Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I needed a powerful but sealed power-pack (sealed battery + converter) for poolside use, to power a large 110-volt karaoke machine for five hours a day. The Xatrex 1500 is the only power-pack I've found that meets this requirement. It was a pleasant surprise to find that the wheels have rubber rather than (noisy) plastic treads. The first 1500 stopped working with a bang after two hours. When I phoned the Xantrex company, the technician I soon was talking to quickly concluded that my 1500 had malfunctioned and recommended that I return it. I was pleased with this candor. The second 1500 has worked for about a month now. Not obvious is that the 1500 has a small storage cabinet, in which I store an extension cord. Both 1500s arrived undamaged. A disclaimer is that I bought my 1500s from costo-dot-comm, which is relevant because perhaps Costco uses different packaging for shipping. The "large karaoke machine" is a MegaStar CM-K1100, and its average draw has been 30-something watts. 9/18/06 Update: Around July the charge time dropped to under four hours. When I called Xantrex, the technician told me that battery life is about 200 charges.