Cheap Instapark 10 Watts Solar Panel Portable Solar Charger with Dual USB

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $139.99
Sale Price: $69.50
Today's Bonus: 50% Off

I had been looking around on Amazon for portable solar panels for charging my devices. Many of them on here only supply 5 watts which is not nearly enough to charge an iPad. While looking for a 10 watt charger, the Mercury 10 fold out panel popped up in my search and was on Prime (fast delivery). While I haven't put this portable solar charging system through the full motions with all of my devices, I have tested it against the device I wanted it to charge, the iPad 3. I put the panel out at 11:15AM and plugged my iPad 3 in. The iPad did it's familiar little chime to let you know it's charging and it works fabulously. This is one of a very few portable solar chargers I've found on Amazon capable of generating 10 watts of power. 10 watts is required if you are looking to charge the iPad.

The package comes shipped with the fold out charging panel, a micro USB to standard A USB (flat type) connector cable and includes an Instapark® MP1800U2 5,200 mAh External Battery Pack & Charger with Dual USB ports. The included cable is very short (8 inches or so). So, you'll want to get something longer to carry around with you. For charging the iPad, you will also need to get an iPad USB charging cable to carry with you as it does not come with one. I personally like the Retract Ipod USB 2.0 Sync cable in black. The Mercury 10 solar panel has a two USB ports nestled inside of a small pouch (can charge 2 devices at once, although haven't tried this) on the back side of one panel which is big enough to hold the battery and a few cables to help recharge your devices. The ReTrak cables are the perfect size for carrying around in this pouch.

Note that there are loops all around the panel so you can hang it up on a wall, from a nail or a tree branch to get the best sun placement.

There is only one downside to this panel, if you can call it a downside. The glues they used to put it all together makes it stink badly. However, if you're outdoors using it, you probably won't even smell it. It will also probably air out in time. Indoors, you will notice the smell if it's sitting near you. That said, it seems reasonably well constructed and definitely works to charge devices.

While I have also charged the 5,200 mAH battery from grid power, I haven't fully tested the battery out, but it claims to recharge the iPad 25% in 1 hour and phones up to 75% in 1 hour. I am still holding out full judgement of this device until such a time that I can test it out fully. The fact that the panel will charge the iPad leaves me nearly certain that it will charge nearly all of my devices properly. Note that the panel only has USB connectors. So, if you want to charge non-USB type devices, you will have to find a way to convert USB to that other format. Also, I don't know how fast it charges a device so I'll still have to test this. If you're looking for a solar panel to charge the iPad, though, this one will definitely do it.

Note that because the panel does what I needed it to do, I'm rating it 5 stars. However, I may change the review later after I've put the device through more usage scenarios and I am better able to determine charging speed and abilities under various conditions. I will say this, though, the panel will not charge 10 watt devices using ambient light from indoor lighting. The panel definitely needs sunlight. For times without sunlight, this is where you would use the included battery's stored energy, so be sure to charge it up.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I purchased this setup prior to going camping and seeing phish for the weekend. As with all camping your cell phone never lasts, especially the iphone. This comes in a very nice package which is about the size of a a notebook. It folds out into the 3 panels, but also has a pocket that holds the connections to the USB connections.

I was able to put this out in the sun, and hide the phones under some shade. I went from a dead iphone to 80% in 6 hours. I will say that the first 50% charged way faster and it slowed down after it was at 50%. I was also charging a Friends blackberry with the other port.

Once everything was charged, I put it in the car with the windows cracked and put the batter in for a charge. When I got back at night and my phone was near death, I was able to pull the battery and charge the iphone from the aux batter that was charging while I was away.

This was really simple to setup. I highly recommend.

Best Deals for Instapark 10 Watts Solar Panel Portable Solar Charger with Dual USB

I took this thing camping, with the intention of trying it out before deploying back to Afghanistan. This little guy is a beast. With the included battery we able to play music on the iphone all weekend long without any issues. We could even throw a second iphone on there to charge when people needed it. I expected more of a trickle charge, while this thing will charge an iphone 74% in 1 hour. It won't charge like a wall outlet, but I never expected it too. I am very impressed with this item, and have already ordered a second one for my Fiance.

Honest reviews on Instapark 10 Watts Solar Panel Portable Solar Charger with Dual USB

This thing works exactly the way that the product description says it does. There are 3 solar panels and in sunlight they generate 10 watts of power which are delivered to a set of USB connectors in a pouch on the side of it. There are lots of nice loops for hanging it from hooks and clever ways that it can stand angled in the sun so it gets full frontal sunlight.

I bought this as emergency equipment after the massive power outages in New York and New Jersey. I figured that if I experienced a power outage, keeping my wireless devices charged would be a high priority. And it does that. I didn't time how long it took to charge my iPad, but it was about the same speed as using the iPad's own wall charger.

My brother is a backpacker, and he evaluated it as a piece of backpacking equipment. It's too heavy and too bulky for him. The solar charger unit itself is 9 inches x 6.5 inches x 0.5 inches except that it has a lump near one end (containing its electronics) that makes the unit be 1.25 inches thick at that point. It weighs 17.25 ounces.

The separable battery weighs 5 ounces. The device works fine without the battery and the battery works fine without the device. The purpose of the battery is to store sunlight while there is some, so that you can later charge your phone in the dark. The battery is the same thickness as the electronics lump, so that if you tuck it in to the pouch on the side of the device, its overall thickness is 1.25 inches. That combination, which is how it will be stored while it is waiting to be used, is an irregular shape that is too thick in places. There should have been a way to design the shape of the electronics lump and the battery so that it could fold up into a thinner shape that was more regular.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Instapark 10 Watts Solar Panel Portable Solar Charger with Dual USB

I ordered this product about a month ago from Amazon. It arrived a couple of days earlier than the estimated delivery date (as usual). I tested it at home to make sure every thing was working and then took it on an extended camping trip. I was very pleased with how well the system worked. Typically, I would use the charger to charge the battery during the day and then use the battery to recharge my Droid Razr that I had been using to track my hikes during the day (plug for Backpacker Pro a great app). Two days before the end of the trip, the battery quit taking a charge. This was rather disappointing, but on the sunny, clear days we were having in the mountains of Wyoming, the solar charger generated enough juice to completely recharge the phone within about 2 hours. When I got back home, I e-mailed Instapark on Saturday about the problem that I was having with the battery, and by Wednesday afternoon I had a replacement. No fuss, no questions asked. I don't know how customer service could be any better than that. The charger works flawlessly. Great customer service, and so far, the replacement battery is holding up. I am very pleased with this purchase.

Buy IOTA DLS-45/IQ4 12 VOLT 45 AMP 4 STAGE AUTOMATIC SMART BATTERY

Customer Ratings:

I work in a large cold storage facility that requires occasional repairs to be made in the freezers that have no 120 volt AC available. We used to use cordless drills etc. but the battery life in sub zero temperatures is extremely short. We were wasting too much time waiting for the batteries to recharge and warm up. What we finally ended up doing was to make a portable deep cycle battery cart with an inverter mounted in an Igloo cooler. Deep cycle battery packs require a specific recharge cycle that is TOTALLY different from automotive starting batteries. This charger provides the initial bulk (current constant) charge for the initial 80% charge followed by the absorption phase (voltage constant) followed by the float stage (reduced constant voltage). A automotive type charger will not provide the proper charging cycle and will eventually ruin your deep cycle batteries due to sulfation and plate warpage and deterioration. The IQ4 option is a microprocessor based "smart" controller that allows you to hook up your battery pack and forget it. We have used this charger extensively for about 9 months without any issues or complaints. You MUST do your research and buy the appropiate sized charger for your AH rating as deep cycle batteries must be bulk charged at a rate not to exceed 25% of the 20 hour (C/20) AH capacity rating. Our battery pack is assembled from four 6 volt ,215 AH batteries wired (series/parallel) to provide 12 volts @ 430 AH. To extend the life of your battery packs, it is recomended to keep the bulk charging rate to about 10% of the AH (C/20) rating. In our case that would be 43 amps so the 45 is ideal for us. The charger is basic, well built and the cooling fan is variable speed (as required by heat dissapation) and quiet if that is important. One last benefit is that this is also a regulated, filtered nominal 12 volt (13.5 V) power supply that will power devices up to its rated output without a battery connected. I actually found out about this charger/power supply on a ham radio site. Great bang for the buck.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Works great, seems to be keeping battery topped off. Very compact unit for the amount of power and features that it performs.

Best Deals for IOTA DLS-45/IQ4 12 VOLT 45 AMP 4 STAGE AUTOMATIC SMART BATTERY

The smart charger has worked exactly as described and so far is a good addition to our off the grid solar and generator system.

Honest reviews on IOTA DLS-45/IQ4 12 VOLT 45 AMP 4 STAGE AUTOMATIC SMART BATTERY

I am very happy with my power supply battery charger. It has more than met my expectations and at a price that was affordable.

Discount Samsung Galaxy S4 Premium Quality Blue Led 12 Volt Socket Car

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $9.93
Sale Price: $3.63
Today's Bonus: 63% Off

I love that the charger is white with a blue light. Charges somewhat fast and only thing that sucks is that I have to turn the charger to the right spot while plugged into the cigarette lighter adapter in order for it to work. I only use the charger like once a month if that so no biggie.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

When I got the charger it was in great conditions, it was working perfectly fine charching very well but it's been almost a month or so and the wire's are pretty loose now and it doesn't charge at all anymore!! :(

Best Deals for Samsung Galaxy S4 Premium Quality Blue Led 12 Volt Socket Car

After about a week and a half of me using this car charger, it freyed near where you have to inject the charger into the phone, and I probaly only received 7/8 % charge within a hour, I am truely disatisfied in this item as well. Truely disatisfied in this product. If possible i would love a refund.

Honest reviews on Samsung Galaxy S4 Premium Quality Blue Led 12 Volt Socket Car

At first I was pleased with this product and how fast it charged my phone, but after 8 days it stopped working..only to find out the wires snapped inside.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Samsung Galaxy S4 Premium Quality Blue Led 12 Volt Socket Car

CRAPPY QUALITY DON'T BUY BROUGHT 2 AND BOTH DISCONNECTED FROM THE PHONE END.

. Samsung Galaxy S4 Premium Quality Blue Led 12 Volt Socket Car Charger...Samsung Galaxy S4 Premium Quality Blue Led 12 Volt Socket Car Charger...

Discount Blue - iPod Shuffle 2nd Generation USB Charger Adapter

Customer Ratings:

Purchased this 2nd generation iPod shuffle charger/sync device, after my original of two years broke! After checking several box stores, I concluded that for $20 more, I might as well buy a new iPod! these chargers are that expensive! I ran a search on Amazon & this item popped up first! For $1.83 I wish I bought more! Small & simplistic best describes it! Syncs up to iTunes without a glitch! Seems to charge faster than the original iPod charger in my opinion! For an item where the shipping was more than the product itself, I'm 100% satisfied! My only advice would be that at this price, buy at least a couple!

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Not too much to say so I'll be brief. Contacts are gold plated, works gread, has never failed to connect. Body plastic is *slightly* rubbery, allowing it to bend and give just a little bit (less likely for the protruding plugs to snap off). Super compact fits in my pocket with my shuffle and basically turns it into a jump drive.

Best Deals for Blue - iPod Shuffle 2nd Generation USB Charger Adapter

It's sturdy, it's compact, it charges, it syncs. And the price is right. Worth its weight in gold!

Honest reviews on Blue - iPod Shuffle 2nd Generation USB Charger Adapter

The product is small, and can be carried around so I don't have to deal with cables. It connected perfectly to my macbook pro eventhough, it scared me when a window popped up saying that an unknown USB drive was taking too much power. It's ok though, after I opened iTunes the iPod was read and the syncing process happened without a glitch. :D Highly recommended if you don't want to spend too much money on this type of item.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Blue - iPod Shuffle 2nd Generation USB Charger Adapter

Piece of junk. If something seems too good (or too cheap) to be true then it is. This is the level of quality I'd expect from a gumball machine toy. This didn't do anything but cause my computer to shut down the USB port, saying it suffered a power surge. Oh yeah, and sparks shot out of my iPod. Seriously. No thank you. Probably a fire hazard. Don't waste your money.

Buy HTC brand OEM 2-Slot extra USB Car Auto DC Plug-in Charger Power

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $39.99
Sale Price: $14.96
Today's Bonus: 63% Off

Works much better than the after-market chargers!, would encourage anyone to purchase this that has a htc phone chargers at twice the speed and won't damage your battery...

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Discount Brand New Combo of Retractable USB Data Cable + Home Charger

Customer Ratings:

Bought this because I lost the original USB cord to my ipod Touch. When purchasing this, I assumed the USB cord would sync new songs and charge, but only charges the iPod/iPhone. I wouldn't have bought it if I had known it wasn't going to sync the newly purchased songs. It goes to show, you get what you pay for.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

The product comes in handy if you are the type of person that always on go,becasue I know I am and I forget to charge my ipod touch, so with this product I can charge my ipod in my car or house as well.

Best Deals for Brand New Combo of Retractable USB Data Cable + Home Charger

Yes this is a cheap item. The Wall Charger does work as it suppose to.

However the Car Charger is not compatible with the IPhone or Ipod Touch. I dont think I have a defective car charger since it works with my old IPod 3rd Generation. I get an error saying that Charging is not supported with this accessory.

I know this company is not the only one having this problem. However they should not claim it works, when it dont. Still not a bad price for a wall charging unit....which is the only reason why it got 2 stars.

Its funny on the site it says compatible with Ipod Touch, and on the packaging it only says compatible with Iphone 3G. I should be the same regardless. My guess this is some old car charge left over from the old Ipod days that is still running on 12v and not supplying 5v like the new ipod and iphones require.

Honest reviews on Brand New Combo of Retractable USB Data Cable + Home Charger

I was dissapointed with this item. It doesn't work when trying to charge my Ipod Touch.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Brand New Combo of Retractable USB Data Cable + Home Charger

This item comes with a data sync cable, option to power the vehicle to the power supply directly, charging ipod with a car charger in additionto charging with the USB port.

I would stronglky recommend this product as it is cheap and serves its purpose.

Skross World Travel Adapter 2 with Dual USB Charger. Swiss Designed Review

Customer Ratings:

I have a large bag full of plug adapters one trip Philippines, next Australia and Papua New Guinea, off to the UK, then Europe. What a pain! But this Skross adapter travels with me and it does the job nearly everywhere (I still need a grounded US three pin to two US blade adapter but I do not use grounded US three pin cords when I am mobile.) To boot, I add the end cap and now I have two USB 5 volt power sources, ideal for my Samsung mobile, Kindle, etc. All in one small bundle all pins extensible / retractable. What a great idea!

Updated in June 2013: I don't use this any longer, because I ow prefer the relatively newly available dual USB adapter one can also plug A/C power plugs into without having to disassemble the unit and make a choice of what to use Tripshell WORLD TRAVEL ADAPTER Built-in Dual USB Chargerb by elago design for $24.99 here on Amazon.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I think this review would be the easiest to write:

1.Looks great. I think it has a great modern design.

2.Fells very durable

3.Does the job perfectly

4.The USB connector is a great bonus.

5.Comes with a great carrying little bag.

I recommend this product if you're on the go and want to have an adapter with class.

Best Deals for Skross World Travel Adapter 2 with Dual USB Charger. Swiss Designed

I've been able to replace all my different adapters for Europe, Asia and Middle East with just this one. It's a little pricey but well worth the money.

Honest reviews on Skross World Travel Adapter 2 with Dual USB Charger. Swiss Designed

I cannot bear to be without my USB charger/adapter when I leave for any trips. Even if it's a domestic trip, the travel adapter, along with USB attachments for conversion, are incredibly useful so that I don't have to pack a ton of extra chargers in my luggage. For instance, I can charge my phone and camera at the same time and not have to worry about bringing their separate chargers, just need the adapters so that they fit the USB on these chargers. I bought this on the plane, where it was certainly more expensive than it is here on Amazon so I would highly suggsest planning ahead to have this on you through an online order before your next trip. That way you can also save some money without having to buy at the duty free shops!

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Skross World Travel Adapter 2 with Dual USB Charger. Swiss Designed

This device looks well made and is compatible with all major power systems. However, there is no ability to use this with three pin plugs as there is no earth. As the majority of computers use three pin plugs it is unable to be used to power laptops or any other device that have a 3 pin power plug.

RAPID CAR CHARGER for HTC XV6800 MOGUL PPC6800 P4000 Review

Customer Ratings:

I got this as a replacement and it works just fine. Typically these items do go out after about 6 months, I have replaced them about 4 times over 2 years, but still a great deal at the price!

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Review of DC car power adapter for Initial DM-FD102 DVD-1810 DVD-5820

Customer Ratings:

Now I can play my dvd's in the car as long as I want and save the battery for when I'm on the beach.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

This car adapter worked great for my dvd player in my car. It is universal and it fit perfect.

Thank you.

Best Deals for DC car power adapter for Initial DM-FD102 DVD-1810 DVD-5820

So glad to find this adapter for our travel dvd player. Our dog ate the old one when we were leaving on a camping trip. Everyone was bummed 4 1/2 hours in the car and no movie. Next time we will be good to go. thanks

Rapid Auto Car Charger with Ic Chip for RIM Blackberry 9500 9530 Reviews

Customer Ratings:

Blackberry Charger goes in and out but for the price works as expected. It came on time and as expected.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

We ordered two of these car chargers. One does not work at all any more after only one use. The other is working perfectly. Overall for the price these are decent car chargers.

Jump-N-Carry JNCAIR 1700-Amp 12-Volt Jump Starter with Power Source Reviews

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $414.44
Sale Price: $209.27
Today's Bonus: 50% Off

I could not stand the rinky dink 12v cigarette plug low volume compressors to pump up tires. Plus I go in areas where there is no AAA help or cell phone connect, so if you get a flat or need a jump you maybe on your own. This Jump and Carry Start/compressor power source is of battleship construction. Built to last. This is what the professionals use .

I pumped up 8 ATV tires that need a few pounds more each. Then pumped up 4 big van tires. One needed 18 lbs more, the other three 5 pounds more each to 38lbs. Then 4 truck tires 5 more pounds each to 40 lbs. This means to me that this compressor will easily pump up a flat after putting in temporary green slime or a low spare tire. Could of even pumped up my 4 travel trailer tires also. All this on 1 charge. The compressor kept on putting out fast large volume air. It got a little warm but not hot. Shut off compressor each time a tire was filled and checked the built in gauge to a good tire pressure separate gauge. Accurate.

I put it on recharge plugged into the wall with an extension cord and it was still in the good green after all this tire filling.

This compressor pumped up the tires very quickly. Much much faster than those low volume 12V cigarette plug compressors. Shut off compressor and looked at the gauge. It was accurate compared to a good tire gauge.

I have not had to jump start a car yet. Will add to post when I go. The alligator clamps are solid heavy duty and a good length of heavy duty jump cable supplied. This is a first rate unit, battleship construction and built to last. 5 stars

I keep the unit topped off charged once a month just to make sure its topped off and has a full charge.I always keep the unit in the truck when I go on long distance travel. If I break down at least I can pump up a tire or jump my battery by myself.

Oct30. My daughter's boyfriend bought over an ATV. Jump started it instantly with the Solar Jump N Carry. Jump N Carry had been sitting a month. Very old ATV battery was dead and did not take a charge with a battery charger.

June 14 Checked and topped off 4 van tires and 2 ATVs ( 8 tires).

June 16. Filled up ATV tire ( flat after pumping in Green Slime) effortlessly same charge on Jump N Carry as June 14.

June17 2011. Big battery to truck bad. Just click click no turn over. Connected Jump N Carry... same charge as June 14.Started truck in 2 cranks err err. Took truck in for service. Bad battery... shorted cell. Had to buy new battery. Glad I have the Jump N Carry around. Easy to use.. took less than 3 minutes.

June 16, 2012 Unit is still working perfect. Family and I have used it at least 70 times to start cars and big trucks and fill up tires (can go up to 60psi). Also have used it as a power source via the supplied female cigarette plug enclosure to run my moving 20 inch telescope. Lasted all night long!

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I own this unit and it is built to last. Jump N Carry is what a lot of professionals use because it does the job. With 1700 peak amps you can start about anything. The added air compressor and 12V power source is also a great feature out there in the field. You can buy cheaper imitations like the other fellow but eventually you will be back to get a Jump N Carry.

Best Deals for Jump-N-Carry JNCAIR 1700-Amp 12-Volt Jump Starter with Power Source

I bought the Jump-N-Carry without the air compressor about 10 months ago for a 13 year old Tahoe that has electrical issues that no one seemed to be able to figure out and I loved it! The alternator caught fire while driving (long story), so it had to be towed for repair. The AAA service station that towed it to replace the alternator stole it! Of course they denied it! Anyway...I loved it so much that I bought another one and upgraded to the one with air compressor. When it arrived, I took it out of the box, plugged it in for 24 hours...hooked it up and and the Tahoe (totally dead battery) started right up on the first crank!!! I am not a mechanic by any means, so if I can use this device anyone can! I highly recommend it.

Honest reviews on Jump-N-Carry JNCAIR 1700-Amp 12-Volt Jump Starter with Power Source

I own 3 Clore Booster packs. One of them is the one with the built in inflator. These units are well built. They perform as advertised. I have had no issues with the chargers at all. I would prefer if they put battery indicator lights on these units as well. The 660 now has the indicator light and the battery protection which doesn't allow an overcharge. The older units have to be charged as per specs or you could damage the units.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Jump-N-Carry JNCAIR 1700-Amp 12-Volt Jump Starter with Power Source

Amazon states that your can return items at any time during the first 30 days. Not true. On this item your only option is to deliver it to the local hazmet facility. Goodbye $227.

When the "Jump N Carry" arrived I read all the instructions and followed the instructions to charge it. The charge gage showed it was already charged half way through the green zone. I plugged it in for 24 hours. The charge gage did not move. I have to assume that it is not charging.

When I went to return it, I was instructed to deliver it to the municipal facility for disposal of hazardous waste.

"For safety reasons, items that are classified as hazardous materials or use flammable liquids or gases cannot be returned to Amazon.com. Customers should dispose of hazardous materials according to Local, State and Federal regulations. Customers should contact their local government or local waste company for directions on how to dispose of Household Hazardous Waste."

Why is it they can ship it to me, but I cannot ship it back to them?

I went back and looked at the page from which I ordered the item. I could find nothing that said that a defective product could not be returned.

In short, Amazon is telling me my only remedy is to send this $227 (including shipping) White Elephant to the dump. This is probably a deceptive trade practice.

This is the third product I have purchased from Amazon in the past twelve months that failed within a year. The infra-red, convection-air rotisserie and the induction coil hot plate failed after the 30 day return date, but in less than six months.

Books from Amazon are o.k. but nothing with moving parts or electrical circuits. Consider whether you are better off purchasing such items from Wal-Mart, Target or Auto-Zone. You may have to pay sales tax (it was $2 less than shipping in this case), but you can drive down the street to return it.

Reviews of Peak PKC0AZ 450 Amp Jump Starter

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $119.99
Sale Price: $79.99
Today's Bonus: 33% Off

(originally written for a solar power forum, but applies here too)

OK, I wussed out, and bought a commercial product! We have a small sleeping hut built on the ranch now, but no power in it yet. It's going to take a while to mount a panel, batteries, charge controller, wire up lights and such, and we arrive at nighttime, and no where to plug the CPAP in ! So I spent a couple days pricing out different ways to accomplish this, and settled on a portable jump start pack. Found a model with good reviews (Peak PKC0AZ 450), and no air compressor (that often fails after 50 total minutes of use). Located one in stock at local autoparts store, and bought it, taking a chance it's been parked in a warehouse for a year, and then in the back room for 2 more years, resulting in a flat, sulfated battery. (fully half of the complaints at Amazon)

Other choice was to get a AGM battery, rig up a case, cigar jack outlet, charger and hope it still fits into the car.

Upon opening it up, and throwing a voltmeter on it, I was pleased to find it reading 12.85V on a warm afternoon. It's built-in indicator showed it was 4/5 charged also good. I plugged it's wall wart (transformer, not switcher, 12V, .5A) in, and let it top it off for a couple hours, it came to quiescence at 13.37v, and I unplugged it. After an hour, it read 13.13V. Awesome! And the Respironics power cord (for the CPAP) appears to fit snugly into the Lighter jack.

Using my kill-a-watt before I was shopping, I'd discovered that the CPAP consumed about 75 watt hours in a 6 hour run, and that for 2 nights, I'd consume about 12.5 ah of battery. The "450A packs" claim to have an 18AH AGM battery in them, but I figured, I may as well have a portable unit, than a hulk that will last me a month. And if I only ran it one night (6.25 AH consumed) and then recharged, it'd live a long lifetime. Well, the power brick for the CPAP is a pig. After running all night (6 hours) , the voltage in the AM, read 12.66v Whoo hooo! Internal battery indicator LEDs still showed 4/5 charge, way less drain than the power brick used (all my testing is done with humidifier OFF) so even though the brick read about 3 watts idle, it was using more with a light load.

So, this will recharge at my shop, and I think I'll get a plug in lamp timer, and set that for a 1 hour charge daily, to keep it topped off between visits. And since the shop is on solar power, now my CPAP is too!

Added benefit, the power pack has a LED lamp built in, and a USB power port, so I don't even need a cigar plug Y cord to charge my phone and PDA.

So, I've owned this less than 2 days, but I think it will do the job I need it to, and it's not DOA out of the box. It can also charge via a running car too, but I've not tried that yet, I think I can also feed it from a 3 stage charge controller set for AGM. And it can jump start the tractor too, if I need it.

And it was a lot less than the $$ soft side 14ah CPAP battery pack. I hope the AMA does not come after me!

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I purchased this with the purpose in mind of using it as a portable power source for things like when I go camping it can provide power for lights, an air mattress inflator, etc. The battery rating of "18 amp/hour" tells you it should be able to run something drawing ~18 amps for 1 hour, 9 amps for 2 hours, etc. I've even tried using it to power a small inflatable boats trolling motor for over an hour and it didn't drain it, but I mainly kept the motor on the low setting (using ~8 amps, high would use ~15 amps but I used that only ~10 minute of the time I was out).

Note July 2013: New units are out with a digital display of battery level (showing % of charge) and has the charge unit built in (with no "charge port"), so the things I've said about those items may have changed if you're ordering one now.

The only issues I've had with my unit (why I dropped 1 star) is for charging it, I've had to send power thru the lighter outlet or main jumper cables. The red LED indicating "charging" comes on with it plugged in to their "charge port", but after leaving it plugged in for an hour there was no increase in voltage. I connected up a charger to the other places and instantly saw "12.75V, 12.76, 12.77, etc" (about at the same rate you can say those numbers out loud) showing it was actually charging (and FYI I still used a 500mA charger like they provide, not a 10amp or such). Also the switch for the outlets doesn't turn them off, but they pass power fine. Update Dec 2012: I got the guts to open up the case and on the back of the circuit board, I saw a line of solder going across the switch terminals for the "power outlet" switch. I'm 99% sure that shouldn't have been there, so popped it off and now the switch turns off the outlets. Still not sure about the charge issue though and didn't want to risk breaking the circuit board trying to dig too deep. I got another of these (but the model with the air compressor) for my sister and it accepts a charge thru the "charge port" normally, so it seems a random problem.

I've found that the battery indicator LEDs come on as follows:

While something's in the "charge jack" (to tell the unit that you're charging it) the red LED shows with under 12.75V, the yellow LED shows for 12.75-13.1V, a green LED shows for 13.1-13.5V and 2 green LEDs show for over 13.5. If nothing is connected to that "charge jack" (hinting you're draining the battery) the red LED shows for under 11.6V, the yellow shows for 11.6-11.9V, a green is on for 11.9-12.25V and double green show for over 12.25V. Those make sense to me because 13-14V is fully charged and what you want to measure while charging, yet down in that 12.5-11.5 area is what you want to measure while draining.

This has a switch for the main "jumper cables" that eliminates arcing as you hook them up and it allows the unit to have a "reverse connection alarm". That alarm sounds if you hook them up backwards before you turn it on (and should prevent an explosion that could result). Without the switch you can't have that alarm and you can't "turn off" those cables (a review of another unit without a switch says "a fire started in my car since the cables are always on and touched each other"). That switch may add a bit of resistance during a jump start and another step to remember to do, but those safety features are good to consider as well.

As far as it living up to it's title of "jump starting" a car, I have doubts. Just like this battery is ~1/3 the size/weight of a car battery, you won't get but about that much power from it (and the labels like "450 amp" or "900 peak amp" are just a big salesman lie to make it sound big). My proof is from connecting up a 100 amp battery tester to it freshly charged, the battery drops to 9.5V under that load for 5 seconds (and that power draw is close to what a small car starter needs). I was taught in shop class that a car battery should keep 10.5V under 1/2 it's CCA load, so this doesn't pass as even a 200 Cold Crank Amp (so how do they get "450"?).

Update Oct-2012: I tried starting my Ford Festiva (4 cyl) with this alone on a morning with it ~40 degrees out (disconnecting the car battery to partly simulate a dead one). It did start it, but the starter was slow just barely being able to crank it. I tested my car battery the next morning and it's labeled as 500cca, but passed as only a 200cca (showing I need to replace it soon). After doing that test I started the car and didn't notice anything abnormal (with the starter going much better than on the Peak unit alone even after the drain from the test).

The cars battery condition will also play a big role in whether or not this can "boost" you enough to get you going. If a cars battery is pretty weak (like from leaving your lights on while you went to a movie for 2 hours) but can still provide some power, this can give you some extra power and has a fair chance of getting you going. But if a cars battery is fully drained (like from leaving lights on all night long) and you hook this up to the fully "dead" battery, the dead battery will instantly start "stealing" power (to recharge itself) & probably drain this before you can even get from the hood to the driver seat to start the car. In that situation I doubt you'll get started without another full size car battery or a charging source for 20+ minutes (an a/c charger or car & jumper cables).

Best Deals for Peak PKC0AZ 450 Amp Jump Starter

I purchased this thinking this was an outright 900amp unit, when I went to pick it up (Advanced Auto)the unit stated 450 starting amps and 900 peak amps, obviously no one was able to tell me what that meant. But I kept it in the spirit of giving it a try. At home, I was able to take a closer look, to see the features. A switch for some workable LEDs, not to bad when you don't have a flashlight around. the DC plug, though I didn't use it yet, looked good. Nice rubber bottom on the unit to help it stay in place. After putting it through an 18hr or so charge, I plugged into a work van (Ford V8) that had a completely dead battery. Hooked up the unit to the battery, and ... nothing. Though I did hear the buzzing noise that my key was in the ignition, just not enough to do anything else. Now I left it for about 20 min. Didn't know if that was either enough or I had it on longer than needed or not enough for that matter, but came back and tried it again. I got into the van and this time the starter was trying to engage, and I kept cranking, either it was going to turn over or die on me again. Well it finally did turn over, which means I will be holding on to the unit, since the other two cars I own are 4 cyl. I have not plugged back into the charger I will see how it runs its course. But simply impressed enough for the price. I did get it at AA over than Amazon was purely price, a preblack Friday special of 50.00 which I thought was excellent at the time for 900 amps... which is really 450 starting amps.

Honest reviews on Peak PKC0AZ 450 Amp Jump Starter

Used once in two years.... worked fine. Now, two years later, seems it won't hold a charge. Charged regularly each month to have max performance available, but it is time for a new pack.

My choice: Clore Automotive JNC660 Jump-N-Carry 1,700 Peak Amp 12-Volt Jump Starter

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Peak PKC0AZ 450 Amp Jump Starter

Having written my review as listed below, I then contacted the Company service rep "Mark" and received excellent "Customer Service" which I did not think existed in today's world. My rating of "The Company" went from a single star to 5 due to Mark's involvement. I realize I should have contacted Peak initially, but my expectations regarding service from anyone was so low, I gave up before taking any action. Learned to be a lot more positive in situations such as this.

Thank you Mark and you should be listed on the Asset side of your company's Balance sheet!!!!

Richard LXXXXX

After I received the unit, I charged it according to instructions and the "jump" went by the book . On January 23, my birthday, I gave the unit a recharge as specified in the instructions. Prior to retirement was in technical field, therefore a "Nerd" when it comes to procedures and documentation. My neighbor needed a jump on Memorial Day so I quickly got my "Peak' and checked status lights and found only the red L E D would light when checked (25% charged) . Have been trying to "reload" the battery charge with no success since then!! At $80 per jump, I could have used AAA at a lower cost.

Best BIRUGEAR Black USB Wall Travel Spare Battery Charger with LED Light Deals

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $29.99
Sale Price: $3.73
Today's Bonus: 88% Off

arrived and operates as claimed it would. very pleased since 14 year old cant seem to remember to plug in phone,

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

The GTMax Black USB Wall Travel Spare Battery Charger with LED Light For Htc Thunderbolt works great. Thank you very much. (-;

Best Deals for BIRUGEAR Black USB Wall Travel Spare Battery Charger with LED Light

This product has been a lifesaver! After the charging port broke in my phone I was looking for an inexpensive way to charge my battery, and I was happy to find this product. The LED light lets you know when it is charging and when it has charged. The only downfall to this type of product is that you have to take the battery out of your phone to charge it. There is a simple fix for that though, as I just ordered a spare battery from amazon and just switch the batteries out when needed.

Honest reviews on BIRUGEAR Black USB Wall Travel Spare Battery Charger with LED Light

This little thing saved my life, when my phone stopped charging through the cable. I bought this and it charges the battery perfectly. Even though it takes a few hours to fully charge. For the price it does the job right. I recommend it to any other HTC thunderbolt users.

Review of Odyssey Battery OMAX-12A-1B Ultimizer Charger

Customer Ratings:

Bought it to keep aircraft battery fully charged and ready to go. Designed for Odyssey Battery, which I have, seems to be working perfectly. Well made, easy to hook up and use!

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I use this more my car that is running a race battery and it works great. I did not think it was that load when the fan is running. I would recommend this to anyone.