This is easy to transport and battery lasts a long time

This is easy to transport and battery lasts a long time  Read Less

Oh lord this thing has some controversy around it! Just like one of the top reviews of this product mentioned, I myself was a l...  Read More

Oh lord this thing has some controversy around it! Just like one of the top reviews of this product mentioned, I myself was a little cautious about this little generator. Here's a MAJOR tip to prevent any of the failures the more negative reviews mentions, please read the manual! It specifies everything that the generator CAN and CANNOT do! I repeat, this generator cannot save the entire world! But it can save parts of yours! That rant out of the way, let's get into the products strengths and weaknesses in a fairly unorganized review. (Sorry ahead of time!)Strengths and Weakness:= In general it is a economically efficient, jack of all trades, master of none type of deal. Yes it has many helpful features, but they aren't as great as tools DEDICATED to that one specific task. For example, the air-compressor to re-inflate tires or inflatable beds. A dedicated air-compressor would do both of those things relatively quickly. While the Rally Generator can inflate those two things, it won't be as fast as the dedicated air-compressor. In other words, it is what it is. It CAN do those things. Just not as quickly as tools dedicated to that one and only specific task.= Again with the master of none type of situation we have going on here, the battery capacity, for a generator (granted, a very low priced generator, under $100 USD is very impressive actually!), is relatively modest. From personal testing, my smartphone can get about 4 or so charges before the generator reaches a RED battery status (I have a 10,000 MaH battery bank and it roughly charges my phone about 4 times for comparison sake). Speaking of which, when it is in the RED, try to charge it as soon as possible! Which leads me to a a main oversight that leads to the negative reviews,despite being rechargeable, DO NOT OVERCHARGE IT! Here's what's going to happen when you charge this device. It will be a RED status indicator. When it eventually turns GREEN, STOP CHARGING IT. If you do, you will damage the overall capacity of the battery! If you do that, battery capacity wise, you should be problem free. This is mentioned in the condense manual they provide you with the generator (or at least with mine).While I'm at it, a second user-error-based issue, the hand-crank. According to the manual let the hand-crank's rope/string piece RETRACT ALL THE WAY BEFORE PULLING AGAIN! Here's what I do, pull it firmly, then hold on to it while it reels itself back in. Once it is almost all the way reeled in, let go completely. Then repeat the cycle. Another quirk to be aware of, DO NOT EXCEED THE HAND GENERATOR PULL-HANDLE MAXIMUM CORD LENGTH OF 30 INCHES! Again, in the manual. In other words, while pulling and letting go, and so on, do not pull too far essentially. Short, and firm pulls basically! Not strong arming it like a lawn mower! Oh god no don't do that! If you do as the manual says, you should be doing fine so far.Next up on the controversial list of problems, it outright says what it can and can't do in the manual. The AC outlet's power inverter is 140 watts. So don't expect it to power a (regular) fridge for example! Its 140 watts. It won't power a house!Below the AC outlet, is a USB port that is 5 Volts DC and 2.1 Amps. Basically charge low powered USB devices with it. Smart phones, and tablets for example. If you have the proper cable(s) for it, even a Nintendo Switch! Yes it can charge most console controllers in general too! Since most of them love to charge by USB ports. Great for those extended grid-down/blackouts! They generally shouldn't happen often, but when they do, this little generator will make those occurrences a little more tolerable!Before we go on, there's only three real ways to charge this generator, with the included AC charger, the included DC charger (for when you have it with you in the car and want to charge it via the car's DC outlet), and hand-cranking it up! SOLAR IS NOT ONE OF THEM! Again, it isn't a $100+ (USD) generator. Don't expect THAT much!Speaking of charging, when the battery eventually reaches RED status, charging it via the AC charger, it will take quite a few hours! Not exactly 24 hours, but it isn't 10 minutes I'll tell you that much! Again MAKE SURE YOU UNPLUG IT WHEN THE STATUS INDICATOR REACHES GREEN. Do it ASAP! In other words, be on constant standby while it charges!As for hand-cranking it. Its slow. It works, but like with most hand-cranks, for most situations you probably won't need to use it unless you want to charge it a little bit at a time instead of in one relentless stream. In this case, while hand-crank charging, remember to stop and press the battery indicator button to check if it is in the GREEN or not! It is right above the DC outlet, and below the work-light! This is because while hand-cranking charging it, the indicator light will not be active like how it would while being plugged into the wall for example! By the way, to the immediate right of the battery indicator light is where you plug in the AC or DC charging cables to charge the generator that way. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT, WAIT AT LEAST 1 HOUR BEFORE RECHARGING IT. So if you used it that day, wait an hour for it to cool off before charging it in any of the three viable ways to charge it! If you didn't use it that day or in the last 1 or more, then you're safe to do so! Don't forget to pull the hand-crank in a relatively straight line!The generator comes with 3 stems for the air-compressor. According to the manual they're as follows:* Small Inflatable Stem* Ball stem* and Large Inflatable StemNow for the LED (Work) Light and the Emergency Flasher. It doesn't have a DEDICATED button for each! Instead, much like a cheap flashlight, it will CYCLE between those two modes. So if you want the blinking emergency lights, press the button until they start flashing instead. Basically literally turn it off and on until you get the lighting setting you want. No the work light won't light up the entire house. Yes it will be relatively useful in a small room should a blackout/grid-down situation occur. Yes it will help finding your way in the dark outside, etc. Again, a dedicated lamp or high-powered flashlight would do this all better, but all in one types of tools/gadgets more than likely means compromising somewhere! This should be common sense, but don't look directly into the LED (work/emergency) light either!Again, manual already states this, but store it in a dry, open, room-temperature area with a cover on top of it! PRO TIP, it comes with a plastic bag that covers it. You can use that to cover it when not in use, or if you NEED to use it in the rain for some reason! Just make sure its resting on a reasonable surface! It isn't water proof!Same deal with the jump starter. Dedicated ones will do it faster and better, but if you're hard pressed for space, or you just want one tool to do many things and not multiple tools to do specific things, then this generator is great for being that ONE tool! But again, read the manual, do not deviate from the manual EXCEPT WHEN IT SAYS TO CHARGE IT FOR 24 HOURS WHEN YOU FIRST GET IT. Mine came partially charged. So it took barely 7 hours to get it to green! I reckon that's where most of the negative reviews came from. But even then the manual even states CAUTION: Do not overcharge the unit! and, Note: The device may arrive partially charges from the manufacturer. It is recommended to fully charge the device immediately after purchasing and before using it for the first time.Honestly just print out a huge amount of copies of the manual and bring a few copies with you everywhere! If i have the time to, I'll see if I can upload any photos of my manual. Before using mine, I immediately read through all of that (which is only 4 pages so no excuses!), and I underlined or put red pen indicators to make it quick on what I should always keep in mind for the features I use the most. The manual is easily the most important part of this product! Keep it, understand it, produce as many copies as possible to avoid future issues and confusion, etc! Don't underestimate the manual and this generator will serve you very well!I think I covered everything? Lets see, hand crank, check, air compressor, check, jump starter, check, DC outlet, AC outlet, USB outlet, LED work/emergency light, the battery indicator and the generator's charging hole, check!I will put the specifications here in case you want to know before you purchase one. Again, they're on the manual too in case you do get one and want to confirm something for future reference.Specifications:* Built-in Battery: 8-amp hour (Ah) sealed, lead-acid, maintenance-free (in the Winter, every two months when not in use, recharge it. In the Summer, every month when not in use, recharge it), spill-proof, rechargeable.* DC outlet: 12 Volt DC (15 Amp replaceable blade fuse)* USB Port: 5 Volt(s) DC/ 2.1 A(mps)* LED light: 12 Volt DC / 330 mA* Power inverter: 140 Watt(s)* Air Compressor: 150 PSI (15 Amp replaceable blade fuse)* Circuit breaker: Internal, Auto-reset (after 60 seconds)* Net Weight: 10.6 lbs. (AKA Pounds)* Unit Dimensions: 9.14 inches (height), 6.97 inches (width), and 12.2 inches (depth.* Storage temperature: (-4 degrees F to 140 degrees F) (-20 degrees C to 60 degrees C). Store in a cool, dry, well-ventilated area with overhead cover (AKA probably the plastic bag it came with that conveniently can be used for that)!* Operation temperature: (32 degrees F to 104 degrees F) ( 0 degrees C to 40 degrees C). Operate in a dry, well-ventilated area and place device on a leveled surface.Forgot if I mentioned this but, when charging via any method that isn't hand-cranking, the battery indicator DOES NOT go from RED, AMBER, TO GREEN. It literally goes from RED to GREEN. So when charging it, be sure to be on constant stand buy!Okay I think that should be everything. If not, I'll try my best to answer any reasonable questions should I have the time to do so. If you do buy one of these, best of luck and happy reading as you're gonna NEED to do the ladder! Reading the manual is non-negotiable. If you ain't gonna read it, don't buy this! If you're going to, by all means go ahead!  Read Less