I've looked at portable jump starters and they seem to vary in price from £30 upwards.
Reviews are mixed for some models, particularly the cheaper ones, with the Clarke 4000 (~£100-£120) seeming to be well respected but expensive. Unfortunately the Clarke doesn't have a compressor, which I would find useful, but not absolutely essential.
Does anyone here have one of these that they would recommend (or otherwise) please? - feel free to PM if you don't want to break the site rules.
I have had three of these from aldi's [changed due to faulty goods] all 3 three didn't last very long even when i "followed the rules" of chargeing them either every 2 months if not used or recharged after each use .They,re currently on sale at aldi's for about £30 as i saw them today but i bought one from Maplins over a year ago and it seems to be ok so far as i used it a few days ago to pump up my moggy and rover tyres if i remeber it was a little less than the aldi's ones and a bit smaller which was not a bad thing as the others were a bit big and bulky.
I've had and borrowed a few of these over the years, and wasn't too impressed. One faulty one returned, the replacement didn't last over a year (Aldi with tyre pump) Other cheap ones didn't have a long life either but possibly didn;t get charged regularly enough. Best one I've encountered was a Snap On one. It weighed about twice what any other did and seemed invincible.
Easiest way I find now is a set of jump leads and another car or battery.... Or a really good battery charger with a boost/start fuction, but obviously you do need a mains supply for that.
Last edited by IaininTenbury on Mon Feb 11, 2013 11:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
cheers
Iain
Fairmile Restorations.
'49 MM, '53 convertible, '55 van, and a '64 van.
Marina p.u., '56 Morris Isis Traveller, a '59 Morris JB van, a'66 J4 van, a '54 Land Rover, Land Rover 130, Renault 5, '36Railton, '35 Hudson, a Mk1 Transit and a Sherpa Camper...
A car can be restored at any time, but is only original once!
I was after using it for more than just emergency starting, i.e. portable power (lots seem to have 12v, USB sockets and even one or two have 240v outlets, albeit low wattage) plus a portable compressor would have been handy for things other than the car.
Based on the on line reviews that I read and your helpful feedback,it seems that unless I pay daft money for a beast of a unit (which I'm not prepared to do because I wouldn't use it enough) then they're not up to much, so I'll probably abandon this idea.
Well, if you use it regularly and keep it charge it'll probably be be ok. Problem is with these emergency use things is that they only get used infrequently, then you suddenly realise its been a few months since it was last used and it only has enough power to light the torch on the front of it....
Last edited by IaininTenbury on Mon Feb 11, 2013 11:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
cheers
Iain
Fairmile Restorations.
'49 MM, '53 convertible, '55 van, and a '64 van.
Marina p.u., '56 Morris Isis Traveller, a '59 Morris JB van, a'66 J4 van, a '54 Land Rover, Land Rover 130, Renault 5, '36Railton, '35 Hudson, a Mk1 Transit and a Sherpa Camper...
A car can be restored at any time, but is only original once!
I also have been disapointed with portable jump start units - no names no pack drill. When I needed a portable unit I dug out a spare battery and fitted it to an old two wheeled shopping trolley frame. I kept it charged by using a 'Accumate Charger' (6 & 12 volt capability & 48 pounds on 'e' bay) so it never got over charged. Battery was always fully charged and available for use. Personally I would rather spend the money on a 'Accumate Charger' than buy another portable jump start.
philthehill wrote:I also have been disapointed with portable jump start units - no names no pack drill. When I needed a portable unit I dug out a spare battery and fitted it to an old two wheeled shopping trolley frame. I kept it charged by using a 'Accumate Charger' (6 & 12 volt capability & 48 pounds on 'e' bay) so it never got over charged. Battery was always fully charged and available for use. Personally I would rather spend the money on a 'Accumate Charger' than buy another portable jump start.
Yes I've got one and it's "GREAT"better than even Frosties
Cheers Alex
all thoughts are given in good faith but..." You pays your money and takes your choice" [/color]
I have had my aldi one for over a year, use it regularly to do tyres etc., and It jump-started the modern a few times last winter, The Morris (touch wood) has never needed it but I have the handle just in case.
Well, since i've been using 1.5w solar chargers, I've rarely needed a jump start!
I've used one of the expensive commercial ones on a Land Rover with massive 3ltr perkins diesel conversion - it was great. I've hear no end of issues about the cheaper ones.
I keep a stash of large batteries (regularly charged) for emergencies and have some REALLY good jump leads.
Good jump leads are worth having - cheap ones are a big risk!
The advantage of having a spare battery (or a few) is that you can recover a car if/when the alternator fails. (i.e. just drive it back on the battery). It took 3 batteries to get my wife's car home 65 miles a couple of winters ago. Needing to use lights and heater didn't help the range! A well know vehicle emergency service had left her stranded for over 4 hours because 'it was chaos due to the snow'.
Ray. MMOC#47368. Forum moderator.
Jan 06: The Minor SII Africa adventure: http://www.minor-detour.com
Oct 06: back from Dresden with my Trabant 601 Kombi
Jan 07: back from a month thru North Africa (via Timbuktu) in a S3 Landy
June 07 - back from Zwickau Trabi Treffen
Aug 07 & Aug 08 - back from the Lands End to Orkney in 71 pickup
Sept 2010 - finally gave up breaking down in a SII Landy...
where to break down next?
2013... managed to seize my 1275 just by driving it round the block
