Recommendations - Auto Battery Jumper/Charger

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jpummil

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So, on occasion, I end up either not getting my trunk latched...or else maybe I bump the auto release on my e-key and trip it. Regardless, if I don't detect it for a couple of days, it ends up waiting for me with a dead battery. I have jumper cables, but often, no one around to jump it. Since it's in the garage, what recommendations would anyone have for a charging unit that could quickly get enough juice back in the battery where I could start it and let the alternator charge it back to full on the way to work? I'd be looking at $50-$150 budget probably...
 
I bought the Harbor Freight one as well.

And yes, it makes a dandy portable launch power supply!
 
So, these are certainly in the price range! And...nice idea on a portable launch power supply as well!

So, one wouldn't want to just leave it plugged in I suspect. If one WAS to walk into the garage and find said automobile in need of the paddles of life, how long does it take for the unit to charge enough to start the lifeless vehicle?
 
It is not a charger. However, I have immediately started vehicles with a dead battery on several occasions (just like using a jumper). It also will start your vehicle if you are not around a 120V source. Decent chargers are relatively cheap so you could also have one of those well within your budget.
 
I have had good luck with this one. It doubles as my lauch power supply.

https://www.harborfreight.com/12-volt-jump-start-and-power-supply-38391.html

I use something almost identical to this as my launch power supply, and over a decade or so have actually used it to jump batteries and pump up tires a couple times, too.

If I were buying a new one from scratch today, I'd probably go for something like what rhildinger has (for the 120V outlets).


As far as how long it will take to start the car, to some extent that depends on the condition of the battery. (Never jump a battery without making sure there is fluid in the cells.)

If the battery is essentially OK but has just been run dead, the booster pack should usually start it up within a few seconds. You will then want to run the car for at least a half-hour or so to charge the battery back up (presuming there isn't also something wrong with your alternator).

If the battery itself is almost shot it may take longer to start, plus the battery may not hold a charge after being restarted. When that happens it is new battery time.
 
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This is not a charger per se but one of those emergency battery jumper / power station kits:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Schumacher-Electric-6-in-1-Jump-Starter/25955544

I have had very good luck with it in both jump starting my car, and using it for camping to power a CPAP sleep apnea machine overnight using the built in 120v inverter.

-Robert

Very nice. A friend of mine was just musing about what he could use for his CPAP machine on a camping trip this summer. I wonder how long it would run a small fan. My wife is going on this same trip and is uncomfortable in heat.

Or maybe we could just use the built-in inflator to blow air on my wife and keep my friend breathing!
 
I do not remember the brand, but I bought a cheap jump-starter thingy from Walmart a few years back (like $29 cheap I think). I do not recommend the cheap ones. Mine no longer holds a charge for more than about 5min!!!! Of course now I have to pay to dispose of it.
Do yourself a favor and spend a little to get a good one. I think my next one might say DieHard on it....
 
I recommend a 3-way solution.

1) You already have jumper cables. Keep 'em in the truck.
2) A plug-in charger/starter that you keep in the garage - to solve the dead battery problem you sometimes have.
3) A portable power pack (you do have to top it off every month) to use for emergencies/launches/whatever.

The portable deal will get you started if the battery is a little weak, but not flat dead. The one time we used ours - a 20 minute charge did the trick.


You can get both #2 & #3 for under $100 if you shop around a bit. :)

spin_prod_675244901.jpg

spin_prod_675246401.jpg
 
Very nice. A friend of mine was just musing about what he could use for his CPAP machine on a camping trip this summer. I wonder how long it would run a small fan. My wife is going on this same trip and is uncomfortable in heat.

Or maybe we could just use the built-in inflator to blow air on my wife and keep my friend breathing!

I can run my CPAP for 3 nights on one charge. That's about 24 hours on non-stop usage at an average of 10 watts continuous. It would probably run a regular small 120volt fan for about 8-10 hours. Probably more for a specially designed low wattage camping fan.

-Robert
 
I bought a Powerstation PSX2 at CostCo and I highly recommend it.

https://www.powerstationusa.com/brands/Powerstation/product.php?mod=PSX2

I had a cheap one before and it was never charged. The reason is that the instructions warned you not to leave it charging for more than a few hours. You had to remember to plug it in and to unplug it later. Eventually, I lost the external charger for it.

The PSX2 can be left plugged in to charge as long as you wish. And the charger is built-in - nothing to misplace. You just plug an extension cord in the side to charge it. I charge it overnight about once a month.

I've had it for about three years and it is still working well. I use the air pump often to keep our car tires inflated to the right pressure. It is slow, but much more convenient than stopping somewhere for air. I also use the lighter plug on it often to recharge my cell phone when the car is parked or we are at a rocket launch without our trailer. A few times, I have even used it as a jump starter.

As a jump starter, it is safer and easier than conventional jumper cables.

-- Roger
 
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A few years back I bought this Black and Decker "smart charger" at Wal-Mart. Its held up well. It has to be plugged in but it also has a jump start capability that we have used a number of times on the cars as well as on the lawn tractors. You set it for "jump start" it starts a countdown timer while it charges (or something) and when the counter gets to zero you can start the car. Usually works. Once in a while I've had to go through this process twice, but rarely if ever has it failed to start the car.

th


About the same time I bought a decent deep cycle battery. I take this charger (its pretty small and portable) along with the deep cycle batter to run my wife's CPAP when we go camping. Usually we're good for four days or so depending on how many cell phones we charge off of it. I put the batter in a marine battery box and strap it to a two wheeled luggage cart.
 
Wow! LOTS of great options...makes me wish I'd asked a couple of years ago :grin:

Thanks for the input everyone! Now to decide...
 
This is not a charger per se but one of those emergency battery jumper / power station kits:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Schumacher-Electric-6-in-1-Jump-Starter/25955544

I have had very good luck with it in both jump starting my car, and using it for camping to power a CPAP sleep apnea machine overnight using the built in 120v inverter.

-Robert

I bought this yesterday, hoping it would run a fan at night on a camping trip I expect to be hot. It only ran for about 6 hours and shut off when the battery hit 30%. I need it to go 3 nights. The fan is a bit bigger than I need, so hopefully I can find something one that can stretch the power out longer.
 
I bought the Black and Decker PPRH5B off Amazon for $104.

In addition to the jump starter it has a compressor, USB power, and a 500W inverter. Fills all kinds of needs on the field.

One neat feature is the fact that you can use any extension cord to charge it. No wall wart or other special cord.
 
I do not remember the brand, but I bought a cheap jump-starter thingy from Walmart a few years back (like $29 cheap I think). I do not recommend the cheap ones. Mine no longer holds a charge for more than about 5min!!!! Of course now I have to pay to dispose of it.
Do yourself a favor and spend a little to get a good one. I think my next one might say DieHard on it....

Pay to dispose of it?? That's what rural creek bridges are for LOL:) There's washers, dryers, stoves, refrigerators, loads of old tires and barrels of used motor oil, old TV sets, mattresses, etc under every one I've ever seen...

The county put in a "recycling center" where you could dump off old TV's and appliances, used motor oil (for home mechanics like me) and old tires (but they charge the $2 "state fee" for disposal on auto tires, more for big truck and tractor tires). TVs and appliances USED to be free to drop off, but when we took my Dad's old set over there, they charged him like $5 bucks to get rid of it... "Last time I do that" he said... "Next time it goes to the dump!"

Oh well...

Later! OL JR :)
 
I got one a few years back when my grandmother passed away... it was in her stuff when we were cleaning out the house and garage. Never been used.

Thought it might have sat around so long it was no good, but when I charged it it worked fine. Been using it for years. I once used it to power the launcher at the club launch and it STILL had enough power at the end of the day to start someone's Suburban that they left the doors open all day and the courtesy lights killed their battery stone cold dead...

I've started a dead pickup battery in winter with it. Only thing it DOESN'T have enough current for by itself is starting a dead tractor battery in a diesel tractor in winter when it's cold. If the battery is just cold and sluggish, it will usually put out enough to spin the tractor starter fast enough to get it started... unless it's REALLY cold and the tractor battery is just too sluggish to spin the big diesel...

Those jumper packs are the BOMB!

Later! OL JR :)
 
for a fan suggestion, consider a 12VDC brushless fan(computer fan), the one I have handy pulls 0.16A/1.9W.
Rex
 
I bought this yesterday, hoping it would run a fan at night on a camping trip I expect to be hot. It only ran for about 6 hours and shut off when the battery hit 30%. I need it to go 3 nights. The fan is a bit bigger than I need, so hopefully I can find something one that can stretch the power out longer.

I have two 50AH batteries connected to a 1500W inverter in our rocketry trailer. I haven't timed how long it can run the big electric fan we use, but before I added the second battery, it didn't last an entire launch day (about six hours). A smaller fan, of course, would last longer. I doubt you need one quite as big as ours inside a tent. A small generator might be less expensive than a battery pack system like I built, but would be too loud to run at night at a campsite.

So, yes, a smaller fan, and perhaps buying a second jump pack, might be the best answer for you. There are some 12v electric fans on the market. We have a small box fan that plugs into a cigarette lighter socket. We use it at launches to help our dog stay cool - he gets his own fan. I've run it off a jump pack before, but never timed how long it can run.

-- Roger
 
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