Handy item

Pros - Well built and durable. Like the display that shows the wattage being used and amount of power left in battery. Also like the maintenance charge ability. I can keep the battery plugged in and then its ready to use when needed. Runs my 32 inch TV, DVD player and 100 watt stereo amp with surround sound for more than an hour.

Cons - Wish it also came with an air compressor (I know, what about the kitchen sink!)

Durable and easy to use

Tried this out on a camping trip to run a CPAP machine used to treat sleep apnea. It lasted almost three nights without using the heated humidifier. The directions were easy to understand and it came with a bag that holds AC and DC chargers as well as battery jumper cables. The product seems to be well built and durable. I wish it charged more quickly, but we are very satisfied with the product. Have ordered a small generator to recharge the battery during the day for extended camping trips.

power

The Duracell power pack was a great buy. the power pack was great on our camping trip. Several people at our campsite love it and stop and asked where i had bought it. The price was great and it was worth it. while camping i was able to power regular size CD home sterio and a electrical air pump to inflate an air matress at the same time without any power loss.the radio worked the emergency light was brite. make sure you re charge after each use for longer power source if you are camping.

It works fine. And you can add external capacity easily

Tried it a few times in the few weeks I've had it and found it to be terrific. I have a few of the smaller Black and Decker (10 and 20 VA) powered inverter modules that were clearanced for $10 at our neighborhood Home store that got me curious about this thing. Heck no, it's not a generator, and yeah, it's basically a flashlight about the size and weight of a cinder block, but the combination of radio, flashlight, clock and THREE 120 outlets would certainly be handy in a blackout. The Mfr recommends leaving it plugged in (charged by a little wall-wart transformer) all the time to keep the battery topped off.

Did somebody really say they wished the LCD clock could be turned off to save power? Nah, even an AGM battery will discharge with no draw at all WAY more than that little clock would - the difference has to be insignificant. And far outweighed by the convenience of having the clock stay set.

Now how about some superbright LED's in the handle? Now those could be normally-on so you could find it in the dark, but switched so the light wouldn't bother you if you were sleeping near it or something like that. They say the built-in 5-watt flashlight will run FIFTY hours straight on a full charge, so I'd guess that a few 20,000 mcd LED's would draw 5 ma each, and the unit would last for months (maybe years) between recharges. Of course, an AGM battery shouldn't be stored discharged (thus the directions say to leave it plugged in with the little charger going all the time) but if one stayed lit while it was charging, you could find it, and if the power went out, the bank could go on full by default and actually light up the area around the unit.

A good backup

This battery pack is no substitute for a generator, but is certainly a great backup. Rather than start up a generator to power a drill or a television, you can simply utilize this relatively light powerpack to run low power devices. We're definitely going to purchase a second one!

The internal light is powerful, and the internal radio is convenient. It's only an extra benefit that it can be used to jumpstart a vehicle. We're going to pick up some solar trickle chargers and use this as a small solar system in the house.

Good machine

Well the first one of these that amazon sent to me died in two days. The charging light refused to go out until the unit was fully charge even if the unit was unplugged, also the reading on the digital readout of wattage was vastly incorrect.
After receiving my second unit from amazon it works as described and I've found that this is mainly designed for light duty applications. Even though it sounds very powerful since it's able to run a device that is 600 watts and all. If you really desire to power something that powerful get a generator or something that holds more juice than this. For the most part I just use this to charge other batteries ie cell phones, laptop, and rechargeable batteries. I charge this machine on a solar panel about twice a week or so. 30 Watt Mono-crystalline Portable Briefcase Solar Panel 12V Charger - temper proof glass
It takes 3 to 4 hours to charge through the DC input on a perfectly sunny day, which could easily give you to time to charge cell phones and laptops and not have to use this machine till the evening.

Solar Power Generator

I'm using a 15 watt solar panel to keep the Powerpack 600 charged. I use it to charge pdas, cell phones, video games. I have also used it for portable power on fans,lights, TVs, and laptops. Will not power frigs and large power hunger items. I purchased the Powerpack 600 to see if it would charge from a solar panel and it charges from sun-up to sun-down. HEY,I'm a little greener than I once was!

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.

worked very well for a unique need

I purchased this unit with the hopes of running my laptop and a small photo printer at outdoor art and craft festivals ( of which I am a vendor)Often electricity is not available and many vendors use large generators. My needs were smaller then those vendors and I noticed a friend who kept something like this in their car and thought maybe this could work for me..well..it did! it was so easy to carry to my both and very tiny and quite and sat under a folding table powering the laptop and photoprinter for 6 hours. I was very pleased that this met my needs so inexpensively and unobtrusively! Im extremely happy with my purchase and while I too noticed that one of the displays didnt work , other than that it was all it advertised to be.

Serves a purpose in a pinch

The Duracell DPP-600HD Powerpack does serve several uses - some of which it performs above all expectations. However, it is important to remember that it is essentially a giant battery and NOT a generator.

One of my complaints is that the unit has a built in monitoring device that provides feedback on the amount of remaining power in the battery. Unfortunately, that feature did not work on mine. I am not sure if my unit is defective... but the display console is essentially useless.

PROS-

- Will power a cordless phone, modem and router for about 8 hours. We have our phone service through the internet - so when our power is out we lose everything.
- It can charge your car battery... in a pinch. I haven't tried it yet, but I am sure that if your car battery wasn't all the way dead the Duracell Powerpack could get you going!
- Nice built in flash light and radio. Not of huge use - but in the dark they are nice to have.
- Surge protector on the unit - things that pull too much juice will not even come on (like my wife's hair dryer)

Cons-

- VERY HEAVY - I haven't weighed it but the Duracell Powerpack probably tips the scale at about 25-30lbs. Any many cases it would be too heavy for a women or the elderly.
- It is severely limited in the number of amps that you can pull. Again, my wife's hair dryer pulled to many amos - and therefore - would not come on. This severely restricts its use during a power outage. As a rule of thumb only low powered appliances can be plugged in.


At the end of the day - for the cost - you could throw in a little more money and buy a generator. While the Duracell Powerpack is silent and does not produces any dangerous fumes it is limited in what you can operate. My recommendation - nice to have in an emergency - but it is not a cure-all if you happen to be out of power. 4 stars.

Good for my intended purpose

Bought this for extended camping trips. We frequently find ourselves at events that require camping out, and with limited or no electrical. I wanted something that could supply power to our wide variety of gadgets that we typically need as a modern family.

Put the Powerpack to the test on a full week trip recently. Through the whole week, it was used for a number of purposes. Including, recharging cell phones, camera batteries, various media devices. It also was used to power a compressor to air up 3 different air mattress (including a queen), and refill them as needed. It also ran a hair straightener and blow dryer a few times. And it was used to run a breathing treatment machine for a friends asthma at least once a day. Might have been used for other things.

The results. The Powerpack lasted through day 5 of a 7 day trip, but we had brought along a lawn battery to attach as a backup. It was simple to setup, and the provided the power we needed for the last 2 days. The main battery lasted about as long as I thought it would, so I was satisified throughout.

The reasons why it didn't get 5 stars. Two reasons, and both kinda minor. One, no way to turn off the clock. I know its not much of a drain on a battery this size, but I would prefer to maximize my usuage. And two, the power meter is no super accurate. It showed 90% power on Day 4, 70% power on day 5, only to be out of power come the morning of day 6.

To be fair though, a few things where plugged into it overnight from day 5 to 6. Those items where low power or turned off. So its hard to say if they caused the drain. Maybe if they hadn't been plugged in, the main battery would have lasted all week.

Overall, very happy with the purchase.