Jump starters

Bob Vaughn wrote:
My question got hi jacked

It did. Apologies. It should be back on track now.

Let's not fight over jump starters.

My question got hi jacked

Um, they sell lithium deep cycle batteries. The new DPs can get them, sometimes as an option as an option. I believe the Monaco fully electric (no propane) option provides Lipo
They cost about twice what those Optima Gel Cell batteries cost.
For about twice the lithium price you can buy Lifepo 4 batteries. They are much better. Lipo has a relatively short life span, by number of charges, not use. Like your cell phone, if you charge it even if it has a good charge, it won't last long. Life (lithium iron) batteries have a much longer life. More than twice the lithium.
This is all just from my memory of various magazine articles. Research it yourself, I wouldn't bet the house on my memory.

My Tack Life was about $80 on Amazon.
It loses almost no charge sitting for 6 months.
Being 2 years old I would expect newer versions to be even better.

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

The best value is the one your FIL puts under the tree for you. ;)

Bob Vaughn wrote:
As a general rule how often do jump starters need to be recharged especially the small ones that just jump start?

I have an older AGM style jump box (not lithium) and it has been sitting a couple years. Just gave it a check and it said empty. Not sure how much power or use it had left but I plugged it in to get charged back up. You never know when it might be needed. I probably should be charging mine every 6 to 12 months.

Jack Spratt wrote:
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.

Yes, your right I have no experience with them. From what I am reading on here they must be better then I think.

I wonder how they work ? Why not replace the batteries in cars with something like the ones in a Jumper Pack?

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

The lithium packs are my choice for a jumper battery. Small to tuck in your vehicle and hold most of their charge for a year or more. I keep my old wet cell jumper battery around with a fresh battery for a 12 volt source in the shop. When I bought it lithiums didn't exist. I carried it on camping trips, but didn't carry it daily in my truck, too big and it needed to be topped off every couple of months.

If you want to use it on a diesel most people use two (may not need two for a small diesel). There are impressive YouTube videos starting over the road tractor diesels with two little lithium packs.

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.

i have no experience trying to jump start a diesel engine, but i can tell you from experience managing a van fleet and personal use, i have used them to jump start large ford v8s, mid size engines, small 12 volts like riding mowers. the different jump boxes i used were normally in the 60 to 80 dollar range. yes they work well unless the battery is way past dead.