Jump starters

So... which is the best bang for the buck? Hoping that you won't use it.

Not sure why you wouldn't recharge at the first opportunity after using your jumper battery. I have both a wet cell older unit that I have replaced the battery a few times over the years and a new style lithium. I have started many cars with the old one over the years and a few with the new one. The new one has started everything from our Honda CRV to a small block Chevy with no problem. I recharge after use and usually top it off once a year. There was still charge left after starting the small block and would have probably started another one. I carry the lithium in my truck, the other one stays in my shop for when I needed it.

I think they will spin the motor over about 3-5 times and the die quickly. That's if,,, the battery in the vehicle was only partly dead. If it is dead, dead, as in not enough power to light a single 12 volt tail light bulb, then I don't think the Jumper Pack (as they are called around here) will do much.

Quite a strong opinion for no experience with them,
but this is the internet...
They would surprise you with how many jumps you get out of
a single charge, even with diesels.

BobsYourUncle wrote:
Interesting about the booster packs.
Perhaps I should look into them.
Being old school, and a guy who has been turning wrenches since I was a teenager, I have a hard time wrapping my head around something tiny having enough oooomph to start a vehicle.

Me too.

I think they will spin the motor over about 3-5 times and the die quickly. That's if,,, the battery in the vehicle was only partly dead. If it is dead, dead, as in not enough power to light a single 12 volt tail light bulb, then I don't think the Jumper Pack (as they are called around here) will do much.

Also, if the vehicle ran the battery down trying to get it started in the first place, then the jumper pack is going to fix what ever the original problem was.

I used to get kick out of people back in the day that would set there crank , and crank, and crank, and crank, on the engine until the battery was dead and then ask for a jump start. Why not try and figure out why it didn't start in the first place ??? no use running your battery all the way down to that last partial crank. It's not going to magically start then. Fix the problem before you run the battery down.

I still wonder about people like that.

P.S. I am not talking about people who's battery got old and tired, left their lights on, or stuff like that. I am talking about people with good batteries that run it down cranking the motor over and over for no reason.

Interesting about the booster packs.
Perhaps I should look into them.
Being old school, and a guy who has been turning wrenches since I was a teenager, I have a hard time wrapping my head around something tiny having enough oooomph to start a vehicle.

BobsYourUncle wrote:
Do those things actually work?

My truck passed out in a customers driveway a couple years ago. I was due for a pair of batteries.
Customer hooked up his little jump box thing and it did nothing, just made a little clicking noise and whined a bit....

With the diesel you need 2. My old 06 GMC died when my wife had it. I was tied up on a breakdown at work so she called CAA. I fixed the work problem and arrived just after the CAA booster truck. His battery pack wouldn't start it so I put my booster pack on the second battery, and the truck fired right up. She took the car and I took the truck and bought 2 new batteries after work.
I now carry 2 of the lithium packs in the truck. Haven't used it on my vehicles, but a couple of people were very happy that I had them when they needed a boost!

We used ours the other day. It's lithium ion. Last time it was used was over a year ago. It was down two bars out of five on charge. I don't remember, if after using it back then we recharged it or not.

Wife says we did.

Interesting, thanks.

BobsYourUncle wrote:
Do those things actually work?

My truck passed out in a customers driveway a couple years ago. I was due for a pair of batteries.
Customer hooked up his little jump box thing and it did nothing, just made a little clicking noise and whined a bit....

I have a portable jumper battery (lead/acid) which I bought from Costco several years ago for about $70. A neighbor in a BLM campground drained both 12 volt starting batteries on his older Ford diesel pickup with a V-8 engine. I figured, . . . why not try it? I hooked it up and let it charge for about 5 minutes. He cranked the engine. It hemmed and hawed for a few seconds, then to both of our surprise, it started. To date, it has saved at least 6 people, including myself, several times. I won't leave home without it. There are as many different types as there are batteries.

Chum lee

Mine, with a sealed wet cell battery, recommends once a month to top it off.