Home > Consumer Reviews > Black & Decker VPX3101 Li-Ion VPX Inverter

The previous reviewer missed the mark. He rated this poorly for being a bad value for all the things you have to buy to make it work. That is the wrong perspective. It is intended to be an ACCESSORY for people who own the other parts of the system (drills, drivers, chargers, batteries, saws...). With this same mindset, one could review an after-market car stereo and say it is not worth the $200 because you have to go out and buy a $20,000 car to go with it. The reviewer also missed the point that this is not a competitor for an automotive inverter. Yes, even a small car inverter has more power output (>50 watts) and runs as long as it is attached to a car. Literally, more power to you if your application permits you to be tethered to a car. I have a car inverter and use it on occasion. If you plan to walk away from the car in the wilderness and want auxiliary power for a cell phone, GPS, IPOD, or anything with <8 watts demand for a limited time, then something like this little VPX inverter is necessary. The lithium-ion battery is lightweight and has one of the highest power densities out there for any consumer device. It also retains a long "shelf life" between charges-- months better than NiMh-powered competitors. My last complaint about the previous reviewer is he critiqued something he hasn't tried and therefore couldn't address if it met its claims. (Was he just looking for an opportunity to state authority with being an engineer? I have degrees in engineering but don't see how that comes into play here.) I picked up the cordless screwdriver from this system for $30 at home depot; it came with a charger and battery that can be shared with this inverter. I found the inverter worked as advertised. Is it the best of its class? Maybe not. Is it the best of its class for <$15? Definitely, if you have the other parts of the system.

I bought the inverter to do two things: 1) allow me to run an eight watt fluorescent light (for camping, or as a utility light) 2) charge my iphone when I need a little extra runtime. The inverter did fine for the first job. I was impressed how my bulb would get nice and warm, yet the battery would still remain cool. These VPX batteries (LiFePO4 I believe) must have really low internal resistance. However I was disappointed with the USB power source as it is limited to 1.75 watts (350mA)! This is enough power to charge my iPod nano, but not enough for my iPhone (the iPhone doesn't even acknowledge that it is plugged in). I have no idea why the AC can supply 10 watts when the USB can only supply 1.75. Since USB can typically supply 2.5 watts, I suspect this inverter will fail to change many USB devices.

This is an interesting little unit as it allows you to charge USB powered items such as a music player or an AC powered item (in my case a cell phone with AC adaptor) without the need to plug into the grid. The unit's size is about 1.5"x6.5"x2" or about the size of a medium flashlight. The weight with battery is 281g or a little less than 10oz. It has an on/off switch on the side so you don't discharge it and the outlets are covered by rubber covers that flip out of the way when in use.

With its light weight and small size, I see this as a something to put in the book bag/backpack to recharge a cell phone, music player or a digital camera. I don't see why it wouldn't be airplane friendly (check all security regulations for yourself) but it would help keep a music player going on a coast to coast flight if you don't have or don't want to bother with a plug-in inverter. In testing, I was able to use the USB and AC simultaneously to charge my Sony music player (USB) and cell phone (AC). They were both pretty well run down and they tapped the VPX3101. It isn't going to power you laptop but it will keep small electronic devices going when short of power.

For the price and if you have or are planning to get other items in the VPX series, I have found this is a useful item. (See follow-up below.) My largest concern is whether or not the rubber caps to the outlets tear off or if the on/off switch fails. Personally, I have a DC inverter for my car (see my review on the Vector MAXX 400) but that requires DC and is limited to my car. It also doesn't do USB. I bought this unit knowing that it required an additional battery and charger but figuring that sooner or later I would need another of the tools and would get those as well. Gold Box came through for me with a $49.99 starter set with battery and charger and now I am complete (in the VPX3101 Inverter sense).

July 5, 2008 Follow-up:

I have now used this device several times to recharge my cellphone and it has performed flawlessly. I can keep it in the backpack use as needed. Glad I had it available.

This was on clearance at the home center, so I bought it along with the VPX sawzall. I bought it on a "why-not" whim, but doubt I would pay anywhere near what is the normal asking price -- and might not even pay the clearance price if given the chance again.

The AC jack is very low power, it can feed a cell-phone charger, PDA charger, or toy charger but that's about it. It dies with anything needing more wattage such as a laptop.

The USB port is very low power, only 350ma compared the 500ma that most computer USB ports give.

The problem with the VPX inverter is that the charger is quite bulky. The inverter would be worth its weight in gold if it was also a charger -- off AC or USB.

If I needed a USB port on the go to charge my iPod or phone, I'd rather use one of my dedicated rechargeable battery packs with USB ports. They are much smaller -- and more importantly, they recharge off USB.

Overall this was a Good buy for $15. I bought this to charge my iPhone and my camera batteries while camping. I had already purchased the Starter set for about $50 (Black & Decker VPX903X1 Li-Ion VPX Starter Set with Power Screwdriver, Cut Saw, Flashlight, and VPX Battery with Charger) so this made the most sense as a portable charging option. I need to do some more testing but it seems to work well enough and I don't have to set up solar cells or use a hand crank. Had this come with the starter set I would be much happier. The quality on these products seem pretty low, but at the discount prices it gets the job done.