- 350 watt hours of power pack storage capacity
- LCD status monitor keeps track of power storage in 20 per cent increments
- Ergonomic rubberized handle for greater comfort and grip; UV treated and weather-resistant
- Built-in temperature control and fuse systems to ensure safety and long-term performance
- This item is not for sale in Catalina Island
The 350 batteries are chainable to up to 4 GOAL0 batteries, but don't add the wattage of each battery thinking that you will get that much total output wattage. That's right: there is not enough output wattage to power a sump pump, or a small stove burner, or a small microwave oven when the electricity goes out.
At the time of this review, the maximum output wattage you can receive from the chained 350 wattage is totally dependent on the INVERTER used (the Goal0 33001 Extreme Universal Inverter). This fact is not promoted enough by vendors or the manufacturer Goal0 (Goal Zero).
You can only get UP TO 400 watts output power based on the existing Goal0 Universal Inverter.
After speaking to the manufacturer (Goal0), they said their engineers are working on an inverter that will allow more output wattage on chained batteries. They expect to have it on the market sometime in 2012.
Meanwhile, the Goal0 350 Battery (chained batteries) and Universal Inverter is GREAT for running anything that does not consume over 400 watts of power. By the way, the general rule of thumb for calculating wattage is: Electrical Voltage X Amps = Watts. For example, if your device (or combined devices connected to a power extension cord) runs on a typical American residental electric circuit (115 volts) and the label on the device says 3 amps (or total 3 amps for all devices on the extension cord), then you could use the equation: 115 volts X 3 amps = 345 watts.
Using this product, you can power several things. If the electricity goes out as a result of a storm, it is amazing how this device enables you to utilize the small things in life that will help establish some normalcy in your household during a minor or major critical incident.
For example, as a result of Hurricane Irene, our electicity went out for three days. While I had a gas powered electric generator running our sump pumps, deep freezer, security system and refrigerators, we were watching the news and movies on our backup 12" screen CRT-type monitor hooked up to our dish sattelite receiver. Both were on an extension cord and plugged into ONE GOAL0 Ranger 350 Kit with Ranger Universal Inverter.
(Before running the generator, I plugged our home security system (a professionally installed comprehensive system) into this product. Not only did it power the security system, it also charged the security system backup battery at the same time. This is good to know in case there is a long-term, major outage on the electrical grid and you cannot get more gasoline to power your gasoline generator.)
You can also obtain the alligator clips cable adapter so the GOAL0 battery can trickle charge other batteries, such as battery-operated back-up sump pumps, too.
There are several other peripheral GOAL0 products for the 350 Battery and Universal Inverter. Two critical items are: the Goal0 22003 Escape 30M Solar Panel Briefcase, and the Goal0 4.7mm Input to 8mm Input. The latter item is a cable adapter that will allow you to fit the output plug of the solar panels into the batteries. If you chain the batteries together you will need the GOAL0 chain cable, too.
For your convenience, I reviewed the aforementioned GOAL0 solar panels and adapter cable separately on Amazon.
By many accounts, the year 2012 will be a challenging year. This includes warnings by scientists of major solar flare activity that may produce EMP to damage the electrical grid. Getting prepared NOW is the way to go.
Stay Safe!
Buy Goal Zero Extreme 350 Power Pack Now
I do not own this product. I researched solar off grid systems for a while and while the components of this kit look nice and are easy to connect (it seems), you are paying double for the nice packaging.
This power pack is a 30 Amp battery with a small charge controller. You can buy a standard universal sealed 12v battery, 35amp for ~$80. add a charge controller (as big or small as you need) and some cables, and you are spending no more than $140. You will have the flexibility to choose any battery from small all the way to 250 amp (3000KWH) rather than buying several units and daisy chaining. and your components will be universal and not proprietary to a company that apparently has no support and may not be around next year.
So if you are a do it your self guy, remember amp x volt = watt. We are dealing with 12V so amp (or amp/h) x 12 = watt (watt/h).
Figure out how much energy is needed to run your item(s) and how long you want to run them each day, you could then calculate the Wh or Ah you need per day, and based on that determine how many panels and batteries would be needed. If you have a laptop and a lantern using 50 watt and you will use them for 6 hours, 300 Wh or 25 Ah is all you need.
You will need these components:
Battery to store power: The ampere hour (Ah) of a battery tells how much energy can be stored inside.
Generate power to charge battery: AC adapter, DC (car) charger, Solar panels, wind turbine, etc. The number and size of solar panels will determine how fast you will charge your batteries. More panels/bigger means faster charging. Panels are usually sold by the watt. a 30 watt array will need 100 hours to charge a large 250 amp battery (at full sunlight). smaller battery will charge faster. Remember that the wattage of a panel is what it could generate under ideal conditions full sunlight, clean panels, right angle toward the sun. If you want to account for less than ideal light, you will need more panels to compensate for reduced effectiveness to get tot he same wattage. To avoid over charging you will need a:
Charge controller: between the panels and the batteries to prevent overcharging (1 amp for every 15 watts of panels to be safe).
To use the power in the battery get a good: Inverter it will convert the 12 volt power of the battery into 120 volt power to use. The size of the inverter determines how much power can be pulled from the battery at any one time. How long it will power your item(s) will depend on how much power is available in the batteries. Peak power means it could accomodate a power surge up to a peak of x watt fora few seconds useful for devices that have a wattage spike when they start but consume less while running.
Top it off with the right cables, connectors, and a multi tester (to check loads and currents) and you've got a modular, universal system you can tailor to your needs for a fraction of the price, and repair or upgrade any time with any vendor's components.
Read Best Reviews of Goal Zero Extreme 350 Power Pack Here
I bought my Goal Zero Ranger 350 kit about a year ago and used it a couple times when the power went out. It worked great powering 120v xmas lights and recharging cell phones.
I followed the instructions and charged the battery every couple months to maintain the charge. A few months ago, the battery stopped holding a charge. I would charge it to 100%, and after unplugging it, the charge would go to 60% in 15 minutes. I checked the manual and noted that the battery was outside the 6 month warranty period. I called Goal Zero and the rep told me that the batteries now had 12 month warranties, which was a nice surprise. The rep agreed to send me a new unit with a return shipping label. It took about 4 weeks to get the replacement, which seems to be working fine over the last couple months. I keep this unit plugged in all the time, hoping that it won't have the same issues as my first battery. The manual indicates the battery should have a 5 year life span if maintained properly. Time will tell...
As another reviewer mentioned, the inverter does seem very cheaply made and doesn't connect to the battery very securely.
I'm not sure I would recommend buying this unit, especially for the price. I think Goal Zero has some bugs it needs to workout before it can justify such a high price tag.
****Updated 10/25/12
The replacement battery will not hold a charge above 12.4 to 12.5 volts, which is roughly 70-80% discharged for most 12v batteries. I have charged the battery every week since I received it and have not abused it in any way. I have used it to charge some batteries on and off using the 12v cigarette adapter. I also let it run down to 50% and then recharged to see if it would get above 12.5 volts. No luck. There is no explanation for why such an expensive battery would perform so poorly.
I agree 100% with another reviewer who said the high price must be for the fancy packaging. You would be much better served creating your own power back-up system without relying on the Goal Zero proprietary cables & plugs.
I bought a couple Trojan 24-TMX batteries for $135/each and a NOCO genius charger. Much more bang for your buck.
Want Goal Zero Extreme 350 Power Pack Discount?
After several power failures, I was looking for something I could use to recharge phones, power my DSL modem and wireless router, and other small devices when the power next goes out. After doing some research, I came across this kit. It worked right out of the box. I charged up the battery (it arrived with an 80% charge) and tested it out by plugging in both my modem and router. After over 14 hours of continuous use, the battery still showed a 40% charge remaining. The battery itself only comes with a cigarette lighter connector. In order for it to be truly useful, you also need the inverter, which has another cigarette lighter connector, as well as a USB connector, a 6 volt connector for other Goal0 lights, and a universal AC plug. Plug in a power strip into the AC connector, and you can run a number of devices at the same time. When you charge the battery with the included charging cable, the power brick becomes quite hot my infrared thermometer measured the temperature at over 150 degrees f.
Not only will this kit power my devices during the next power failure, but I will take in with us during our next car trips.
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well i bought this product because of power outages in california, it arrived promptly, everything was fine, no damage, followed the instruction about charging it before using it. well charged it a day and a half, the power level was at 80%. ok that's great tried to charge to full strenght, never got a 100% and the power was decreasing and it's not in use, so charged it up again now not getting 80% maybe if i'm lucky i'll get 60 to 40 %. Now the power goes out and the energy is not there only has 40% power......that sucked!....well emailed goal0 about this problem hopefully they can help me, if not going to return this product and build my own kit...and i did order the boulder 30 solar panel but, it was cracked on the backside and a really really smart person tried to hide it with a touch up paint pen, naw i wasn't going to see 4in crack on the back. had no problems with the return of that product.
