Emergency Jumpstarters

[MEMCruiser]

Anybody have info on battery jumpstarters. Dont have the money for a dual battery system right now. Was thinking that one of the combo starters with a compressor on it would be a good item for a newbie until I get the money for the dual system and on board air to fill tires.

There is one at Costco for around 60 but is from a company I can not find info on. I have done some searching on mud and found nothing about them, which means most guys are probably not using them.

 

[e9999]

I have a good one I'm pleased with. Discussed here somewhere. Gotta get one powerful enough for our big engines.
I'd skip the compressor part.

 

[MEMCruiser]

Ok, I have done numerous searches with lots of different word combinations and have found nothing. Nobody has any ideas?

 

[45Kevin]

I used to carry an Eliminator, 550cca I think. It had a little light that worked great for camping or working on the truck after dark. It had a power point as well. It also successfully jumped my truck more that once, after winching the battery dead.

I have lost (misplaced) it and miss it. A similar replacement would cost me just over $100 up here. That's about the cost of a new battery.

 

[e9999]

mine is a big Harbor Freight. 1000 or 1200A peak IIRC. Did a bunch of tests. Worked great. Could do multiple starts. I also did reinflate 6 tires with it recently and there was plenty of juice left. About $70 on sale IIRC.

 

[MEMCruiser]

Thanks for the info guys. Harbor Freight is a find in itself.

 

[e9999]

in fact, I did some more jump tests today after I completely drained my battery (intentionally) for some fridge tests I'm doing. I had it down to 9V so it was really dead dead. No more lights on the dash even.

Well, I was then able to do 5 starts in a row with the HF jumpstarter and it only went from 85 to 70% charge so I guess I could have done more. I like to have that thing around when alone in the desert... Pretty big, though, of course.

And yes, it has a light, 12V outlet etc. It's 650A/1200 peak.

 

[MEMCruiser]

Thanks, I am going to order one tomorrow. One day I will get a dual battery. How long did your fridge run off the battery before draining it?

 

[e9999]

I should add that these 5 starts were with the I6. Have not tried with the V8 which may suck up a bit more juice...

the fridge thing is a long story. Short version: coupla days but adjustable and tweakable in some ways.

 

[cruisergeek]

I don't have the opportunity to chime in much because everybody in this entire forum (the whole site) is so incredibly talented. I do, however, have a (humble) opinion on this topic. I bought a purpose driven (jumpstarter only) jump pack 12 years ago from my tool guy (Matco, but that isn't really important here) and it still holds a charge forever. I can do a dozen or more starts in a day, chare it up overnight and it goes all day again.....