Best portable battery charger for 2.2L diesel Honda Accord

Mr Rhode Island Red

Looking to pick up a portable battery charger for the Christmas. Maplin seems to be the only spot with a good selection of them. I checked amazon but they don't ship to Ireland, not this close to Christmas anyway. Now I haven't a clue about them, but I'm buying it mainly for use with a 2.2L 2005 Honda Accord Diesel and I need something that will be able to reliably jumpstart this. Maplin have a 300, 500 and 700 amp model for roughly 60, 90 and 150 euro respectively. Which one of these would be sufficient for the job? Would I get away with the 500 amp model or would that be a waste of time?

Any and all advice appreciated

colm_mcm

Said I was spending that kind of money I'd just buy a new battery.

The mother got a booster pack in Maplin and it was rubbish. Don't know the brand.

Mr Rhode Island Red

I work in a job that requires me jumpstarting cars a lot when people leave their lights on etc. It'd just be handy to have something like this for the job instead of using my own car.

whizbang

Jumpstart and Battery charger are 2 entirely different things.

If you need a simple battery charge;r Maplin, Halfords etc will do the job.

If you need a junpstarter, Just buy a €40battery and a cheap charger as above.

Special Circumstances

Mr Rhode Island Red wrote: »

I work in a job that requires me jumpstarting cars a lot when people leave their lights on etc. It'd just be handy to have something like this for the job instead of using my own car.

Shur if the company is paying for it get a serious one. If you're using your own personal vehicle to provide a service for the company's customers you are in a world of potential insurance pain in today's Ireland.

mgbgt1978

http://www.jebbtools.ie/sip-12v-rescue-pac-1600


1600amp here for €150....unfortunately out of stock at present.
Try ringing around your local motor factors.
Most (probably all) the maplins stuff is from the cheaper end of the chinese market and can usually be sourced elsewhere for a lot less.

Or, as already mentioned, a cheapish Battery and a decent set of Jump leads would be a better bet. Ths Car Battery is usually going to be a better performer than the Battery inside a Booster Pack.

edit; micks garage have this,
http://www.micksgarage.com/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=1717982
plus 12% off at the moment with code "merry12"

Mr Rhode Island Red

So I should by a battery on it's own and a charger for that battery? How much would a charger be and where could I pick one up?

Say for the battery, charger and jump leads option...
Is it just a matter of connecting another charged battery to the dead battery and waiting a minute or two and then starting the car? Or does the charger also have to be connected somewhere? I'm really clueless with this sort of stuff.

mgbgt1978

You can get a charger relatively cheaply (€20 or so).
You only use the charger to actually charge the spare battery after using it a few times (or every few months if it doesn't get used).
Ideally you are looking for a reasonably priced battery with at least 650 amps and 70 AH (Amp Hours)....these are all marked on the battery label.


In answer to your question, yes you just connect the spare battery to the flat one and wait a couple of minutes before starting the car. The Battery Booster packs will usually take a small bit longer to work.