Comments on: Xantrex Technologies 813-0281 XPower 100 Watt Inverter

By: Running Man

Running Man — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 03:57:10 +0000

Pros: very compact and portable; able to usually power my HP laptop; long’ish power cord; easy to use.

Cons: 1) It has a little cooling fan that is slightly noisy and runs almost continuously. Highway road noise mostly masks the noise. 2) Sometimes the inverter would blink a red light and temporarily suspend power output. Maybe it was too hot powering my HP laptop. According to kill-o-watt, my laptop usually draws only about 25 watts, or about 40 watts when also recharging the battery. 3) It sometimes smells a little bit like burnt plastic.

Overall, I am satisfied with this inverter for the money spent. If I had to buy another, I’d probably get something with a little more power. However, my Honda Civic has a limit of 120 watts for DC accessories. The 175 watt inverter I used to have blew the fuse. Check your auto owner’s manual for the power limit before you buy.
Rating: 3 / 5

By: Bottom Dollar

Bottom Dollar — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 03:53:07 +0000

I purchased a Xantrex Pocket Powerpack 100 which consisted of a battery pack and an inverter for $69.99 from Amazon in November 2006. You could also buy a Xantrex Pocket Inverter 100 which is probably the identical inverter with a cord and lighter plug. Amazon sells this now directly for $25.58. Looking at the picture above you can read Pocket Inverter 100. The base unit is the battery pack for the Pocket Powerpack 100. Looks like someone removed the power cord from the Pocket Inverter 100, plopped it down on the battery pack and took a picture. The description of the item under Technical Details is correct.

The inverter runs hot, but it works well. At least this is true using the battery pack (the one you may not get).
Rating: 3 / 5

By: Tolak

Tolak — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:54:18 +0000

I bought this to allow me to run small chargers when in the car.
All of my chargers are world-power rated, so just having 110V to a US socket/outlet is great, even at low power. The UK standard plug is so big, and the need to have 240V not there, so I have standardised on a single converter to the US plug and a multiplier (which is small because the plugs are small). Oh, yes some chargers also have folding pins for the US version, so reduced puncture/bend risk!

And this provides an alternative source of electricity to support that system.

I would have wanted one that has an aircraft connector, but since I don't tend to travel in the classes that have such power sockets, I don't miss it yet. Oh, yes, just got a new laptop that has long battery life, so one flight can be OK, and I can recharge at the stop-over or (using this product) during the car trip to the meeting.

And it's good and small, so I don't mind carrying it around.
Great product that fits my power system, without needing too much transportation space. Rating: 4 / 5

By: sliprocket

sliprocket — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:06:25 +0000

Pros: charges cell phones, laptop (15" LCD), Nintendo DS, PSP, Digital Cameras (USB) and other small stuff just fine without noisy fans (not sure what that other reviewer is hearing) or blown fuses. USB charging port for USB devices.

Cons: not sure if it will handle higher current devices like large laptops, but I haven't tried.

NOTE: I think this has a peak power rating of 100W but my previous Xantrex unit that is identical in appearance to this one is rate 175W peak power (bought 3-4 years ago).

I've had no problems with either of my Xantrex Inverters with either functionality or noise. Rating: 5 / 5