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Jump packs. Wich one do you choose?

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Mastermind

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Jun 28, 2012
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970
Location
Ypsilanti, MI
In the market for another jump box. There is currently 4 dead booster Pac brand ones at the shop, a shumaker/matco one that eats a battery in less than 3 weeks, some off brand ones that don't work, and a harbor freight one that might start a car on a good day.
So, what do you guys like? Do you plug it in 24/7? Had it for years? Start a car without a battery? I work at a junkyard/ repair shop/ tow yard, will be used daily. Looking for one for myself and a shop one for the rest of the morons to use/abuse.
 
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Aqua-Andy

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Oct 1, 2013
Messages
332
I have found all commercial jump packs lacking, they are ok if the battery still has some juice but if it is totally dead, forget it. Most are just small led acid batteries in a plastic case. I made one close to 20 years ago and worked better than anything you could purchase. I took a small Coleman cooler and tore out the inside liner. Installed a group 75 battery and attached some cables and clamps to it. when the battery failed I would find a used battery to throw in it and keep going. I would just put it it on a charger once a week or so. It got to the point where everyone in the shop used it.
 
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tjohnsonr10

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Jun 4, 2015
Messages
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Get a lithium ion pack and don't even think about getting an old school pack.

I use the pack in the link below and it is amazing (800 amps). Its about the size of two smart phones stacked on top of each other. I use it at car auctions and have jumped 5 stone dead cars in a row without needing to charge it. This is my go to portable jump pack.

http://www.costco.com/Lithium-Jump-Starter-And-Portable-Power-Bank-.product.100312116.html

I also own this for around the shop. It has 2000 amps and has never failed to jump anything for me.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016UG6PWE/?tag=atomicindus08-20

It has the same power as a JNC 660 (which I also have) and it is 1/3 the size and and roughly the same price.

If you work on a lot of diesels and need more power get this

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015TKSSB8/?tag=atomicindus08-20

If you are jumping something that needs more than 4000 amps then I don't know what to tell you.
 
R

Rosso

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Jan 17, 2014
Messages
454
Location
Scotland, UK
My recent battery pack purchase stated in the manual to leave it on charge at all times, as this keeps the battery in peak condition. Apparently.
 
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trackwelder

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Jun 22, 2005
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2,608
Location
n.y
I have an older Clore 1224 jump pack. It's heavy as hell but will start anything that I have tried including loaders, dump trucks etc.
 
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jerseykat1

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Mar 17, 2013
Messages
714
Location
Central New Jersey
I have had great success so far with the noco genius boost gb70.. I have used the jnc660 before, it's heavy but very effective. I have not used my noco gb70 in cold weather yet. But it worked great all summer for me doing my mobile repairs.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
 
C

Carguy99

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May 25, 2012
Messages
717
Location
Warrenville IL
We use a deep cycle marine battery with some jumper cables attached to battery clamps. Welded up a dolly. Been working great for years. It has a disconnect on one of the battery clamps.
 
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valentine

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Oct 27, 2008
Messages
239
The only jump boxes that have worked well, for me, are the ones from Jump-N-Carry. I've purchased quite a few of them for my work vehicle fleet and they have proven to be reliable and long lasting. I did buy a couple of units, from JNC, which had built in air compressors. The compressor in one of those units stopped working. Other than that, the rest of them have been fine.
 
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bwringer

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Jan 1, 2013
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Indianapolis
How long are you expecting these things to last?

Aside from the lithium battery models, they're just a sealed lead-acid battery in a box. If you keep them charged, about four years would be a good long lifetime for the battery. The better models make it easy to change the battery, but it ain't gonna last forever no matter what.
 
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MattPersman

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Apr 1, 2009
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Location
Indiana
Just like a car battery some may last 6 years some may last 1 year. Just luck and temp extremes

The small ones are so nice. It's hard to wrap our heads around it being so small and feeble seeming but they really work


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M

Mastermind

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Jun 28, 2012
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Ypsilanti, MI
I expect them to last more than 6 months, is that a lot to ask? Is the jnc770 just a 660 with longer cables? I see they came out with a green one....
 
S

SantaAna12

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Mar 1, 2012
Messages
1,091
Been waiting on a deal on the JNC......
Meanwhile....my HF works on my Triton going on four years now.
We use that Solar model at work. Its a beefy unit. Only a year on it....not.much to say.
 
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jcbarry

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Oct 27, 2011
Messages
193
Location
South Jersey
I have used most common makes of jump boxes at work, JNC, Solar and the Matco/Schumacher.

It seems that most of them last 2 to 2.5 years being used daily. Usually the get ruined before the battery stops working, with Matco one being the only one whos battery wouldnt charge anymore.

Currently using 2 Solars, one 2 years old and one a year old. Both work perfectly.
 
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bwringer

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Mastermind said:
I expect them to last more than 6 months, is that a lot to ask? Is the jnc770 just a 660 with longer cables? I see they came out with a green one....
Click to expand...



Crikey, 6 months is pretty poor. Any possible explanation for this? What kind of environment/abuse are you putting these things through? Do they get charged regularly and properly? Are they being drained too far before recharging?
 
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M

Mastermind

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Ypsilanti, MI
The hf one got left in the boss's truck and got rained on, I'm sure that helped it's demise. I got a hand me down booster Pac (solar) with a melted terminal on the battery, put a battery in it and charged it whenever not in use, after 6 months wouldn't hold charge for a day. Got another battery, again after 6-8 months couldn't take it home to jump a car. Gave up.
 
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MattPersman

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Indiana
Just to update. I had a JNC 660 which I traded in on the matco versapower pro. Yesterday had a dodge charger that had a completely trashed battery wouldn't take a charge wouldn't register any volts. Like having no battery in car. I tried two of the shops JNC 660s for fun. One at a time full charge it would click but no start. This was on the battery itself. Tried the small cables under hood same scenario. Put my versapower pro on the small cables under hood and it started right up. So in other words these things will out crank and out start a JNC 660.

Great piece of equipment. It is just a relabeled cal-van but ease of trade in of my JNC made it my top choice.


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A

AA/FC

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Dec 9, 2010
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2,080
MattPersman said:
Just to update. I had a JNC 660 which I traded in on the matco versapower pro. Yesterday had a dodge charger that had a completely trashed battery wouldn't take a charge wouldn't register any volts. Like having no battery in car. I tried two of the shops JNC 660s for fun. One at a time full charge it would click but no start. This was on the battery itself. Tried the small cables under hood same scenario. Put my versapower pro on the small cables under hood and it started right up. So in other words these things will out crank and out start a JNC 660.

Great piece of equipment. It is just a relabeled cal-van but ease of trade in of my JNC made it my top choice.


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Click to expand...


I own 2 JNC660's. One is about 4 years old, the other is brand new. Between the two of them they have jump started over 50 cars/trucks in the last 10 days. Even in minus -22f actual temps. NOT ONE SINGLE vehicle refused to start due to lack of cranking power. Only two vehicles didnt start because they were already flooded by the time I got there. Even diesel Powerstrokes and Cummins pickups started no problem! Granted, I used 2 jump packs on the diesel trucks but they have two batteries anyway so thats to be expected. I use the JNC660s professionally every day and I can tell MANY stories just like yours, but in favor of the JNC. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying your situation didn't happen..... What I am saying is, normally the JNC660s kick *** in every situation. Your one example is the exception to the rule.

In my business EVERY jump pack ever created has been tested to the extremes, in real world conditions. The JNC comes out ahead every time. Not just with me, but every other guy I've ever personally met in this business feels the same way. If there was a better jump pack than the JNC, we'd all be using those instead....
 
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kblee27

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Aug 27, 2015
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317
Location
Singapore
Most important is the battery inside the jump pack.
I had one of those that use a SLA battery.
Jump about 8x and then the battery go dead.
I don't think these SLA battery were meant for jump starting car with high load.
 
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theoldwizard1

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Feb 22, 2011
Messages
43,503
Location
SE MI
kblee27 said:
Most important is the battery inside the jump pack.
I had one of those that use a SLA battery.
Jump about 8x and then the battery go dead.
I don't think these SLA battery were meant for jump starting car with high load.
Click to expand...
CONCUR !

One downside of the LiIon packs is that they tell you 1) not to run the car on only the jump pack and 2) disconnect the jump pack within 30-60 seconds of the vehicle starting.
 
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M

Mastermind

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Jun 28, 2012
Messages
970
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Ypsilanti, MI
So, boss finally listened, and bought two jnc 660's. I still want one for myself, I'm thinking the 770 in green. Just so it's not the same as everyone else lol
 
9

94EG8

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Joined
Apr 5, 2015
Messages
248
I work for a large collision shop and we've got 4 JNC660s. We used to have a bunch of different booster packs but the JNC660s were longer lasting and started more stuff than anything else would. I have started lots of vehicles with them with no battery at all without any issues. There's a reason why they're the gold standard.
 
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bob_the_builder

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Apr 25, 2010
Messages
404
Where is the best place to purchase a JNC770. Amazon will not ship to Canada. I would go for one in blue.
 
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JoeMA

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Joined
Aug 10, 2011
Messages
478
Location
PA
I picked up a Schumacher PSJ-4424 four years ago. It's 12/24v, has 2 AGM batteries and 4400 peak amps. It is a beast and works like the day I got it.
 

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