Emergency start battery - any good?

Discussion in 'Mech Tech' started by Molteni Mike, Aug 16, 2019.

  1. Been looking at various "mini start batteries" on eBay. They appear a great idea, small yet claim to start a large engine.

    Plenty on eBay

    "Emergency Battery Power: The product is designed to jump start all 12-16V battery systems on vehicles with up to 4.0L gasoline engines and on vehicles with up to 2.0T diesel engines. The unit can provide 600A peak current and can start up to 5-10 times on a single charge."

    Are they any good? Will they actually start an engine by themselves, or just provide a slight "helping hand" to an existing weak main battery?
     
  2. davidoft

    davidoft Sponsor

  3. matty

    matty Supporter

    They work but depends on how often would you use it.
    A guy at work had one but found every time he went to use it it was flat.
     
    mgbman likes this.
  4. Ozziedog

    Ozziedog Supporter

    With all due respect, if you need something like this, then you have something wrong with your battery or charging system. Sorting this and keeping it maintained is a thousand times simpler. If your van don’t start easily, then same issue I guess, just get it maintained properly by someone that knows their stuff. Yes it will start a few engines but not if you need to crank them over and over to get them to start. On the flip side, if I got a brand new battery and put jump leads on it, that would maybe start ten or more engines, and the better they were maintained (engines) the more it could start.:)

    Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,, great for car dealers :);):)
     
    EggBoxes, snotty and mgbman like this.
  5. Barry Haynes

    Barry Haynes I dance in leopard skin mankini’s

    And are good for when I go fishing and need to charge my phone or lights:thumbsup:
     
    paradox and Terrordales like this.
  6. Yes they are OK, but must be kept charged like any battery. The come with a mains charger or a lead for 12V charging from your generator just like a leisure battery, keep it plugged in all the time in the van they will last a long time and always be ready for that time you leave your light switched on.
     
    mgbman and Mellow yellow like this.
  7. Betty the Bay

    Betty the Bay Supporter

    In a situation like that, couldn't you jump-start yourself from the leisure battery?
     
  8. CollyP

    CollyP Moderator

    @paul2590 will be along shortly to show you his!
     
    paul2590 and Lasty like this.
  9. Yes if you have one. Even if it is a leisure battery.
     
  10. Betty the Bay

    Betty the Bay Supporter

    Will continue to carry my jump leads then!
     
  11. My van has been layedup for two years off and on and in that time it has only run flat once ! It’s a cheap battery too so there may be an underlying fault on the vehicle.
    A trickle charger is great for a vehicle left stored and will keep the battery topped up !
     
  12. Can you post a link so I can have a look too please?!
     
  13. The link is there if you tap the large eBay word :thumbsup:
     
  14. Had 2 over last few years they work very well but the ones i have had fail on actually charging them up.
    But to start cars vans etc were amazing for the size.


    Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk
     
  15. mikedjames

    mikedjames Supporter

    The cheapest ones may have a partial self destruct caused by thin wiring and heating..One hard start and they are bulging toast.

    But in principle they work. But in reality I agree with @Ozziedog that a properly working alternator and no parasitic drain should allow a stock starter battery to easily start a bus.

    If you killed the engine by flooding and have a weak battery, the starter pack only has about 10% of the capacity of a full size batteey, so a Lithium starter pack wont last long enough to save you..

    TBH I would rather pay twice as much for a leisure battery that can easily start my bus via jump leads.
     
    Ozziedog likes this.
  16. Valveandy likes this.

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