portable jump starter

Most of them should do the job, one thing worth checking is the length of the red and black croc clamp leads, I've seen some that really need to be a little longer as some of the bigger batteries and contacts can be quite a bit further apart than standard smaller capacity batteries.
 
brendy said:
Most of them should do the job, one thing worth checking is the length of the red and black croc clamp leads, I've seen some that really need to be a little longer as some of the bigger batteries and contacts can be quite a bit further apart than standard smaller capacity batteries.
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Lot of the generic ones either only good for half or even a third of their stated engine size or the batteries will only survive one demanding start.
 
Rroff said:
Lot of the generic ones either only good for half or even a third of their stated engine size or the batteries will only survive one demanding start.
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Like everything there are good and bad. Common sense on Amazon is to read the reviews good and bad and go from there. I got a 1000a 18000mAh rated peak generic model, paid £70 back in 2019, it has jumped around 6 different cars in that time Inc a couple of mid sized 2.0-3.0 diesels with no problem, it took around 5-7% battery on each jump, I always recharge after each single use anyway so never had to try it from say 40% etc.
It's hard to look past Noco models but there are bargains out there.
 
Worth checking that the one you buy will start a car with a properly dead battery. A lot of them need to see some residual charge in the battery before they will activate.
 
geekman said:
Worth checking that the one you buy will start a car with a properly dead battery. A lot of them need to see some residual charge in the battery before they will activate.
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Yeah only professional automotive ones (which cost hundreds) or the big bulky ones which are essentially a car battery will usually start a car with a fully dead battery - most of these power bank type jump starters will just get you back running if the battery has drained low and/or is struggling.

brendy said:
Like everything there are good and bad. Common sense on Amazon is to read the reviews good and bad and go from there. I got a 1000a 18000mAh rated peak generic model, paid £70 back in 2019, it has jumped around 6 different cars in that time Inc a couple of mid sized 2.0-3.0 diesels with no problem, it took around 5-7% battery on each jump, I always recharge after each single use anyway so never had to try it from say 40% etc.
It's hard to look past Noco models but there are bargains out there.
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I've got a 500a, 18000mah generic one which I bought for £31.99 off the end of the Black Friday sales in 2017 - handles up to 3.0 diesels - supposedly does 5.0L diesel LOL but I can say for sure it maxes out about 3.0 - but it does actually work and haven't had issues with batteries dying, swelling up or not charging properly, etc. after use. I've also got the Goal Zero Venture which works as well.

I use some Noco stuff which has worked well but their jump starters have somewhat mixed reviews - not tried one personally.

Ring Automotive ones in my experience are OK for light cars but struggle with bigger engine SUVs and trucks, etc.
 
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teenwolf said:
So they are worth buying then and one with USB charging too.
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Personally like the reassurance and no faffing about waiting for RAC, etc. the better ones are definitely capable of getting you going as long as the car battery isn't completely dead.

Ironically not actually had to use them in an emergency myself - but off the end of the pandemic when people had left their cars sitting around for weeks or months they've come in handy.
 
I had to buy a generic as my car likes to drain the battery if not driven for 2 weeks, or if anything electrical is accidentally left on it's gone regardless. If the car is too far gone I've been able to cycle it a few times over 10-15 minutes and it's then been strong enough to get the car going again. I've used it now a few dozen times on various cars, the only one it's failed to jump straight away was an Alfa diesel which had been sitting for 3 months, not even the trickle charger recognised that battery and it had to be replaced.
 
Rroff said:
Yeah only professional automotive ones (which cost hundreds) or the big bulky ones which are essentially a car battery will usually start a car with a fully dead battery - most of these power bank type jump starters will just get you back running if the battery has drained low and/or is struggling.
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I was watching a video about this one recently which supposedly will jump even a totally dead battery.

 
@ShiWarrior - When did you start working for Ring? :p

We license our brand name to someone who makes these and we've just had a load of old stock in to clear to staff, as long as they donate canned/dried foods for food banks. Going to pick up one! Neighbour was away on holiday recently and with the cold weather his car battery was dead when he returned.
 
teenwolf said:
So they are worth buying then and one with USB charging too.
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It's the sort of thing that if you need it, it'll be invaluable. I bought mine after I went on holiday and my car was left unattended for a week. None of us had noticed it but my son had knocked the interior light on when he got out and the battery was utterly flat. Luckily, I knew someone who worked literally around the corner from where my car was parked and I got a jump start from his truck.

One of the first things I did when we got home was buy the pack I've linked above. I've only had to use it once and that was on a friends little C1 which again, was utterly flat. I had to use the bypass thing that's mentioned in the video I linked to but it started first pull. I believe some of the cheaper ones won't work if the battery is below a certain voltage.

I've never used it for the USB charger but it might be handy.

Rroff said:
Yeah only professional automotive ones (which cost hundreds) or the big bulky ones which are essentially a car battery will usually start a car with a fully dead battery - most of these power bank type jump starters will just get you back running if the battery has drained low and/or is struggling.
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Again, see the video I posted above where he starts a truck that's fully dead.

I guess it's like anything else, you get what you pay for.
 
Mekrel said:
@ShiWarrior - When did you start working for Ring? :p

We license our brand name to someone who makes these and we've just had a load of old stock in to clear to staff, as long as they donate canned/dried foods for food banks. Going to pick up one! Neighbour was away on holiday recently and with the cold weather his car battery was dead when he returned.
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Haha
I don't

I just find their stuff to be well made
 
I bought a Halfords one as a last minute thought to leave in the OH's car in long stay parking while we were away on holiday, just in case. When we got back the car battery was nearly dead, the starter motor wouldn't turn at all. I didn't have huge expectations when I connected the jump starter thing, but the engine started immediately. It did expend 25% of its power.

I'd ordered one "up to 2 litre engines" for £50 but with a 10% code it was £45. When I arrived at Halfords to collect the item, they handed me a "up to 3 litre engines" one, which usually costs about £80.

Bargain!
 
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