Jump starters

[Bob_Vaughn]

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

[BobsYourUncle]

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.

[Yeti_plus]

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!

[down_home]

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.

[BobsYourUncle]

Interesting, thanks.

[Chum_lee]

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

[zigzagrv]

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

[schlep1967]

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

As a general rule....I would do what the products manual tells you to do.
There are many different types of these things out there. How one is maintained may not apply to the next one.

[wopachop]

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....

Tiny little lithium batteries are capable of insane amp draw. I used to pull bursts of 120a from a battery the size of a stick of butter. That was 5 years ago and at 16v. So would have to compensate to compare to 12v. Point is a tiny battery today can start a large diesel engine no problem.

[theoldwizard1]

free radical wrote:

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

Never
If you use this one that has ultracapacitors,
instead of lithium battery

https://youtu.be/ZMfo4mk3eIw

I would never bet on that !

[BobsYourUncle]

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....

[free_radical]

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

Never
If you use this one that has ultracapacitors,
instead of lithium battery

https://youtu.be/ZMfo4mk3eIw

[wopachop]

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

Its kinda silly, but youre not supposed to leave them fully charged. Thats if you have the same battery technology as the model we have. Think it was around $80.

If you drive a little honda civic. Leave it at their recommended storage level. Will have plenty of power to start. If you are about to go on a driving vacation then i would fully charge it. Or if a friend calls to borrow it and you have the time then fully charge it before use.

We had a weird battery issue on a vehicle. Took me forever to find it. Kids would use the jump starter after school to start the truck. I would monitor the level. Definitely didnt fully charge it after each use. I think after the last time we used it we purposely did not fully charge. Because i fixed the problem and the jump starter was at their storage level.

Same with most lithium. Cordless weed wacker battery doesnt like to be stored at 100%.

The battery will self discharge. Quicker in higher ambient temps. Use that to determine whats best for you. I think the majority of people fully charge everything and call it good. Less headache.

To someone like me knowing i forget and left the battery on the charger is what gives me a headache. Happened with the weed wacker last week. Only meant to charge it back to about 60%. Forgot and it sat on the charger for a few days.

[theoldwizard1]

No worries about recharging this jump pack. TrekPow TJ2500

It charges from a standard USB cell phone charger !

New KING of the Portable Jump Starters !

[Bumpyroad]

I have a lithium one that has held a charge for a year.
bumpy