> TEOTWAWKI Blog: My Electromate 400 = dead

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3/10/11

My Electromate 400 = dead

Recently checked my Electromate 400, only to find it completely dead. Plugging it in for 24 hours to charge did nothing to help the matter. It's toast, or at least the battery is toast.

It's pretty disappointing, as I've grown to love the Electromate. It's saved me several times, jumping dead batteries, charging electronics on road trips, inflate tires, using on camping trips and all that stuff. Definitely has been a very handy piece of gear.

I'm not entirely surprised that it died. The battery has a limited life--a limited number of use-cycles. The battery also self discharges, and if it stays in a discharged state long enough, the battery can die. Something like that happened here--a combination of use (though really, I've only fully cycled the battery perhaps 20-40 times) and self-discharge--it had been a few months since I'd checked the charge and topped it off.

The Electromate was a $100 piece of gear, so getting my money's worth was important to me when I initially purchased it. Having been through the full life of the product, I can evaluate  it on a per-use basis. Each use of the Electromate cost me somewhere between $2.50 and $5, which, overall I consider a bit on the high-end, but acceptable. Some of these uses were worth much more than that--jumping dead batteries while away from home, pumping up a leaky tire enough to get me to a tire shop and similar, so I made out all right. Ideally, I'd have liked the Electromate to last another year or two.

I'm going to scout out replacing the battery, which should be cheaper than buying a whole new unit. No clue what the replacement will entail, or if it's possible or makes economic sense. Will be doing some research this weekend. If anyone has expertise or experience with these things - let me know in the comments.