ExpertPower Alpha 400 444Wh Lithium Polymer Powered Portable Generator with 400W Inverter, 12V Car Socket, USB Socket and More for Camping and Emergency Use Portable Power Station

I needed a solar generator for going camping with a CPAP. I did an immense amount of research before buying this generator. I was even considering building my own solar generator. Several videos and how-to are available on the internet. But I feared of running out of time to create my own custom built before my next camping trip. So I settled for the Alpha 400. The unit is very well built and is of high quality. Nothing flimsy or cheap here. I'm very pleased with the overall finish. I also bought an "All Powers 80w foldable solar panel" to go with it and it works very well. Once fully charged I tested a 5v USB fan (6" blades) for 12-13h straight and it took a bit over 20% of the battery (4/5 power indicator). But I was surprised when the next night I tried my Philips Dreamstation Auto CPAP (without heating hose and humidity function). NOTE: I used the manufacturer's 12v DC cord and not the regular AC wall socket adapter to avoid unnecessary power conversion loss. Without prior recharging the unit, the power indicator didn't change. The next night I then tried my CPAP but this time using the heated hose and humidifier. The power indicator still didn't budge! (4/5 leds.) I only have mild/moderate sleep apnea but it's still very impressive in my book. I tried running an "Empty" Vitamix Blender full speed and it worked...The 400w pure sinewave inverter is powerful enough for my needs. My next test will be to plug in my Hobby charger (icharger 306b) and recharge my lipo batteries in the field with it. I first needed to purchase an adapter in order to connect the charger to the rear cigarette lighter port.The unit came with very good packaging and with a hand written note from the staff !! Who takes the time to do that these days? Sure, I had spoken to the people at Expert Power before through emails and their live chat service. But each time they were very polite, prompt and eager to help me make an informed purchase. Unfortunately the package didn't include any user instructions. But note that you can at least download the user's manual on their website. (expertpower.us)What I would have liked is to have a better feedback for the remaining capacity instead of the oversimplified 5 leds design. The amount of electric current input (solar) and output (draw of connected devices) would also have been useful to estimate the remaining capacity. But overall very satisfied with my purchase. Easy to use and powerful enough for my needs.

I looked at a lot of these and I tried a cheaper different model and returned it for not working. I then looked for a higher quality and higher output model and went with this one. I am very happy with this unit. It is higher quality build, nice aluminum body. The inverter works flawlessly and I've tried it on lamps, laptops, electric razors, even my high speed blender for short bursts. No problem. I've charged many things and the battery has not even moved off 80% where it started from the factory. Lithium Polymer is a little safer in my opinion than lithium ion and perfect for my vehicle. I've got a Renogy 100 W solar suitcase panel which will recharge this. The built in MPPT controller is a nice touch. I wanted something that can run at 12V, 10 amps for my Dometic fridge and also had an AC inverter with reasonable battery life. This fits the bill perfectly for the size and price.

Lots to like, but I have one BIG gripe.The DC connections: There is no 12v DC output, there are several 11.2v outputs which will decline in voltage as you use the battery.100% = 11.2v75% = 9.9vI can't ready anything further than this because I don't have anything that will operate with under 10 volts. Thus I only get a 100wh battery at best using DC (the most efficient way to use a dc battery). Sort of defeats the purpose of buying something this expensive.But there many reasons to like this:The AC works very well, and I can run a mini fridge/freezer all night while waiting for the sun to come up, or an electric (small) string trimmer for about an hour. I sucks that I have to use the inverter to get AC out of it, then a converter to switch it back to DC to use it, but it does so just fine without any voltage drops all the way to below 25%. I'd estimate that the 444wh advertised is quite accurate.Built in solar charge controller works great too, had no trouble directly plugging in either a single panel or a paralleled pair.Totally silent, charges on AC or DC in about 6 hrs, on 200w of solar in about the same (depending on conditions of course)Actually smaller than I imagined it to be, about the size of a loaf of bread. The 10lb description is accurate too.The USB ports work while the AC is being fully utilized too, and they DO put out their full 5v, so those are nice.I'm upset about the lack of DC output, but the rest of it is so good that I'll keep it and would recommend it to anyone who doesn't need 12vDC. I considered sending it back because it didn't fit my needs as advertised, but it's so good at all the other things that I'll keep it for another project.

Shopped and researched portable power stations at length comparing features, benefits and price. This is a fantastic value for the money from a name brand. ExpertPower is known for the quality and construction of their batteries. I intend to use this unit as a charging station for my electronic items (cameras, drones, laptop, iPad, phone, laptop etc) and it’s small size is perfect as it will reside in my car most of the time.The capacity of 444wh is perfect. Similar units with this capacity typically run about $425-$450. The units can charge up to 8 or 9 devices at once, and the layout of power outputs all on one side is a huge plus when being packed in car. Competitive units have outputs scattered on 2 or 3 sides. Which means if it’s tucked in a corner of vehicle (orstowed beneath seat) with items packed around, the port you need may be inaccessible. Not the case with this unit. The small footprint and sturdy construction ( with USB, DC, AC outputs) and power in port for recharging all one side in a huge benefit.It arrived with a full charge and has been in my vehicle for 6 weeks or so. Used it for some light duty on IPad and phone, and it still has 5 out of 5 battery indicator lights. The build quality seems robust and durable. Overall very pleased with this unit. Would definitely recommend to others.