Portable jump starter

[undyingking]

I was quite pleased to see that there exists such a thing as a portable jump starter, ie. a device that you plug in to the mains to charge it up, and you can then subsequently use it to jump start your car. This one at Maplin is an example.

Unfortunately, a bit of hunting around turns up reviews ranging fairly evenly from "it works, brilliant" to "it doesn't work, rubbish".

Anyone actually tried using one of these, and how does it compare with a normal trickle charger?

Comments

[zengineer.livejournal.com]

When I worked at Nissan we used them all the time for cars with flat batteries from electrical testing. The key things are current, it does take hundreds of amp to start a car, and lead size. This one seems a bit cheap but the specs look OK. Since it has a battery and was probably made in China then how it was maintained during shipping is critical. This may explain the varying reviews.
If you leave your car with a flat battery for long periods it degrades the cells so generally you need a new battery but this will at least start the car so you can drive to Halfords and buy one.

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

may explain the varying reviews

Mm, I was wondering about that -- makes sense.

Twenty quid seems almost too cheap not to give it a go, although the "what's the worst thing that could happen?" options are quite appreciable (especially as it's not my car).

[zengineer.livejournal.com]

Probably the worst that could happen is the car won't start so not too serious.

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

I was thinking of electric shock, explosion, blinding by hot acid... ;-)

[zengineer.livejournal.com]

12V DC so not too much danger of shock (keep your hands clear of the coil and the plugs if the engine is running). Sealed unit so not too much acid risk. Explosion is possible but very rare.