The Black and Decker Electromate 400 Car Battery Charger and AC/DC Portable Power Station with Built-In Air Compressor is another MULTI-PURPOSE UNIT for those who prefer various functions in the one single unit. Designed for roadside and emergency situations, it has 450 instant amps to start your car, and plugs into any household outlet with the built-in 120-volt AC charger. It features a keyless ON/OFF power safety switch, reverse hook-up warning alarm, vehicle alternator voltage check as well as an LED battery status indicator. It also comes equipped with one 120V AC power outlet, one 12V DC power outlet and a built-in, ultra-bright LED worklight for night-time emergency roadside assistance. ** Prices and Discount Rates may fluctuate without notice

Black and Decker VEC026BD Electromate 400 Car Battery Charger

Introduction

The Black and Decker Electromate 400 Car Battery Charger is another unit for those consumers looking for multi-functionality. It provides 450 instant amps to start your car, should the car battery go dead. Combined with the unit’s ability to provide portable power and air compression, it is an ideal unit for a variety of roadside and other emergency situations.

As with any car battery charger, it is suitable to store in the car’s trunk, as a driver may not always have access to passing traffic and therefore someone to provide an external car battery charge.

Product Description

Ideal for roadside emergencies apart from a depleted car battery, the Electromate 400 can provide sufficient power to not only jump-start your vehicle, but also run appliances such as portable lights, cell phones, laptops, radios and even small tools. It is also ideal for other domestic situations such as house parties, power outages, camping and any other situation where no electrical wall outlet is available.

The box comes equipped with one 120V AC power outlet and one 12V DC outlet, allowing you to charge and operate various units at once.

The Electromate 400 also houses a built-in air compressor which enables the inflation of car and bicycle tires, sports equipment, air mattresses and pool toys.

The unit also comes equipped with a built-in, ultra-bright LED worklight to assist in roadside SOS situations, as well as a 120-volt AC charger that can be plugged into any household outlet.

Other features of this box are a keyless ON/OFF power safety switch, reverse hook-up warning alarm (for when the user accidentally hooks up the jumper cables to the incorrect battery terminals), vehicle alternator voltage check, and an LED battery status indicator.

The Black and Decker Electromate 400 Car Battery Charger can also easily be recharged as necessary. It does so from any household AC outlet or automobile DC cigarette-plug style outlet, so it will be readily available the next time you need it.

Importantly, Black & Decker also offers a full 2-year warranty on this product for extra peace-of-mind, in the case of the unit not operating properly.

PRODUCT SUMMARY: The Black and Decker Electromate 400 car battery charger and AC/DC Portable Power Station with Built-In Air Compressor is a multi-purpose unit for various roadside and emergency situations. It has 450 instant amps to start your car, and plugs into any household outlet with the built-in 120-volt AC charger. It features a keyless on and off power safety switch, reverse hook-up warning alarm, vehicle alternator voltage check as well as an LED battery status indicator. It also comes equipped with one 120V AC power outlet, one 12V DC power outlet and a built-in, ultra-bright LED worklight for night-time emergency roadside assistance.

Black and Decker VEC026BD Electromate 400 Car Battery Charger

Features and Benefits

Summarizing the above, below is a list of features and benefits of the Black and Decker VEC026BD Electromate 400 Car Battery Charger at a quick glance:

  • Portable power multi-purpose unit, including…
  • 450 instant amps battery power for jump-starting your car without the need of a second vehicle
  • Built-in air compressor to inflate car and bicycle tires as needed
  • Built-in 120 volt AC charger for use with ordinary household extension cord for easy and convenient recharging at home
  • One DC power outlet for 12-volt household devices
  • Built-in ultra-bright LED worklight for emergency roadside assistance, even at night
  • Reverse hook-up warning alarm to help prevent damage to vehicle or electronics (also prevents incorrectly attaching jumper cables)
  • 2-Year Warranty for peace-of-mind if product is faulty

Product Specifications (Black and Decker VEC026BD Electromate 400 Car Battery Charger)

  • Brand: Black and Decker
  • Item Model Number: VEC026BD
  • Weight: 25.0 Pounds (official)
  • Height: 12.0 inches
  • Length: 18.0 inches
  • Width: 8.0 inches

Pros and Cons

The following lists the pros and cons of this particular model product, based on straight product facts, specifications and actual user feedback:

Pros

  • Vast majority of users report good, reliable operation
  • Easy-to-use unit with user-friendly design
  • Suitable for a whole variety of household and outdoor (camping) appliances eg. laptops, cellphones, air mattresses, small power tools
  • Said to jump-start vehicles consistently well (for majority of users)
  • Heavy-duty solid unit
  • Built for long service life
  • Ships with a 2-year manufacturer’s warranty

Cons

  • Some users report that the air compressor performance is inconsistent
  • Inflating tires takes longer than advertised (see below reviews)
  • Worklight does not always work
  • Considered by some to be quite a heavy unit
  • Although apparently random, some users report that not all the components necessarily always work as best as possible eg. radio

Customer Reviews

Below are testimonials from purchasing customers of the Black and Decker VEC026BD Electromate 400 car battery charger. These testimonials are 100% Amazon verified wherever possible, and we provide feedback from other customer retail forums if necessary or applicable.

It is always helpful and informative to read what others have to say about any product in question before making any final purchase decision.

In the case of the Black and Decker VEC026BD Electromate 400 car battery charger, a 5 Star Rating was given by 48% of customer reviewers, followed by 26% awarding it with 4 stars8% who gave it 3 stars, 7% awarded 2 stars and finally 11% gave it only 1 star.

Nutshell Summary

From the various multi-purpose ‘power pack’ products featured here, it would seem that the Black and Decker VEC026BD Electromate 400 car battery charger (along with the Energizer 84020has probably received the best response from users far and wide. When doing our research on the VEC026BD, it was clear that the majority of users were happy enough with the product, when one considers that an overall 74% of reviewers awarded it with a high rating.

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Many reviewer comments said that the unit works fine, and is reliable enough in emergency situations. Not many people reported that the unit did not jump-start their car successfully, so the essential function of the unit is given a ‘thumbs-up’.

However, as with all of these multi-function units, there are drawbacks. And again, it seems that some users receive a fully-working product, while others have problems.

The real complaints about the Electromate 400 seem to be about the air compressor: simply not powerful enough, too slow or it simply did not work well at all. Other users reported that the work light or the radio was not always reliable.

All things considered though, the unit seems to do the job for most consumers, and this is reflected in the dominating positive user reviews. Note too, that this product comes with a 2-Year Warranty, for extra peace-of-mind, should you receive a faulty unit.

The Electromate 400

“I just bought this unit a few days ago…charged it overnight and then decided to test it on a few things. Obviously it will jump start a car since the thing is essentially built around a car battery.

It also ran my large box fan perfectly well. Also worked fine when I plugged any lamps into it.

I then tried using it for my coffee brew using my Mr Coffee, but apparently the amps being drawn by the water heating and heating the hotplate under the pot at the same time were too much for it, so it just shut down after a few seconds every time I tried this. Oh well! I think that if you have a more recent coffee maker with the insulated pot and no heated hotplate you will probably be just fine. One thing I could not find much info on before I purchased the unit was exactly how long it will power standard household items during a power outage?

So to test this, with the electromate fully charged, I plugged in a 13″ color TV that had a built-in DVD player into the electromate, inserted a DVD…and then checked the clock. It kept the TV powered and the movie playing for just a few minutes under the three hour mark. Pretty good, I thought. This thing is a well built unit…it seems very sturdy…but I reckon it’s a bit heavy, so you could not really take it backpacking. I would recommend it highly to anyone looking for a way to keep some of the small conveniences happening during a storm or power outage.”

– Craig Thomson, USA

November 10, 2006

5 Star Rating

Jump Starter

“Probably too heavy to have in your car at all times, I did take it on vacation and sure enough, I accidentally managed to leave a dome light on long enough to kill my car battery. This thing had plenty enough power to get my car going again. The 120 volts were used to power a light at home, on a rewiring project, and it certainly was better to work with it than with a flashlight. At this stage I have not tried the inflator, nor have I gone camping yet, so I can’t yet say.”

– Ducky, PA USA

August 10, 2006

5 Star Rating

I Love It…I have found many uses for this unit!

“This box is definitely not the most powerful backup power unit on the market, and it is a bit on the heavy side (but with a clever and practical design), but I have found so many uses for it, so for me it has been well worth the hundred dollars or so I paid for it…I’m a tool kinda girl and sometimes I buy stuff even though I don’t think I will need it. I was definitely wrong with this one!

I bought my original unit back in 2007. I took it on a group camping trip, and was able to air up my mattress and keep a flourescent drop light on for one of the nights we partied, after which I then recharged it off of a friend’s portable generator.

I also do craft and cooking shows and was able to keep a large crockpot going with this unit, all the while keeping my chili warm, turning it on and off for periods of time as necessary so that it could stay at a “food safe” temperature.

At an inconvenient time the battery in my 1999 5-Liter V8 Ford Explorer died on me, and I then had to use this unit to jump-start my truck several times a day for about three days without recharging.

I have also used it to top off my tire when it developed a slow leak and needed to hold over until repair. They were quite large tires, BTW.

Most recently, when Hurricane Ike was approaching in during the early morning hours, I already knew that my power was going down. I fully charged my Electromate and plugged in the wireless router and modem, so I could watch the live broadcast of the storm approaching the coast on my laptop. It held over until almost daylight, so I was pleased with that.

I do a lot of chili cook-offs and have one of those blowup poly-nylon decor things like folks erect in their yards at Christmas. I plug that into the Electromate and it runs for hours. I also have power if I need it for a blender or other small aplliance.

I often work all day in a large chile garden and take this with me. Instead of running the truck radio or a long extension cord out into the field, I just plug my radio into the unit.

Sadly, my home and garage were robbed this year and my first unit was stolen. It was one of the first things I replaced because I think it’s just a good thing to have lying around.

This is obviously an amateurish and very non-technical review, but I do hope that it does impress upon folks that this is just one of those things you may think you will never need – but you would be surprised at all the many ways you can use it. Yes, it would be good if it ran for a longer period of time and was not so heavy…the handle is very comfortable anyway, even when lifting it up onto the under-hood to jump your battery. The Electromate has managed to make the list of Hurricane Readiness down here in TX.

BTW, I would have never gotten the one with the radio instead of the air compressor…just plug the radio into this while you air up the inner tubes for the river!”

– B. Boyd, TX USA

January 5, 2009

5 Star Rating

This thing saved my day!

“I purchased this jump starter as a gift for my husband at Christmas. However, today I made the error of allowing my kids to watch the DVD player in our minivan while I did some cleaning. After about twenty minutes, I tried to start the car and the engine was pretty much dead. We are new in my town, and I don’t know anyone, and my husband was 2 counties away. I had to go pick up my daughter from kindergarten in around ten minutes.

So I could have called AAA, but I decided to unwrap the Electromate and give it a shot first. I was quite nervous, as I am not so technical and had never tried to jump a car before, but luckily the instructions were very easy. I could hook up the cables and start the car in less than three minutes. The car battery still had a small charge – the interior lights were still working, so I’m sure that helped. But this thing saved me from waiting forever for AAA and begging someone from my husband’s office to pick up my daughter, and listening to my toddler scream all that time.

So I am beyond thrilled with this, and am going to get another one for my husband, as this one is now definitely mine!”

– Leah G, USA

December 11, 2007

5 Star Rating

Decent, but poor build quality.

“After getting the Electromate 400, I am very glad that I tested it before depending on it in the snow. The first time I tried to jump start a car, the positive wire popped out of the connector on the rear of the unit, which left a hot, large-gauge wire loose in the engine compartment. Many sparks. Bad news.

The unit itself seems capable, but the one I got was clearly defective. Be careful.”

– Brooks Talley, HI USA

December 4, 2007

3 Star Rating

Works as advertised.

“The only minor drawback is the long time it takes to fill tires with the air pump. Apart from that I am very pleased with this product.”

– M.H. Kern, NY USA

January 15, 2007

5 Star Rating

Similar to to the everything phone!

“Not unlike the early camera phone, this Electromate has everything. Unfortunately, this fact comes with the burden of not really doing anything of the functions as well as a single unit would. I will say that it did save me when I had a flat tire, but it took about seven minutes to inflate my tire to 40PSI. The inverter outlets are really good, but again are limited on the amps that can be run through them. It would not run a halogen light when I did some night-time work. Overall it’s very useful, but just beware it will have some limitations.”

– Matthew Blasco, CT USA

July 26, 2007

4 Star Rating

Does the job!

“This box works great… I bought it for my dad and it works as advertized. It has enough juice for a normal size cathode-ray tube TV, and has been used to jump my car a few times.

The original unit I had purchased had a problem with the generator, and would not power up anything. I got in touch with Amazon and in no time flat the UPS delivery was back to pick it up, and I got a new unit the very next day!!!

GREAT SERVICE FROM AMAZON!!! And a great product too!”

– Willy M. ‘Krayzie’, FL USA

April 5, 2007

5 Star Rating

Unimpressed.

“I got this thing for jumping my second car which regularly goes several weeks without being driven, and also for powering small devices when camping. Worked great for jumping the vehicle and to power an electrically-powered air mattress inflator. Then went to plug in the small fan and nothing. For whatever reason, the electrical outlets do not work now. Tried everything.

Follow up…
I just received my second unit. Charged it for 24 hours. I plugged in a regular size box fan and the unit’s electrical outlet status light starts blinking green and shuts down after less than a couple of minutes. I then hooked up a small desktop fan and the same thing happened. Even plugged my answering machine in and again, the same thing. Black and Decker must have issued a bad batch since most other reviews here are positive.

Amazon has been truly amazing. They shipped the replacement model which I received 3 business days after filing for a return and even had UPS pick up the first one.”

– Edwin M. Sandel

June 2, 2007

2 Star Rating

Nice, but flawed…

“I bought this one year ago. The price was fair and the Black and Decker brand was reassuring. It worked quite well for pumping up my dirt bike and tractor tires until just last week. Everything works great on the unit EXCEPT the air compressor, which is the main reason I got it. The compressor turns on but I get no air. The air hose attachment is no better than a manual pump. BUYER BEWARE!”

– Christian E. Furin, MD USA

January 5, 2011

2 Star Rating

Air compressor is a joke.

“I bought this as I have a boat trailer that I frequently needs air in the tires. The trailer is not close to a power source so something that runs off of a battery is perfect. I thought this would do it, but unfortunately the compressor bailed out on me after about ten days…and not even after a lot of use! Not very impressed with the unit.”

– Andre C. Schimmelbusch

April 30, 2009

1 Star Rating