Best battery for cold weather
- Thread starter rcs
- Start date
Thanks Danno! I am going to get one! I know there is a good video that a guy made with all the features of different chargers and testers.
Get you one of this or a good jump box tested by Project Farm. Then find a way to be able to charge it in the car so you can top it off once a week in winter or twice a month the rest of the year.
I run a 150 W inverter that has a single 110 outlet and 2 USB connections. The smaller lithium jump kit can be recharged with USB A/C now so my next one would be that since Costco stopped carrying this mammoth.
Also, if your current battery is ok, I would rig it into a redneck jump box by getting a battery container and jumper cable. For me, it was much cheaper to get the Catipillar jump box from Costco and I think they use sealed Marine battery or something special.
I run a 150 W inverter that has a single 110 outlet and 2 USB connections. The smaller lithium jump kit can be recharged with USB A/C now so my next one would be that since Costco stopped carrying this mammoth.
Also, if your current battery is ok, I would rig it into a redneck jump box by getting a battery container and jumper cable. For me, it was much cheaper to get the Catipillar jump box from Costco and I think they use sealed Marine battery or something special.
Thanks M1Accord, Matt and Danno. I purchased the Battery Tender Jr,...and used it yesterday. It only took about 3 hours to top off
my battery. A friend suggested this one to me since it is the easiest one to use.
Thanks for your help and suggestions! Yes Project Farm, he is awesome with his reviews. I also purchased the
Gooloo GP4000. I liked this one over the Noco because it came with a hard case and attachments for cell phone, computer etc.
Nothing like two group 65s AGMs in my pickup.
Just make sure you are aware of lithium limitation. They do not do well in extreme cold. A few folks had a hard time getting a jump in temp below 32. If you are in extreme cold area, just keep it with you a cover it with 3 layers of old socks and put the whole carrying case in a towel and a big ziplock bag to provide some insulation. Otherwise, just keep it in your go bag and take the bag with you inside.
You just reminded me about getting it Gooloo today as they are running a 45% off sale so it comes out to be 104 and change shipped. Bought.
But I’ll be keeping it inside my pack and carry with me in the to be used as phones battery charger so I don’t have to drain my Fit’s tiny 151R while sitting and waiting for spouse at the store. The Accord’s big ground 24 can handle being used to charge a few phones for hours w/out problem but the Fit’s 151R can’t do it for more than 15 mins in thr cold w/out risking being drained.
So make sure you keep it in your bag in cool area or understand how to warm it back up with body heat and use the override mode (I think it has one) to give the car that emergency jump and top it off via an inverter ($17 bucks from Amazon) while the car is running.
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I keep that big Caterpillar jump box and a fresh 24F group size in the car. The 24F is on a solar trickle charge. And I have an inverter to top off the Caterpillar jump box once a week in winter and once a month in summer. But year, I would love to have two giant batteries onboard once my kid is driving without me in passenger seat.
Some jump starters, such as the Gooloo GT4000, have a battery pre-heating function to warm up the Lithium-ion battery before jump starting.
How ironic that your whining rejuvenated this thread.
I screwed up by buying the GP4000 today directly from Gooloo because I didn’t see the Amazon sale link and Amazon was listing it for full price last week while Gooloo has 45% off. But my solution is to keep it wrapped in two socks and ziplock bag and put the bag into those kid’s thermo lunch box. Either that or rig up an old cooler and put 2 quart of oil and 1 quart of ATF in there as a car e-kit.
I love my Caterpillar jump box bought at Costco for $99; they run it for $79 some time. They don’t carry it anymore and it goes for about $200 online. Not sure how long a lithium jump pack lasts but a Caterpillar jump box should last 5+ years if cared for as it is just a lead acid battery inside. I like the integrated inverter and air pump so it stays in my spouse/family car full time and get charged once a week in the winter or once a month the rest of the year while I drive.
When I was younger, I carried a Jump N Carry jump box and that lasted 9 years.
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Ironic too that you're contributing to it's perpetuation.How ironic that your whining rejuvenated this thread.
I'll resurrect an older thread 
.
For @rcs with the Pilot. Using the battery tender is good a couple times per year to fully charge. One thing that helps with the Honda's is to turn your headlights on when you drive if doing all shorter drives. Honda's and some others have variable output alternators to reduce the load on the motor and get an extra .001mpg. There is a load sensor that reduces the output on older ones it was in fuse box IIRC listed as an ELD (electronic load detector), newer years have a sensor on negative terminal.
You can get an inexpensive plug in phone charger with voltage meter. It's not crazy accurate but will give you general reference and a good charger. In my '19 Pilot I drove 1.5 hours, daytime, very little traffic and meter only moved above about 12.8V when I stepped on the brakes. Air conditioning was on the whole time. Same drive home at night with lights on it was 14.4V the whole time.
My Pilot is short tripped as wife drives 2 miles to work. I can hear the car crank slower and then charge with CTEK charger 2-3 times per year. Every time I drive it I put the lights on, she's not so good with that. My daughter puts the lights on usually with her '08 CRV for same reason.
.For @rcs with the Pilot. Using the battery tender is good a couple times per year to fully charge. One thing that helps with the Honda's is to turn your headlights on when you drive if doing all shorter drives. Honda's and some others have variable output alternators to reduce the load on the motor and get an extra .001mpg. There is a load sensor that reduces the output on older ones it was in fuse box IIRC listed as an ELD (electronic load detector), newer years have a sensor on negative terminal.
You can get an inexpensive plug in phone charger with voltage meter. It's not crazy accurate but will give you general reference and a good charger. In my '19 Pilot I drove 1.5 hours, daytime, very little traffic and meter only moved above about 12.8V when I stepped on the brakes. Air conditioning was on the whole time. Same drive home at night with lights on it was 14.4V the whole time.
My Pilot is short tripped as wife drives 2 miles to work. I can hear the car crank slower and then charge with CTEK charger 2-3 times per year. Every time I drive it I put the lights on, she's not so good with that. My daughter puts the lights on usually with her '08 CRV for same reason.
Op, being that your Pilot is a Honda, that means that it has a 3 planet gear reduction setup. The rotor that drives them turns a lot faster then the output gear of that starter. This causes them to eat the brushes. But they are replaceable.
Watch a lot of Y T videos about how to remove, rebuild, & reinstall Honda starter.
Good luck.
Watch a lot of Y T videos about how to remove, rebuild, & reinstall Honda starter.
Good luck.
Thanks so much. I will PM you with some questions.I'll resurrect an older thread
For @rcs with the Pilot. Using the battery tender is good a couple times per year to fully charge. One thing that helps with the Honda's is to turn your headlights on when you drive if doing all shorter drives. Honda's and some others have variable output alternators to reduce the load on the motor and get an extra .001mpg. There is a load sensor that reduces the output on older ones it was in fuse box IIRC listed as an ELD (electronic load detector), newer years have a sensor on negative terminal.
You can get an inexpensive plug in phone charger with voltage meter. It's not crazy accurate but will give you general reference and a good charger. In my '19 Pilot I drove 1.5 hours, daytime, very little traffic and meter only moved above about 12.8V when I stepped on the brakes. Air conditioning was on the whole time. Same drive home at night with lights on it was 14.4V the whole time.
My Pilot is short tripped as wife drives 2 miles to work. I can hear the car crank slower and then charge with CTEK charger 2-3 times per year. Every time I drive it I put the lights on, she's not so good with that. My daughter puts the lights on usually with her '08 CRV for same reason.
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If the 2015 Pilot came with an FLA battery, I would just go to Walmart and get a 24F FLA battery. They are excellent batteries, and come in 2yr or 3yr warranty models. If they fail within warranty, Walmart does not pro-rate them. They just test them, and if bad, give you a new one. Never had a problem with Walmart FLA batteries.
I ended getting the Deka Ultimate
Deka makes fantastic batteries. Had a few myself. Best of luck with it 
Yes thank you! It really was from all of you great folks here after doing research some people mentioned that name. I never heard of it.Deka makes fantastic batteries. Had a few myself. Best of luck with it
But I like them!
rcs, East Penn ( battery company in Pennsylvania), makes Deka batteries. Very reputable. You'll be satisfied with it. Company has been around a long time, so they must be doing something right.
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