Powerpack or battery booster

mattpc · 8 Mar 2007 at 23:29

Want to purchase one of these for starting cars with dead batteries. Can anyone reccomend brands or models and tell me what to look out for and why certain ones cost more money than others please?

BenST · 8 Mar 2007 at 23:41

Go for the cheapest one you can find. Most if not all use a standard lead acid battery and as such you're paying extra for models when you need not.

Liverpool-Lad · 8 Mar 2007 at 23:56

But surely that equates to a poorer aH battery?

BenST · 9 Mar 2007 at 00:16

Not really. The most basic of lead acids for car use such as 17Ah is more than adequate to start your car. You don't really get many with a larger capacity and most use the same make of battery.

benneh · 9 Mar 2007 at 03:56

I payed £35 for one of these, it's been fine. Used it 3-4 times now (including jumping someone else on a tesco carpark the other day) and funnily enough last night was the first time I charged it in 3-4 months, and even before that the indicator was still showing 12-13V. Unfortunately I found the same one at a local general store for £22 the day after I bought it. Sods law, but it's good all the same. Rugged, functional, and comes with some adapters so that you can power stuff off it on the beach

.

lordrobs · 9 Mar 2007 at 07:53

Not sure if there are any still knocking around but I got a nice one from Aldi. £25, also included 4 12V socket outlets, a compressor (which was rated to silly psi) and worklight/hazzard lights. Might be worth a look.

mattpc · 9 Mar 2007 at 10:15

thanks guys, the cheapness sounds good to me!

eidolon · 9 Mar 2007 at 10:49

I just got mine from ebay. It's kept in the MGF as I don't fully trust it yet.

mattpc · 9 Mar 2007 at 10:55

are u keeping the MGF as your daily hack then?

eidolon · 9 Mar 2007 at 11:17

Yep, sold the Mondeo and kept the MGF for my runabout. I'm loving it to be honest, it handles really well, far better than I was expecting.
The roof drops in 2 seconds flat so it's only ever up if it's pouring down.

mattpc · 9 Mar 2007 at 11:49

yes that's what I love about the Mazda. I can put the roof up and down at traffic lights so therefore I really have it up because I can put it up really quickly if it starts pouring down.