Battery jump starters

[d000hg]

Having found ourselves with a dead battery in a remote Yorkshire country pub this weekend I'm of a mind to get one of these modern battery jump starters. This time we got help - people in that part of the country being both helpful and practical - but next time who knows.

I've seen people very positive about them, but what is there to differentiate them and how much should I spend? Anyone got specific recommendations for things they own?

[Lance]

don't mess about with modern lightweight ones.

You want a Clarke Jump Start 4000 Heavy Duty Engine Starter | Power Tools Direct

Heavy is good. Heavy is reliable.
I've had two of those and they'll start a 2.5L diesel with a totally dead battery after 15 minutes of connection.
And good for a 4L petrol V8 range rover

[TheDude]

Note - these don't work with Teslas which as a contractor you probably drive.

[WTFH]

Years ago I had a Halfords one - Power Pack 200. I lost the power supply for it and broke one of the fluorescent tubes, so it went into the loft of our old house. It was heavy, and stayed in the loft for over 10 years. Before we moved out, I was clearing the loft and found it. Was going to take it to the recycling centre, but decided to hit the test button. It still had 75% of its charge and the air pump still worked, but I'd lost all the jump leads etc.


I now use a solar panel as a trickle charger and have a CTek MX5 if the car has been parked up for a while.

[d000hg]

Years ago I had a Halfords one - Power Pack 200. I lost the power supply for it and broke one of the fluorescent tubes, so it went into the loft of our old house. It was heavy, and stayed in the loft for over 10 years. .

My understanding is things have moved on somewhat though I don't know how... is yours a Li-ion thing? The new ones seem suspiciously small but I've seen people start big things like Ford Raptors on YouTube. Contemporary ones seem to often double up as a power pack for your phone too - USB out and so one, often a LED torch.

[WTFH]

My understanding is things have moved on somewhat though I don't know how... is yours a Li-ion thing? The new ones seem suspiciously small but I've seen people start big things like Ford Raptors on YouTube. Contemporary ones seem to often double up as a power pack for your phone too - USB out and so one, often a LED torch.

Yes, mine was lead acid, hence the weight.

Last year when my car was parked up over winter for about 3 months the battery went completely flat and my friendly local mechanic turned up with a NOCO Boost, which he said he'd been waiting to try on a bigger engined car. Very simple to use. I think he had the Pro model, but I suspect the GB40 would be more than adequate:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/NOCO-GB40-U.../dp/B015TKUPIC

[DealorNoDeal]

Keeping the battery fully charged should be the number one priority. If you don't keep them fully charged, you shorten their life. Discharging them does a lot of damage.

The problem with modern cars is the parasitic drain when the vehicle is not being used. I measured this on my Audi and it was about 100mA, which is 2.4A/day or 17A/week. It doesn't take that long before the battery won't start the car.

I have mine permanently on a (homemade) trickle charger, and haven't had a battery problem in years.

[d000hg]

Keeping the battery fully charged should be the number one priority. If you don't keep them fully charged, you shorten their life. Discharging them does a lot of damage.

The problem with modern cars is the parasitic drain when the vehicle is not being used. I measured this on my Audi and it was about 100mA, which is 2.4A/day or 17A/week. It doesn't take that long before the battery won't start the car.

I have mine permanently on a (homemade) trickle charger, and haven't had a battery problem in years.

I guess that's why you see people with dashboard solar panels? Just to combat drain if they don't use it too often?

[WTFH]

I guess that's why you see people with dashboard solar panels? Just to combat drain if they don't use it too often?

Correct, and this one works well:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aa-Automobi.../dp/B07MMP4QBT

[DealorNoDeal]

I guess that's why you see people with dashboard solar panels? Just to combat drain if they don't use it too often?

I tried one of them (a 5 Watt version). It didn't even keep the battery fully charged in summer but would have been hopeless in winter. The windows in my car are slightly tinted, and this greatly reduces the power output of the panel.