Jump Starters

[mccoady]

I'm thinking about buying one of these to throw behind the seat in my Ranger FX4 for emergencies like leaving headlights on, etc. when I'm reading water meters out in the country. It might be nice to get one that has an air compressor included for flat tires which I seem to have alot of. I know you need to maybe charge these once a month regardless if you use it or not.

I'm looking at the 660i there is a code for 15% off: http://www.autosportcatalog.com/index.cfm?fa=p&pid=3104 Any comments on it or any other recommendations?

Do these devices last and if so then how long, or are they a total waste of money? If it would perform as advertised for say 3 years then it would be worth it to me?

 

[kennykenny]

I have one just like this, not sure if it is the exact model number or not, but it is great and has helped me out more than a few times.

http://www.tylertool.com/blackanddecker44.html?utm_medium=shoppingengine&utm_source=googlebase

 

[GoodysGotaCuda]

You need to keep it charged, like plug it in atleast once a week if it's sitting. It's still a battery, batteries hate sitting with no charge and such. If you maintain it, they should treat you well.

 

[martin]

The wife bought me mine four or five years ago, it looks like something fisher price made. It's very heavy and has been used extensively for many things it was never designed for. Still going strong. Don't know how much she paid for it but however much she paid it's paid for itself many times over.

 

[mccoady]

You need to keep it charged, like plug it in atleast once a week if it's sitting. It's still a battery, batteries hate sitting with no charge and such. If you maintain it, they should treat you well.

The guys at AutoSport say their's need to be charged at least once every three months so don't know if that's stretching the truth or not but I do know I wouldn't remember to charge it every week.

After searching I still haven't found any indication of how long these things last without the battery going bad.

Is it a standard feature with jump starters to have an auto shutoff when charging from AC so it doesn't overcharge?

So choosing one brand over another maybe isn't as important as getting one with plenty of cranking power?

 

[martin]

The weight is probably a good indication. The bigger the battery the heavier it is.

 

[rboyer]

Mine came from Walmart, it was the biggest model they had when I got it and was only like 80 bucks. It has come in handy alot and I don't know how I could live without it. I have already went about 2 months without having to put it on the charger already. I also have one of those smaller lightweight ones that I got at a flea market for 5 bucks and I can leave that laying around for a while and it still has enough charge to jump a vehicle but you only get a few shots with it before it's depleted.

 

[mccoady]

One last question, as long as it has an On/Off switch is it pretty safe carrying it around charged up in your pickup all the time?

 

[COPPERHEAD85]

i sell the ones made by QUICKCABLE,the Rescue model with compresser for $149.they are rebuildable.
charge once a month.

http://www.quickcable.com/

 

[PickupMan04 FX4 L2]

Regardless of the jump box, they are allpretty good quality anymore.

When i worked at NAPA i first hand found out how much of a benifit they are..

 

[COPPERHEAD85]

Mccoady
heres some info on one you were asking about:
6 ga. cable 55" long
400 starting 900 peak amps
led work light
1 yr warn.
21.5 pounds.
sealed lead acid battery will not spill no matter which way you tilt it.
built in charger,just use any ext. cord(comes with 3 footer)
200 psi compressor
8" thick 15" tall 15" wide

 

[mccoady]

Thanks Copperhead for all the info and great pictures! It's alot bigger (thicker) than the one I was looking at (3" thick 15" tall 13" wide) which may or may not be a problem behind my seat. The differences in thickness must have something to do with the batteries or one being replaceable. Can you answer a few more questions before I decide which one to by:

1. Will all the QuickCable jump starters jump start a completely dead battery, I've read some of these devices do not?

2. Since the 950 (and 960) are the only ones with a air compressor I've noticed they only come with 6 gauge cables, I've always read you ideally want 4 gauge cables for jumping vehicles. How is it that the 950 which seems to be a quality unit can get away with using 6 gauge without a drop in performance? Too bad the 1000 which uses 4 gauge doesn't have an air compressor.

3. Have you used the air compressor on the 950 does it work that well?

4. The other jump starter I was looking at was rated 660 continuous/1700 peak amps vs the 950 rated at 400 continuous/900 peak amps. In actual usage what would be the differences between these two? Is the 400/900 amp rating plenty to jump a car or pickup in most situations?

 

[Rico]

I've used this one. It' real tough.

http://www.toolrage.com/prodView.asp?sku=KKC-660

It will crank until forever nearly and its pretty thin about 4 or 5 inches. No compressor though.

 

[mccoady]

Yeah I've thought about that one but it doesn't have an On/Off switch I guess I'm a bit paranoid that the clamps would be hot with it sitting behind my seat all the time. I also would kind of like an air compressor and it would be easier for me to remember to charge a single combo unit (rather than separates) since I would use it some between vehicles.

 

[COPPERHEAD85]

mccoady

your very welcome,glad to help.

1.Ive sold these for about a year now and my customers have had 0 complaints.they range from farmers to used car lots.ill ask about the completely dead battery jump and see what they say(i value their opinion more than what i read)

2.alot would have to do with length of cable,average 4ga. jumper cable is 15 to 20 ft. long vs 4.5 ft of 6 ga on the box.

3.i have used it.works great,but it is a small compressor,wouldnt want to air up a school bus tire with it.

4.on average i would think it would be plenty.