A few updates to my review of the ITECH500 - some good, some bad
In my first review of the ITECH500, my main issues were trouble charging from solar; trouble charging from 12V; and a not-great customer service response from iTechWorld.
Good news upfront: as suspected, the solar charging issue was because my solar blanket was stuffed. I swapped in a new 200W solar blanket and bam! the ITECH unit started charging at 90W. But it's not all good news - the claimed solar charging rate is 120W, and given the conditions of this test I'd have expected to see close to that.
Next, the 12V DC charging. This is a mixed bag. It turns out that the unit charges at 19V. The cigarette plug supplied is actually an unmarked 19V voltage adapter, and with that plugged in it charges at around 50W. Again this is below the claimed 72W. Just like the solar, it's pleasing to get this function working but disappointing it's not working as well as it should. I also have no idea how I will ever replace the weird adapter plug if it ever fails.
Finally, it's worth noting that iTechWorld have still not responded to my email or telephone enquiries, at all. Not even an automated reply email.
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