130 Watt Portable RV and Marine Folding Solar Panel Kit with Built Review

Customer Ratings:

Purchased the Economical Version of this product directly from their website. These solar panels are solidly built. They feel really solid. They also come in sturdy storage cases. After spending a month or more looking all over the web, I chose to purchase from this vendor because of the storage cases and the great customer reviews on their website.

I have three (130W) "economical" versions of these panels. What is offered here is the "professional" version of their 130W system. This is actually a nicer product than the economical version. The difference between the economical version and this version is a) inclometer (to check optimal sun angle), b) CEA Solar patented control charger (for blow by blow geek status updates :) and 3) theft-alarm deterrent system.

My version does not appear to be available on Amazon but is available from their website for about $645. ). As soon as the inverter arrives (A Samlex PST 200S 12A 2000 W Pure Sine Wave inverter), I will be running 390W Solar arrangement with the Samlex inverter and 4 Optima Yellow Top Dual Purpose AGM Batteries.

The reviews on their website are right on. Their customer service support is exemplary. They will NOT sell you what you don't need, and they give good advice about accompanying products. I chose to wait until my panels arrived to purchase the inverter, since I had heard horror stories about UPS guys and glass panels shipping with inverters.

Seriously, go to their website. Look at their products. Call Bob Nichols and ask him questions. Fill out their questionnaire to figure out your actual solar needs. These guys are cradle to grave merchants and I feel very secure that if any thing goes wrong they will work with me to find solutions.

Will post another review once everything is up and running, which should be very shortly.

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PhoneSuit Primo Micro, iPod and iPhone Battery Pack - White Reviews

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List Price: $34.95
Sale Price: $16.39
Today's Bonus: 53% Off

This is the most convenient Ipod, Iphone Charger I have ever used. It plugs right in and the lights on the front let you know how much charge you have left in the battery pack. It also comes with a top, that has a little lanyard on it which is cool if you want to attach this to your key chain.

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Discount Whistler Pro-2000W 2,000 Watt Power Inverter

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List Price: $345.95
Sale Price: $149.00
Today's Bonus: 57% Off

I am an over the road truck driver and we bought a Cuisinart K-Cup coffe maker that draws 1500 watts of power and my 1500 watt inverter could not handle it. We installed this inverter and upgraded the inline fuses to 80 amps and it works like a charm. It can be a bit noisy under load but for the price I am VERY pleased. We have been using for three months so far.

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I did my research, and looked over countless reviews. I bought the Whistler Pro-2000 watt power inverter, and I am VERY HAPPY!!! I am a trucker so I know what I am talking about when it comes to the needs of everyday power inverter use. I didn't want to have to use all 4 batteries to run a power inverter. I was using a Sima STP 1500 watt power inverter, and it always had problems running my 700 watt micro wave. I installed my Whistler Pro-2000 watt today and it worked just great. I am all smiles. My micro wave worked great without any problems. The digital read out told me how many watts I was using, and the 3 fans on the back kept it nice and cool. The old inverter would take 4 min. to cook a bag of popcorn, I guess because it wasn't supplying enough power. With my Whistler I was able to cook the same bag of popcorn in 2:30 min. and it almost burnt the popcorn, that is how well it performed. I will continue to update this review when I test it even further.

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This is my first inverter so I have no point of reference to compare it to, but it's meeting my expectations in every way. Do read the reviews for this and other Whistler models as well as other inverters to avoid the mistake of thinking you can plug this into your cigarette lighter and you're done it ain't that simple! Please, please forget using your cigarette lighter with any inverter over 200W right now...you are almost certain to toast fuses or wiring in your car.

And oh yeah, a complete solution is not as cheap as this single item either.

My biggest complaint was about grounding the unit. There is a ground connector but not much detail about *how* to ground it or *why* to ground it in the manual. Searching around on the web I found posts suggesting that (1) you don't really need to ground it and indeed it works just fine without a ground wire, (2) if you don't ground it you will die, and (3) if you DO ground it you will die. I think I got that resolved (more later). My only other complaint is trivial: the supposedly always-powered USB port on mine is only powered when the switch is on. Not a huge deal.

I bought this to supply power to a few items in my house in the event of a sustained power grid failure caused by something like an ice storm or a hurricane, both of which I've experienced. I've had a gasoline generator for years but it took up lots of room, had to be maintained (oil/filter changes, keeping the tires inflated, exercising it periodically) and I had to remember to go buy lots and lots of flammable gasoline to store when the weather looked nasty (and provide space for all those gasoline containers). After reading a lot on the web I sold and replaced it with a solution consisting of...

* this Whistler 2000W inverter (up to 4000 starting watts you need to understand the difference between starting and running watts before you even think about buying an inverter or a generator!)

* two 12V 110 amp deep-cycle sealed AGM batteries to supply power to the inverter (you need to understand all those buzzwords too like deep-cycle, sealed and AGM)

* several not-too-cheap cables to connect the two 12V batteries together in parallel (a.k.a. a "battery bank"), then to connect them to the inverter (the inverter wants to be fed 200 amps; two 110 amp batteries in parallel provide 220 amps to make it happy; my car's alternator provides only 105 amps and yours probably doesn't provide much either, you need to understand parallel vs. serial battery banks)

* a "smart" charger to keep the two 12V batteries ready for use

* a few very robust extension cords

* a rolling utility cart to put all this heavy stuff on (the batteries are about 90 lbs. each)

* a ramp to let me roll the cart up two steps into the house from the garage

That got me started and that's almost all. This let me try to power the items I want to be able to run in an extended outage, including:

* my refrigerator/freezer, a recent model from Samsung that is very efficient, it starts and runs fine off the inverter

* as many CFL-equipped lamps as you'd like as well as a few electric fans they draw virtually no wattage; knock yourself out

* essential electronics including a laptop, cable modem, wireless router, NAS adapter, external hard drive, wireless printer, VOIP phone box, cordless phone base station, cell phone and tablet chargers but *not* the UPS that these are usually plugged into the UPS didn't like the inverter (I learned that a UPS *is* an inverter system with battery all in a box)

That left me with one essential item that wouldn't run: an older model, not very efficient portable/room-to-room air conditioner. It wanted more starting watts than the inverter could supply. Solution: do without the air conditioner or buy a newer, more efficient one. Still looking at that. I'll update this review when I figure out what I'm going to do.

One last problem: in an extended power grid failure, how do I recharge my battery bank when it has been depleted? I thought about cranking up the car and connecting jumper cables from its battery to the battery bank, but read too many posts online that made me uncertain about the wisdom and safety of that. Then the light bulb came on: another inverter, just a smaller one. My car's alternator will easily power a 400W inverter ($32, about the price of a good set of jumper cables). My "smart" charger only uses 150W. So for another $32, my car becomes a 400W 115V generator that runs the smart charger that replenishes the big inverter's battery bank. Problem solved. (Actually, I went for an 800W inverter for around $50 so that I could recharge the battery bank and still power some other items during the recharge my car's 105 amp alternator can handle the 800W inverter's 80 amp requirement with no problem. Your next assignment is to find out how many amps your car's alternator puts out.)

Confused yet? I was too and I'm still learning, but I think I've put together a pretty low-maintenance, high-reliability solution for a power failure lasting several days. I have around $1,000 in it and expect it to last for years. Just wanted to give a plug to this product while making people aware that there is a lot more to this than just buying an inverter.

Oh yeah, about grounding the inverter: that was easy. The ground lug is there to ground the inverter's case to the chassis of the inverter itself inside the case. Just connect an 18 or 16 gauge wire between the inverter's negative input terminal and the ground lug. I got this from Whistler tech support. I don't know why the unit can't just be supplied that way. Anyway, I've run it for hours with and without that ground wire and it works just fine. Like any electrical device, pay attention to what you're doing and be careful!

I have my cooking and heating needs covered for an extended period without electricity which is why they're not mentioned here.

Comments welcomed. Seems like I learn something new about this topic every day.

Honest reviews on Whistler Pro-2000W 2,000 Watt Power Inverter

I am an electrician and I bought this item for my boat.

In order for an inverter to work well it needs to have enough 12 Volt power coming to it. This means you should install the appropriate battery cables (in my case a pair of shorts #0 gauge was enough) and you must make sure your battery bank is big enough to provide the 200 Amps this inverter uses when in full power. My boat runs 2 alternators (110 and 55 amp) and 2 large car batteries in parallel dedicated for the inverter. In this sett up I was able to run 2020 continuous watts (1500W heater, 420W drill, 100W lamp) from the inverter for 15 minutes without a problem while the engine was running. However, when I attempted to run the same loads with the engine off, the inverter shutdown. There was nothing wrong with the inverter. The problem is that my battery bank is not strong enough to provide all the amps this inverter requires at full load. If you bought this inverter the best way to test if you have enough power arriving at the inverter is to gradually add a load while checking the display volt meter included in the inverter. The voltage should not dropp below 11.6 volts or the inverter will power off. After reading all the reviews on this product I've came to the conclusion that most unhappy customers likely had wrong/bad setups and that's the reason they are unhappy with this inverter. If in doubt about the proper installation, take it to an electrician. It will work, you will be happy and safe!

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I bought this in case of another power outage tried it on my fridge and microwave and powered them up one at a time no problem ran them off a car battery it will keep you from losing all your things in your fridge and freezer so it might very well pay for it self the first time you use it it needs a fuse and cables which are not included I used a 200 amp fuse and 4 guage copper cables and mine works fine

Best NOCO Genius G7200 12V/24V 7.2 Amp Smart Battery Charger Deals

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List Price: $122.95
Sale Price: $97.36
Today's Bonus: 21% Off

This seems to be a great charger! I am using it as a permanently installed charger in a back-up battery-powered sump pump application. I have dual 12-volt deep cycle maintenance free batteries in series for a 24-volt system that feeds a back-up sump pump. It installed in a few minutes but I did have to install different size connectors to fit my battery posts, I configured it in a few seconds, and it has been running fine. This is obviously not designed to deliver high current under continuous operation, but it seems to keep my batteries fully charged and no worries of over-charging. I like the fact that it indicates the percent charge on the batteries, and it definitely shows the drop in charge as the back-up pump goes through run cycles and drains the batteries. I have not had it long enough to vouch for reliability, but it appears to be well made and well designed. As an electronics engineer, I am satisfied with it from a technical and functional perspective.

Update: After nearly 18 months of operation, here is an update that you should be aware of. This charger is very sensitive to power outage glitches, which we get a lot of in our area.

I was wondering what was going on but finally figured it out. The unit charges just fine, but when we get a short power glitch, the unit gets hung up. During a power glitch (lasting a second or two), the unit does not recover. It just sits there with all the indicators blinking. I have to unplug the unit and wait a minute before plugging it back in, then it works fine. I tested this by flicking the circuit breaker on and off quickly, and was able to repeat the problem every time. I fixed it by first plugging the charger into a plug-in surge protector. Works like a champ! So, not sure if it is just my unit or a general issue, but the unit I have is sensitive to power glitches. If you are depending on it to operate without checking it now and then (as in a sump pump battery back-up application like I use it for) then be aware that it might fail when stressed by the power grid. The surge protector seems to fix the problem and I have not had any trouble since. I tend to check my sump system every few days just because it is convenient to do so, so that is how I caught this issue. I am still happy with it but would be concerned about purchasing another one, especially for an unattended long-term charging application.

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A modern battery charger that is small, well-built, and works as advertised. The manual is well written and very clear as to what to do in what order, what to expect from the battery charger, and excellent suggestions to follow when attempting to bring a highly discharged, but still good, battery back to life. NOCO refers to their battery charger line as "wicked smart chargers". I'd say they're right on the mark!

Best Deals for NOCO Genius G7200 12V/24V 7.2 Amp Smart Battery Charger

This works very much like the 6v/12v version just a bit bigger in size and instead of a trickle option it has a supply (13v) and a "boost" (16v). The only draw back IMO is it doesn't have the small battery settings but i guess its a trade off to get the extra features of more power.

Honest reviews on NOCO Genius G7200 12V/24V 7.2 Amp Smart Battery Charger

This charger is great with Optima batteries. Has a specialized charge mode just for AGM batteries. Also charges regular wet cell batteries too. I was also pleasantly surprised by the high quality of this charger. Very nice charger!

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I finally decided to purchase the G7200 after having to jump start my battery for the 3rd time. Had an old schumacher charger that can't charge a battery below 7 volts. Purchased the G7200 because of the supply function as it will charge a battery even down to zero volts! I know there are less expensive options out there, but for the features and functions of this charger, you can't beat the price.

Buy Uniden GMR2240-2CK Water Resistant 2-Way Radios (Discontinued

Customer Ratings:

We bought two sets of these radios for a family cruise. The reception was pretty good throughout the whole ship. The only time it was static'y was if one radio was on a lower deck at one end of the ship and the other radio was on an upper deck at the opposite end. When they are outside with few obstructions, there is no static at all. We would buy them again.

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I had three motorolla radios, but two broke. I bought these over the motorolla because of the mounting loop. I used them sking, worked great (good range, sounds good), batteries lasted all day (after charging initially for 16 hours per the instructions). Having them tied off using the loop was great no worry about dropping or losing them. Super fast shipping from amazon, great deal.

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works good and very durable. but apparently battery life is bad in cold weather, which ruins why i got them (snowboarding). the meter drops to the half notch immediately even when fully charged when you hit freezing weather.

they still work though and work fine, but it becomes hit or miss. i still used them on the slopes and they lasted all day (all day on the slopes for me is just a message here and there ever half hour or so when people get split up, so no real intenstive conversations). but i have had periods where they ended up shutting off by the end of the day.

i should have known that though knowing its nimh batteries, but oh wells, so not the fault of the radio or manufacturer. sound is great, reception is great, and didn't have a problem on large mountains in high power mode.

but i guess these will become warm weather driving or hiking radios, and i will still have to pick up a set of li-ion radios for snowboarding.

-=-

Edit 1

Raising my review to 4 stars, since i used these for camping and they worked great, and realized the nimh cold battery issue wasn't the product's fault. Still a little large, and prefer smaller cobras with lithium batteries instead.

Honest reviews on Uniden GMR2240-2CK Water Resistant 2-Way Radios (Discontinued

Last year while mushroom hunting I got lost. There I was deep in the deep dark woods utterly lost with my wife and nothing on me but a knife and a bag of mushrooms. Lesson learned. This year I made sure we carried the ten essentials plus these radios. However, once we arrived after a three hour drive the first time I tried to use them one of the radios was dead. As it turns out the rechargable battery was defective it would work for a few calls then die. So, does that make the whole radio and the whole Uniden company crap? It did for me at that moment that is for sure.

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I bought 2 pair of this product about 6 months ago. Since I bought them, I have consistent problem with the walkie talkie with the battery dying on me. I thought that I needed to charged the product longer but that wasn't the problem. I recommend anyone not to buy this product due to its poor quality control for this product.

Best Fosmon® Premium Quality USB Cradle Desktop Charger Pod for Samsung Deals

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List Price: $29.99
Sale Price: $4.99
Today's Bonus: 83% Off

The LEDs on this are ridiculously bright. I had to put electrical tape over them because I was having trouble sleeping with it on my night stand. The build quality is acceptable. It seems to work okay except my phone's touchscreen sometimes doesn't respond when it's plugged in; I'm not sure yet if it's the stand or something else.

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Product was brand new and just as described. Works great! Only complaint would be with design: bright lights when charging. I keep by bedside so placed tape over lights and I'm a happy camper.

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Waited a few days for this I'm the type of smartphone owner who loves having an extra battery with him, so I bought the "Fosmon PREMIUM QUALITY Desktop Charger with Extra Battery Slot". Plugged it in, and found out you can only use either the cradle or the charging slot. Not both. Are you fing kidding me? What good is having both if you can't USE BOTH? A simple design change in this, having a slot for each charging slot would have done the trick. Who conceived of this design? I am very disappointed. Ridiculous.

Honest reviews on Fosmon® Premium Quality USB Cradle Desktop Charger Pod for Samsung

Because of the design of the base of the Nexus S, there's a little wobbling of the base, but it works fine otherwise and I can put it in the cradle and work at my desk with the bluetooth headset. Really nice. If I hadn't had to pay for the return of the wrong item, I'd be a lot happier.

Review of BatteryMINDer Solar Charging System - 12 Volt, 15 Watt Panel

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Yes, I own this Battery Minder product too! My wife thinks I am a battery freak! Maybe I am!! So far, so good, with this unit as I would expect from this company. It is quite durable. Own this unit more than 2 years. I use it for a service truck AGM (non-leaking/sealed) battery hooked to a power inverter 12 to 120 volt. I bolted the solar panel to the top of my camper shell. Then installed control unit next to my inverter inside of camper shell. Unit works well and no problems to date. Wish I could hook another panel to it though. Manufacturer says you should not connect more solar panels. But I could always use another charge controller to add on another solar panel addition. As always, monitor your battery voltage after sundown and battery has "rested" for proper state of charge. Unit came with a quick reference unit for state of voltage/charge.

Daniel

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The is a great unit. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a way to charge 12 volt batteries without power

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The order was delivered within four days of purchase. BatteryMart was the merchant, and they did a nice job packaging to prevent breakage. The solar panel works well in all light conditions, even on cloudy days. I use it to maintain the 2 deep cycle batteries on my travel trailer, as we will only use it once or twice over the winter. The hookup was very easy, with all parts clearly marked and set up nicely for install. Its keeps the batteries charged at about 12.5 volts, which is ok for batteries at rest. I wouldn't expect this product to charge the batteries if they were near dead, you would need more solar panels to put out more charge. I've checked the output of the panel with a voltmeter, and it puts out about 1.15 amps, which is a little better than the advertised 1 amp.

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Works as advertised. Use it on my RV to maintain my batteries. Easy to hook up. Almost fool proof. Very happy with the product!

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I've used it for one summer and for one winter's storage to maintain four boat batteries. In the summer, it kept the batteries at about 85% according to my regular deep cycle charger, which I routinely used to get the batteries to 100% before I went out every couple of weeks or so on a lake that allows only electric powered boats. Charging to 100% took about a half hour each time. I just took the boat out of winter outdoor storage and the batteries were at 95%. I had all four batteries connected in parallel over the winter and the charge to 100% with the regular charger again took about a half hour with a single charge to all four batteries still connected in parallel. I am very pleased.

Review of Quantum FX Wireless FM Transmitter with USB Charger

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I bought mine on groupon this was good!! We tried on android the mic didn't work I don't know if the phone was the problem but I tried on my iPhone and it was awesome!! Good buy!

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No reception at all when connected to my samsung galaxy 3 android phone, I plan to return it asap gor a refund

Go Power! GP-PSK-120 120W Portable Folding Solar Kit with 10 Amp Reviews

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List Price: $978.00
Sale Price: $543.99
Today's Bonus: 44% Off

We used this solar kit over the week end. It charge out dual 12 volt batteries in about an hour. We used it every day while camping out for three days and on the third day the batteries were down to one bar out of four and after an hour it was charged. I was suprised has fast they were charged. The carring case is heavy duty nylon with a sturdy zipper. It comes with allegator clips adapter to attach to the battery and an adapter to attach directly to the battery bolts. The adapters have a special connectors with rubber protectors to cover the ends when not in use. The adaptors are about 2 feet long. The unit folds out and has built in legs that supports itself at about a 45 degree angle. The charge controller has settings for gel, sealed and flooded batteries. It took a while to figure out how it set the controller, it has one button to cycle through the settings and the LED light is difficult to see because it is not very bright. It only has to be set once the first time it is used. The kit has a third adaptor with connectors on both ends. I cut this in half and put regular extension cord plugs on each end and used a 25 foot extension cord to extend the placement range. This unit is well made but pricey.

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First time we saw this portable kit we were sold us on the idea of an inexpensive upgrade to our outdated rooftop solar. The most painful part is: Our original Solar was 135 watts on the roof installed for $4,000.

This little portable kit from GoPower! is 120 watts with zero install and priced under $600.00!

I say "zero install" but we opted for the direct connect adaptor that came with the kit, now all we do is plug in when attaching the panel, it's nice not to worry about trying to clamp onto the batteries since the battery compartment in our RV is super tight. Installing this plug took less than a half hour, so we think it's a no brainer.

We find the main benefit for this panel is capturing the first light of the day. This way we can wake up and instantly be charging our batteries...and therefor we can start the morning coffee ritual first thing! Of course its also great for capturing the last drop of light before sunset, and for capturing additional sun during the winter when the sun sits lower on the horizon.

Things to know:

The first time I plugged in the kit the charge controller wasn't turned on, or set for my type of flodded battery. Read the instruction manual and you'll avoid this issue.

I wish the carrying case wasn't quite so fitted, sometimes I cannot zip up the case very easily.

A dream add on would be some sort of tiny attachment that would show when the panel is in full sun. My solar oven has this little plastic hole (almost like a sundial) that shows when max sun exposure is achieved.

Overall I'd recommend this portable kit to anyone who is looking to get started with solar, and for those who want to add flexibility to their current rooftop solar setup. We've been using ours for a few months now and wouldn't change a thing.

Of course once we started our solar wish list we ended up having the Go Power! (Solar Extreme) Solar and Inverter System installed as well...now we're set with way more solar than we can use...time to upgrade the battery bank!

While GoPower! gave us this portable panel for testing, our opinions and experiences are our own. It's a great panel and you can read more of our thoughts on the system on our website Gone With The Wynns.

Best Deals for Go Power! GP-PSK-120 120W Portable Folding Solar Kit with 10 Amp

I ordered these for our travel trailer we do a lot of dry camping in the north! Easy to set up and within hours (with direct sun) it has recharged our batteries from 1/2 to full (if you believe the indicator inside your trailer). Portability allows you to move the panels around to capture full sun. Wish the cable was longer but have made it work. Great substitute for the loud generator!!!

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This Solar Kit meets specs and I am pleased with the quality of this unit. Would buy from this GoPower again!

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When I took this camping for the first time the controller lights didn't work and there was no easy way to tell if the unit was charging. The maximum the voltage rose to on one new deep marine cell battery was 13.5 volts with full, bright sunlight on a 100degree day. I've had plenty of experience with solar panels, batteries, and controllers. There's no way to know if it's working properly without other meters. In fact I was drawn to this as an all-in-one unit to replace a cobbled together setup I had been using successfully for 5 years with less output. I've also built a house to run entirely on solar. Amazon won't let me return it as I used it a few days after the one month period expired even though the article says its warranted for 25 years.

Buy eForCity Vehicle Car Charger Compatible with TomTom XXL 530S 5-Inch

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So I sez to myself, "Why not buy this one?" Why not, indeed? I bought it and it works. What more do you need?

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the charger works perfectly but the cord is extremely short. it doesn't create a problem for smaller cars but is a little difficult on my suburban.

Discount Schumacher SS-15A3-OB Ship 'N Shore 15 Amps 12V Automatic On-Board

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List Price: $249.00
Sale Price: $153.23
Today's Bonus: 38% Off

Just got this charger recently so I haven't had a lot of time to evaluate it. I like the fact that it is waterproof as some other brands of marine chargers I looked at were not. The charger seems well made and works as advertised. I know some people have taken issue with the fact that the charger switches banks every 5 minutes when charging but this seems a better situation to me than a typical 15 amp, 3 bank charger that only gives each battery 5 amps max. I say this because during the initial charge the batteries will accept the full 15 amps during the five minute sequence and that should help with mixing electrolyte and desulfating the plates, while guarding against heat and boil-over. The Schumacher has true 3 stage (bulk--adsorption--float) charging and the overall charge time seems at least as fast as the typical 15 amp total, 5 amp per bank charger. All in all I am happy with this charger. I have another Schumacher that is over 30 years old and still going strong. While that kind of reliability may be an unrealistic expectation, it makes it all the more likely that this charger will end up being an outstanding value.

Schumacher SS-15A3-OB Ship 'N Shore 15 Amps 12V Automatic On-Board 3-Bank Charger

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Internal cooling fan makes god-awful noises right out of the box (lots of starting/stopping, speeding up/slowing down), which I can live with... but the evidently cheap little fan was not up to the task and died within a couple of months. Pulled it all out of the boat, sent it back under warranty, reinstalled the repaired unit, and, guess what... the same thing happened. The case never gets hot so I just ran it with the non-functioning fan. Kept all three batteries topped off OK for a couple of years.

Now I get a red indicator saying one of my batteries is bad. Removed the battery and had it checked at the parts store. Battery is fine. Swapped the charging leads among my three batteries and the charger now says ANOTHER battery is bad (the problem is with the #3 bank in the charger). Doesn't seem to be charging on the third battery now. I don't have time for this crap. I'm just going to pull it out and go with a different unit (Minn Kota maybe).

This is just a cheapo, unreliable unit. I've had several Schumacher products in the past and was pleased with them, but this one is junk.

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Product came with no problems and I ma using it to keep my Class A RV Battieries on a trickle charge. I would recommend this product to my friends without thinking twice about it.

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I highly recommend this product. Easy to install and keeps my batteries fully charged. I have had no problems with it.

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Schumacher customer service don't know much about there product cant give you much help . customer service don't understand how the product works.

Buy Kudo Solar Case with HDMI for iPad2 / iPad3 - Grey

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As an original participant through the Kickstart program, I have used both the original LilyPad and the subsequent Kudo Pad. Because I received a copy before they went public, I have had mine for several months. My original color was this light gray, although I switched to the light blue for the second generation. Both are nice colors, but the gray is more neutral.

Without the case, my normal usage on my heavily used iPad is only about 5 hours. As the pastor of three churches, my iPad IS my office, and I very much need it constantly. Prior to having the Kudo, I would have to have my iPad on a charger for much of the day.

My usage with the Kudo case varies, based on what I am doing, but it is always a minimum of 2 1/2 days. This includes about an hour of movie watching per day, and a significant number of hours doing research on the Internet, plus using Bluetooth accessories, and a few games of scrabble each day.

However, on a recent trip, I strictly used my iPad for audiobooks, about 12 hours per day. Since I didn't have WIFI, I had it on airplane mode. During the trip, it sat on the seat next to me, in the sunshine. After 2 1/2 days of travel, both iPad and case were still at 100%.

The good:

The case totally encloses the iPad. I have actually accidentally dropped my iPad on more than one occasion, and was very grateful for the case. It is a piece of armor!

The length of time it stays charged, especially when I have loads of sunshine

The fact that it charges my iPad while I use it

Very good magnetic cover works well

Made with recycled materials

If I have a cord along, I can use it to charge my iPhone.

The not so good

It is not an easy stand to deal with. OK for widescreen, not so good for reading

A bit heavy it doubles the weight of the iPad

After a few months of use, one of the legs broke

When the cover is closed, and you are using the iPad, it does not charge (or anytime it is locked)

So why do I give it five stars? Because I have found nothing better. It protects and charges my iPad without wires, and I never, ever, have to worry about it.

Every Sunday morning, I put my iPad into the case and travel to three churches keeping all of my notes in front of me. During this time I drive 80 miles and conduct services at three churches. At the end of that time my case is down by 25% and my iPad is at 100%.

While I enjoy my 5700mAh External Battery Power Bank 360 Degrees Rotating Stand Case Holder for NEW iPad, iPad 2 3G Tablet, and Ipad 3 Purple, the mere fact that it requires a cord to connect the battery in the cover to the iPad makes it a bit more difficult. Still, it is a cheaper alternative if the cord isn't an issue, and it doubles the life of my iPad. I use it at home on days when my usage is lighter, or when I want a classier look, since the Kudo is pretty basic.

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This case is great! Eliminates the need to be tethered...charges outside with sunlight or inside with lamp lighting. Highly recommend this case.

Best Deals for Kudo Solar Case with HDMI for iPad2 / iPad3 - Grey

Would have been great if it fit my 64g Anything smaller might be ok. But I have a 3rd. Gen iPad

Honest reviews on Kudo Solar Case with HDMI for iPad2 / iPad3 - Grey

I was not able to use it because it did not have correct size port for latest version of iPad. I also found it bulky and heavy.

Best Amzer Desktop Cradle with Extra Battery Charging Slot for Palm Deals

Customer Ratings:

I was EXTREMELY disappointed with this purchase!!! The cradle is apparently not a "plug and play" type of device as it was not recognized by my computer which kept asking me to install drivers (there were none included) as it indicated that it could not identify the new hardware being assigned to the USB port; therefore, I could not get the unit to synch. Also, the unit arrived in a generic looking box, with NO contact information or telephone number to call for technical support. Also, one of the reasons I opted for this unit over the original "Palm" cradle was for the second battery charger option...However, after having a battery in for an entire day, the battery indicator never changed from red to green indicating that the battery had charged!!! Needless to say, I will be sending the unit back, and ordering an orginal Palm unit.

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PRODUCT WORKS AS ADVERTIZED. NO REAL PROBLEMS. EXTRA BATTERY IS A VERY NICE FEATURE. DID NOT GET 5 STARS BECAUSE CONNECTOR TO PALM IS DIFFICULT TO MAKE AT TIMES.

Best Shorai Charge and Store Battery Management System for Lithium Iron Deals

Customer Ratings:

This definitely isn't a Battery Tender in terms of build quality. It looks more like an indoor lab instrument than something you'll want to keep in a damp garage. The connectors are definitely not ruggedized, so after you connect the short one to the Shorai battery's special plug, you end up with a very raw-looking electronic connector end hanging out of the bike that you use to connect the opposite end from the charger. It's not like the typical SAE type connector used for a Battery Tender type charger.

So for dual-sport bikes, you'll end up with a connector on the bike that will get wet and muddy really quick. Best figure out somewhere to hide it or a way to wrap it in plastic or something for protection.

Also, the connector that goes to the battery is pretty short and it plugs into the charger. So you can't really set the charger on the floor and connect it to the short connector attached to the battery in the bike. You have to put a chair or box next to the bike to hold the charger.

Bottom line is that Shorai needs to look at the common Battery Tender to get a better idea of how a garage-ruggedized charging system should be built. Not that Battery Tender is the dog's bollocks, just that the Shorai system seems a bit fragile for motorcycles and garage use.

Otherwise, it charges and maintains the Shorai battery ok. It's a bit confusing; when you turn on the charger, you can choose maintenance or charge and you press the buttons but aren't really sure about what's happening.

It's also pretty expensive for what it is and I'm not really sure it's needed because the Li-Fe battery seems to last forever and reads full voltage all the time, no matter how long the bike sits -which is the advantage of buying a Li-Fe battery in the first place. So if your bike's charging system works correctly, you probably will not need a Shorai charger for your Shorai Li-Fe battery -save your money.

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I bought this to go with the Shorai battery to discover that a normal tender will do the job... Cables are rerally short meaning the maintener has to hand on the side of the bike... expensive too!

Best Deals for Shorai Charge and Store Battery Management System for Lithium Iron

I already own Li-on/Li-Po chargers for my RC stuff, but I got this because it's plug and play and if you've already invested the over $100 in the Shorai or a similar A123 type battery, you might as well take care of it properly. I live in the Northeast, so it's necessary to keep it topped of for the winter. I have heated gear so I ride when most people don't.

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Quality product. Has two modes... One keeps the battery at a storage maintenance voltage (60% of Full) so that there is no risk of overcharging while still being able to start my bike... The other fully charges the battery. Other chargers can fry lithium batteries.

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This is a nice item to have since it balances the charge to each cell, something other smart chargers don't do. Only 2 drawbacks are:

1. Charger plug into battery is a bit flimsy and requires some protection to prevent breakage or bending the contacts.

2. Cable to from battery to the power supply is too WAY short for many applications, such as placing the power supply on your work bench while charging the battery on your bike.

If a cable extension was available, that would solve the problem, but there does not seem to be such an item.