Xantrex Powerpack 600 Just a couple of points

I pretty much agree with Rex Kullmans' review,
but i have a few things to mention.

While i think that removing the compressor
and adding a radio, was a good move for the
600 W unit, the clock radio itself does
not have lightable controls & station
indicator, to turn on/off.

Also, while i don't mind that the sound
quality isn't all that great from the
speaker, i really think that they should
have included a headphone jack, as to me,
as a 'power outage survival tool', i would
like to listen to the radio, without
disturbing anyone else who may be sleeping.

And a third point: That LOW BATT Alarm...is
extremely LOUD. And in certain circumstances,
i can see why this would be a good thng. But
since the unit will shut down automatically,
10 minutes later, i think that it would be
a much better unit, if the alarm volume were
controllable, or at least, that it could be
turned off, so as not to jar people awake,
who are using it to run something overnight,
like a fan, or mini TV.

Hopefully they will correct these things on
future models. I will continue to use
my pocket radio instead of the one on the
600HD, and consider the non-use of the radio,
as just more power to run my little 7" Holmes
Clip Fan, while the power is off, or
more power for my little 9" TV.

I've got a 300W, a 400W and now a 600W unit, that
can get me through a few hours power outage.
(Depending on how many things i try to run
with them) I am looking at getting the 1500W
unit to run my fridge for a 4 or 5 hour
outage, which means i could keep my food
good for up to 6 or so hrs, on battery packs
alone too. But i am concerned with all the
reports of 1500W units arriving in damaged
conditions. Perhaps if there is news that
they've solved the problems regarding the
1500W units it'll be back on my wish list.

I know someone who has one to run a piece of
medical equipment that he *needs* to be able
to breathe while sleeping, and he uses Xantrex
units as his "electrical lifeline" during
power outages. He used his car to recharge
his units during an ice storm outage...
It was a pain to run them out to the car
to charge them back up, but at least he
was able to survive without having to go
to a Red Cross Shelter, or be evacuated.

I've read of a person who described how
he had hooked his 1500W unit up to a
second battery, (a 100 Amp hr battery),
and said that he was able to stay
"powered up" for "several days". Now
i've read in the instruction manuals
that this could be done, but the Xantrex
manuals aren't really all that helpful
if decribing how to do this, and if,
when the power comes back on, will the
inverter recharge the second battery as
well? I would think that Xantrex would
not only want their customers to know
how to easily "build" a "battery bank",
to extend the power availiable to them,
but want to sell them the equipment to do
so.

To sum up. The Xantrex units i've had,
have held me in good stead, but they
really aren't for more than basic small
power usages, for matters of hours, rather
than days. If you're looking for something
that will give you more than "eke-ing by"
power, for a few hours, or an "overnight"
power outage...get a generator.

My Recommendation:(the one i'd buy if i
could afford it: the Yamaha 2800(I) W
generator. It's worth a look, at least.