my thoughts exactly! i know those larger packs work great but i just dont have the room. I also like the option of charging electronics and having and emergency light without having to drag around a 20lb battery. The smaller Lithium packs offer a lot more flexibility.
12V Jump Start Packs?
- Thread starter Bravo30
- Start date
my thoughts exactly! i know those larger packs work great but i just dont have the room. I also like the option of charging electronics and having and emergency light without having to drag around a 20lb battery. The smaller Lithium packs offer a lot more flexibility.
shade
Well-known member
A second lead start battery for either of the OP's vehicles would weigh much more than 20lbs, and they'd need a second battery for each vehicle. One of the reasons I like having a jump pack is that it's a completely independent power source that can be counted on to do its job. Whatever takes out the main start battery should have no effect on a jump pack. Clore makes models that are designed to fit behind or under a seat, which is where I carry mine.
YMMV - Depends on the use. If I had to hand carry a start source around with me, I'd opt for lithium based power, too. At 18 lbs, a Clore JNC660 is more portable than a battery cart, but definitely more to lug than the typical lithium battery jump pack. If my employer was buying lithium jump packs for me, I'd take one of those and not be concerned when it died.
IMO, the advantage of a lithium jump pack is their size/weight. If someone made an LFP battery powered jump pack with cables & clamps on par with the Clore, I'd much prefer one of those to any of the NOCO ones mentioned in this thread. As I mentioned, I routinely run a winch with my JNC660; I'm pretty sure that would smoke a NOCO pack. The JNC660 can be used to charge electronics via its 12V aux port, but there are lead battery packs with USB ports, lights, and compressors on board if those are features someone wants.
If the trade-off of a smaller/lighter package at the expense of durability, longevity, and cost works for you, buy lithium. There are good examples of both lead & lithium chemistry jump packs on the market, but they aren't directly comparable, and it's up to the buyer to decide which is better for them.
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jonyjoe101
Adventurer
I been carrying around my 25 pound fullriver 28ah agm for almost 8 years, recently I built 4x 10ah lifepo4 jumppacks and considered getting rid of the fullriver. But 3 weeks ago my van wouldn't start, I finally get to test my lifepo4 jump pack in anger. To my surprise it wouldn't jumpstart my van, I drag the fullriver out and that also wouldn't jumpstart my van. Start battery was completely dead, this was 5 am, so no one to jump me.
Luckily the fullriver had the top/side post attached, I removed the start battery and install the fullriver in its place. That worked perfectly, drove van around for 2 weeks until I bought another used battery (35 dollars) to replace the previous used battery that lasted me 4 years.
In 8 years, its only the 2nd time I encountered a car that the fullriver wouldn't jumpstart. If I had to travel in areas where a dead battery is unacceptable, carrying another battery might make sense for the worst case scenario of a completely dead battery. I'll keep the fullriver around until it stops holding a charge, its heavy but its reliable when I need it.
Luckily the fullriver had the top/side post attached, I removed the start battery and install the fullriver in its place. That worked perfectly, drove van around for 2 weeks until I bought another used battery (35 dollars) to replace the previous used battery that lasted me 4 years.
In 8 years, its only the 2nd time I encountered a car that the fullriver wouldn't jumpstart. If I had to travel in areas where a dead battery is unacceptable, carrying another battery might make sense for the worst case scenario of a completely dead battery. I'll keep the fullriver around until it stops holding a charge, its heavy but its reliable when I need it.
roving1
Well-known member
There are smaller lead acid and AGM batteries that have the same capacity as the jump pack you can hard mount. You could wire in with knife blade switches if you want to keep it 100% isolated. But I get where you are coming from.
shade
Well-known member
I prefer to just charge a portable jump pack to 100% SOC and store it disconnected. Portable power that's completely isolated from harm by a vehicle's electrical system. With any kind of hardwired solution, you lose portability and full isolation, even with a switch.
shade
Well-known member
I bought a similarly sized lithium pack for someone to jump start their scooter, and for their four cylinder econobox. The few times it's been used it did well, but I wouldn't count on the cute wiring to handle several seconds of maximum current. I'm not sure how manufacturers are allowed to sell these things with such undersized wiring and oversized claims. There's a reason vehicles have heavy battery and starter cables.
So cute, imagining a world with an effective consumer protection regime
Definitely better at least in Europe and Australia, but USA is ever-increasingly anarchist / buyer beware
shade
Well-known member
I guess enough people haven't been injured by them for any intervention. That's usually what it takes before the harrumphing begins.So cute, imagining a world with an effective consumer protection regime
Definitely better at least in Europe and Australia, but USA is ever-increasingly anarchist / buyer beware
shade
Well-known member
Now that's the American way.
huachuca
Adventurer
I've had a NOCO GB150 for a couple of years and use it frequently around the farm to jumpstart diesel powered equipment. So far, its worked fine and it definitely holds it's charge better than any of the lead acid booster packs I've used in the past. A bit of searching will usually turn up a source with around twenty percent off retail. Promo code HOLIDAY20A will get you that on the Chevrolet Accessories website thru 12/02 and I think you can save on shipping by having it sent to a GM dealership of your choice. If you go this route, Amazon has some decent cases for not too much money.
69XS29L
New member
I have a couple of the NOCOs, a 1000 and 1500A. We keep the smaller one in whichever Delica Jasper 4x4 we happen to be driving, the bigger one around the place for the big Dodge or whatever else. In an alternator failure, the smaller one was more than enough to bring my girlfriend and a diesel van that died with a depleted battery back to the house as the sole power supply. The bigger one jumps a V10 that has had the stereo/accessories/inverter running for far too long, but then again, I can leave it in the sun if there happens to be any, with a GoalZero 27W foldable panel for 45 min or so and get the same result. My experience with both of these is limited to a year or so. We live fairly remote, off grid in B.C., no close neighbors, so all my vehicles have 2ga. jumper cables I built, try to be self sufficient as possible. They seem to perform well, the "little cables" don't overheat in usage, and I scored both of them at a good discount on Amazon. The mini USB output and their small size/weight, make them useful for all kinds of things around the place as a portable power supply when it is cloudy as our solar systems are pretty modest. Have to say I'm pretty happy. My complaint is that they are too smart for their own good. Twice I have had to jump an older S500 Mercedes with a battery so depleted the NOCO will not recognize it as a battery and refuse to function. Once the override worked, car started right up, once it did not, battery too dead. If I am off the end of a road with a cell booster and still no service, no chance of help other than walking back, I want a system that dumps whatever wattage it has into that battery. ******* safety, I am standing there watching it, not like something bad is going to happen behind my back. The old school "heavy" packs would never have this problem, but they don't cost that much less. Weight, space/size, portability, cost, it's all a tradeoff. The NOCOs are very capable.