"In a nut shell, if it ever goes to Civil War, I'm afraid I'll be in the middle 70%, shooting at both sides" — 26 Inf
"We have to stop demonizing people and realize the biggest terror threat in this country is white men, most of them radicalized to the right, and we have to start doing something about them." — CNN's Don Lemon 10/30/18
These things are really divided into two groups, lead acid and lithium. The lead acid variety are generally large, heavy, mostly bulletproof, and can usually withstand hundreds of uses. They are generally cheaper and it has been my experience that the very cheap ones are junk, anything above about $40 or so are all mostly the same, with a few cranking amps difference. As with most lead acid batteries they are best kept charged and will discharge naturally over the course of months, so plugging them in, say, once a month overnight, and again after they're used is generally sufficient. Eventually the internal lead acid battery will need replaced and they can generally be sourced for $30-40 depending on size. I have no experience with the lithium variety as i don't believe the cost/weight ratio worth it.
Most models in each variety these days will have a USB port for charging your various gadgets and some have an air compressor that can come in handy.
It has been my experience that when helping people with a jump about 1/3 of them say in response to my jumper pack, "Hey, I've got one of those things... at home."
I have also found that after a vehicle battery is a few years old a battery tender, plugged in nightly or at least every few days, can add several extra years to its life, especially if the vehicle is driven sporadically or on shorter trips.
nothing screams napoleonic warfare more than cannons roaring in the background
Does anyone have any experience with the novo genius boost? I was thinking about purchasing them
I've had a couple of the SLA type jump starters but have since been using the Power Bank type as of late (this past winter). Works better than the SLAs in my experience. There are many to be had and tried.
This fellow doesn't hold back on his testing and reviews (opinions) on jump starters.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkP...ry=Jumpstarter
In the chaos of battle, when the ground beneath your feet is a slurry of blood, puke, piss and the entrails of friends and enemies alike, it's easy to turn to the gods for salvation. But it's soldiers who do the fighting, and soldiers who do the dying, and the gods never get their feet wet. —Quintus Dias
"In a nut shell, if it ever goes to Civil War, I'm afraid I'll be in the middle 70%, shooting at both sides" — 26 Inf
"We have to stop demonizing people and realize the biggest terror threat in this country is white men, most of them radicalized to the right, and we have to start doing something about them." — CNN's Don Lemon 10/30/18
Well... it’s time for another PCS move, and I discovered that this Harbor Freight jump starter is dead. It’s been plugged in to charge for over twelve hours and shows no signs of life. No charging lights and no functions when I attempt to turn it on. It probably hasn’t been charged for a year, so I guess the battery is shot.
Bah. Throw those overgrown cell phone batteries away, and buy or make a set of honest-to-God jumper cables.
These are what I would consider minimum:
https://www.batterymart.com/p-deka-4...er-cables.html
Deka 20 footers, USA made, copper (NOT aluminum) conductors. I have these in the wife's car. Should fire up any passenger car or light truck.
These are even better:
https://store.polarwire.com/jumper-c...25-heavy-duty/
Polar Wire 25 foot, 2 gauge copper, copper clamps, made in USA.
For my car, I built a set. 25 feet, 1 AWG welding cable, 800 amp copper clamps. They cost about the same as the Polar Wire ones to build, because I had to buy the $20 hammer crimping tool. It looks silly because my car is so small, but I could jump start a Powerstroke Diesel if I needed to.
All the ones they sell at hardware or auto parts stores are junk. Made in China, steel clamps, aluminum conductors. Don't waste your money on junk.
Last edited by Uni-Vibe; 06-26-19 at 17:06.
I've been curious about these new ultracapacitor jump starters, the ones without any battery. Jump-starter batteries die too fast in AZ heat but ultracapacitors aren't bothered by heat. Apparently you can quickly charge it from your dying low voltage battery, then jumpstart your own car.
Something like a Rezervo-RZ-300
One related nice to have item is a cigarette lighter voltage gauge. So you can see your battery dying before it leaves you stranded. I look at voltage each morning before I start up.
Last edited by P2000; 06-26-19 at 21:44.
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