It's a long time since I've needed a jump start for any vehicle, but with the availability of portable lithium mini booster packs I wonder of it's worth keeping one on board. The Noco Genius seems to have good reviews but is pricey. There are others on the market down to a reasonable £20 but what's the real world performance? There's a lot of power in these devices. Do they actually do the job, and are they safe?
Depending on how much current the pack has to produce, some packs are effectively one-shot in that they are so damaged by producing say 100 amps that they will not work again. Reverse charge blocking diodes that explode disconnecting the batteries, battery cells that swell up. Others will happily survive. Like so many things, the 10% of the price you pay that is parts cost is a reason for the higher price. Also at the bottom end of the price range of any China-produced products there are those which are state- subsidised : substandard (for China !!!) destined for landfill items being sold off with subsidised postage costs to avoid dumping them in China.
I have a Ring RPP900 300A - its been good for starting motor bikes and my Mini (van is always on a conditioner), it also did a 2 litre Passat TDi - it'll do more than a few attempts on petrol stuff, not tried it on diesel. I had read that keeping the small ones charged all the time isn't good for them.
I have one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/VETOMILE-21000mAh-Emergency-Portable-Charging/dp/B073D16HV7 Looks like they have stopped this particular one but there are others out there that look similar. I paid £50 off ebay for it and I have to say it's brilliant. I had a problem with my Astra going flat and I started that about half a dozen times off a single charge. It even started Desmond once but they don't like prolonged draining, its a 20 second boost. Mine has got me out of the poo on several occasions.
I got the Halfords 2 litre one but not used it yet. Seems to hold its charge well. Worth having as you can use it for other things as well.
A guy at work has one but every time he’s gone to come to the aid of someone the things flat and he has to come and borrow my jump leads.
I have a 12v socket in the camper which is only live when the engine's running, and thought about using it to keep the jump pack charged ready for use. Would this be safe?
I have one of these .... it is the dogs b***ocks, used it loads on a single charge & it still shows 92% charged.... I have used it to open the central locking a few times on my totally flat tranny battery plus started the van at least a dozen times in the past 12 months... cost about £70 but well worth it... it is the T8 model
I’ve tried to start the engine using my jumper in the past. The arms just get caught in the fan belt. It simply doesn’t work.
It needs to be a jumper from Leeds. Some people’s technical knowledge is an embarrassment. Also, I’ve found that the fabled bump start simply results in bruising just under the knee, and if you are moving fast enough your head can take a glancing blow off the rear windscreen.
Basically see how good starter packs are larger as they contain three really chunky lithium cells.. One good thing though is that on my 1641 bus, it will crank and start with 16 amps going to the solenoid through the ignition switch, and 50 amps to the starter motor. Nothing like cranking a 2.5 L T5 diesel with a duff starter.. 200 amps at 10 volts from the stressed starter battery.. I used to own a Morris Marina without a starter motor ..and at the age of 23, I could single handed get it rolling fast enough to bump start it on a flat road. But downhill was preferred, there used to be a garage at Bitterne Triangle in Southampton which was on quite a steep hill... drive in, stop engine, roll out, bump start..
Haha, that triggered a memory! In college I had a mini 998.....hand painted in crown emulsion with a half Union Jack half Italian flag on the roof by moi. Issue was the red faded and everyone thought I’d put a mural on the roof in name of the Anglo Irish agreement I digress. The car had a fair old earth drain so each morning I’d shove one foot out the door and I could bump start it as it rolled off the curb....it would then be ok all day as the battery was charged up. (Just occurred to me right now, why didn’t I just pull the negative lead each night?!) One day, having not had it start after six or seven attempts and knackered having pushed it up on the drive each time, I John Cleese’d it....leaving a perfect foot shaped dent in the C panel. Bloody condenser. Lucas. Say no more. Had a lot of fun in that car, ran it in remoulds, six or seven up. How none of us died I have no idea.
WARNING Whatever you do don’t buy one of the cheap ones. I used to have one in the van just in case. I put it in the garage a few months ago to charge it up. It overheated & caught fire. Luckily the fire brigade swiftly put it out. It could have been so much worse. The lump of molten black is all that was left of a pressure washer it dropped onto from the shelf above it.
Were you able to wheel the molten lump out on the trolley as one? Appreciate it's a shocking event, and I hoped the insurance sorted you - because that is a bit of a comedy moment wheeling it about like that!
I recently bought one of the NOCO Genius ones, a friend had one of the cheaper ones and it worked well a couple of times but then failed. I got the bigger GB70, when something says "Starts upto 3l diesel" you've got to take that as being optimistic and in ideal conditions. I tested it on my defender by putting in an old battery out of the beetle which on its own didn't do anything except light up the dash, the jump starter, started it no problems and still indicated full charge.
As you can see the pressure washer had melted itself to a Petrol pressure washer which was next to it. The forensics guy took the lot away to examine it as he couldn’t separate what was left of the power pack. He had to lay it across the back seat of his car as he had no room in the boot. I think he forgot the Petrol one would have oil in it. Oops. It was a scary time though & could have been a lot worse. I certainly do not leave anything on charge anymore at night or if I’m not about.
Scary, but there is no way a pack that size has the same capacity as a car battery. 68000mAH is 68AH !!! So it had lies written on the side of it. It's probably at most around 10AH, that in itself isn't the problem, it's the rest of the skimping that made it cheap. Just wait until it's a Nissan Leaf or other feeble apology for a car that decides to go up because the previous owner decided he would rather buy the £2k battery pack instead of the Nissan £10k one... the other cars around it wont be in a good state either. . Or like this guy overcharging a Tesla pack..
