Home Improvement Product Reviews

I manage a field team and have to have my office in the truck. I used to try to have 12 volt adapters for all my gadgets. 12 volt chargers are not usually smart chargers so if you leave your device plugged in beyond the battery’s capacity it begins to cook and destroy its ability to hold a charge. Mobile device batteries are expensive, so you don’t want to be replacing them unnecessarily. The 110 volt chargers are called smart chargers because they sense when the battery is at peak capacity and dials back to a maintenance level of input. At first I thought a converter would be too bulky but they can rest under a seat nicely or in my case under the drink tray. So there they are, all my adapters all plugged into two power strips with just the device end of the cords sticking up ready for easy access. The printer and laptop plugged into one power strip and everything else plugged into the other power strip. This way I can flip the rocker switch on the power strip not in use disconnecting it and its resident adapters while the other adapters are happily doing their jobs and avoid scuffling around on the floor of the truck trying to plug in the charger I need at the moment. (If you are going to be powering multiple adapters at once, you’ll need to pay attention to the total wattage being used.) The added convenience of being able to plug in any transportable household appliance is just icing on the cake. Coffee anyone? (Don’t be trying to power a 1000 watt microwave oven. Its an alternative power source for MOBILE battery powered products.) That said, it handles my printer and laptop simultaneously without stressing its capacity. With the Panasonic Toughbook CF29 laptop plugged in alone, the cooling fan doesn’t even kick on in the inverter.
Note: The instruction book (yes I actually read them) said you shouldn’t leave the converter plugged into your power port unattended as it can drain the car’s battery even when the converter is turned off. From experience, I can tell you it only takes about an hour or a little more to deplete my truck’s battery if the engine isn’t running while this unit is powering my laptop, so…

I originally bought this item to power my laptop or any cellphones on long trips. i could have bought the 200w version or a cheaper power inverter, but i got the 400w as i always like to prepare for the unexpected, and it turns out i can watch a dvd on a nice TV in the trunk of my suv when i go BBQ.
Pros:- the blue aluminum outer case provides a great heat dispersion medium, you can tell, touch it after its been running for 5-10 mins
-it isnt too loud with the fan on
- it HAS a fan
- shuts off when car battery is too low
- and the most important: provides alot of power for most application needs.
Cons: -a bit bulky, however, i was able to stash it under the trunk storage
- a little more expensive too but you get what you pay for.
ALSO!!! becareful when using with your cig adpater, as it will probably burn your fuse. If you are hooking high amp appliances, connect directly to the battery.
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update: Oct. 9, 2010
After a while of using this, i still continue to like it more and more, it has yet to fail me, and provides energy to quite the array of power draining devices i have. You will NOT regret this, i come up with new ways to utilize this all the time, ever play mini portable air hockey on a camping trip?

I have multiple inverters to power laptops, camera and other electronic equipment. This PowerBright PW400-12 was purchased at the same time as the Stanley PC509 500W.
The PW400-12 looks good and is quite heavy. The weight is a good thing, generally, as it usually indicates some higher quality components. Under load (i.e., driving two dual-core laptops) it performed well. The unit got quite warm, but the fan was not audible over the sound of the engine.
Though I am very pleased with the unit overall, there are a few wishlist items though:
1) The spacing of the sockets is just a hair closer than I need to insert two ‘wall wart’ power supplies or a charging unit for a Canon DSLR camera. I carry a power strip with me as a workaround.
2) No USB charger is available. Many cameras and other electronic equipment can be charged via USB. I carry around a USB hub that conveniently charges multiple devices when powered from my laptop. A built in USB plug would be very useful.
Also note that the full 400W capability of this unit cannot be driven by the cigarette lighter. These plugs are typically 100W-120W. Cables are provided for attaching directly to the battery terminals. I did not need the higher wattage and did not test. If you don’t anticipate needing the full 400W (800W peak) then you can save some money by going to a lower rated unit.