Xantrex Technologies 851-0178 XPower 175-Watt Micro Inverter
by Xantrex Technologies
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Our Price: $90.00 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Xantrex Technologies 851-0178 XPower 175-Watt Micro Inverter
Customer Review: It works but dont expect perfection
Summary: 4 Stars
I just bought this inverter to be used in emergencies, primarily to charge camera, laptop and phone batteries while on the go.
Pros: It does this well and seems to charge the phone faster than the Verizon lighter charger, which it should. Its cheaply priced and compact. If fits snugly.
Cons: Like everyone said it does make a noise that is quite loud. Actually there are 2 noises, a constant one that is like a background white noise, which I took this to be the fan. This wasnt annoying to me and I am easily annoyed by one off noises that persist. The other noise was much more annoying and not something I would want all the time but it only does it under 20 mph so seems to be related to the amount of juice from the alternator. It sounds like a loud vibration but the unit wasnt touching anything else. The sound goes away on the highway and the fan isnt really heard over the radio.
Bottomline for the price and since I use it in emergencies and tight spots its well worth it to have it onhand and fits in the center console.
Customer Review: Terrible Customer Service
Summary: 1 Stars
I read a lot of the reviews before purchasing and thought that this looked like a pretty good deal. Worked great for the few times we traveled, but stopped working in November. I contacted Amazon and was told I would have to contact Xantrex for help since it was past their thirty day return policy. Fair enough. Started with my first contact with them on 11/11. Took until the 26th to get an answer after two more emails. Said they needed serial # and proof of purchase to start an RMA. I even tried the inverter again and had to pull it as smoke began to pour out of it. I supplied the required material on three different occasions (as well as telling them about the smoke) and finally let them know I would be contacting Amazon about their poor response. Still nothing. I suspect that they'll probably get around to answering around January 15th to tell me I'm too late, as the warranty expires on the 14th. I will not be buying from this company again, and would definitely not encourage anybody else to buy their products.Customer Review: I LOVE This Thing...Saves Oodles of Noodles on Unecessary Appliances...
Summary: 5 Stars
OK - so I'm the type that needed a car adapter for cell phone, kids DVD player, Blackberry, XM radio, etc.
Spent between $10 & $20 each on these things.
To quote Bill Murray in "Stripes" - STUUUUUUUUUPID!
I mean, hello?
$25 means I can now take anything electronic that I can carry & plugs into a wall outlet with me in the car.
Which I just did driving the 4 kids on a long weekend back & forth to the shore.
As for the noise, can we get serious? Once in a while I hear something I'm not familiar with & wonder what it is.
Once I realize it's this thing, I think "I can't believe people actually posted about this noise", remember that I love this thing & it fades back into nothingness.
Customer Review: Powered my laptop on a 14 hour road trip perfectly
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this so that I could power my laptop for a long road trip. The kids were able to watch DVD's on the laptop (that I already owned) instead of me having to buy a portable DVD player for them. This product worked perfectly. Yes, it does have a slight hum from the fan motor, but it is really quiet and is easily drowned out by road noise. I honestly only noticed it because after reading all the reviews I was listening for it. I highly reccommend this if you need to power something in your vehicle. Just pay attention to the wattage, this can power up to 175 watts, but my laptop only needed 65.
The unit is a little bulky, so if you have a tight space to plug it into, you may have a problem. This was not the case for us, though.
Customer Review: A good solution to feed home electronics in a car
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this device trying to eliminate endless number of car chargers for cell phones, PDAs and DAPs used in a car.
What is good for this inverter
1. small size
2. a good fit in cig lighter that provides AC feed without interruption at bumpy ride
What is bad for it
1. relatively tall, so it can't fit in some cig lighter when not enough vertical clearance
2. noisy, because it has fan, so it can be a problem for listening music not so loud
3. no on/off switch so it needs be unplugged if a car doesn't support of automatic switch off of cig lighter
4. fan moving parts make me think that it can break
Overall it's a good device and I'm mostly satisfied with it.