Battery Jump Starters

[wood714]

I bought this one a few years ago, and never used it till today.

Neighbor lady knocked on my door asking if I would help her get her truck hood open.

Walked down and finally got the latch to open. She said her battery was dead. Told her I had a jump start thing I'd never used and asked if she wanted to try that.

Went back to get it and it worked like a charm. Money well spent if I ever need it again.

 

[Goldstar225]

I've had the same unit for five years. I've never had to use it for my benefit but have aided others 5 or 6 times to start their vehicles or boats.

 

[SnidelyWhiplash]

I have a similar one from..."gasp"...Harbor Freight! It was inexpensive being on sale at the time...doesn't take much space...and it works! It holds its charge for quite some time.

I bought it prior to our cross-country move for just-in-case. While I didn't need it for that I have used it for friends and it surely served its purpose. Now it sits in the garage charged up should it be needed.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Several years ago we bought a jump starter from Walmart. In that time it has only seen action three times and performed perfectly every time.

Quite the handy, dandy little device.

 

[RetCapt]

I have the NOCO model Griot's Garage sells. I've only used it once. Shortly after I had bought it, both batteries on my Dodge Ram diesel died of old age. I did not try to start it because I wanted it taken 30 miles to the garage where we do business to get two new batteries as well as a service.

When the AAA flatbed arrived, he ran his cables to one of my two truck batteries, hooked up and told me to start the truck. Nothing. He was perplexed, saying my batts must really be deceased. I hooked up my jump starter to the other battery, kicked it over and it immediately started.

A few months later I got a demonstration of just how well these devices do work. We were parked near a Trader Joe's. My bride was inside shopping. Dog and I waited in the car, reading newspapers. I had noticed several ladies standing near a van across from me. Since they were casually talking among themselves, I had no idea there was any problem. A few minutes later a yellow AAA rig showed up. But this was not a tow truck. It was a van. The driver got out, carrying one of these compact jump starters and went to the front of the van. A couple of minutes later he got back in his van and left. The ladies then departed in their van. He had barely gotten there and he was through. Watching this, and how efficient this process was, it occurred how much quicker and efficient it was to have a van with these jump starters responding to these types of calls rather than normal sized tow rigs.

Until I had purchased my NOCO unit, I had no knowledge of this new technology and how efficient it is.

Very impressive.

 

[Farmer17]

About 3 years ago my 2018 Ram pickup wouldn't start like it had a dead battery and I got a jump and drove to Auto Zone and they tested my battery and said it was fine. My truck started no problem the rest of the day and then in the morning it wouldn't start. No way to back it out of the garage and the transmission is locked without electricity so no room to get another car in and jump it. I had a portable battery charger in the garage and the truck started right up and I carried the charger with me and I took it to another Autozone and had them check the battery again thinking they may have made a mistake. Nope, they said the battery checked out fine so I started researching parasitic battery drains and found out they can be a real pain to find. I drove the truck a few more days and had to use the portable charger 3 or 4 times a day to start the truck and then finally gave up and went to the dealer. In about 15 minutes they said the battery was bad and put a new battery in and the truck has ran and started great ever since. Moral of the story, don't trust Autozone to check your battery.

 

[old bear]

Kevin good for you in helping out your neighbor Sadly that does not happen as often as it should.

 

[pawngal]

I also have one of the small charger packs, need to check the charge on it!
Don't think I have ever used it.

 

[Baxter6551]

I posted this previously. Don’t mean to be a downer here and I’m sure they work great - but ****BE CAREFUL *****charging them. A former co workers house burned to the ground because of one. He put it on charge on workbench in the attached garage. Fire Marshall pinpointed that as point of origin. They awoke to the garage fully envolved at 3 am. It quickly spread to the attic and took the whole house. The Fire Marshall also said there is a big increase in fires due to electric vehicle charging stations inside garages. Luckily no injuries to his family. They lost a couple of pets.

 

[hittman77]

I’ve heard of that brand and saw good reviews on it.

The one I bought is by Antigravity Batteries. They call it Micro-Start Jump Starter. Mine is model XP-10. They make many in different sizes.

 

[ralph7]

I posted this previously. Don’t mean to be a downer here and I’m sure they work great - but ****BE CAREFUL *****charging them. A former co workers house burned to the ground because of one. He put it on charge on workbench in the attached garage. Fire Marshall pinpointed that as point of origin. They awoke to the garage fully envolved at 3 am. It quickly spread to the attic and took the whole house. The Fire Marshall also said there is a big increase in fires due to electric vehicle charging stations inside garages. Luckily no injuries to his family. They lost a couple of pets.

Name of charger?

 

[RetCapt]

Baxter6551. Tnx for the heads up. I too will be very interested to know of the make.

The NOCO does not come with a charger. The directions state any standard small electronic device charger will work. These chargers are designed as low voltage low amp devices. Thus the cord going from the ac plug is extremely small. On mine, when I have charged it, I have never detected any heat coming from this small cord. Nor does the quick starter put out any heat. The quick starter does take a long time to charge. That is to be expected with the very low current flowing into the quick starter.

Electrical cords react to the demand put on them. That is why extension cords heat up, sometimes dangerously, if loads too heavy are placed on them. The way to avoid that is to use larger diameter extension cords. Given how small the cords are coming off small ac chargers, if demand on the device is greater than the design capacity of the device and its cord, then it will heat up, and given its very small diameter, will ignite. So, the real question is what caused the quick charger to place that abnormal demand on the ac charger.

That is why it would be useful to know of the make of the quick charger, plus any other specific information that can be produced. If the fire department generated a report, if it is in depth, that might be useful.

FWIW, a friend of mine has the same NOCO quick starter I have. She camps a lot in remote areas, and bought this unit at my recommendation. I put the initial charge on it, and have given it maintenance charges a couple of times since. It acts the same as mine. It is gradual to charge and there is no heat generated from the device or her ac charger.

 

[wood714]

Mine uses a phone charger cord to charge.

I have a power strip mounted on my work bench with a couple USB ports. I charged it today on that.

 

[JH1951]

I have one I got from NAPA. It was the middle of the road among the options available. Brand is "BlueFuel". About five years old and has been put in to use several times each year. Great little tool and I recommend having one.
Thanks for bringing up the topic. I just checked mine and it needs a charge top-off.

 

[KalamazooKid]

I too have a NOCO and absolutely love it! Has never failed me (or the folks I’ve helped with it!).

 

[Baxter6551]

To those who asked I will reach out to try and determine brand of charger.

 

[Golddollar]

I have a pair of portable chargers I bought from Sears 35 years ago. It may be time to replace them I guess.

 

[soFlaNative]

I was given one (not sure of the brand) for Christmas and wonder the function when stored in a vehicle whose interior temp can exceed 120F?

 

[Salty RI]

About 3 years ago my 2018 Ram pickup wouldn't start like it had a dead battery and I got a jump and drove to Auto Zone and they tested my battery and said it was fine. My truck started no problem the rest of the day and then in the morning it wouldn't start. No way to back it out of the garage and the transmission is locked without electricity so no room to get another car in and jump it. I had a portable battery charger in the garage and the truck started right up and I carried the charger with me and I took it to another Autozone and had them check the battery again thinking they may have made a mistake. Nope, they said the battery checked out fine so I started researching parasitic battery drains and found out they can be a real pain to find. I drove the truck a few more days and had to use the portable charger 3 or 4 times a day to start the truck and then finally gave up and went to the dealer. In about 15 minutes they said the battery was bad and put a new battery in and the truck has ran and started great ever since. Moral of the story, don't trust Autozone to check your battery.

I had the same problem with AutoZone.

Sent from my LGL455DL using Tapatalk

 

[mtgianni]

I like the three in ones that have an small compressor and a 120 V outlet. The hose tends to crack after 4 years but they work well otherwise. I have a small Rennai heater in the basement and one will run that for 24 hours if the power goes out.