Advice on portable power packs

[Michael]

Yesterday at work I left my lights on and my jump pack didn't have enough to get the job done. My buddy came out with a small power pack about the size of an old school cell phone and to my surprise it worked. I had seen these about a year ago and dismissed them but seeing one work in person made me want one for myself and a few more as Christmas gifts. It came with all the goodies to charge a usb device, jumper cables, etc. So my search led me to a jungle of choices from 20 bucks all the way to 250 bucks and me wondering if the 100 dollar version is any better than the 20 dollar version or the same as the name brand Matco 250 dollar version.

Needless to say the CCA ratings should tell the difference but a lot of these cheap units don't last long nor to do they hold a charge for very long. I want a good one and if that means 250 then so be it, but if there is something safe and reliable from around the 100 or less mark then I'm all ears.

Shopping for these is like dash cam shopping, 90% is Chinese and I don't know the difference between quality Chinese and cheap Chinese. Do you? Point me in the right direction.

Here is what I'm talking about. He said he has jumped 12 cars in a row with his between charges.

https://www.matcotools.com/catalog/product/VERSAPRO2/18000-MAH-JUMPSTARTER-CHARGER/

[SamHill]

12 cars. Yeah, well, men tend to exagerrate about their conquests.

[Michael]

12 cars. Yeah, well, men tend to exagerrate about their conquests.

5.7 Vortec engine and 100% drained battery. That little iPhone sized battery spun it over faster than my battery did on a fresh charge. I would have never believed it till I saw it. In fact I told him if that little thing actually starts this van, I'm getting one...which brings us here.

[Dangermouse]

I got a couple of these for the kids cars

https://www.ebay.com/i/132369658438?chn=ps&dispctrl=1&ul_ref=http%253A%252F%252Frover.ebay.com%252Frover %252F1%252F711-117182-37290-0%252F2%253Fmpre%253Dhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww .ebay.com%25252Fi%25252F132369658438%25253Fchn%252 53Dps%252526dispctrl%25253D1%2526itemid%253D132369 658438%2526targetid%253D375040743745%2526device%25 3Dm%2526adtype%253Dpla%2526googleloc%253D200524%25 26poi%253D%2526campaignid%253D936424496%2526adgrou pid%253D44875990057%2526rlsatarget%253Dpla-375040743745%2526abcId%253D1129646%2526merchantid% 253D6296724%2526gclid%253DEAIaIQobChMIxuaFvY7J1wIV zlqGCh1NEASbEAkYECABEgK1ffD_BwE%2526ul_ref%253Dhtt p%2525253A%2525252F%2525252Frover.ebay.com%2525252 Frover%2525252F0%2525252F0%2525252F99%2525253Floc% 2525253Dhttp%252525253A%252525252F%252525252Frover .ebay.com%252525252Frover%252525252F1%252525252F71 1-117182-37290-0%252525252F2%252525253Fmpre%252525253Dhttps%25252 525253A%25252525252F%25252525252Fwww.ebay.com%2525 2525252Fi%25252525252F132369658438%25252525253Fchn %25252525253Dps%252525252526dispctrl%25252525253D1 %2525252526itemid%252525253D132369658438%252525252 6targetid%252525253D375040743745%2525252526device% 252525253Dm%2525252526adtype%252525253Dpla%2525252 526googleloc%252525253D200524%2525252526poi%252525 253D%2525252526campaignid%252525253D936424496%2525 252526adgroupid%252525253D44875990057%2525252526rl satarget%252525253Dpla-375040743745%2525252526abcId%252525253D1129646%252 5252526merchantid%252525253D6296724%2525252526gcli d%252525253DEAIaIQobChMIxuaFvY7J1wIVzlqGCh1NEASbEA kYECABEgK1ffD_BwE%25252526rvr_id%2525253D0%2526src rot%253D711-117182-37290-0%2526rvr_id%253D1368207305614

My son has used it to start his Touareg from dead flat as well as a couple of other friends cars.

He does charge it after use though. Supposedly keeps a charge for 6 months and is very easy to use.

I suspect my daughter just uses hers as a mega battery pack for her phone :)

This one is about the size of a VHS cassette. Maybe a little smaller.

[Michael]

https://www.amazon.com/DBPOWER-Portable-Starter-Emergency-Flashlight/dp/B01MU1CPOE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511042681&sr=8-1&keywords=dbpower+1200&dpID=51oN4AHto0L&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Ordered this one, got great reviews and has the boldest claims of 1200 peak amps(I seriously doubt that given the gauge of the jumper cable wire) Probably 4-500 would be a guestimate, but it will do for boosting dead cars on my lots this winter without dragging that heavy ass battery box around.

[Dangermouse]

Did your friend jump using the battery clamps or did he charge the car battery via the cigarette socket?

[Michael]

Did your friend jump using the battery clamps or did he charge the car battery via the cigarette socket?

He clamped it on the battery terminals. It's not often someone gets the jump on me when gadgets are concerned, I just had no idea that amount of current was possible in a package that small and thought the whole portable power thing cranking up dead cars was a gimmick. I remember seeing the Glenn Beck promo for one and I was thinking, "yeah, they ran that battery down just to the point it would not spin the starter before boosting it off". Mine was 100% dead because I left my lights on all day long.

[Dangermouse]

My son did it the other way. Connected it to the cigarette lighter and let it charge the car battery for 10 minutes which was enough to let it turn it over.

[DMCVegas]

Yesterday at work I left my lights on and my jump pack didn't have enough to get the job done.

Have you considered one of those gadgets that automatically turn your lights on and off for you?

[Michael]

Have you considered one of those gadgets that automatically turn your lights on and off for you?

Touché Pussycat

[jackb]

I don’t have one to recommend firsthand, but the Wirecutter is pretty good with all of it’s reviews; here’s a link to their battery jumper review page: https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-portable-jump-starter/

[David T]

They are becoming very small and very capable. I got one with an air compressor and a built-in light. Keep it fully charged and charge it about once a month even if you don't use it. Just be aware they don't last forever and it isn't worth putting a new battery into it. Always observe polarity, they pack a powerful punch. Some have a safety in case you screw up and reverse the polarity.

[bfloyd]

I own a drive-in movie theatre here in middle Tennessee, and we deal with dead car batteries every single night. When listening to the movie sound over your car radio all the way through two movies, we usually end up with 8-10 dead car batteries a night. I've looked into those small jump start packs, but I just couldn't see them lasting more than 1 or 2 jumps. We had bought a couple of jump boxes from Walmart, but they barely lasted one season, and were only good for 2-3 jumps per night before they were completely drained.

We found https://www.amazon.com/Jump-N-Carry-JNC660-1700-Peak-Starter/dp/B000JFJLP6/ref=pd_sbs_263_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=09W4HD0E6DPSAXZ47CPB on Amazon earlier last year, and it has been one of the best investments we've made. It can jump 15-20 cars in a single night without even blinking. It's heavy as lead, doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles, but it works.

[Michael]

I own a drive-in movie theatre here in middle Tennessee, and we deal with dead car batteries every single night. When listening to the movie sound over your car radio all the way through two movies, we usually end up with 8-10 dead car batteries a night. I've looked into those small jump start packs, but I just couldn't see them lasting more than 1 or 2 jumps. We had bought a couple of jump boxes from Walmart, but they barely lasted one season, and were only good for 2-3 jumps per night before they were completely drained.

We found https://www.amazon.com/Jump-N-Carry-JNC660-1700-Peak-Starter/dp/B000JFJLP6/ref=pd_sbs_263_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=09W4HD0E6DPSAXZ47CPB on Amazon earlier last year, and it has been one of the best investments we've made. It can jump 15-20 cars in a single night without even blinking. It's heavy as lead, doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles, but it works.

Yup those are good. I have used them. Heaviest jump pack I have ever had. For me, I see maybe 2 or 3 a week, so I really don't need anything more than a regular jump box but I'm a sucker for new tech.

[David T]

I had to jump large trucks and tractors "back in the day". I made up a handtruck with 2 large 6 volt batteries and some cables. It was large and heavy but it always got the job done. That was way before they had these small jumper packs. If you have a club cart or a golf cart with large batteries in it you can do the same thing. Just drive up to the customer and hook up.

[DaraSue]

Has anybody tried this one?

https://www.costco.com/Lithium-Jump-Starter-Portable-Power-Bank-with-Brush-Metal-Finish.product.100383979.html

It's on sale this month and I was thinking of picking one up.

[Michael]

Really happy with my power pack purchase. So far I have had to jump 2 cars and my motorcycle and still shows 100% charge so I can believe the claims of 20+ jumps from a single charge.

54821

[AugustneverEnds]

Really happy with my power pack purchase. So far I have had to jump 2 cars and my motorcycle and still shows 100% charge so I can believe the claims of 20+ jumps from a single charge.

54821A

How has your power pack been holding up since December? Looking to buy and I like how compact this one is.

[Michael]

A

How has your power pack been holding up since December? Looking to buy and I like how compact this one is.

I love it. It stays in my work van since that's when I need it most but I never go on a road trip without it. There are a few cons to these types of portable packs. One is they are only designed to provide quick power, no cranking over 3 or 4 seconds. With a old school battery pack you can crank till the sun sets, with these you are only allowed a few seconds at a time, then it must rest for a few minutes(supposedly to allow the internal components to cool)

The second is related to the quick power as well. If you decide to charge a usb device with it, you will tax the charge heavily. I once used it to charge my phone and even though my pack had a full charge to start with, by the time my phone was charged my pack was at like 65%. A traditional jump pack would have not been phased by such a small task. This is kind of like the old adage of there is no replacement for displacement. The battery of this size can only do so much and I imagine it charges several capacitors to unleash a large amount of amperage but very quickly. It's the price you pay for portability I guess.

I get about 7 or 8 bumps out of it before I see it hit around 60 or 70%. I have never ran it lower to see just how many cars I could jump because it only takes about an hour to top it off.

There are a lot of packs to choose from but I would highly recommend this one(or at least the brand, by now they probably have a newer model that's even better).


While at a gas station I saw two people using jumper cables to try and start one but the battery was so flat that they were having to let it charge. I walked over and one of them looked at it and laughed. He was stupified when his car cranked right up.

[AugustneverEnds]

I love it. It stays in my work van since that's when I need it most but I never go on a road trip without it. There are a few cons to these types of portable packs. One is they are only designed to provide quick power, no cranking over 3 or 4 seconds. With a old school battery pack you can crank till the sun sets, with these you are only allowed a few seconds at a time, then it must rest for a few minutes(supposedly to allow the internal components to cool)

The second is related to the quick power as well. If you decide to charge a usb device with it, you will tax the charge heavily. I once used it to charge my phone and even though my pack had a full charge to start with, by the time my phone was charged my pack was at like 65%. A traditional jump pack would have not been phased by such a small task. This is kind of like the old adage of there is no replacement for displacement. The battery of this size can only do so much and I imagine it charges several capacitors to unleash a large amount of amperage but very quickly. It's the price you pay for portability I guess.

I get about 7 or 8 bumps out of it before I see it hit around 60 or 70%. I have never ran it lower to see just how many cars I could jump because it only takes about an hour to top it off.

There are a lot of packs to choose from but I would highly recommend this one(or at least the brand, by now they probably have a newer model that's even better).


While at a gas station I saw two people using jumper cables to try and start one but the battery was so flat that they were having to let it charge. I walked over and one of them looked at it and laughed. He was stupified when his car cranked right up.

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it! I do believe I will be buying one. Thanks again