Emergency Jumpstarter questions

[AyeMayanor]

I would like to get one of those emergency jumpstart systems but there are so many to choose from.

I've seen ones by Black & Decker and Vector, but it seems like there are more "no name" brands than anything else, which makes me very leery. Every discount retailer, from Harbor Freight to The Sportsman's Guide, offers one for $50 or less.

What should I look for in a quality jumpstarter? What should I avoid?
Note: I have a Sam's membership, not Costco, therefore a Costco exclusive unit will not help me at all

Also, I'm just interested in jumpstarting. Extra features like air compressor, flashlight, radio, etc. are unneccesary.

 

[2000xlt]

I have this one, you can find it for less if you search around. I works great and has a light,comprosser,cig plug, two 110 plugs, a led display for voltage and a 50 amp circuit breaker in the back pannel. I use it to run the christmas tree that i put in the back of my truck at christmas, i also jump cars and use it to charge my glow starters when im running the RCs

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00076IRC0/?tag=cpf0b6-20

 

[AyeMayanor]

It has more bells and whistles than I was looking for but they'll definitely get used. Thanks, I'll consider it.

Been wanting to get one of these for some time since I occasionally leave my lights on and now I work farther from home, late into the night/early morning. I'd rather be prepared to help myself than rely on someone else.

 

[Carpenter]

I have one of those heavy ones with the short jumper cable clamps. It can jump a car several times before needing to be recharged.

It looks kinda like this:
http://www.gandermountain.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?r=view&i=402217
I also use the 12V outlet on mine with an inverter for when I must have AC power while on the road.

 

[NeonLights]

I bought a small inexpensive one locally a couple of years ago for around $30 IIRC (I think it is a Vector). Not a lot of bells and whistles, just the jumper clips, a 12V outlet, and a small light on it. Works great, I've grabbed it off the shelf after sitting for 6+ months without charging it up, and it started my bro-in-law's jeep in a couple of seconds. I don't like the size, weight, or complexity (more stuff to break) of the bigger, more expensive ones with lots of stuff on them.

 

[NotSoBrightBob]

Not to be two scientific but look at the amp output, the larger number the better. Also not scientific at all but GENERALLY a heavier unit would indicate bigger battery which in turn is more power. I say generally because some manufacturers could play games with that by adding non-battery weight.

Just my humble opin

 

[fieldops]

It's important to have the most current available for successful starting. Remember that in cold weather it will need even more. get a unit with an 18AH battery in it. I'd stay away from the small ones with just a 7AH battery.

 

[Illum]

Some of the jumpers are plug and crank, the one I have from vector manufacturing is a plug, wait 1 minute, then crank type

http://www.battery-rechargeable-charger.com/vector-jump-start-VEC012APC.html

despite having a 19AH battery, it will fail miserably if you start cranking immediately when its connected...so I'm guessing that the circuitry in it senses impedance on the alligator clips and charges up a bank of caps somewhere which is used to jump your car with...after a minute 9 out of 10 times it'll start the car

At least thats my explanation for that "wait at lease one minute" part in the manual. Otherwise its a pretty good jumper, saved my butt plenty of times. :wave:

 

[reptiles]

After my "no name" died on me, I got a better one from qvc.com which I'm very happy with. Its a ~15 pound red beast (? brand?)

You might have to splurge on the built-in light, air pump, radio, inverter, etc. in order to get a higher quality (capacity) unit, unfortunately.

Also, some come with both an AC and DC charge cords. I must admit, I'm lazy about dragging it out of the car to top it off.

I like the in car, DC recharging option. Just plug it in when the engine is running.

Regards,

Mark

 

[hank]

I got one of the no-name type years back, replaced the incandescent in it with a LED, and it worked fine for years as an emergency light/DC power supply; don't think we ever needed to jumpstart the car with it. Eventually during a long power outage the switch got left on for (sigh) a week or three, and that killed off its no-name battery; it never recovered from that, blew a cell and would only to go 10v with careful recharging

My local electronics shop found me a brand name brand battery to replace it-- it's performed much better since I did that. It charges from a wall wart or DC, and now using a solar panel with a charge controller so I don't cook it.