Charging a 12 volt jump start battery

I personally have never been stranded with a dead battery, but I’ve used my li-po jump pack quite a few times in parking lots where other people have had issues, and the one time my wife’s vehicle’s alternator kicked the bucket and I had had to get the vehicle home 5 blocks to swap it out.

I’m just curious though why this thread is showing much love for a jump STARTER and not a jump PACK. The replacement cost of the STARTER battery I’m sure is the same if not more than getting a more convenient PACK. What can a STARTER do that a PACK can’t?


iPhone ?

 

sorry, i thought they were the same thing

 

I think you are reading WAY too much into the usage of different words here.

 

Honestly I don’t think I am. The post is about purchasing a new 12v lead acid battery to install in a jump starter. The discussion was about charge rate and maintainers which would be incorrect for charging a lipo unit as those units just charge off USB adapters. Therefore I separated the terms out for clarity. A lot of members on this forum poo-poo Lipo jump packs. I was trying to ask an honest question without be argumentative. I sincerely don’t understand the desire to lug around a 12v Lead acid battery that costs no less than $50, buying an additional maintainer, constantly keeping it charged, and finding a way to secure it so it doesn’t leak while in the car.

I guess maybe I should have just said, “hey OP, ditch the battery and get a lipo one. Much easier to use and upkeep”. But then again maybe I’m missing some feature of the Lead acid variety that makes it a much better product that /I/ should be using too.


iPhone ?

 

possibly the o/p has one of those big jump starters, and it takes a 12v lead acid battery, which apparently didn't fit.
maybe he can't return it, and wants to cut his losses.

 

I think I can see what spiralhelix was responding to; the jump pcks are nice because they are small and light and fit in the glove box and are easy to pull out when you see somebody in a parking lot with their hood up, or even when you need it yourself, as seldom as that happens.

So why not own one?

I might be cautious about owning a no-name or counterfeit one, based on the hoverboard experiences of a few years back. I bought mine straight from the website of the manufacturer, because they had had fairly-convincing counterfeits turning up on Amazon.

My driving scenario is:

• I have no crystal ball telling what might go wrong. Maybe I'll leave a map light on one day.
• Whatever it is, I want to keep going about my day anyway.

Hence the jump pck.

 

sorry, i still don't see the point, in regards to the o/p's question.

 

Sometimes threads evolve. If you say something in a thread, sometimes somebody responds to what you said. It happens.

The person saying "I wouldn't own one unless my driving scenario called for it" happened not to be the original poster, happened to be you. So maybe somebody wondered about your reasons for saying it,

 

because i don't feel the need to have one. you can prepare for a lot of potential events, but if you prepare for all possibilities, you're a prepper.
i'm not a prepper. each day has its own worries.

i do have triple a though

 

Yes, you ARE.

The post is about what to do with a battery that he ALREADY bought.
Maybe that wasn't the wisest thing to do......but it is already DONE.

Then.....the "jump starter" that I have is a multi-function device.
Air compressor
Inverter for 110V AC
USB charging ports
Emergency light
I replaced the battery in it a few months ago.

 

I would like to know (based on anyone's experience) how long will a jump pack hold a charge?

It seems like that the auto manufacturers could design one into the car. It would just stay connected to the car (always be charged) and then if you had a dead battery you could just press a Release button, it would unlock from its recessed location and you could use it.

 

they definitely could, but you're talking about people who count pennies

 

Clore recommends to recharge every 3 months, for my JNC660. It has a rudimentary auto-charger built-in, just connect to an extension cord. They offer an email reminder service, invariably bundled with some new product info/links, but hey.

 

Respectfully, I think you are reading too much into the nomenclature. "Jump starter" and "jump pack" are two different names for the same thing. Both are battery powered devices intended to start a vehicle in an emergency situation. The type of battery -- lithium, lead acid, AGM, etc. is not inherant in, or exclusive to one or the other.

Google "jump starter", then "jump pack". Both will return results with products using varying battery sources.

Having said that, I agree: the small lithium jump starters/packs that can fit in your glove box are indeed a big step forward from the large lead acid starter/packs of the past.

 

I have one of the LiON jump packs and it fits nicely under the front passenger seat.

Thankfully as the prime lacks storage space .

I check the charge on it quarterly, and it has now been 2 quarters since the last recharge and still sitting at full.

I've had it for almost 3 years now and good for piece of mind or helping someone in need.

 

I had brief thoughts of just wiring mine permanently in back at the battery, with a relay controlled by a "JUST START ANYWAY" button on the dash.

It would have been cute, but considering I use it at least as often for bailing out other people, it is more practical having it in the glove box.

If I wanted to I could cut up the charging cable, wire it to some powered circuit in the dash and just have it dangle into the glove box. But the thing stays charged long enough I can just treat checking/charging it as a kind of changing-seasons ritual and it's no big deal.

 

or toyota could just fix their 12v battery issues, making this whole conversation moot, going forwrd at least.

 

There are NO "12 V battery issues" with any Prius model that are much different OR any more prevalent that with any other vehicle.

 

I did have issues getting more than 45 amphours out of the 45 amphour battery, and I found at around the ten year mark it would no longer start the car every time.

 

SO ?
What is your point ??