h. freight 3 In 1 Jump Starter any good? I need a small jump pack...

1982fxr · Oct 26, 2015

this one...
http://www.harborfreight.com/12-vol...zIjoiNDQuOTkiLCJwcm9kdWN0X2lk IjoiNzgzIn0=

anything better for the same money? thanks :bowdown:

CobraChevelle · Oct 26, 2015

1982fxr said:
this one...
http://www.harborfreight.com/12-vol...zIjoiNDQuOTkiLCJwcm9kdWN0X2lk IjoiNzgzIn0=

anything better for the same money? thanks

check some pawn shops, I missed out on a solar for $50 and they normally sell for over $120. Looked like the thing was never used.

But that jump pack at HF should be okay. When you get into that price range they are pretty much all the same.

AmishFury · Oct 26, 2015

we had one from a different brand that was pretty much the same at work... the switch broke... but other than that it did it's job about as well as you can expect...

928'er · Oct 26, 2015

Be aware that the cables are really short on those things...

bob from indiana · Oct 26, 2015

I have two of them. Mine are a few years old and have worked well for me. I have jumped quite a few cars, tractors and the forklift at work.

Two guys at work liked mine and bought one. They are pleased with them. One of the guys has two grown daughters with low incomes. He has to help them with car issues a lot. He has used his jump pack more than I have and says it works fine.

The cable clamps are a bit flimsy on these. When i use mine I try to hook it up and wait three minutes or so and the low battery machine generally turns over well.

Skin · Oct 26, 2015

In my experience those things are usually junk in a few years no matter what brand you buy. The important part is a quality battery however they rarely advertise whats inside.

FigureItOut · Oct 26, 2015

I'm a bit of a jump box fanatic and own a half dozen or so. The 3-1 HF box is fantastic for its price. Much, much better than anything else in its price range. Ignore the amp ratings on the parts store and Walmart boxes.

I have 2 Clore JNC boxes, which you'll find in just about any shop and you'll also rebranded on the SO truck, and this box compares well to my JNC 660.

A couple things to know, first get this one and NOT the bigger ones with more functions. The internal battery stats on this one are better than the bigger ones. Second, this item is soon to be gone and replaced by an identical looking box with a black case. The black one is inferior.

There are only 3 lines of jump boxes that I'm aware of that are not total garbage. Those are the Clore boxes, the Pro Series by Schumacher (only Pro Series, the other Schumacher stuff isn't any good in my opinion), and this little HF box.

FigureItOut · Oct 26, 2015

Also good to know is that the replacement batteries for the Clore boxes, which are about $40, fit perfectly into the HF box.

markharleypainter · Oct 26, 2015

Ive used one every day in a honda body shop..8-9 years old great!hardly ever charge it

tt350z · Oct 26, 2015

Save your money and get a portable lithium jumpstarter. I have an antigravity xp10 and I can start my cammed Z06 (7.0L engine).

You can also charge you phones or laptop from it as well. It's lightweight, small form factor, versatility, and battery life is superior to thise old jump packs.

racinfarmer · Oct 27, 2015

928'er said:
Be aware that the cables are really short on those things...

My nutsack has a tighter grip then the alligator clamps too.

I don't know how I can about one, but I threw it through the front window of the nearest HF and drove to Menards and picked up a $35 Stanley one that is much better. Slightly longer cables and 100x better clamps on the ends.

FigureItOut · Oct 27, 2015

racinfarmer said:
My nutsack has a tighter grip then the alligator clamps too.

I don't know how I can about one, but I threw it through the front window of the nearest HF and drove to Menards and picked up a $35 Stanley one that is much better. Slightly longer cables and 100x better clamps on the ends.

You're gonna need to show a head-to-head comparison. Clamp your balls and the alligator clamps to the same battery, have someone drive away in the car and see which one lets go first.

racinfarmer · Oct 27, 2015

FigureItOut said:
You're gonna need to show a head-to-head comparison. Clamp your balls and the alligator clamps to the same battery, have someone drive away in the car and see which one lets go first.

I already threw the HF back through their store window, or I would.

FigureItOut · Oct 27, 2015

Rest assured OP, the clamps will grip your battery posts just fine. Racinfarmer is just disappointed the box didn't start his motor when clamped to his tool bag.

racinfarmer · Oct 27, 2015

FigureItOut said:
Rest assured OP, the clamps will grip your battery posts just fine. Racinfarmer is just disappointed the box didn't start his motor when clamped to his tool bag.

While that may be the case, it still doesn't change the fact that you can get a better one for the same money from your local hardware or auto parts store.

FigureItOut · Oct 27, 2015

racinfarmer said:
While that may be the case, it still doesn't change the fact that you can get a better one for the same money from your local hardware or auto parts store.

Experience and research tells me this isn't so. Even if claimed stats are accurate there's not one in that price range that's comparable. The HF box will start my 302, without another battery attached. I'm afraid you got a bad one.
If you gave an account of trying more than one, or even of finding shortcomings beyond the clamps, I'd be quite surprised.

djb2 · Oct 27, 2015

I have a few jump start boxes.

The HF one is pretty good. It's also the least expensive source for 17Ah SLA batteries if you need a replacement for a nicer box. But you might find that it's easier to just leave the battery in the HF box to use as-is.

Even with that endorsement, my next jump start box will probably be a lithium type.

GettinJunkDone · Oct 27, 2015

I like the harbor freight box. I've used it several times without any problems. I've jumped my f150 with a 302, but have also used it on a few relatives' and customers' cars. I had a 4 cylinder truck I was fixing for a someone and I let them know that their battery was toasted. They opted to take care of that themselves. Well I jumped it and drove it to their house with the jump pack sitting next to me. I even used it to charge my cell phone on the way.

The trick is to have charged according to the directions in the manual. If you do that, you shouldn't have any worries.

guy48065 · Oct 27, 2015

The right answer is to get one of those tiny but powerful Li-ion jump batteries. If you can stomach going to Walmart they have the best price I've seen. Whistler 300amp for $60.

My truck has a charging issue and this thing gets regular use. I can get at least 10 jumps on a charge and it's actually potent enough to start my V8 cold, with the battery disconnected (yes I tried it).

/thread

Finky198 · Oct 27, 2015

JNC is prob the industry standard 660 is a great unit

AmishFury · Oct 27, 2015

guy48065 said:
The right answer is to get one of those tiny but powerful Li-ion jump batteries. If you can stomach going to Walmart they have the best price I've seen. Whistler 300amp for $60.

My truck has a charging issue and this thing gets regular use. I can get at least 10 jumps on a charge and it's actually potent enough to start my V8 cold, with the battery disconnected (yes I tried it).

/thread

so those are actually good? how well do they hold their charge?

tt350z · Oct 27, 2015

AmishFury said:
so those are actually good? how well do they hold their charge?

I've used mine to jump a couple vehicles. I last charged my lithium jump starter in June. Still good to go today.

SantaAna12 · Oct 27, 2015

This is a HF pass in my book. We had one at work, and it got used regular for four years before it became a pass in my book. Yes, the cables are short.
I got it for 34$ on BF two years ago. Still tops and lasts to the values it should.
Biggest drawback? Extremely slow charge time, depending on your needs.

1982fxr · Oct 27, 2015

guy48065 said:
The right answer is to get one of those tiny but powerful Li-ion jump batteries. If you can stomach going to Walmart they have the best price I've seen. Whistler 300amp for $60.

My truck has a charging issue and this thing gets regular use. I can get at least 10 jumps on a charge and it's actually potent enough to start my V8 cold, with the battery disconnected (yes I tried it).

/thread

more than i planned on spending but damn! hadn't heard of that thing til you guys mentioned them, looks pretty sweet

tt350z · Oct 27, 2015

1982fxr said:
more than i planned on spending but damn! hadn't heard of that thing til you guys mentioned them, looks pretty sweet

You can find the lithium jump starters for cheaper than the HF one. Just need to look around.

This one is $37, listed as 300 cranking amps. Mine has twice the cranking amps, but it cost a bit more, but I needed it to be able to start a pretty big cammed 7.0L V8 (which is does with the battery disconnected).
http://www.amazon.com/DBPOWER-8000mAh-Portable-Starter-Battery/dp/B013UJ2JDS/ref=pd_sim_sbs_263_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=41934YWVCUL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=1PWNFEP4088YCGP6EQMR

Here's one thats listed at 600 amps for $13 more than the HF.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZZGE4LU/?tag=atomicindus08-20

FigureItOut · Oct 27, 2015

I didn't realize the lithium ones had gotten so cheap. Looking at them briefly I've noticed though that they all seem to be rated in peak amps. This will make it difficult to compare them because peak amps is a pretty arbitrary rating and the manufacturer can use whatever method they wish to determine it.

What is much more helpful is to find the CCA, cold cranking amps, or CA, cranking amps. These are actually regulated measurements and must be sustained over 30 seconds at a temperature of 0 and 32 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively.

I don't know if the proportions are consistent, or if the lithium battery technology would be far different, but to give you an idea, the JNC 660 claims 1700 peak amps, and 425 cranking amps.

h. freight 3 In 1 Jump Starter any good? I need a small jump pack...

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