Thursday, August 20, 2009

It is NOT SAFE to leave this unit in your car trunk

An important item that the marketing materials leave out is that this unit must not be used or stored above 104 degrees Fahrenheit. There is a warning in the owners' manual about this. I contacted the manufacturer by email and asked if it was OK to store the unit in the trunk of a vehicle, which could get up to 150 degrees or so in the summer sun, as long as you let it cool down below 104 degrees before using it. The representative checked with their engineering department and responded to me that it is not safe to do so. Seems you can't allow the unit to get below 32 degrees Fahrenheit either, according to the manual. So much for leaving the unit in your car as an emergency backup.

Another thing that is not mentioned is that the AC outlets provide power that is a "simulated sine wave;" simply stated, this means it is not as "clean" as power from a regular AC outlet. Therefore, I would not recommend that expensive computers and other electronic equipment be plugged into the AC outlet. Use the 12V DC "cigarette lighter" outlet for this type of equipment, using the appropriate adapter for your cell phone or computer, and it is perfectly fine.

Otherwise, generally speaking, a good unit to have around, in your climate controlled garage, in case the power fails.

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