I used the battery clips to get power from my car battery.

I recommend X-Power 400 for any regular household use. If you are planning to operate power tools, I suggest get the 700 or above.

This 400 is smart, small in size packed with all the energy to keep your entertainment rolling without any interrruption. My original intention to use my Laptop on my roadtrips, but this proved to be much more useful than just powering the laptop.

X-Power 400 User.

101 of 106 found the following review helpful:

Don't buy this if you are planning to use for cordless tool charging  Jun 03, 2006
By Vermont Woodworker
This item works as advertised, but it is a modified sine wave inverter. If you are planning on using it to charge cordless tool batteries---don't. The owners manual contains a caution about using with cordless tool chargers (such as Dewalt). Do a quick Internet search on "cordless tools" and "modified sine wave inverter" to confirm whether your tool is effected. Some other items that may not work well are appliances with clocks, microwaves, etc. Be sure you understand the limitations of a modified sine wave inverter.
For those smaller appliances that will run on modified sine wave, this item works well.

78 of 82 found the following review helpful:

Get the 700 watter  Oct 24, 2005
By Kevin Garrett
Real nice unit, but I wish I had bought the Xantrex 700 watt unit instead. For instance, I have a small auto vacuum that need 6 amps. This unit won't handle it. This unit can attach to the cigarette lighter or directly to the battery. The 700 watt unit skips the lighter input -- fine with me but maybe not with you. If you need lighter input then get the 400 watt unit. I will say that the inverter is well built and designed. I like the fact that the power input leads are attached via screw posts. This lets you modify it as needed, for instance if you needed longer leads, you could make your own and not have to kludge it.

60 of 63 found the following review helpful:

Very useful  Nov 16, 2003

We bought this power inverter to power our daughters nebulizer and a t.v. and playstation for the kids on road trips. The only problem we had with it is when your using over 150 watts power you are supposed to hardwire it. That requires additional wiring. Other than that it is an excellent product at an excellent price!!!

31 of 31 found the following review helpful:

Positively Power  May 30, 2008
By A Mother's Logic
I purchased the Xantrex 400 Watt Inverter. We also have the 700 Watt. I bought the 400 for $28, including shipping, on Amazon. Great deal. My husband gets 40-60% off at a distributor, and the $28 beat his best.

My husband wanted me to get a 700, and he would hardwire it to my car battery as he did his, but I didn't want to. I wanted portability. I needed an inverter so that when I go to our storage room, which acts as my stock facility (I sell on Amazon and eBay) I could plug it into any one of the several cig lighters I have throughout my large and long Expedition. Location of it plays a big part in its convenience for me. I just plug in my computer, recharge my cameras batteries, recharge my iPod and phone, and plug in a lamp if needed. I liked the fact that I could just plug it into any car, hardwired I could not do that. This unit is completely portable. I am an avid tent camper, and we also enjoy boating, so portability is a major plus. Nothing like camping in the great outdoors, but still being able to watch a movie while snuggled up in the tent. With this, I run an extension cord into my tent, and I have DVD and a lamp or fan if needed.

I live in south Florida. I am no stranger to hurricanes and their adverse effects. A portable inverter helps with power outages, and recharging all of life's modern conveniences making the sting of losing power for 3 weeks just that much easier. With this little beauty, I can directly clip my inverter onto my battery, as if hardwired, and it provides higher wattage or amperage, whichever you call it. When it is plugged into the cig lighter, it can only provide what that specific outlet was set up to deliver, which I think is 100 on almost every car model out there. Directly hooked on the battery, it gets close to 400. Why they call it a 400 and not a 380 or whatever the max wattage is is beyond me, but all the inverters are set up like that. Go figure. Must have been a man's grand design. Kidding, but you have to admit, guys just measure things differently. Double entendre intended.

At any rate, if you find it at a good price and you care about portability, this is a great unit. I have no issues with it. It is not noisy. I never even hear the fan!

I no longer have to purchase a new car charger for my cell phone when I have upgraded. With this, I just use the wall plug in my car. For that alone, it justifies the price. Two car chargers are more than the price of this unit.

My package included the unit and two sets of fairly long cables. One cable is for plugging into the cig lighter, the other is a nicely made cable that clamps directly onto your car's battery, the clamps are much smaller than jumper cables, but seem to be equally sufficient.

This unit is versatile, portable and an all around good purchase. Every car should have one.

Best wishes.

See all 137 customer reviews on Amazon.com