Schumacher XI14 140 Watt DC to AC Power Inverter Review

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List Price: $27.99
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Bought this as a 120 volt back up for my laptop plug in charger when I was on the road. Just planned on using it if no other choice was available. I have practically used it non stop for 7 months with it never even leaving the cigarette lighter port. It stays plugged in and on 24/7 and has never acted up once. I even ran a string of Christmas lights off it at a party for 6 hours and my car battery was fine. This little thing has suprised me and I bought a 400 watt Schumacher for our pickup just on this experience, its working great too.

*UPDATE 9-23-2012 Still working at least 5 to 6 hours a day. Updating because the little micro cooling fan in it started to chirp as if the bearings in it are about to fail. Looks easy to repair, fan for it is $2 and likely a hour of my time. The unit itself puts out over 200 watts for quiet a while running 3 laptops for sometimes 2 to 3 hours straight. I am still impressed it has handled 3 full drops from a semi truck seat to concrete and has cracked the plastic but in almost 2 years worked great.

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This inverter is pushed to its limit when running a laptop. FYI: 95% of laptops out there draw 75 to 100 watts... which is well below the rating of 140 watts for this "toy." I just tested it on my Dell laptop (rated at 95 watts)... and for 80% of the (15 minute) test, the inverter could not supply enough power for the laptop to recognize it and use the power. Instead, the laptop stayed on the battery. During this period you can HEAR the inverter cycle about every 3 seconds and the green light on the dell power supply would change in intensity in-synch with the inverter cycling. It seems that the inverter UNDER LOAD is trying to put out sufficient power but cannot. HOWERVER, for about 3 minutes of the 15 minute test the inverter WAS able to power the laptop, and the laptop used the power to charge the internal batteries. So... it can work... it can stumble... it's on the edge.

BOTTOM LINE: If you are looking to use this to power a laptop, you need to realize that it's really being pushed to it's limit and don't be surprised if it does not work at all. My guess is that it wont last more than a few hours of operation. Notice also that it is NOT certified by UL (Underwriters Laboratory)... which is a good indicator that it's junk... Whomever made this inverter was pretty confident that it would not pass the standard UL tests.... so they opted to NOT submit it for certification... a common trend with Chinese products these days.

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Be sure there is enough room around the vehicle 12v outlet or it might not fit. It works well for me but it is a tight squeeze. The product works as advertised.

Honest reviews on Schumacher XI14 140 Watt DC to AC Power Inverter

That's all, maybe the first thing is a toolbox, the second one is this converter. This is the only one with 140W, enough to power up a laptop, for instace. (others are not able to supply enough energy).

Cons:

-the female adapter is just for US plug. A multi-shape female adapter (Latin America, Europe, Australia, etc) will be definitely a great plus going from 9 points to 10!!.

Pros:

All you can imagine with an electrical outlet inside you car.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Schumacher XI14 140 Watt DC to AC Power Inverter

This thing works very well and is nice to have an indicator as well as that its position can be adjusted to suit the space.