I purchased this to have as an emergency power source in the event of extended power outages. Living in Oregon, I am primarily concerned with the possibility of a large earthquake (see Cascadia Subduction Zone), which could mean we would be without mains electrical power for a period of days or weeks. I would like to be able to keep small electrical gadgets like smart phones charged, as I have heard that the wireless cell network is often brought back up before the rest of the electrical grid. I would not be using this with high-draw appliances, I just want to be able to keep the small stuff charged up over a longer period of time. Although I am somewhat technical (a computer programmer), I came into this not knowing much at all about batteries and the like. So with that in mind, here are my initial impressions, along with some ideas for a more modular alternative setup.
Duracell has replaced the radio which earlier reviews talked about in the back of the unit with two USB charging ports. Some of the video reviews I saw online prior to purchase mentioned these ports, but didn't actually show them, so it was a relief to actually find them given my desire for charging small devices. I'm glad that Duracell apparently decided to get rid of the little radio and clock those are things that I would much rather just keep separately.
The unit is quite heavy, but the handle is comfortable and this makes it easy to move around at least within a house. The build quality is only so-so the main panel consists of a plastic sheet that is stuck down with glue, and my panel is already coming unstuck in places. I pressed it back down and it seemed to stay. Minor cosmetic issue.
When charging for the first time, the manual says to do it for at least 35 hours. During charging, the green light on the front panel blinks. This light changes to solid green when charged; it did this for me after about 6 hours, but I still left it charging for the full 35 hours just to be on the safe side I didn't want to ruin the battery by trying to use it prematurely, especially if it had been sitting around in a warehouse for a while.
When you use the unit for power, you have to be sure to first unplug the charging lead, otherwise this can apparently cause damage to the transformer. Just to see how long it would last, I tried plugging in a 100W incandescent light while we were watching TV in the evening (the light was the only thing plugged into the Duracell). Unfortunately I didn't note the exact run time before the alarm sounded, but it was somewhere between 1 and 2 hours, I think. I immediately unplugged the light and put the unit back on the charger. This was around 9pm; this time it didn't stop flashing until mid-afternoon the next day. So that gives you some idea of how long it can run a simple light, and how long it takes to recover afterwards. To be honest, I wasn't overly impressed I know 100 watts is a bright bulb, but somehow I've never thought of light bulbs as actually taking up that much power (I am no electrical engineer, so my opinion doesn't mean all that much I'm just talking about perception here). I also would have hoped that the thing would have recharged faster than it did, but it is what it is.
After a little more research, I noticed that people were saying that the battery inside the Duracell is not "deep cycle", which means it's not made for being repeatedly discharged using most of its capacity. Apparently if you discharge this Duracell too much then it can permanently damage the battery. Also, the internal battery is not that easy to replace perhaps it can be, but it's not clear how. So, this got me thinking about a more modular approach. I like modular, because it allows you more flexibility in choosing parts, and also you can replace each part if it should go bad. So I started looking at deep cycle batteries, and inverters (for getting power out of the 12V battery at 120V or for USB charging). I was looking for the highest capacity batteries, i.e. which have the highest aH number (I believe this is "amp hours"). I eventually settled on the Optima Yellowtop batteries, since they are deep cycle (as opposed to the Red Top, which are starter batteries, not made for extended discharge). Specifically this one: Optima Batteries 8051-160 D31A YellowTop Dual Purpose Battery, seems to have the highest aH rating amongst the Optima range. at 75 aH (vs 26 aH for the Duracell), and it's deep cycle, and made for vehicles which have a lot of extra electronics.
Then there's the issue of how to charge the battery. This one is a no-brainer, Optima also makes a charger: Optima 150-34178 Digital 1200 Battery Charger. I have this now and it seems to be very nice I'll post a separate review, but suffice to say I like it so far.
Next is getting power out of the battery in the voltages that are needed for everyday appliances. I did this in two stages: First, a 12V adaptor socket with clamps for attaching to the battery posts: Roadpro 12V Battery Clip-On and Cigarette Lighter Adapter (this lets you plug in anything that you could plug into the "cigarette lighter" socket in a car e.g. a car USB charger would be able to charge smartphones etc). Next, an inverter (to convert the 12V DC to 120V AC power) e.g. Samlex America PST30S12A 300W Pure Sine Wave Inverter. These things are obviously also useful everyday in the car for charging gadgets, laptops and so on. Incidentally, you might want to do some research on, or at least be aware of the difference between modified sine wave (MSW) and pure sine wave (PSW) inverters this affects the quality of the AC current being produced by the 120V outlets. The inverter in this Duracell is, I'm pretty sure, MSW. I also have the Samlex PST30 that I linked to above, which is PSW, and just out of curiosity I tried running a Wahl shaver first through the regular AC socket on the Duracell, and then through the Samlex, which was plugged directly into the 12V socket on the Duracell (so, both tests are using the same battery, just different inverters). There was a noticeable difference in the sound of the shaver between the two sources. It sounded more subdued and quieter on the Duracell's MSW inverter, and much stronger and maybe faster on the Samlex. Apparently many devices don't mind what they are plugged into, or at least they can tolerate the non-optimal AC produced by MSW inverters, but some devices may be affected by it (e.g. you might experience heating up of transformers, or buzzing, or different performance as in the case of my shaver). Just something to be aware of PSW is definitely more expensive, but as the name suggests, the sine wave produced is more, well, pure. So if you have sensitive equipment then you should look at the PSW possibilities. Note that you can use the PSW in combination with the Duracell, just as I did here simply plug it into the 12V socket and you are using the battery directly.
I have built a small wooden enclosure to put around the Optima YellowTop battery while it is being charged, so that I can keep it inside the house (we have cats and I don't want them to be able to mess with it). I choose to keep it inside the house, rather than out in the garage, for two reasons: First, it seems that batteries are quite sensitive to getting too cold or too hot, so I want to maximize its useful life. Second, these AGM (absorbed glass mat) batteries are sealed, and so there isn't any danger of harmful fumes coming into the room. I wouldn't do this with regular lead acid batteries you need to be careful! I think it's ok with the AGM, though after all, this Duracell unit which is the main subject of this review uses an AGM battery, and it's clearly meant for use inside the house.
So anyway there you have it a much more modular, and probably much higher capacity alternative. The downside is that it is more expensive (at least initially), due to having to purchase the separate battery, charger, adaptor and inverter. But then you can replace the battery whenever you need to, or even have multiple batteries standing by. It's just much more flexible. Also, I have to say that I get a lot more confidence from the Optima 1200 charger than I do from the Duracell, due to the fact that it seems to be much more advanced in terms of multistage/maintenance charging. The Optima 1200 also does an automatic 3 hour maintenance cycle on the battery every 30 days, which helps keep it desulfated (an issue with AGM batteries).
I would say that the Duracell 600 is still worthwhile if what you want/need is an all-in-one package that works out of the box and can be easily transported. My modular solution is definitely not so portable, but remember that I got this primarily for use in the home, not taking on the road. I am still glad I got the Duracell, because I think its transportability will no doubt come in useful in ways I can't imagine right now e.g. on car journeys, camping or whatever. It's a very handy little thing to have around. I will leave it inside the house, not in the trunk of the car, though (again extreme heat and cold kills these things), and I leave it constantly plugged in so it can trickle charge the battery.
I'll also mention some other options which I have been learning about since I first wrote this review: As I said initially, I was primarily interested in keeping small gadgets charged up in the event of a power outage. There are alternatives that may be more appropriate for that specific purpose than either this Duracell or the Optima battery setup I outlined above. For example, the Anker Astro3E 10000mAh Dual 5V 3A USB Output External Battery Pack Charger for Smart Phones, Android Phones is a very nice battery pack that is about the same size as my Samsung Galaxy S3, and it will keep it topped off for a few days at least. One thing worth noting here: The 10,000 mAh of the Anker is equivalent to 10 Ah, and the Duracell's battery is 26 Ah, so three of the Anker battery packs would theoretically have more total capacity than the Duracell... and at about $40 for the Anker vs $150 for the Duracell, even three Ankers would both cost less, and take up less space. So if you're primarily interested in keeping USB devices going during outages, then it would seem there are better options out there than this Duracell. However obviously if you need the inverter (to run devices with regular electrical plugs) then the Anker can't do that.
Then there are new, small, efficient solar chargers that have recently come on the market which are much more effective that the previous generation. For example, the Solar Joos Orange Portable Solar Charger is really nice (I have it), and the Instapark 10 Watt Solar Panel Portable Solar Charger with Dual USB Ports for iPhone, iPad & all other USB Compatible Devices is another one that I am trying out. You can also of course get a larger solar panel for charging up the Optima battery, e.g. Instapark® NEW All Black 50W Mono-crystalline Solar Panel (you also need a charge controller, e.g. Sunforce 60031 10 Amp Digital Charge Controller to hook it up to your battery). The point is, if you think about what it is you actually want to keep charged up, then there may well be better, more compact solutions than this Duracell. I also like the idea that the little solar chargers can be used indefinitely even in the event of a power outage that lasts for an extended period as long as the sun is shining, you'll be able to charge. Just something to think about.
Hope this will be useful to somebody, I think it's a very interesting problem to think about how you might be able to keep all your little gadgets charged up in the event of a big disaster. Knowing how all the parts fit together (battery, charger, inverter etc) can be helpful in knowing what you're looking at when evaluating products like this Duracell.
I bought this powerpack over five years ago and it still works fine. I have used it several times a year during short power
outages to run my laptop, internet modem, portable 9 inch TV and a small lamp with a low wattage bulb. I used it once to jump
start my car. I felt like I needed to have three hands, because I needed one to plug in the jumper cable to the powerpack and
two hands to keep the red and black wires seporated so they wouldn't spark. It made me nervous. I like that it is expandable by connecting another 12 volt battery. There is also an option to charge via solar panel, all though I don't want to spend $250 for a solar panel when I only use the power pack for short periods of time. If you want to go camping, it might make sense to get the solar panel.
One time when there was a power outage, I turned on the built in lantern and put the pack next to the bathroom door so I
could see to take a shower. I guess the steam from the shower got into the AC outlets and that part stopped working for
several days. Eventually the outlets dried out enough and they started working again.
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I bought this as a power failure backup for my CPAP. I found it was good for 2 nights of use (without using the humidifier).
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First of all let me say Amazon was great in the process However Duracell and DuracellDirect were not.
I purchased the product and it came packaged very well from Amazon. I charged it for a couple of weeks before I used it. I was using it at a trade show to power my laptop via the AC plug. The first day it worked like a charm. Charged it overnight and the next day no AC power. The unit showed a full charge but no AC Power. Called Duracell many times that morning and was put on perpetual hold or cut off. Horrible customer service by both Duracell and DuracellDirect. When I finally got ahold of Duracell Direct the service Tech said it was probably a bad inverter. Called Amazon and they were very good at refunding my money but they do not take it back as it is classified as dangerous to ship (although it was shipped by them TO me). Although I'm glad I'm getting a refund but what I really wanted was AC power at the trade show.
Would like to get it fixed for future use, but it looks like I'm stuck with a BOAT ANCHOR.
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After 1 year the pack quit charging, no green light. The AC charger (transformer) is the problem. A 12V charger is an ok replacement with the correct connector. Mine has two pins and doesn't work one way. A 10.5V 13.5V charger can be used to replace the transformer. Leave it plugged in to a AC outlet or it does discharge quickly. FYI just in case.
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