I mean, it can power his house during a hurricane. Not starting due to a fault has no impact on that, something just went wrong
Real Life Lithium Jump pack stories
- Thread starter Snagglefoot
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I mean, it can power his house during a hurricane. Not starting due to a fault has no impact on that, something just went wrong
It can power part of his house, yes. Not the whole thing. I doubt he ever had a transfer switch installed.
Not that my Schumacher is made in the USA but these gooloo, or whatever they are chargers would scare me having them in my trunk. I’ve had schumachers in all 3 cars and only had to use it once when a friends battery completely died for no reason at all. Popped off a traverse like it was nothing.
It's uncommon but theoretically possible. I'd have to suspect it's more likely with packs that use dodgy generic cells, but anyone could drop a jump pack and cause more damage than they realized.
https://www.acebattery.com/blogs/can-a-lithium-battery-catch-fire-when-not-in-use
I've not yet converted to Li-Ion, have had a lead acid battery based pack for >20 years and last time the battery needed replaced, it was still cheaper to get the SLA battery for it ($37 delivered on chromebattery.com at the time)) than an entire new jump pack - at least one with an expected true capacity that is equal or greater.
The battery for it is 12V20AH, rated capable of 300A for 5 seconds, but being SLA based, it is stored indoors, not in the unheated garage during the cold of winter to keep the CCA higher due to being warmer when used.
I carry jumper cables but no jump pack in vehicles - but I would temporarily if traveling to deserted areas without other motorists or cell phone coverage.
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Interesting I always found the replacement batteries to cost almost as much as a new jump pack. Never looked at chrome battery.com. Same goes for SLA battery for small UPS..
How do you test these small SLA batteries to see if they are still good?
For a lead-acid SLA battery? You can get them pretty cheaply from Amazon, usually in the $10-30 depending on size. I've replaced numerous ones over the years in both old jumper packs and UPS devices that use lead-acid.
You can test them just like a car battery if you have a tester that goes low enough for the amp rating.
My daughters friend in high school spent the night and they woke me up @2 am that her friends android type phone was smoking and turning red. I threw it out the window in the drive where it proceeded to melt.
I prefer jumper cables. Not good for self recovery, but I proactively replace my own batteries every 5 years or so regardless of how they seem to be doing, and keep charging systems in good shape. It just hasn't been an issue(knock on wood). My jumper cables have jumped countless other folks and haven't had to be recharged once.
Edit: Have had two jump packs. One jumped a friend's minivan just fine, once. It was useless the next time we tried. The second was useless from the first time it was tried. Both gifts, no name who knows what, obviously poor quality. If you're relying on this to self rescue, obviously get quality.
Edit edit: Seems like some folks use a lithium jump pack as an excuse to avoid doing proper vehicle maintenance. This seems incredibly ill advised. Don't spend $150 on a jump pack so you can put off spending $150 on a car battery for awhile? I don't get it.
Edit: Have had two jump packs. One jumped a friend's minivan just fine, once. It was useless the next time we tried. The second was useless from the first time it was tried. Both gifts, no name who knows what, obviously poor quality. If you're relying on this to self rescue, obviously get quality.
Edit edit: Seems like some folks use a lithium jump pack as an excuse to avoid doing proper vehicle maintenance. This seems incredibly ill advised. Don't spend $150 on a jump pack so you can put off spending $150 on a car battery for awhile? I don't get it.
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In certain cases I'd agree, but the jump pack is for batteries that you didn't expect to be drained... accidentally leaving something plugged into the lighter outlet or bad door latch leaving vehicle awake or lights on, or other equipment not working correctly and drains the battery before you realize. Obviously the more vehicles you have, the less that certain ones get driven and the more useful a jump pack is. It would be reasonable to use a float charger instead, * X # of vehicles in certain situations, but a less expensive (than $150) jump pack still has it's purposes for me. It's less hassle than pulling up another vehicle to jump start the one with a drained battery, especially if you didn't park the vehicle with jump starting access in mind.
The key to using the smaller jump packs, given a vehicle with a good but drained (or very cold) battery, is hook it up and let it put some current into the vehicle battery for a minute or more before trying to start it, so you have both batteries in parallel trying to provide starter current, which with an otherwise good vehicle battery, will be more current than just the small jump pack alone.
Depends. If you get the most basic of SLA jump packs, you might find them on sale for near the $37 that my 20Ah battery cost, but usually at that price point the jump pack would use a smaller than 20Ah battery OR be old stock where the battery might have sat for a while at a low charge state, so it's lifespan is reduced more than it would if it were Li-Ion. My jump pack was more expensive due to having an inflator, light, and AC inverter built in... maybe $100 in year ~2000 dollars.
The inflator is somewhat undersized and pathetic, very slow so I mostly use it for bicycles, riding mower, and other outdoor equipment with smaller and lower pressure than automobile tires. I could just buy a cordless inflator from a major cordless tool brand, but between the jump pack and the compressor in my garage, I haven't had any cases where I needed that.
As far as testing, I've never received a bad SLA battery. I look at the manufacture date if present, and measure the voltage upon receiving it, to give me an idea if it's been charged in the last few months and is holding that charge. Similarly I'll top off the charge, then let it rest for 1/2 hr to get an initial voltage reading and see how much it self-discharges sitting for the next few days without being used. It should barely drop in voltage after that 1/2 hr period off the charger. I have a clamp DC ammeter I could use to measure while jump starting but haven't had the need to do that.
I was thinking trying to figure out if a 3 year old SLA battery in a UPS was still good. How do I test that?
Charge it up and disconnect everything from it and plug in some lamps with old fashioned incandescent light bulbs. Then record how long it takes for the UPS to kick off. Then, do some math to figure out how many watt hours of juice you got out and compare with the specs on the battery.
I would just use the UPS. First I'd test with it brand new to get a baseline time measurement for a specific load, then see if it still gives acceptable runtime for what you need to power from it. SLA batteries can go on for a while at less than new capacity, before they hit that end of life cliff where they don't want to hold a charge or provide enough current. The more oversized the jump pack (or UPS) is, the longer the use of it with a less than perfect condition battery, all else equal.
I'd also consider how often it's been used/drained in the UPS. If it mostly just sat trickle or top-charging for 3 years, and started out a new/fresh battery, it should be good for a few more years, but if you're doing valuable work and do have semi-frequent power outages, then I'd go ahead and replace it.
Option #3 is get a battery load tester and compare new vs aged battery condition.
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I have two battery load tester, one a conductive and one a adjustable carbon pile. But all geared for CCA. What is the CCA for these small SLA batteries?
Last week, when cleaning out my wife's car to get it ready to be traded in for her new car, I realized that the jumper cables that I've been carrying around for probably over 12 years, have never been used. Then I realized that I am probably one of the last people left in the country that still has jumper cables in the car, instead of a jump starter. So I thought of getting one, and found this discussion timely.
but then I thought, if I have made it 12 years without needing jumper cables, why would I need to get a jump starter? I guess they are like having an insurance policy. You would never want to get caught without one when you need it.
but then I thought, if I have made it 12 years without needing jumper cables, why would I need to get a jump starter? I guess they are like having an insurance policy. You would never want to get caught without one when you need it.
Yep. How many fire extinguishers have any of us ever used? (Just one, myself.)
I've used jumper cables quite a few times over the years but mainly because of being around heavy equipment and when asked by stranded strangers.
I see some new UPS with LiFePO4 batteries that are not super expensive. Goldenmate brand.
With a jump pack if some idiot asks for a jump you can give him the jump pack. And watch. No liability and no possible damage to your car. Worst case is a messed up jump pack.
Try using an ultra capacitor jump starter instead! No batteries needed and will always charge when you need it.
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