Nature Power 40050 Solar Powered PowerPak with 2 Super Bright LED Lights

I was really excited when I bought this. I was going to use it for camping cause it is so light and portable.

However I had to test it for home use before a camping trip. There is no problem at all with the 7.5W solar Panel. In fact it puts out around 18V DC. The PowerPak is well thought out with 5V USB port and two 12V socket port for small gadgets but the problem is that there is no indicator on how much charge the PowerPak holds so it is all guessing.

My first unit died on me when I overused it in a week because there is no indicator on how much charge is left. After talking to a customer service rep at Nature Power, she told me never let it fall below a certain level. Well what level? Because again there is no indicator for how much juice the PowerPak has. She said it was ok to continuously overcharge it from the solar panel.

Returned it and got a new one. This time I followed all directions given to me by the company but still it doesn't hold full charge. I charged it every day and used the light for 4-5 hours continuously. Finally after two weeks of use it only holds a fraction of the charge and only lights the two bulbs for two hours versus the 30 hours it claims on the box.

Some of the other flaws are the directions in the manual. Then the mislabeling of 6V ports which are actually 12V ports. You can tell it was interpreted wrong. Also outside the box it states the package comes with a female cigarette lighter port adapter. Unfortunately from both packages I couldn't find mine.

This is nothing more then an expensive toy that just isn't made to last.

First, there's no real manual for this product. The instructions are very simple, but there's more to this product than is described in the manual. Specifically, any kind of statement about battery life, best practices for longest lifetime, and any details about operations, as in what does it mean when the red light goes on and blinks?

It soon became clear why there's no manual. Because this product is a joke. Specifically, the battery pack. The solar panel itself seems pretty rugged. And a cluster of LEDs is pretty hard to do wrong. But the battery is a joke. After one good, long use, which probably drew down the battery all the way, there's no capacity left. If there was a metering system to keep you from running the battery down too low, what's the point? Since it only has a nominal 2.6 amp hours, and you can't (I'm guessing, since there is no meter and no specs) use more than a third or half of that, it's basically useless.

Nature Power has other products, including solar cells of higher power and adapters/converters. I've got nothing to say about those. But this product, specifically the battery back, is absolute junk.

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This could have been a really cool device especially to teach students about alternative energy. However, after two days of short-term use, the battery has not reach a full charge and has been charging for a week. Also, the usb and two light plugs are no longer working. Waste of money and can't find my receipt. Too bad it's a hoax. I liked the idea.

Read Best Reviews of Nature Power 40050 Solar Powered PowerPak with 2 Super Bright LED Lights Here

Well as mentioned in previous reviews there is no indicator for how much charge the unit have; the only two indicators one for charging and the other for on. The charging indicator does not let you know whether it is fully charge or not, just that the solar panel is sending electricity. The solar panel also have a led to tell the same. The USB port can charge a phone and will do it very slowly. Tried to use the 12v outputs for other purposes but as soon as the device detect more current disable the ports and needs to be restarted, thereby the 12 volts are only for the included lights. The instruction manual is one page with picture how to connect the panel and the lights. For the 2012 summer storm for the east coast the system was handy, without electricity for almost three day, I used for lighting the basement. The light was adequate, but I wished that the lights had some kind of hook, I used tape to attach it to the ceiling. I never tried to run it for "30" hours as claimed, I charged it at least one time during the blackout for 1-2 hours with the included solar panel, it never completely discharged. Solar panel includes several plug which can be used to charge other 12v batteries.

Final Verdict: The solar panel is very handy for changing and the light system is ok for camping and occasional blackout.

Suggestion to manufacturer: Please add a remaining and full charge indicator. Lights should have some type of hook for hanging.

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This. Item can come. In handy on. Power outages and also when camping. I love. This Item. It also charges my iPod. IPhone and. Tablet and laptop its great. It can even charge my car battery. Natures power products rock. And the price is very good I got my moneys worth. It. Even comes. With two. Hanging lights for camping

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