K-TOR Power Box 50

Works very well. Produces a full amount of current smoothly. Using this to charge a Walmart deep cell 29dc, and keep it charged. Also the same into a much smaller agm starting battery. Each detail advertised on k-tors own site, as well as Amazon's, is plain. I hope to take very good care of this tool, and will. It is a requirement for camping when the sky is dark and /or the tree cover becomes a solar panel hinderence. But using a blocking diode for both this magnet energy tool, and a panel at the same time proves to function just right in all weather conditions. Glad to have and make the most of this crank generator.

We gave it a good try. Installed it with screws, so there was no issues with scooting. Simply pedalling was impossible and too frustrating. It just doesn't keep going. I tried first with my husband critiquing. It puts out power and charges our battery, briefly, and we're excited, then with a shocking sudden "LURCH", it's free-wheeling. First you're working hard, then an abrupt lack of resistance, I can only say it feels like falling. Very disconcerting and I started to get irritated. Husband scooted me aside and tried it himself, he's the bicyclist in the family. He said, "Don't start looking at the cheap China ones. This one can work, we just have to figure it out."I downloaded a metronome so he could pedal at exactly the rpm it says in the manual, and he tried, because he wanted it to work. But the feeling of falling got to him, too, and back in the box it went. So disappointing.(And later, one of the China ones worked reliably right out of the box, which was even more disappointing.)I think K-tor wasted a lot of money on the design of the feet and a wonderful molded plastic cover so that we can't see the battery. We actually prefer to see the battery. It has to be screwed down anyway so why waste money on the temporary feet?

I have had this for about 2 weeks now and have tested it thoroughly so here’s a list of pro’s and con’s.Cons:-it’s loud-when charging my iPhone it does about 1 percent per 3-4minutes. So your going to b working really hard if this is your only source of power.-it flops all over the place without a stand(which if you don’t build one K- tor has one but, all together the stand is another $100)-The pedals are very flimsy. When pedaling at a fast pace the pedal broke off already and I only had it for 2 weeks.-The metal holding the pedals on is so thin so, when the pedal broke off it stripped the metal on the crank arm and it was almost impossible to fix it. In that case you might have to replace the crank arm all together if you want it to last long term.-it only comes with a USB to plug up electronics to it. So, you might need and inverter if you want to use a regular plug or 3 prong plug electric such as: A normal phone charger, laptops, other generators, etc.-If you really want to make this item useful, it’s best to pedal and store the power into a different source of power such as a portable charger or small generator. I wouldn’t trust this not to mess up your phone battery or other electronics because the voltage is not steady and it’s pretty hard to keep it steady.- The resistance is so unstable so the voltage can’t keep steady-This pretty much comes with bike pedals so you would have to wear shoes or something if you don’t want your feet to end up hurting or just switch out the pedals.Pro’s-Definitely has potential in a emergency situation but, without improvement won’t last to long.-It’s pretty easy to put together and take apart.-It will keep you in shape and give you something to do.-It’s a step up from gas or propane generators because it can be used indoors to charge other electronics.-Doesn’t give to much resistance when charging-You could pedal this with your hands or feet so even a child could use this if they have to.

I have a 300 watt power station with 100 watt solar panels. I wanted to get the k-tor 50 as a way to recharge my power station when there isn’t adequate sunlight. Also, I have a regular bike peddler under my desk, and I’m like a hamster on a wheel all day while I work. I hoped I could use the k-tor 50 in the same way. Then I could use more solar power for smaller devices and less house electricity. If I could get enough power generated with the k-tor, I might be able to run my computer off the power stations that I have. After all, I’m peddling all day while I work.As others have said, this needs to be mounted. When plugged into my power station, I started peddling the K-tor. There was no resistance at first and the input display on my power station showed no watts. After about 30 seconds, the resistance increased significantly and the wattage input was registering around 18 watts with a fair amount of variation while peddling at a constant rate. I was able to get 1 watt of power every 8 minutes. This is slightly higher than what I get with solar charging on a sunny day. It will work in an emergency, but I won’t be using it to replace my regular peddler since the angle when peddling isn’t very comfortable (even with an adjustable chair and desk). Also, the resistance with the power station load on it is a bit much. When I’m desperate during a power outage, it’ll be fine, but definitely not for every day use.

The K-tor power box 50 is awesome!!! You can't always rely on 8-10 hours of sunlight or steady wind for an wind generator to provide you with power. The best way to use this is to charge a Jackery type invertor from the power box 50 and then charge your other devices from the Jackery. Since the power is already out might as well peddle to stay active and put your mind on something else other then sitting in the dark. Also I contacted Ken from K-tor a few times with some questions and he helped answer all my questions. This is worth every penny