Has anyone ever used a car jump starter?

[Lindsey Ice]

Has anyone ever used a car jump starter? What do you think? Is it worth it?

 

[GCS]

Has anyone ever used a car jump starter? What do you think? Is it worth it?

Yes, work great.

I have a different brand (NOCO).

I was skeptical about them, thinking they were gimmicky. Then a guy at work that’s into electronics was telling me how great they are. I believe he has a Hobo Freight model.

I’m sold. I have bought several since
.

 

[Super Mech]

I had a Snap On one. Never cared for it. It could never start a car with a totally dead battery nor did it have much power for extended cranking such as a flooded engine. It made a great cell phone charger though.

 

[Danglerb]

When they work, they are great, but ALL brands have the occasional bad unit. None of the small ones like cranking for more than 5 or 10 seconds, but if you need more than the problem isn't the battery, its battery and some other issue.

Two kinds of dead battery, dead dead, and just discharged and still mostly OK. Dead dead and the battery does no recovery and actually ***** up some of the booster current, better to disconnect it and/or replace. Discharged battery will usually quickly take a surface charge from the booster and help start the car.

$50 to $75 for a decent one on sale, seems to me like a no brainer to keep in the car, and like was said, charges cell phones nicely. Get one with a good warranty, use it right away a few times to make sure it works, and it takes a few cycles to get max rate.

For a shop, something bigger with a real battery is a lot more flexible with longer cranking etc., but expect to pay a LOT more for it.

 

[JSGAuto]

I use the Audew 2000 to start my racecar with the onboard battery disconnected. My crew much prefers this to hauling around a full size car battery!

I was surprised how well it works, and it is one of the cheaper ones!

https://www.audew.com/Audew-20000mA...l-Engine-with-LCD-Power-Display-p-100058.html

 

[Chevy-SS]

I have one from Costco, it cost ~$50.... best money ever spent.

I have older Cadillac that sits a lot. When I go to use it, the battery is often stone dead, not a lick of life. I connect that little jumper and .... BAM! ..... the engine cranks right over and car starts right up. I continue to be amazed.

Carrying one of these in your vehicle is a complete no-brainer. As others have mentioned, it won't crank the engine for a long time... but if you simply need a jump start for a dead battery, then this is the answer.

Buy one.. keep it in the car... and also have a good set of jumper cables, just in case.

 

[Showkey]

YES.......they do work.

There are dozens of brands, knockoffs and counterfeit packs........so it’s buyer beware.

Common sense is required:

It won’t remain charged in the truck Indefinently.

It will melt down if the discharge rate is exceeded.

If the dead vehicle starts and the pack remains connected.......the pack can start on fire.

 

[Oldsmobile]

I also had the one from Costco, and I hated it. Clamps were difficult to get onto my side-post batteries. Once it's hooked up to the battery, you only have so much time to get into the car and start cranking. It wasn't suited for cranking over a carbureted V8, so I got rid of it.

Others have reported success, and I wish I had the same. If you buy one, OP, I hope it works well for you.

 

[bushmechanic]

ABSOLUTELY!

The whole commercial park around me is festooned with the Noco units, and I started my Kubota with mine for three years before it gave up. They're out there every day cranking diesels, imports, fork lifts, mowers...

Literally every day. None of that **** starts around here. It's just "run it until it pops and never buy a part".

Put that ****** in your glove box and just forget it's there. I don't know if Noco is a real manufacturer, but I know what I'm buying when I get another one, and it's gonna be a Noco.

 

[landrover bodger]

i have the audew the same as JSG auto is using it has started a few diesel landrovers without any problems . well worth the cost

 

[midorix]

Had to use the one from Costco and it worked great. Purchased few more when it went on sale to put it in all of our cars.

 

[tez929rr]

Yes. I have a half dozen from the Antigravity brand to the Costco $50 units. Perfect to take on a trip to recharge phones and carry in a rental car. I’ve jumped my V10 a couple of times with no issues and a Duramax one time which amazed the owner.

 

[Daveyclimber]

I have the largest NOCO. It is super. I can start my heavy equipment with dead D8 batteries. Has a multifunction light and auxiliary power ports to run other items. But it is large in comparison to those gimmicky jump start packs.

 

[lolaetype]

We carry one made by NOCO in our road trip bag, along with a tire plug kit, 12v tire inflator and a few other emergency items. Used it once, not on my car, and it worked great. We also have jumper cables in each car, but what do you do when the car won't start and there are no other cars around?

 

[FuzzyTiger]

I keep one plugged into a charger in the trunk of my SUV. It's a Noco unit with a flashlight, emergency light and usb charging ports + of course it'll start my car. They are fantastic little devices.

But the one thing to keep in mind is that they are BOOSTERS. As in they will boost your car battery so it can start the car. It can't start the car on its own however. Nearly dead battery is fine. Totally dead battery is asking a lot and will probably only work if it's a tiny engine.

 

[Paul_The_Builder]

I have a few of them, and they're great. As long as you get a reputable one with a good size capacity, they will start whatever you need them to.

My go-to is a 12/24v unit rated for 2000 cranking amps, which I don't think is sold anymore. It can start an LS1 V8 at least 10 times, with no other battery connected, in 1 charge (yes, I've tested it).

All depends on the actual size of the battery used.

 

[loganb]

Another vote for the Noco, specifically have a GB40 in each vehicle and have tried and succeeded in it starting my 2014 Chevy with the 5.3L when cold on a 20 degree day and no battery hooked up...I was curious...then was impressed. Have one of their much larger units on the farm to help on some of that equipment as well.

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[mnmarlin]

I have a Gooloo brand from Amazon, claims some ridiculous amount of output (700 amps or something). I bought it just to try it. Use it on my sons 1997 Suburban with a 350 with a completely dead battery - as in sat for a year dead - and it fires right up. Granted the truck doesn't need to crank very long to start. I'm sure it would work very well in the "I left my lights on" situations. I think they are worth the $50-$70 for sure, especially on modern fuel injected cars that just have a low battery for whatever reason.

 

[BFBOB]

Yes, and to my utter shock and amazement, it worked! Now MOAO and I carry one in our vehicles at all times.

Every so often we recharge by plugging into the lighter socket while driving.

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

Yep I like them never had a problem with a little one like that.


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[Indexmill]

Yes. They are just amazing.

 

[RKA]

I had a Snap On one. Never cared for it. It could never start a car with a totally dead battery nor did it have much power for extended cranking such as a flooded engine. It made a great cell phone charger though.

It’s worth mentioning your first point (completely drained battery) is completely dependent on the battery size, temps, engine size and type (gas/diesel). The problem is none of the companies that sell these make it very clear where the outer bounds are, instead they provide marketing garbage like 2000 peak amps. If you’re used to CCA ratings on batteries, that 2000 amps is nothing but misleading. But, if you size the jump pack right for your application, they will work. I would take the stock CCA from the battery in your car and double it for the minimum peak advertised amps you should be looking for. Triple if you even want to think about starting a car with a completely dead battery. That might get you close to the minimums you’ll need.

The second use case you mentioned, I would not recommend. You’ll overheat them with continuous use. They are not designed for that, get a pack with a lead avid or AGM battery for this. In really cold weather, these lithium packs can actually perform better on the 2nd or 3rd attempt because the heat generated from the discharge warms them up. The better ones will shut down when the internal temp gets too high, but I would never rely on that because I’m sure a few would begin a meltdown process. I might try 3-4 attempts, then stop and wait 15-20 mins before trying again. I don’t want a damaged lithium battery sitting in my car, or worse, parked in my garage attached to the house.

 

[Aileron]

I purchased two of the NOCO GB50's from a Woot sale someone posted here a while back around this time last year. One was faulty out of the box and went back. The other has been great so far. Started car from a completely dead battery a few times.I think I only charged the unit once or twice since i have had it.

 

[ScooterFL]

I have a NOCO GB70 and would not give it up for anything. Use it all the time. Never let me down. I use it in a working commercial auto shop.

 

[bwringer]

Bear in mind the smaller/cheaper models (under $100 or so) might not start a V8 with a completely dead battery, but they'll often help boost a nearly dead battery enough to get it over the hump. The directions specifically mention that they're intended for smaller 4 and 6 cylinder engines.

If you regularly need to fire up a dump truck with a stone dead battery in February, then get one of the larger units intended for this sort of thing.

I have a Noco GB20 (500A) that works fine for motorcycles and smaller car engines; note that the previous poster uses a GB70, which is rated at 2000A for gas engines up to 8 liters and diesels up to 6 liters. Noco sells a couple of models even bigger than that.

 

[tez929rr]

Bear in mind the smaller/cheaper models (under $100 or so) might not start a V8 with a completely dead battery, but they'll often help boost a nearly dead battery enough to get it over the hump. The directions specifically mention that they're intended for smaller 4 and 6 cylinder engines.

If you regularly need to fire up a dump truck with a stone dead battery in February, then get one of the larger units intended for this sort of thing.

I have a Noco GB20 (500A) that works fine for motorcycles and smaller car engines; note that the previous poster uses a GB70, which is rated at 2000A for gas engines up to 8 liters and diesels up to 6 liters. Noco sells a couple of models even bigger than that.

Antigravity XP-1 (bought on a recommendation from here) has started my V10 when it was stone dead. They run about $130. After about 5 years I replaced it with a Bolt D29 from Amazon for $80, and it started the V10 when the battery finally crapped out after 7 years (thanks NAPA). I travel with a smaller version (lately a small Antigravity battery or one of those $50 Costco ones) and charge iPad and phone with them. Very convenient for air travel.

 

[mhaus986]

I have an antigravity unit as well, the little Microstart “Sport” unit. Has already come in handy when the ol’ lady killed her battery by leaving the lights on and it jumped her car no problem. It has also been useful a couple times already when the power was out, because of wildfire season planned power outages, by allowing us to charge our phones.

 

[Buster21]

The other night my wife's work had an awards ceremony, due to covid they did it at the outdoor drive in movie theater. After everyone sat with their radios on for several hours when we went to leave several people had their hoods up, I couldn't believe how many dead batteries there were in that short amount of time. I jump started six and the drive in people were jump starting several as well. I used my NOCO GB70 and it started everyone without hesitation.

 

[demarpaint]

Money well spent. I bought one instead of buying a battery for my generator. I added a few dollars and have another useful tool, which will easily start a car, charge a cell phone during an electrical outage, and start my generator when needed.

 

[zendriver]

I’ve never owned one, or seen one in use, recently I got a dead battery on vacation in a crowded parking lot and I was wondering how the tow company be able to get the jumper cables in there to hook up to it.

The tow driver carried up a jumper pack in about 30 seconds we were good to go!

Looking to get one take along on road trips.

Other kind vacationers were trying to help us jumpstart the car but the one woman’s battery cables the wires we’re very Thin gauge are doing was overheating.

We can use it to help others start their car I need assistance


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[mazdeuce]

I've used mine to start other people's cars more than my own though that is true of jumper cables as well. I feel better using a jump pack on others cars because of the built in safety measures.

 

[dogdog]

Had to use the one from Costco and it worked great. Purchased few more when it went on sale to put it in all of our cars.

That is the one I have from costco earlier model type-s, and have used it on the vw Jetta and the Honda Few times... no issue with the battery down to below 10v.

also have the more expensive one ... earlier 2015 or 2016 then was $130-ish also worked fine.

 

[bwringer]

I've used mine to start other people's cars more than my own though that is true of jumper cables as well. I feel better using a jump pack on others cars because of the built in safety measures.

Same here, and that's likely true of all the tools and supplies most of us carry with us.

Most people don't maintain their vehicles at all, they just drive until it won't go. I've always found that my tools get used far more on other peoples' machines, and hardly ever on my own.

None of my motorcycles use Torx fasteners, but I carry Torx tools in my motorcycle kit anyway because I have friends who ride Euro bikes.

I would suspect most of the folks here on GJ have the same experience.

 

[jgromada]

Have a NOCO GB40 and i like it, yes it has worked well

 

[theoldwizard1]

The biggest problem is there are probably 100 to choose from !

This one is interesting because you recharge it (slowly) from an standard phone charger.

New KING of Jump Starters? TrekPow JT2500



TrekPow JT2500 - Amazon $100

Built in flashlight and USB power bank

 

[RKA]

I would suspect most of the folks here on GJ have the same experience.

I would have expected that to be true. Much to my surprise, the first time I used my lithium jump packs were on my 3 year old Honda. It crapped out a month after the warranty was up. Normally I proactively replace the batteries at 4-5 years of age regardless of whether they are good. I don’t live down south in a hot climate so usually I can get that much life out of the batteries. Regardless, that’s why I bought the jump packs, for the just in case scenario. AAA is good too, but in cold weather, you could be waiting for a couple hours.

 

[MarlynOC]

I hook the ground of car rather than the ground on the battery. Then the positive to the battery, thus isolating the battery from the equation. If battery is dead then the jump box is not going to be drained buy the dead battery. I have multiple cars one with positive ground and the others with negative ground.

 

[didit]

I kept an Antigravity XP-1 in my HD bagger for 6 years, just in case, for peace of mind. I didn't need it for myself but did help several others start their vehicles. I used the lights on it quite a bit and after selling the bike it is now in my car. When it reaches the end of its life cycle, I will buy another.

 

[PelicanPines]

Noco GB 70... in an orange 50 cal ammo can... extra wires etc... all ready to go. And it has !!!

 

[Jlarson]

I often use the NOCO I have in my service rig several times a week. I rarely have to get my cables out except for on larger equipment occasionally, especially of someone has left the lights on all weekend.