Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Arrived bubble wrapped in a small priority shipping box; not a retail package. This is a 1 piece unit, no accessories and a single half sheet of instructions. No loose parts to worry about, the plug is permanently attached and plugs directly into cig adapter. I like the compact size and feel of this unit. The cord is about the right length for me, there is 22" of wire between the plug and the unit. It'll reach the passenger seat just fine from the console. Mine works and produces modified AC power which runs my gadgets nicely (chargers: both USB and AC wall warts). The included USB ports are a bonus. My biggest disappointment is that the fan remains on continuously. This means I'll only be able to use it in situations where the car is running. I had hoped the fan would only turn on when it needed to cool down. I want to be clear that this is a nicely working unit that will be fine in your running car. My initial goal was to find an inverter that would work in a n off the grid battery based situation. Due to the inefficiencies of a continuous fan, this unit is not a reasonable choice in an off grid battery situation. In an off the grid system, you want to minimize your idle power drain. I bought this unit hoping I could use it in a camping kit but it would quickly drain my solar charged portable battery system (only 9Ah). I'm going to keep it, but it's less useful than I had hoped. I won't be able to leave this unit turned on when I'm away from the car or it'll drain the car battery, which is also unacceptable. You can get around that issue by plugging it into a 12v outlet that is switched on with your car. Note that by going to a unit that provides less watts out I was able to get one that works without a fan running all the time. Go Power! GP-175 175-Watt Modified Sine Wave Inverter The sales info says "Temperature controlled cooling fan" which tells me the fan should not be on unless it needs to cool the unit. I've contacted the seller to see how we'll resolve this. Perhaps I have a bad unit? *** Update from seller, this unit is working as designed *** 4 stars for delivering the power and having a USB port, and for being long lasting (mine is well over a year and still working great) Not 5 stars because of the noise and waste of energy a full time cooling fan causes. If the fan only went on as needed this would be a nice 5 star Inverter. *** Update *** This is now shipping with 2 power outlets, a nice improvement. Other than that change it is the same internal unit. Mine continues to work well after over a year. As long as you understand that the fan will remain on, this unit functions well and continues to be a great item. I still wish they would have updated the fan to be temp controlled. Updating my review from 3 to 4 stars due to the lifetime the unit has now given me. *** Update *** Contacted seller, after a couple of email exchanges it was determined that this unit will keep the fan on at all times. While the unit differs from how I understood the listing, it's not worth my time to send it back. When I ordered mine, 1/3rd of the price was paid in shipping fees, so I'll keep this unit as an in-car unit and look to find something else that will be more efficient in a solar/battery based system. If your intended use is in a car, the fan is most likely not a problem. You can also check to see if your Cig adapter shuts off when you turn off your keys, if it does, then it's even less of an issue since it won't drain your batteries when you leave your car. I have a Cig adapter in the trunk I use to power/charge things on trips and when traveling, mine turns off with the key so I can use this in the car without worry. Mine continues to work well and has survived weeks in my trunk in the hot AZ sun. *** For comparison purposes I have also reviewed the GoPower 175w inverter and compare that unit with this one side by side. You will find that video here: Go Power! GP-175 175-Watt Modified Sine Wave Inverter