We heat with a woodstove in my house. Now, you may be wondering, with temperatures in the 90s here in California, why would I be thinking about heat? Because now is the time to get our wood stock in for the fall. Everywhere I look on our nearly four acres, I see Manzanita just waiting to be cut up and stashed in our woodshed.

For that, I use an Alligator Lopper from Black & Decker. It’s an electrical chainsaw with a protective jaw so I don’t cut off a leg while doing yard work. Plus, unlike a gas-powered chainsaw, I can turn it on. But being electrical, it requires access to power. And that means sticking close to the house, where the outlets are.

I’ve lusted after a power generator with some heft, something I could carry around the property to set up where I’m cutting; but those tend to be pricey and, well, hefty.

That’s why I’m intrigued by the Xantrex 400-Watt DC Powerpack. This is a rechargeable unit that you can haul around where you need the power. It includes jumper cables, an AC charger that recharges the Powerpack from a standard wall outlet, and a DC charging cable to recharge the unit from the battery of a vehicle. It also includes a built-in air compressor with nozzle adapters.

A display tells you how much battery capacity you have left and the watts of power being drawn from its two AC outlets. Two AC outlets?! That means I could run two appliances — the Alligator and an Hawaiian ice machine I’ve also been eyeing, which, when you’re cutting wood in 90-degree weather, could also be considered a necessity.

Posted on June 18th, 2008 by dian