Car Battery Jumper

[SILVERPLATE]

I am looking for a portable car battery jumper. Small unit often times they also have an air compressor built in. Does anyone have experience with one of these or could recommemend one over another. I have seen a Stanley version at Sam’s and Costco carries another. Thanks Mike

 

[mrholeshot]

I would stick with a Solor or Century unit. This cheap ones with air compressors do have much of anything. I have a Century that has 800cca. I've started some big trucks with it (reminds me I need to plug it in soon). The smaller units made by both of them are great.

 

[Danglerb]

Despite many of my past posts complaining about using a battery jumper, I'm getting the itch to have one. Its all about the battery inside, so I'm not willing to pay a dime for the name on the box, thinking about the cheapest or second cheapest from HF with an extended warranty. This one or one like it is on sale pre 20% coupon for I think $40. When the battery goes bad I'll replace it with a premium battery.

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-volt-jump-start-and-power-supply-38391.html

 

[strnjss]

I've owned 3 of them. They are the greatest thing ever when you're in the middle of a parking lot with a dead battery, and all you have to do is go into the trunk of your car to get it started.

I've helped a few people who were stuck as well, which is a great feeling. No need to go through the trouble of trying to get your car near there's or anything else, just carry over a little box.

The peace of mind it gives is great.

The first one I had was just some blue generic one. It worked fine for everything I jumped. When big cars were terribly dead, it had a little trouble with big 80's V8's, but it still had just enough to get them started. It was around $50. The air pump to fill tires broke on it, and after several years of use, it wasn't as powerful as it once was.

The second one I got cost $80, and was a big green one I got from Costco. It was great, but massive. Had a AC inverter built in, air compressor, etc. About a week after I got it, it was borrowed, and the air pump broke on it. It would still jump cars, but I didn't want that massive thing for just jumping.

I now have a mini generic one. It's pretty decent so far, I like it a lot.

No matter which model you get, or how cheap or expensive, they will all jump your car in an emergency. I wouldn't spend too much on one, since after all, they are essentially just a mini car battery that's going to wear out no matter what anyway.

In all of my instruction manuals, they all stated, that if kept charged, the units would give an average of around 5 years of service. (just like car batteries). Obviously, you could get way more than that, or less. But they all will have around the same expected life span.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

I've got a Schumacher one that is very similar in appearance to that Harbor Freight one above but it is black instead of yellow. No air compressor. But it DOES have a built in flashlight - very helpful if you're trying to hook up jumper cables at night.

The best part? I found it out-of-the-box at Big Lots for $29! I only carry it with me on vacations when I have my camper and jet ski's and my brother in laws RV, boat, etc with me. I find it discharges if left untouched for weeks/months

 

[yiranhu]

Despite many of my past posts complaining about using a battery jumper, I'm getting the itch to have one. Its all about the battery inside, so I'm not willing to pay a dime for the name on the box, thinking about the cheapest or second cheapest from HF with an extended warranty. This one or one like it is on sale pre 20% coupon for I think $40. When the battery goes bad I'll replace it with a premium battery.

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-volt-jump-start-and-power-supply-38391.html

I bought that one when during a sidewalk sale ($30 - 20% coupon !!!). Definitely not the best unit out there. Fully charged, you can start a few cars before the car drops dead. Like you said, it's all bout the battery inside. This particular one is not that powerful so if your starter is on the verge of dying, don't expect this to work. But as long as you the limitations, I've gotten many good uses out it. I also used it as a battery charger one time. Took like 1 day to charge but charged the big battery...

 

[d33pt]

i got a nice big one from costco about 10 or 12 years ago. I had to replace the battery on it about 5 years ago. Works great for what it is. this one comes with a beefy 17aH battery. never had any problems starting any engines, but don't think i tried it on a big v8. i've probably helped more random people with it. im smarter than to run my battery down.

 

[Toolhorder]

I wouldn't try to save money on a jump box. Mine was $179 off the truck and worth every penny. No light, radio, tire filler, etc.. It's a jump box not batman's utility belt. Here's the one I have,
http://www.denlorstools.com/home/dt...carry_kk_jnc660_battery_booster_jump_box.html

BTW,
I had a cheaper version before this that was probably made in a communist country and it was garbage.

 

[Danglerb]

OK, you made me do some googling, ending me up at Clore Automotive, which appears to be the parent company of Solar etc. and makes the top booster units and the special batteries that go in them. If I was in the business of jumping cars, hands down I would get the ES5000, about $140 at amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002XMYE9Q/?tag=atomicindus08-20

The one Toolhorder bought appears to be their JNC660, targeted more toward consumers I think, differences weren't very clear to me.

One point that seems true for all of the booster batteries, they need to be on a float charger 100% time they aren't being used.

*******

None of the above is going to even slow me down buying a $24 unit from HF if I can. Its still all about the battery, and I am sure I can buy one heck of a replacement battery for the difference, like a Hawk or Odessey.

 

[djb2]

This one was on sale at Harbor Freight about a month ago for $30 with a coupon.

If you can wait until after Thanksgiving it goes on sale for $30, $24 when you use a 20% off coupon. (You can't stack coupons at H-F.)

It contains a standard 17Ah SLA ("gel cell") battery. Many smaller boxes contain a 7Ah or 10Ah battery. While the capacity doesn't tie directly to the starting power, it's often related. For comparison, a car battery might be 40 or 60 Ah.

Jump start boxes are intended to charge the main battery enough to start the car, and they will take a few minutes to do this. If used alone, my 7 Ah jump box will almost start my cars while the 17 Ah box will work if it's not really cold out. If the dead battery is in place, even the 17 Ah box isn't powerful enough to both charge the battery and start the car.

 

[Danglerb]

I live in SoCal, which isn't hot enough to wreck batteries (in AZ your battery can suddenly just be dead), or cold enough to make cars hard to start. I'm in no hurry to buy, so next sale is fine with me. Part of my motivation is that many of my cars don't have reliable power to the cigarette lighter, so the 12v port on the booster would be handier to use.

We have 5 cars and 2 drivers with zero commuters, so I have plenty of experience with dead batteries. When a 12v battery drops below about 10v the voltage changes much faster, so it quickly even with a small drain drops to almost zero, but it also doesn't take much current to "put a surface charge" back on it and get the voltage up over 12 volts, unless the battery has a bad cell.

I think it would take some experience with a particular battery and booster to see if the booster has enough juice to put a "surface charge" on the installed battery, and still have enough juice left to crank it.

I don't think its a good idea to try and start a car with a battery reading below 10 volts, or really to try jumping it. Better to disconnect the battery and see if the the car will start with just the booster battery, then drive it on the booster battery to a convenient place to have the battery charged and tested.

 

[mrholeshot]

OK, you made me do some googling, ending me up at Clore Automotive, which appears to be the parent company of Solar etc. and makes the top booster units and the special batteries that go in them. If I was in the business of jumping cars, hands down I would get the ES5000, about $140 at amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002XMYE9Q/?tag=atomicindus08-20

.

I have a Solar ES5000 that stayed out in my shop for the guys to use. The most used jump box I had, one of the best as well. The 9000 is too bulky for anything but road service. Mine is prob 6-7 years old and can still kick ***. Big differance in this and a 30 dollar boost box besides the price

 

[nate379]

Anyone explain why I couldn't just use a spare car battery and jumper cables?

I tried it last night on one of my Jeeps that was dead and it wouldn't work. Ended up having to move one of the trucks over to jumpstart it.

 

[Danglerb]

Anyone explain why I couldn't just use a spare car battery and jumper cables?

I tried it last night on one of my Jeeps that was dead and it wouldn't work. Ended up having to move one of the trucks over to jumpstart it.

No reason, the Jumper/Booster things are just a box with a battery and trickle charger inside, and the battery is small like a motorcycle uses, but designed for high current and long life with a float charge.

Maybe weak battery, or jumper cables on the small side or too long?

What exactly happened?

If the battery in the car was really low, the first attempt at jumping could have charged it some, but not enough, then with the truck that was enough to get it going?

Spare battery in my garage is out of my Porsche 928, which is a group 49, biggest car battery they make, and I suspect it would jump anything.

Not to stir anything up here, but jumping with a running motor invites damage to both vehicles from potentially high current draws.

 

[HOTFR8]

I have surge protectors on all of my vehicle and use jumper leads with the same surge protectors fitted. Even with a jumper box it is wise to fit a surge protector to protect computers, stereos, phones or any electronics.

 

[billymade]

We have had two Solar ES5000 booster pacs; my brother has a car lot and now repair shop. The first one lasted quite awhile but eventually died; we bought a new pc board for the inside of but were never able to resurrect it successfully. We have a second one; we use it all the time and works great! These are used constantly for dead cars on the lot, in the shop, for cars with electrical problems and for "emergency" recoveries, for customers out on the road; once you have one, you'll wonder how you ever lived without one! Not having to constantly hook up jumper cables; is great!

 

[nightrain00]

i have the HF one in the picture had it for about 2 years i guess. Cheap and works great it's started any thing I've needed it to. and when it doesn't I'll throw it out and get a new one.

 

[nate379]

Close to brand new battery with full charge with normal size cables... same ones I used when I hooked the truck to it.

Didn't do anything. I may as well have hooked the ends to a rock instead of the battery.

Maybe weak battery, or jumper cables on the small side or too long?

What exactly happened?

If the battery in the car was really low, the first attempt at jumping could have charged it some, but not enough, then with the truck that was enough to get it going?

 

[Graymills - Craig]

Despite many of my past posts complaining about using a battery jumper, I'm getting the itch to have one. Its all about the battery inside, so I'm not willing to pay a dime for the name on the box, thinking about the cheapest or second cheapest from HF with an extended warranty. This one or one like it is on sale pre 20% coupon for I think $40. When the battery goes bad I'll replace it with a premium battery.

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-volt-jump-start-and-power-supply-38391.html

I picked up the identical unit in black from Pep Boys. No complaints over 2 years.

 

[blown94conv]

I have one I picked up from Pep Boys, one of their larger units, and it still starts my excursion 7 years later. It was probably around $70 when I bought it.