Jump starters

[Bob_Vaughn]

As a general rule how often do jump starters need to be recharged especially the small ones that just jump start?

[dedmiston]

Bob Vaughn wrote:
My question got hi jacked

It did. Apologies. It should be back on track now.

Let's not fight over jump starters.

[Chum_lee]

{SNIP}





Woops Chum Lee. You're done in this topic now. Move along to the next one please.

[Bob_Vaughn]

My question got hi jacked

[onrecess]

Um, they sell lithium deep cycle batteries. The new DPs can get them, sometimes as an option as an option. I believe the Monaco fully electric (no propane) option provides Lipo
They cost about twice what those Optima Gel Cell batteries cost.
For about twice the lithium price you can buy Lifepo 4 batteries. They are much better. Lipo has a relatively short life span, by number of charges, not use. Like your cell phone, if you charge it even if it has a good charge, it won't last long. Life (lithium iron) batteries have a much longer life. More than twice the lithium.
This is all just from my memory of various magazine articles. Research it yourself, I wouldn't bet the house on my memory.

[Jack_Spratt]

My Tack Life was about $80 on Amazon.
It loses almost no charge sitting for 6 months.
Being 2 years old I would expect newer versions to be even better.

[time2roll]

garmp wrote:
So... which is the best bang for the buck? Hoping that you won't use it.

The best value is the one your FIL puts under the tree for you. 😉

[time2roll]

Bob Vaughn wrote:
As a general rule how often do jump starters need to be recharged especially the small ones that just jump start?

I have an older AGM style jump box (not lithium) and it has been sitting a couple years. Just gave it a check and it said empty. Not sure how much power or use it had left but I plugged it in to get charged back up. You never know when it might be needed. I probably should be charging mine every 6 to 12 months.

[CavemanCharlie]

Jack Spratt wrote:
I think they will spin the motor over about 3-5 times and the die quickly. That's if,,, the battery in the vehicle was only partly dead. If it is dead, dead, as in not enough power to light a single 12 volt tail light bulb, then I don't think the Jumper Pack (as they are called around here) will do much.

Quite a strong opinion for no experience with them,
but this is the internet...
They would surprise you with how many jumps you get out of
a single charge, even with diesels.

Yes, your right I have no experience with them. From what I am reading on here they must be better then I think.

I wonder how they work ? Why not replace the batteries in cars with something like the ones in a Jumper Pack?

[JimBollman]

garmp wrote:
So... which is the best bang for the buck? Hoping that you won't use it.

The lithium packs are my choice for a jumper battery. Small to tuck in your vehicle and hold most of their charge for a year or more. I keep my old wet cell jumper battery around with a fresh battery for a 12 volt source in the shop. When I bought it lithiums didn't exist. I carried it on camping trips, but didn't carry it daily in my truck, too big and it needed to be topped off every couple of months.

If you want to use it on a diesel most people use two (may not need two for a small diesel). There are impressive YouTube videos starting over the road tractor diesels with two little lithium packs.

[sgfrye]

BobsYourUncle wrote:
Interesting about the booster packs.
Perhaps I should look into them.
Being old school, and a guy who has been turning wrenches since I was a teenager, I have a hard time wrapping my head around something tiny having enough oooomph to start a vehicle.

i have no experience trying to jump start a diesel engine, but i can tell you from experience managing a van fleet and personal use, i have used them to jump start large ford v8s, mid size engines, small 12 volts like riding mowers. the different jump boxes i used were normally in the 60 to 80 dollar range. yes they work well unless the battery is way past dead.

[garmp]

So... which is the best bang for the buck? Hoping that you won't use it.

[JimBollman]

Not sure why you wouldn't recharge at the first opportunity after using your jumper battery. I have both a wet cell older unit that I have replaced the battery a few times over the years and a new style lithium. I have started many cars with the old one over the years and a few with the new one. The new one has started everything from our Honda CRV to a small block Chevy with no problem. I recharge after use and usually top it off once a year. There was still charge left after starting the small block and would have probably started another one. I carry the lithium in my truck, the other one stays in my shop for when I needed it.

[Jack_Spratt]

I think they will spin the motor over about 3-5 times and the die quickly. That's if,,, the battery in the vehicle was only partly dead. If it is dead, dead, as in not enough power to light a single 12 volt tail light bulb, then I don't think the Jumper Pack (as they are called around here) will do much.

Quite a strong opinion for no experience with them,
but this is the internet...
They would surprise you with how many jumps you get out of
a single charge, even with diesels.

[CavemanCharlie]

BobsYourUncle wrote:
Interesting about the booster packs.
Perhaps I should look into them.
Being old school, and a guy who has been turning wrenches since I was a teenager, I have a hard time wrapping my head around something tiny having enough oooomph to start a vehicle.

Me too.

I think they will spin the motor over about 3-5 times and the die quickly. That's if,,, the battery in the vehicle was only partly dead. If it is dead, dead, as in not enough power to light a single 12 volt tail light bulb, then I don't think the Jumper Pack (as they are called around here) will do much.

Also, if the vehicle ran the battery down trying to get it started in the first place, then the jumper pack is going to fix what ever the original problem was.

I used to get kick out of people back in the day that would set there crank , and crank, and crank, and crank, on the engine until the battery was dead and then ask for a jump start. Why not try and figure out why it didn't start in the first place ??? no use running your battery all the way down to that last partial crank. It's not going to magically start then. Fix the problem before you run the battery down.

I still wonder about people like that.

P.S. I am not talking about people who's battery got old and tired, left their lights on, or stuff like that. I am talking about people with good batteries that run it down cranking the motor over and over for no reason.