Reviews: Xantrex Technologies 851-0400 XPower Plus 400-Watt Inverter

from: Xantrex Technologies






Binding: Tools & Hardware
Brand: Xantrex
EAN: 0715535111359
Item Dimensions: 4001000220800
Label: Xantrex Technologies
Manufacturer: Xantrex Technologies
Model: 851-0400
MPN: 851-0400
Publisher: Xantrex Technologies
Studio: Xantrex Technologies

Features:

• 400-watt inverter for converting DC to AC power
• Power electronic gear and appliances while on the road
• Conveniently plugs into car cigarette lighter
• Automatically detects low-vehicle battery to avoid depletion
• Measures 5.9-by-4.1-by-2.2 inches; weighs 2.4 pounds; 1-year warranty

Rating: - Works great with Xbox
This inverter worked great with an Xbox (v1, haven't tried it with a 360 yet). Just plug a power strip into it if the sockets are too close together :)

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Rating: - Great bang for the buck!
This came in real handy on a road trip to Dallas, kept the laptop running without any problems watching several DVD's. The cooling fan can be heard if you have the music down but not enough to bother me. The fan cycles on and off depending on load and cooling needs.

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Rating: - Great to power laptop, speakers. Outlets are too close together.
Purchased this for a trip from NJ out to Pittsburgh, then on to Chicago and back. We have 2 children we were going to purchase DVD players for, but I decided to use my IBM Lenovo Thinkpad from work to let them watch from the back seat of the car. Problem was that the battery would only last about 2 hours or so and the sound out of the laptop was non-existant with the road noise. Enter this beauty!

I was able to power both the laptop and a set of external speakers. Imagine the kids wanting to get into the car because watching movies in the car was a novelty. Not one single time did we hear "Are we there yet?". 6+ hours to Pitt, then 7+ hours onto Chi. 13+ hours back. I was even able to recharge my blackberry from the other outlet (albeit with an extension cord attached)

Only two issues. I have a Sirius radio and there was a lot of interference with the inverter turned on. The laptop and the speakers were ok, just could not stand the static this caused with the Sirius radio.

Second issue is that the outlets are placed too close together. If your plugs have an girth, don't expect to get them both in. I purchased a very short extension cord so I could gain access to more outlets.

Overall, VERY GOOD PRODUCT! Would purchase again, no buyers remorse here.

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Rating: - Does the job
Have used the inverter on a couple 2-hour trips. Ran a Dell laptop and video game chargers off it the whole time with no problems. Only possible issue is a whine introduced into the car stereo (aux input) from a laptop running off the inverter. In other words, I was running the laptop off the inverter and plugged the laptop's headphone output into the car stereo's auxiliary input and there was a noticeable whine coming out of the speakers. It didn't affect the operation of the stereo, laptop or inverter, and the inverter still works fine. The only other note is that running the inverter with the car engine off causes the inverter fan to run at full speed, which is rather loud. The inverter fan does not normally come on when the car engine is running.

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Rating: - Best value most power
For under $30, you can't beat this little unit for powering laptops, small DVD players, and children's games. They could have put the power outlets further apart. That's our only gripe. Great little unit. Well made.

Xantrex Technologies 851-0400 XPower Plus 400-Watt Inverter Reviews

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