Battery booster packs

flutered

i need one urgently, are the one on amazon and ebay of any use, can they do what they say on the tin, thanks in advance

Cee-Jay-Cee

flutered wrote: »

i need one urgently, are the one on amazon and ebay of any use, can they do what they say on the tin, thanks in advance

Go into your nearest car parts shop and buy one there, at least you'll have some sort of come back or guarantee if anything goes wrong. My experience of the cheap eBay ones are they don't keep there charge for long and after a few recharges they barely hold enough to operate the small torch/bulb on them.

flutered

€200 from the first i rang, thats why i went online

Cee-Jay-Cee

flutered wrote: »

€200 from the first i rang, thats why i went online

Halfords have one for €80 and there are plenty other de a lot less than €200. You should get a decent one for around the €100 mark. The halfords one actually gets very good reviews.

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductMobileDisplay?catalogId=15551&langId=-1&categoryId=212428&productId=993469&storeId=11101

Henry Ford III

Might be a better idea to invest in a new battery?

biko

What exactly do you need it for OP?
Trickle charge?
Have it in the boot in case you need to jump your car?

The more we know, the easier it is to suggest a good solution.

B00056718

I've had B&Q one, Aldi one and tried one from Halfords. None will start a completely dead car instantly. You'll have to keep it hooked on for a while and even then you're pushing those things over their limits.

Also, the returns diminish rapidly as they age.

Been told that anything this side of 200€ isn't worth considering.

The B&Q one is used as a wireless compressor the odd time now, and has a usb port to charge the phone or whatever, so that's handy.

flutered

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Might be a better idea to invest in a new battery?

its some electrical fault, a new battery has been fitted, it is just that the odd time it is flat, a few have examined it to no advail

Henry Ford III

flutered wrote: »

its some electrical fault, a new battery has been fitted, it is just that the odd time it is flat, a few have examined it to no advail

That's a p.i.t.a.

power pants

I had the same issue and bought a solar pannel trickle charger for 10e

Never had a flat battery since

browniepoints

The majority the Battery booster packs cant hack it for the simple reason they are mostly small car or motor bike batteries type solutions wrapped in a fancy case .

Most petrol cars use a 40 amp to 80 amp battery and most diesel car are from 50 amps 120 amps

In reality the small Battery booster packs are often barely able to help start weak batteries .
However if the battery is totally flat they cant do squat .This is because the typical Battery booster packs small 20amp VLSA AGM battery has to pass through a typical 50 amp battery and its resistance before the starter motor sees the small power and you get the classic clunk clunk cant start problem as solenoid comes out but engine cant turn .

I found that 2 Battery booster packs together might start car when I bought 2 Aldi /Lidl ones for €40 each .However they didnt last long after less than two years they were clapped out so gave up on that solution

I solved the problem with very thick 600 amp truck type extension lead and keeping another car battery in the boot .
Every week I switch in the other battery and the other battery goes in the boot .
Batteries dont like to be left doing nothing they need the work demands so swooping out frequently keeps them in top form
I dont have a electrical problem but cver the years being stuck for a starter I now always carry two batteries of 70 amp the biggest that fits in the tray for 1400 petrol engine and and the extension lead .
(Safety )
I also needed to ensure battery is strapped in the boot and cant fall over. Also I made it so the battery cant move when you brake hard and has protections on the terminals to stop any chances for fire from shorting like metal umbrella across the terminals .better still is find a strong wooden or plastic box to keep battery in preferable with good handle

In the 3 feet deep snow in the French Pynesse mountains got me out of trouble when main battery failed from cold when i came out the next morning into minus 20C from house the car could not start with main battery .Two batteries together and it fired up .
Later in Spain forgot the lights over night when i parked swapped in the other battery and off I went .Cheaper than .AA call out solutions or most these over priced useless Battery booster packs.

Also 70 Amp car battery isn't so expensive and the first one I got was from scrap yard second hand and it worked fine for few years . Then changed car and changed out battery systems for new solutions.
Also rescued a few other hapless motorists in my time with flat batteries

You can do instead to swop out battery just have battery charge and recharge the battery every week or so but batteries prefer to be used they last longer .
Battery charger solution and swooping out batteries every three months would be the better solutions .

The only Battery booster packs that can work are the big Truck battery starter pack and they weigh a ton often have 60 amp VLSA AGM battery in them and weight is like 70 amp car battery or two cheapo Aldi/Lidl versions .

Another mate I know his solution to keep in the back of the car a small light weight Honda 1kilowatt genie .Those genies have battery recharge solutions built in but the time to recharge the flat battery is long often 1 hour .

let us know where you go with it

Jed

DakarVert

I have a Sealey Power one, Have used it to start everything from a Massey 135 to a Mk5 Transit.

I'v also started a car without a battery by just clipping it direct to battery connections.


Don't bother with the cheap ****e as they won't start a fully flat car.

9935452

B00056718 wrote: »

I've had B&Q one, Aldi one and tried one from Halfords. None will start a completely dead car instantly. You'll have to keep it hooked on for a while and even then you're pushing those things over their limits.

Also, the returns diminish rapidly as they age.

Been told that anything this side of 200€ isn't worth considering.

The B&Q one is used as a wireless compressor the odd time now, and has a usb port to charge the phone or whatever, so that's handy.

Same experience here with them. They can be partially useful as a result.
Other experiences of them are
- ive seen a garage use a big car battery on a handcart with jump leads permanently attached as a battery pack.
-ive seen garages use good ones of them jump cars/tractors and switch it to the 24volt setting to get a car going.
- my car was rearended and insurance company wrote it off cat b and paid out. i took the span new battery out of the car and put in a completely dead battery. so dead the central locking wouldnt work. Towtruck driver came for the car, got his jump pack to start the car, first touch of the key, had to be 24 volts.

flutered

one crowd got back to me, the claimed that the had a 22,000 one, 116 plus the battle, i will wait a while, ensure that i start it daily, i may go for the one for 150 towards autumn, as i need wheels, as i require the used of a mobility scooter, there is a place in the city that only sells batterys, i will call to them and see what they say, i will post back

flutered

DakarVert wrote: »

I have a Sealey Power one, Have used it to start everything from a Massey 135 to a Mk5 Transit.

I'v also started a car without a battery by just clipping it direct to battery connections.


Don't bother with the cheap ****e as they won't start a fully flat car.

my bowley would not start from a nissan quaski, it takes a desiel engined yoke to jump start it

Tails142

Have a halfords one, have had to use it a few times and it's ok. If battery is totally flat you will have trouble. Sometimes waiting a while can help, like 5-10 mins. Got it when I had a faulty final stage resistor that would slowly drain the battery overnight.

DakarVert

flutered wrote: »

my bowley would not start from a nissan quaski, it takes a desiel engined yoke to jump start it

This is what I have,
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Sealey-RS102-RoadStart-Emergency-Power-Pack-12V-1600-Peak-Amps-/140594506673

Not cheap, But it works.

Yet to leave me down.
Everything from a 2.5Di Transit with a 100% flat battery, Ferguson 135 and even an E32 735i (After it was layed up for 4 years)

Melodeon

Hard to beat the likes of the JTM Jump Starter range, but they're (very!) not cheap:
http://www.jtmpower.ie/cars-diesel-petrol-trucks-12-or-24-volt-jump-starter.html