Inergy Kodiak 1100 Watt (1.1kWh) Power Bank Solar Generator - Basic Model - Lithium Ion Emergency & Camping Electric Battery Portable Power Source

Final Update (I hope), 11 December 2018I usually add-on my product-review edits in chronological order at the bottom, but in this case that just wouldn't be fair. Inergy has promised me a full refund after the difficulties described below. In this sense they've stood behind their product and have done the right thing by me, and I hereby publicly thank them for doing so. I'm leaving the rest of this review as it previously stood simply because everything stated therein is true. It's also true that they've promised me a full refund, however, so I'm upping the review to three stars as that's an average, neutral rating.I'm very grateful for the refund. That was above and beyond what was required.***This is absolutely the best, most capable solar generator on the market as of this writing. At first glance it looks pretty expensive, and I must say that this is because, quite simply, it _is_ expensive. Even after you account for the fact that a lithium-ion power pack can be discharged much further than golf-cart or other traditional batteries without damage, so that this is essentially nearly equivalent to a 200 amp-hour lead-acid battery, and that it will stand many, many more recharge cycles than any older battery design, it's still pricey compared to buying the components and doing it yourself. But few products aren't more expensive than their separate components, when you get right down to it, and this is a rugged, well-engineered, highly portable and highly capable package. Indeed, it's so capable it can do things that, to my knowledge, no other lithium-ion solar generator can do. Like daisy-chain an unlimited number of lead-acid 12 volt batteries to form a truly impressive battery bank, for example. It can also plug conveniently into a 30-amp RV plug, thus energizing all the plugs in an RV at once. And, most important of all to me, it can be charged from a 12-volt cigarette lighter plug.I haven't yet had this device long enough to really test it, and I'm not technically skilled enough to perform any kind of instrumented testing. (Though the people on You-Tube who _are_ capable of instrumented testing seem as a rule to be pretty darned impressed-- I'd provide links, but Amazon frowns on that.) But I can say for sure that it'll easily run one of the power-thirstiest Bi-PAP machines on the market overnight with both the humidifier and heated tubing turned on at my normal settings (using a 12-volt adapter made specifically for the Bi-PAP, not the Kodiak's built-in AC inverter which is less efficient), and if I was reading the machine's indicators correctly it probably could've done so for another two nights without recharging. I can also say that the Kodiak is amazingly light and easy to move around-- comparably-powerful lead-acid models require a built-in wheeled cart of some kind, while the Kodiak is easily toted about in one hand and can be stored on most ordinary bookshelves. I've bought the 12-volt charging adapter, a solar-panel adapter for MC-4 connector-equipped panels, and even (on a bit of a lark-- I don't really need it) one of the plug-in LED lights that fits the accessory ports. All seem to be of excellent quality, and several customer-service requests were answered promptly, politely, and correctly. Inergy ran into a shipping problem on my particular unit-- while it appears not to have been their fault they jumped through hoops to make things right as soon as humanly possible. The only notable engineering shortcoming that I've run into so far is that using the USB-chargers require the power-consuming AC inverter to be turned on. An easy workaround is to simply buy a $7 (or less) cigarette-plug USB charger-- the cigarette plugs are always on. For that matter, it might also be more power-efficient to use a smaller (100 watt or so) cigarette-plug AC adapter for low-draw AC applications rather than run the large inverter, especially if (like me) you already have one lying around anyway. (It's in the nature of things that a large AC inverter draws a significant amount of power just to run itself-- this is not a Kodiak-specific shortcoming.)I'll also note that it looks likely that an auxiliary second 100 amp-hour lithium-ion battery may soon be available for daisy-chaining; I can only hope that if so, it might be possible to add more than one. Either way, I'll buy at least one if/when I can.I didn't want to spend so much money on this. Really and truly, I didn't. But in the end I did anyway because despite the price I couldn't find anything else that would do the things I wanted/needed done in terms of off-grid power. Now that I'm past the sticker shock, well... Yes, I still wish it were cheaper. A _lot_ cheaper. And I also wish I could daisy-chain Battle Born lithium-iron batteries instead of lead-acid only. But overall, I have to say I'm Pretty Darned Happy with this product. I find myself wearing a silly grin on my face whenever I power something large with the Kodiak-- it feels like science fiction to an older guy like me. So much power, from so little bulk and weight!The future is today, and you can buy it. That's miracle enough-- why quibble about price?PS-- I'll update this review if merited.Edit, 11 October 2018-- Former rating, five stars. Now changed to two.Sadly, I find that I'm no longer nearly so happy with the Kodiak. I bought this device specifically planning to use it with two separate 600 watt (4x150) arrays of Renogy solar panels, one at home and one on an RV. Before spending so much money on the Kodiak, I both e-mailed and telephoned Inergy to verify that this 600 watt array (I specifically included the brand name, etc) would be okay, and in both cases the reply was that yes, this would be within specs. So I bought the Kodiak, tested it to see if it would suit my needs, decided that it would, and wrote the above review. Then I installed both sets of panels, and used the Kodiak at home for about three or four weeks before moving it to the RV and taking a long trip. About 48 hours into said trip the Kodiak ceased charging from solar. When I investigated further, the Nutrik plug where the panels connect into the side of the Kodiak was seemingly welded into place too tightly to remove. When I called Inergy, they asked me what panels I'd connected the Kodiak to, and I told them. They said that this was too much input-- the Renogy-brand panels were simply too efficient and too good--and that failures with this combination (or others like it) were quite common. I pointed out that they'd okayed my setup all the way down to the brand name not once but twice, and that 600 watts was the maximum listed in the instruction and numerous other places without any mention of specific brands. They said that yes, this was the case, and my unit would therefore be repaired under warranty. But, I shouldn't hook it back up to such a powerful array anymore. Perhaps I could disconnect one panel?They _did_ in fact repair my unit under warranty. And their help-staff was never anything but unfailingly courteous and polite. But...1) I had to cancel my trip, as my plans depended completely on solar generation of power. Estimated cost, $1,0002) I purchased and installed my 600 watt solar arrays because I _need_ 600 watts; this was a key factor in selecting the Kodiak as the heart of my system. So, I had to purchase a different solar controller. Two of them, in fact, because they had to be hardwired and therefore I could no longer simply carry the Kodiak back and forth between my arrays. Cost, about $700.3) I hadn't previously needed a battery bank at home-- the Kodiak's internal unit was sufficient capacity. Since you cannot hook up the Kodiak to a battery bank controlled by another solar controller, I needed to both expand my RV bank and create an entirely new one for my home solar. Cost, about $500.4) Since you again can't hook the Kodiak to a battery bank charged by an outside controller, I also needed to buy an inverter. Two of them, in fact, since again they need to be hardwired and I couldn't conveniently carry just one back and forth as I could the Kodiak. In this case I took the opportunity to upgrade to something larger, but had I replaced the Kodiak with two equivalent 1000-watt units of decent quality it would've been about $800.5) Then there's the Kodiak itself. Since I can't use it with my existing solar arrays, and since I also now have two other completely functional solar installations in my life, I have absolutely no further use for this device except perhaps as a doorstop. It cost me $1600; a friend has promised to buy it for $800. So, I've lost another $800. Plus the cost of multiple accessories.6) The Kodiak cannot accept 24 volt solar inputs. So, both of my arrays are wired at a less-efficient 12 volts even though my new controllers, like most modern units, can accept 24 volts. This doesn't cost me actual money, but irritates the heck out of me. Especially since due to physical limitations I can't climb on roofs, and so am sort of stuck with it.To sum it all up... Near as I can tell, using my Kodiak for about a month and a half ended up removing about $3800 dollars from my pocket. Or, perhaps more correctly, depending on it meeting its published and twice-verified specs and making long-term plans based on said specs cost me $3800. I'd never have sunk so much-- plus the cost of the panels, the wiring, some installation costs, etc-- into solar energy if I'd known ahead of time that this was going to happen, but the problem was that I was already in so deep by the time the Kodiak failed to meet expectations that I was in essence forced to go ahead anyway.Bottom line... I still think the Kodiak might be a wonderful setup for certain people and certain usages. The quality is there, the customer service is there, etc. But... It's not right to claim your product can do things that you know for fact it cannot. Which is precisely what happened here, as near as I can tell, and what cost me so much hard-earned money. Inergy was transparently honest and fair with me at every point in our interaction save one, when they told me a panel array was okay that they knew _wasn't_ okay. But that one single misrepresentation was all it took to do me in and cost me almost $4,000.Is it any wonder that I'm no longer happy?

I looked at several Power Banks.I picked Inergy Kodiak 1.1kWh for the following1) Low weight (20 lbs)2) You can add external batteries for extended use3) You can easily charge with solar, AC & DC4) Multiple plug typesI did not find another product that did all of the above.I am very happy with my purchase.

I bought the generator through amazon, The packing was in good condition when it arrived. I unpacked the box, and tried to charge using the included wall charger, it wouldn't charge, so.... I read in the instruction manual to plug the A/C charger into the Basecamp LED port for 10 seconds to reset the system. Upon doing that, the Power display lit and a loud fan came on. I let it charge for about 2/1/2 hours but it was too loud to sleep so I tried to turn it off by unplugging it from the wall and the off button. The loud fan will not shut off. I had to put it in the basement overnight,....This morning, it's still running the battery storage displays 2 red lights, I tried the on off button, nothing is plugged into the generator, and it won't shut off. I researched online about this product and did not find anything regarding this issue. I'll call Customer Service when they open to see if we can solve the problem. So far, not so good. I was not looking forward to this happening.Following up: This morning, I spoke with Levi in customer service who was very helpful. He initiated an exchange for me. I'm expecting to write a more positive review on the next generator. We need companies like inergy to provide alternative power options like these little generators!Following up with my Kodiak purchase. Kodiak did an excellent job exchanging my product. Bearing in mind that lithium generators need to be special pick up, and I recommend to other potential buyers to SAVE your original boxes until you try out your generator.Well, I received my new Kodiak, plugged it in gave it a good charge over night. Ran several items; 750 watt electric burner, several lights, and a couple of small fans, and the generator handled it with no strain or changes and ran very quiet.The customer service persons that provided assistance, Levi,and Vanessa did a great job assisting the exchange. Again this isn't a typical return of a purchase, this generator has shipping specifications so keep all your boxes until testing the generator.I recommend the Kodiak Generator, it is quiet,easy to carry, has several options to charge, has and RV PLUG! (Awesome), doesn't require oil changes, no smelly gas and no lugging around heavy gas or LP tanks.I looking forward to taking my lil Kodiak off grid with the RV.Thank you inergy!