Tiny jumper, 5 star rated, $36

[frysause]

What coupon, some people might be interested in the higher capacity. It is showing $89 without coupon. If going to pay $89, might as well get the 20000mAh for $89.

Found the thread on Slickdeals for the bigger one. Code is DFPAV87C. Orange only.

 

[bas157]

What coupon, some people might be interested in the higher capacity. It is showing $89 without coupon. If going to pay $89, might as well get the 20000mAh for $89.

Sorry, code was on the product page on amazon, but it was posted above already.

 

[KMdef9]

So there is a bigger one on sale after coupon for 49.49. Wonder if its worth canceling my order and getting the bigger one? I already have the Astro 7785 for my diesel F250. The new one will be for my fiancé.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015O7AK62/?tag=atomicindus08-20

That model's safety feature is apparently a PIA. Alot of people have problems with starting procedure.

When jumping a car, you need to let these things sit on the battery for a few minutes, then try cranking. This model doesn't let you do that. I bet in freezing temps, on a large motor, this unit will struggle.

 

[kneeman]

I'll ask the same question most people have probably asked. If you charge this and throw it in the truck how many weeks or months do you need to take it out and top off the charge?

 

[CTyankee]

I'll ask the same question most people have probably asked. If you charge this and throw it in the truck how many weeks or months do you need to take it out and top off the charge?

IIRC from reading the comments on amazon, should be checked/charged once a month. Not positive though.

I did get mine this morning, but haven't opened it yet.

 

[JoJoSnap]

Perfect for my jetski!!!! Hate to get stuck in the water screaming for help. This mini jumpstarter will be my life saver and i be myself a coast guard


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kball]

I'll ask the same question most people have probably asked. If you charge this and throw it in the truck how many weeks or months do you need to take it out and top off the charge?

Don't know about this brand but Anti Gravity says to charge it up every 6 months. Mine usually have at least half the charge left and I let them go longer than 6 months.

 

[4xdog]

My Suaoki 1200o mAh jump pack arrived today. Looks perfectly reasonable for the money.

It's going to replace my Antigravity Batteries AG-XP-3 pack, which when I went to charge it the other week found the case had swelled and it won't take a charge -- apparently an internal short. I've had the Antigravity pack for a bit over two years and I'm not impressed with Antigravity quality.

 

[woodturner9]

I've never used a Li-ion to jump start a car. WIll be intentionally draining my DD to see how well these work.

I'm anxiously awaiting your results.

I don't see how these can have enough capacity to start a car at all. They may be able to achieve 400A peak, which is not enough to start a car around here this time of year, but probably cannot sustain it for even a second, let alone long enough to crank a car long enough to start.

 

[woodturner9]

Funny I see this. Just last night, I ordered a Suaoki U10 800A Peak 20000mAh Jump Starter from Amazon for $80.

My wife already has a jump pack much like the one posted by the OP, and it's already paid for itself several times over (in fact, it jumped my Accord just a few minutes ago), but I was concerned about the smaller packs not being able to start the 6 cylinder engine in my Wrangler, so I wanted something a little bigger as my second.

Really, I'm surprised they work for starting a car at all.

20,000 mAh is 20 Ah. So, if the car is in decent shape and only takes 400A to start, that's 20/400 hour or .05 hour or 3 minutes. Doesn't seem like enough to start a car with a dead battery in the winter.

 

[woodturner9]

If you charge this and throw it in the truck how many weeks or months do you need to take it out and top off the charge?

FWIW, the AAA guys just hook up the cigarette lighter plug on their jump boxes and charge them continuously.

 

[rlitman]

Really, I'm surprised they work for starting a car at all.

20,000 mAh is 20 Ah. So, if the car is in decent shape and only takes 400A to start, that's 20/400 hour or .05 hour or 3 seconds. Doesn't seem like enough to start a car with a dead battery in the winter.

Let's check your math here.
20,000 mAh = 20 Ah ... Yes
20 Ah / 400 A = 0.05 h ... Yes
0.05 h = 3 s ... No. It is 180 seconds (which conveniently works out to 3 minutes).

Of course, because of the way that batteries are measured, you cannot expect to get 180 seconds of cranking at 400A. As you increase the rate of draw from a battery, you decrease the capacity, so I would guess that 120 seconds of cranking is more reasonable for my new pack to draw it to the bottom (though 180 seconds consecutively would of course turn the pack into a fireball), or perhaps 90 seconds to maintain a reasonable safety reserve. That's plenty to do well over a dozen starts!

My wife's jump pack is 8000 mAh. With it charged to 4 out of 4 indicator leds lit (it doesn't have a display like my new one), I've done two jump starts off a low (but not dead) battery, and it still showed 4 lights. I figure you could get 6-8 starts out of this small pack safely.

Of course, Lithium Ion batteries lose a lot of capacity in the cold. If you keep this in your car, you may find that in the winter it may be suitable for no more than two starts, if even that.

As for the benchmark of 400A, well, I guess that's a fairly reasonable number. My Accord and my wife's Legacy require 0W20 synthetic oil, and probably use under 200A. I'll have to check them with my inrush reading DC clamp meter... My 4L Wrangler probably uses around 400A though.

The last time I checked, the megawatt class diesel generators at my work drew 375A inrush on starting, but that's on a 24V system (two huge batteries in series).

 

[woodturner9]

As you increase the rate of draw from a battery, you decrease the capacity, so I would guess that 120 seconds of cranking is more reasonable for my new pack to draw it to the bottom (though 180 seconds consecutively would of course turn the pack into a fireball), or perhaps 90 seconds to maintain a reasonable safety reserve. That's plenty to do well over a dozen starts!

Still doesn't seem like enough.

I have a 700A peak jump box - the regular jump boxes with a lead acid battery. It took something like 5 minutes of cranking and two charges on the jump box to start a car with a dead battery that had been sitting for a while.

 

[rlitman]

FWIW, the AAA guys just hook up the cigarette lighter plug on their jump boxes and charge them continuously.

Yeah, but I'm sure they're using them several times each day. It is an option though. Especially if you have an ignition controlled (many car's lighter sockets are on all the time) lighter socket in a convenient location.

However, I would be concerned with overheating in the summer months. Perhaps, if you plan to do this, you should look into a fire retardant battery charging bag.

 

[woodturner9]

As for the benchmark of 400A, well, I guess that's a fairly reasonable number.

I wish. I've spent too much of today trying to get a car with a dead battery started. Ran down two regular 700A peak jump boxes. Had to crank it for close to ten minutes before it even tried to "catch".

I'm recharging the boxes now, hopefully another twenty minutes of jumping will be enough to get it going.

I guess it really gets down to what you need it for. The little boxes are probably better if you leave a door ajar on your DD or some other "lighter" application. For car hobbyists where we are often jumping cars that have been sitting for a while, a regular jump box is probably a better option.

 

[rlitman]

...Had to crank it for close to ten minutes before it even tried to "catch".

I'm recharging the boxes now, hopefully another twenty minutes of jumping will be enough to get it going...

You are aware of the duty cycle of a starter, right?

Since you own two jump packs, you'd have been better off connecting them in parallel from the start if you thought you needed more amps, though I suspect the issue is something else.

It sounds to me like you need ether more than another jump pack.

 

[Buckgnarly]

I wish. I've spent too much of today trying to get a car with a dead battery started. Ran down two regular 700A peak jump boxes. Had to crank it for close to ten minutes before it even tried to "catch".

I'm recharging the boxes now, hopefully another twenty minutes of jumping will be enough to get it going.

I guess it really gets down to what you need it for. The little boxes are probably better if you leave a door ajar on your DD or some other "lighter" application. For car hobbyists where we are often jumping cars that have been sitting for a while, a regular jump box is probably a better option.

Sounds like you need a battery charger.......and TEN MINUTES of cranking?....

 

[southalabama]

Got mine today. Topping off the charge now.

Dad is into r/c. A lot of the guys store their li-on batteries in ammo cans. I think I'll put mine in a 30 cal can.

 

[bmwpowere36m3]

Still doesn't seem like enough.

I have a 700A peak jump box - the regular jump boxes with a lead acid battery. It took something like 5 minutes of cranking and two charges on the jump box to start a car with a dead battery that had been sitting for a while.

No jump box will last if used in that manner... that's when a big boost/charger comes in handy.

 

[bmwpowere36m3]

Got mine today. Topping off the charge now.

Dad is into r/c. A lot of the guys store their li-on batteries in ammo cans. I think I'll put mine in a 30 cal can.

Why the ammo can? Fire?

 

[olytdi]

I don't get the need for one of these. I've got every vehicle/generator/dump trailor on a battery tender. Between that and maintaining/replacing my batteries...I've never needed a jump in 20 years.

How are folks finding a need for this?

 

[Danglerb]

I've had a tender fail, had someone unplug the tender to use the outlet and not plug it back in, but I expect to use it more for the USB powerbank, or to jump start somebody else's car. $10 more and I would have waited, these are going to continue to get better, but $36 shipped its not worth waiting to play with one.

The test I watched on youtube didn't get more than 350 amps out of any of the jump boxes including a Stanley 600amp lead acid. Most did 240 amps for about 3 to 5 seconds, but half overheated and died before 10 seconds, others shut down safely.

Comparing with lead acid battery in the car it had a peak current of 630 amps for a very short time and 200 amps and dropping during the second or so of cranking. Oddly the much lower current from the jump packs, with the car battery disconnected didn't seem to effect the starting much. Maybe a bit slower at the very beginning of cranking, but still started right up.

If your car won't start after two or three 5 second or so cranks, time for I hate to say it, a shot of starting fluid and/or a big booster box plugged into a working outlet.

 

[Car_Guy]

I don't get the need for one of these. I've got every vehicle/generator/dump trailor on a battery tender. Between that and maintaining/replacing my batteries...I've never needed a jump in 20 years.

How are folks finding a need for this?

I like them for longer trips/vacations as piece of mind. Living in the desert batteries tend to fail somewhat regularly, and not always at home. Plus they are nice when someone else ask for a jump and you can just walk to their car and start it.

 

[Redhotrod]

I don't get the need for one of these. I've got every vehicle/generator/dump trailor on a battery tender. Between that and maintaining/replacing my batteries...I've never needed a jump in 20 years.

How are folks finding a need for this?

These are a real lifesaver when you are out atv'ing in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere, and you stop to B.S. and have your MP3 player running your 4 wheeler stereo and it drains the battery!
This is of course on a big CC utility quad that you cannot pullstart or pushstart.

 

[z2w]

Just got mine unboxed.

The battery leads seem decent. The clips are small (great news for use with motorcycles and such) but nice and springy. The black overmold feels kind of satin-y, which is OK but not great. It would be nice to have a grippy silicone with some sticktivity so that you have more options when you're looking in a cramped engine compartment for a place to set it down.

I am impressed with the little zippered trapper-keeper that it comes in. That's a nice touch that I wasn't expecting. It's a good tidy size, big enough to give easy access to everything, but no bigger. It's not industrial grade or anything, but it should hold up better than a cardboard box bouncing around in the trunk.

 

[doorfx]

These are a real lifesaver when you are out atv'ing in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere, and you stop to B.S. and have your MP3 player running your 4 wheeler stereo and it drains the battery!

This is of course on a big CC utility quad that you cannot pullstart or pushstart.

This^
My wife is insulin dependent and has five stints in her heart. We cannot get stuck out in the bush on the atv. She won't quit riding though to her it is not an option.

 

[southalabama]

Question asked why store in ammo can? Safety, fire

As far as why people need these? The batteries also have USB ports. Power down situation you can charge smart phones and devices. Beats running outside sitting in your vehicle during a storm to charge your phone. The battery is also light enough it's packable.

Ability to maybe jump a car is an added benefit.

 

[Chief919]

I don't get the need for one of these. I've got every vehicle/generator/dump trailor on a battery tender. Between that and maintaining/replacing my batteries...I've never needed a jump in 20 years.

How are folks finding a need for this?

At any given time I probably have 4-5 small engine projects working and it's far easier to start then with these than try and keep a battery in each one.

 

[woodturner9]

No jump box will last if used in that manner... that's when a big boost/charger comes in handy.

In what manner? I was not cranking it for 10 minutes continuously - though not sure what the duty cycle concerns with starters would be, we use them as traction motors for robots and run them continuously for hours.

I do have a booster as well, but it is bulky and inconvenient, has to be plugged in, and overheats if you run it in boost mode for more than about 10 minutes. Maybe I need a better booster.

 

[Jeepster04]

So the motor is working as hard to move a robot as it does to crank an engine?

Anyway, mine came in today. Seems like a nice little setup. Im charging it in the cig lighter since I was driving about an hour away shortly after getting it.

The instructions say it can exert supernatural Effects! Pretty pumped about that!

 

[woodturner9]

So the motor is working as hard to move a robot as it does to crank an engine?

Likely harder, these are big robots. We have also used them as lift motors for the buckets on mini dozers, but they only run a few minutes at a time in that application, so probably not a fair comparison.

The instructions say it can exert supernatural Effects! Pretty pumped about that!

Must be the magic ;-)

I'm wondering if I am using the jump boxes in a sub-optimal way. Another poster mentioned letting the small box charge the battery a bit before trying to start the engine, and I have not been doing that. I'll try that and see if works any better.

 

[winlinmac]

Wouldn't using this have repercussions on the the car's ECU? Or is this pretty much the same as your typical corded jump-starter?

 

[z2w]

Wouldn't using this have repercussions on the the car's ECU? Or is this pretty much the same as your typical corded jump-starter?

Should be the same. All the car sees is 12V where it's supposed to be seeing 12V.

 

[bmwpowere36m3]

Wouldn't using this have repercussions on the the car's ECU? Or is this pretty much the same as your typical corded jump-starter?

11-15 VDC, whether is from a lead-acid battery, lithium battery, jump pack, or charger... makes no difference

 

[Thumper68]

Mine showed up today, no need for it yet but I did use it to charge my cell.

Gotta love the Google translate directions

 

[CTyankee]

I don't get the need for one of these. I've got every vehicle/generator/dump trailor on a battery tender. Between that and maintaining/replacing my batteries...I've never needed a jump in 20 years.

How are folks finding a need for this?

Because I don't have every vehicle, generator, tractor on a battery tender? I've even left my lights on once or twice by accident.

 

[RoadBeater]

I was skeptical on this also, but was intrigued when I saw this thread....
quick story......

Over Christmas, I was at my FIL's, he had went to Walmart to buy jumper cables, but the guy there talked him into one of these. While I was there, we ended up going to my wife's cousins, to get her deceased husbands truck running. It had been sitting for 6 months, no interior lights, nothing. We hooked this up and it took two tries at starting, but it started. Needless to say, after which, I immediately bought the one off of Amazon for my Christmas present to myself

 

[txusa03]

I have the walmart and started my 6 yr old batt with 1 try on a 4 cyl.

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

Received this tiny jumper on Wednesday so I tested it today and this really works! Started a 2000 Ford Crown Vic (8 cylinders) that has been sitting since early October with a dead battery on a cold December day...... I was skeptical of this "small box" but it really works!
Hooked it up and waited about 1 minute and it started right up.

 

[zeekh]

I was skeptical on this also, but was intrigued when I saw this thread....
quick story......

Over Christmas, I was at my FIL's, he had went to Walmart to buy jumper cables, but the guy there talked him into one of these. While I was there, we ended up going to my wife's cousins, to get her deceased husbands truck running. It had been sitting for 6 months, no interior lights, nothing. We hooked this up and it took two tries at starting, but it started. Needless to say, after which, I immediately bought the one off of Amazon for my Christmas present to myself

Did you use this particular one?