Jump Start Power Pack Advice.

[ringway]

After a few recent self inflicted flat battery episodes on my RR and 211 I have decided to invest in a Jump Starter.

I know little about the jump starters but some offer overload or short circuit protection (for the car?) which sounds like a good idea.


LINK.


LINK.


LINK.


The batteries on all of our cars are quite hefty, so I assume some of the lower power units wouldn't always be up to the job.

I'm not necessarily after an "All bells and whistles" model, just one that will be effective in getting things back up and running.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

[Ted]

Auto Express reviewed three of them last week.
I'll get back with their findings when I get home.

 

[moonloops]

Costco do an 18 amp hour one for £75 inc vat. Also has a built in tyre inflator, lamp and USB port to charge phones etc.

 

[Giantvanman]

Wasn't there a new member on here who fairly recently was offering some fancy jump start units? Can't remember his tag.

 

[flango]

You need one of these, the performance is amazing for something that fits in the glove and it does what it says on the tin, will jump your car multiple times before flat.

 

[chubbs111]

You need one of these, the performance is amazing for something that fits in the glove and it does what it says on the tin, will jump your car multiple times before flat.

where did you get that please

 

[moonloops]

where did you get that please

Look on ebay and amazon - loads.

 

[automaniaman]

Halfords powerpack 200.

 

[alzieboy]

I think it's called the jumpingjack.com

 

[smurgewurfler]

Be very very wary about how you use these things on cars with sensitive electronics.
If in doubt disconnect the battery negative pole before connecting an external power source (to the battery) as otherwise you can blow the OVP and other expensive components. This has been known to cause problems on the 124 range, R129s, 140 and anything more recent.

 

[flango]

where did you get that please

That well known auction site flea bay. It's a 38.000 mah one which was the highest I could find

My mate has a Fluoreon branded one 18500 mah and that's good but mine has twice the capacity for a fiver more

Both come in nice carrying cases

 

[mersum1es]

I have had two different pack units, both have failed in couple of years even (or due to?) minimal usage. Thats why I now have spare AGM battery which I use for jump starting. If I wanted to take one with the car, I would probably buy a smaller capacity/size AGM start battery meant for boat/motorcycle (you can see capacity of those start packs are not really big)

Always when connecting jump start unit or another battery, one should wait a while that currents are balanced (healthy unit feeds dead battery for a while) and start the engine after that.

 

[boxbrownie]

I have used a light aircraft portable jump start pack, I got it from RS components about 20 years ago and still works perfectly, although I was thinking about sending it back as it seems to have gone flat.......just kidding

It is in a poly box with soft carry handle and a battery cut off switch and has a 30ah dry cell battery.

I charge it about 4 times a year and it'll turn over one of my neighbours large vans (when he leaves the load bay lights on!).

They may still sell them, but must be available commercially as well, very reliable and no cheap boosted electronics to bugger around with sensitive systems, just a chunk of raw DC.

Slightly smaller than this version

 

[boxbrownie]

flango's type.............

Turnigy Jump Start Mobile Power Station

 

[Chrishazle]

I've read on here and t'other side, and also from an AA patrol man, that you have to be rather careful jump starting our cars to avoid a power surge/spike playing havoc with the SAM's etc. The AA man said their power packs are "soft start" units that only put out limited power at first connection then gradually ramp up - and apparently they're not cheap.

With my lack of knowledge about things electrical I'm quite poosibly talking through my fundamental orifice - as I will no doubt shortly find out! However, I keep the 968 on a battery conditioner in the garage, and touch wood I have yet to have a starting problem with the S203 or current S204 despite the limited mileage we now do (7k pa, mainly short trips!).

 

[flango]

As Mersim1es connect the power pack let the currents balance and then start the car. When you connect and then try to start immediately is when you get power spikes/surges that blow the SAM's and OVP relay

Never had a problem doing it this way

 

[jazzyglobe]

I have this one. Very nice unit. Powerful enough to start most large engines.

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/clarke-jumpstart-1224

 

[Ted]

AE tested launch booster pack
launchtech.co.uk £120

Sealey lstart235
Sealey.co.uk £129.11

Cobra jumpack
Argos.co.uk £79.99

Sealey beat the launchtech with more starts but less available supply current
Cobra was well beaten into third place.

 

[MBDevotee]

I don't know about the jump start side of it all, however I use these:-

Solar Chargers and Solar Charging Regulators | Maplin

I have both the 1.5W and the 4.8W ones.

They won't charge a battery from flat, but they do seem to stop them going flat if left connected - and that's for months not weeks - last time I tried, my van had been stood for nearly 12 months.

 

[ringway]

Well, I'm non the wiser, so given that the jump pack would seldom be used and that it might have a limited life span, I think I'll opt for a lower budget model that won't fry any electricals.

Are the units left plugged in in standby mode or do they retain their power for a long period of time?


Thanks for the help.