stars if that were possible. I think the product itself is a good idea, but the company is one of the worst I've ever dealt with.

The main reasons I purchased this item were to inflate my car tires, to jump my tractor if stuck away from the house and to a lesser degree, to give me some electrical power during a power outage.
As a means of inflating tires, the air compressor functioned fine. I still needed to check the pressure with a tire gauge as I do not believe the built in unit is accurate.
The ability to give a charge to a tractor also worked okay.
Finally, the ability of the unit to hold a charge for a couple of days was also satisfactory. Others may use this when camping or away from the house; for that purpose, I can not give a rating.
One issue I have is that when I opened the box for the first time, I found the built-in flashlight was broken. I should have sent the whole package back, but for me that was too difficult, so I just threw it in a drawer.
Overall, I would give this is three out of five stars - okay, but not great.

This is a lifesaver! Before our family left on a camping trip, we discovered the car had a flat tire AFTER we loaded up the car with kids, dog and camp supplies. The tire had picked up a large nail. I used the air compressor to temporarily inflate the tire, drove to the nearest Discount Tire, had it repaired for free and we were on our way in 30 minutes!

At the campsite, we used the Powerpack to run two fluorescent table lamps, a portable DVD player for the kids, a coffee grinder, a stick blender, recharged batteries for the digital camera (it eats batteries), used the built-in flashlight, inflated bike tires, etc. We were with a large church group, and more than one Dad asked me where I got it and wanted one, especially at night, when our tent brightly glowed among the dark tents.

It has kept a charge for weeks. I didn't realize how useful this is until I got one.

When it worked, it was great.
But it doesn't hold a charge. I have used it maybe twice, and now it doesn't hold a charge (not sitting around for two weeks, doesn't hold a charge for even five hours).

Don't buy this product. Not worth it.