Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I received my 230V Australia/NZ model Vagabond Mini Lithium today, from Paul C Buff Australia, and unfortunately it doesn't work properly. It powers my cellphone charger, computer monitor, etc, but not my AB800 light which is what it was designed for and purchased for.

I charged the unit until the light on the charger turned green, then for another couple of hours. When I turn it on the lights come on, and the battery indicator indicates full. When I plug my 230V AB800 in then turn it on (with model light disabled) all the lights on the vagabond immediately turn off, and so does the AB800. Both of my AB800s do the same thing, and work fine on mains power. Turning the vagabond off then on again makes the lights come back on, and work for small devices again.

I can plug my cellphone charger in and it works perfectly, as does my household fan, my laptop with the battery removed, my Android tablet, two 25W light fittings, and my 22" Dell LCD computer monitor - not all at the same time of course.

My theory is it can't handle the current draw of the AB800. Of course it's designed to, that's what it's for. I didn't want to plug it into something like a heater to test that theory, in case I broke it.

Has anyone else experienced or heard about this problem? Of course i've emailed Paul C Buff, both the Australia box shifter (who doesn't answer their phone) and the head office, I just wondered if anyone else had found this.

My guess would be a fault in the contoller in the battery itself, and not the inverter. You will need to contact PCB AU for warranty service.

That's what the Australia tech support said, they're sending me a replacement :)