Battery Jump Starters

[Da Game]

Well winter time is near and I'm considering the purchase of a jump starter. I read various ways to use this device, just want to ask the basic question.

1) Should said device be hooked up and on for how many minutes before vehicle is started?

2) For those that have a Jump Starter which brand and how many amps are you using?

 

[eljefino]

If you get one store it somewhere warm. Not only will the battery chemistry be better, the wires won't be as stiff.

I would hook it up and go. It won't have so much power that it charges your weak battery, though it would help a dead one.

 

[bullwinkle]

I have a Clore JNC-660, rated at 1700 amps-haven't found anything it couldn't start yet.

 

[y_p_w]

These things aren't really designed to "charge" your car battery. They're designed to provide enough supplemental current so that you can start. You almost always have to have a depleted battery with some juice left, and these are just boosters. Often when I can't start a car, the lights will still turn on but the starter just makes this clicking sound that indicates there isn't enough current to start.

There are those things that plug into the lighter outlet. Those attempt to charge the battery. They have to do that since enough current to start an engine would blow a fuse. You could probably use a jump starter like that, but that's not the normal way to use one. If you're charging a battery, you'll typically want it to have a higher voltage than the nominal battery voltage - maybe over 13-14V.

I've got an older Schumacher jump starter. Mine is getting old (still works great) but I'm thinking of getting an IP-125 and leaving my current one just for my wife's car. I've used it for friends, relatives, and total strangers. I like these because they don't need an adapter (I lost one for a Vector jump starter that didn't work well anyways). You will need a way to connect to the recessed plug. I use a 3-prong adapter and a cheap extension cord. I know some think they need heavy duty cords, but they charge at maybe 1A household current, which is really low and a cheap extension can handle easily.

 

[Da Game]

I talked to Cloreautomotive earlier about these two and the high price on them.

1) http://www.cloreautomotive.com/sku.php?id=248

2) http://www.cloreautomotive.com/sku.php?id=249


Clore stated that these two are made in America thats why the high price tag. Clore also stated that for the budget minded the JNC660 would be a good choice.

 

[thr_wedge]

I have a jnc300. It's small keep it in the car. It won't charge a battery but it isn't supposed to.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: Da Game
I talked to Cloreautomotive earlier about these two and the high price on them.

1) http://www.cloreautomotive.com/sku.php?id=248

2) http://www.cloreautomotive.com/sku.php?id=249


Clore stated that these two are made in America thats why the high price tag. Clore also stated that for the budget minded the JNC660 would be a good choice.

I paid about $40 each for a pair of Schumacher jump starters in 2006. Each has an 18 amp-hour battery and has never failed to work as long as it was properly charged up.

I really can't imagine paying $260 or even $100 for one of these. The smaller one you listed is about $260 from Amazon. The bigger one weighs more than two bowling balls. Both sound like way too much for an ordinary non-commercial user.

http://www.amazon.com/Jump-N-Carry-JNCXF-X-Force-Battery-Starter/dp/B000YA6O2O

This line is interesting:

Quote:
This item is not for sale in Catalina Island

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: thr_wedge
I have a jnc300. It's small keep it in the car. It won't charge a battery but it isn't supposed to.

I think most of these things can sometimes revive a battery (enough to start) if left hooked up for 15 or so minutes. They're not designed for that kind of duty though.

 

[Da Game]

Good points, yet I like the JNCXF & EXTREME models because the made in America label from Kansas City, MO. Have to keep some jobs in the good old U.S.A.

This company seems to have good deals on other Jump Starters also

http://www.asedeals.com/jumpstarters_x-force.html


Yes I understand that these are NOT to charge a battery. What I've learned so far is, some require it to be on for a minute or so before you start the vehicle.

 

[GenSan]

Rather than worry about a jump starter I'd have an AGM battery and a smart charger w/ temperature compensation, like a ctek, to top the AGM battery off if it sits idle during the winter time.

 

[thr_wedge]

Originally Posted By: y_p_w
Originally Posted By: thr_wedge
I have a jnc300. It's small keep it in the car. It won't charge a battery but it isn't supposed to.

I think most of these things can sometimes revive a battery (enough to start) if left hooked up for 15 or so minutes. They're not designed for that kind of duty though.


Maybe, maybe not. I have a battery charger for charging, I have the JNC300 for emergencies and jumping people in the parking lot. I don't like hooking up jumpers to my car for random people.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: GenSan
Rather than worry about a jump starter I'd have an AGM battery and a smart charger w/ temperature compensation, like a ctek, to top the AGM battery off if it sits idle during the winter time.


This was the kind of device I was thinking of:

http://viatekproducts.com/mighty-jump-emergency-jump-starter/

Their description says to leave it connected for 10 minutes to the lighter plug, at which time the car supposedly should be charged up enough to start a car. I think the same thing could be achieved with a jump starter with clamps, but those are typically ready to go once hooked up. I can't imagine that they're terribly high capacity and they probably have enough capacity to do this once or twice. At least with my Schumacher I think I could probably jump 8 cars before I absolutely had to recharge it.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: Da Game
Good points, yet I like the JNCXF & EXTREME models because the made in America label from Kansas City, MO. Have to keep some jobs in the good old U.S.A.

This company seems to have good deals on other Jump Starters also

http://www.asedeals.com/jumpstarters_x-force.html


Yes I understand that these are NOT to charge a battery. What I've learned so far is, some require it to be on for a minute or so before you start the vehicle.

That might be helpful for some of the smaller units that can't start it easily, where placing it in parallel does mildly charge the drained battery enough that the two batteries together can start the car. And most of these units need a certain amount of charge left in the drained battery to work well.

I remember buying a cheap Vector (Black&Decker branded) that was horrible. Sometimes leaving it connected for a minute or so meant I could start. And this was on my wife's Civic, which hardly has a high demand starter.

 

[methusaleh]

Probably just a bundle of cheap alkaline D batteries...