Hitting the road this summer? Why not carry a huge battery with lots of plugs and even an air compressor that you can use in an emergency? Or maybe a little tiny recharger for your iPod or other USB-compatible devices? Or a 10-pound solar charger?
At any rate, Duracell and Xantrex have you covered. They are now selling a selection of fairly hefty chargers and emergency systems for homes and cars. Take, for example, the Duracell Powerpack 300, an 18-hour battery with jumper cables and air compressor along with two AC outlets and an LED flashlight. The entire package is about as big as a boom box and charges off of wall current when its not in use.
Then you’ve got this beast, the Powerpack Solar. It can charge multiple devices using the healing rays of the sun and weighs about 10 pounds. They also launched a few smaller chargers including the XPower PowerSource, a USB battery that can apparently charge an iPod Nano seven times.
It’s hard to get really excited about batteries, but if you’re in a brown-out or tornado area, I’d say the Powerpack 300 ($80) or the massive 600 — three AC outlets and 36 hours of power — would be a great investment. They’re available now online and in stores under the Duracell name.
With huricane season comming up, I am sure many people will find this useful in Florida. Do you happen to know what kind of battery is in this and is it replaceable? I am tired of buying a UPS every two years cuz the batteries go out.
where can you purchase online? I didn’t see a link
Quick clarification on a few items above:
The PowerPack 300EP is currently available under the XPower brand. The Duracell branded products will be available in August/September.
The life span of Xantrex’ portable and backup power products varies depending on use, but the typical life span is between 5 and 7 years. The battery used is a Sealed, non-spillable 14 amp-hour AGM battery. It is not replaceable but it can be recycled by an authorized battery recycling center, or sending the unit to Xantrex.
You can purchase the PowerPack Solar and the 300EP from various retailers from http://www.preparedwithpower.com.
In January I purchased the Xantrex xpower powersource 1800. This unit, although small in size (12″ X 18″ X 8″) and easily portable, is a BEAST ! It can power a refrigerator, let alone computers, TVs etc. It has three lead-acid batteries in a totally sealed office-looking plastic casing. Just plug it into the wall outlet to re-charge. I paid $400 for it but when the BIG ONE hits, I will have reserve power, which if used smartly, will last me a day or two or three. Now that Xantrex has teamed with Duracell, I am assuming the brand Xpower will replace the Xantrex name??