Mini Jump boxes? (1 Viewer)

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TeddyBoy

TeddyBoy

Knighted by the King of MUD himself
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www.novatelco.com
What do you guys know about them? Been looking at them for awhile now and about ready to purchase, 1 for my pops and his Willys Jeep and one for my crawler.

How long will they hold a charge sitting idle, 1 month, 1 year???

What's the expected battery life during use? For instance 1 jump off or 10? etc? Is it a viable temporary power source for sitting around camp for a week charging ham radios, cell phones etc?

Was looking at this one but have no particular one in mind

Amazon.com: Nekteck Multifunction Car Jump Starter Portable Power Bank External Battery Charger 600A Peak with 12000mAh - Emergency Auto Jump Starter for Sedan Van SUV Boat Smartphone USB Device and More: Automotive
 
I have no experience but seem to remember something in one of the other clubhouses. Maybe Upstate LC. Seems like @Trollhole was in on the discussion. I will see if I can find the thread.
 
John with the razor had one at one of the rides and was really hyping it up. I'm not sure if he participates in the forum but he seemed really knowledgeable on them.

If I recall he mentioned numerous jumps on a single charge. Not sure on how long they hold a charge just sitting. I recently bought a similar small charger for USB devices and it doesn't lose charge over extended (1-2mo) idle periods.
 
Get a GOOD pair of 25ft jumper cables and a Honda EU2000i generator.

Jump box will only piss you off. Reason being you'll go to use it and it want have enough power to start what ever it is you are trying to start. Well then guess what, that's right ,you start looking for some jumper cables.

I know , I know , "get a good one" or "the one I have has never let me down"......yada yada yada.

I can honestly say a good pair of jumper cables have never let me down. For example.......The Cove 2 years ago someone needed a jump when his truck died on "Sherwin-Williams". Who was that ?

The Honda generator will charge and run about anything you want. It is also quite and efficient.

That's what I would do. Wait.........I did do that. :rofl:
 
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TeddyBoy said:
I'd rather put all that money towards light bars anyway. :poop:
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Funny you say that. I bought not one but two 40" lights bars. I want to join the FJC crowd and that will give me a total of 8 on the runner. I wonder is that enough?

Ok do as you will , I just figured I would add my opinion.

I know "opinions are like @tgreco , everyone has one" :rimshot:
 
FJCRAWLER said:
Funny you say that. I bought not one but two 40" lights bars. I want to join the FJC crowd and that will give me a total of 8 on the runner. I wonder is that enough?

Ok do as you will , I just figured I would add my opinion.

I know "opinions are like @tgreco , everyone has one" :rimshot:
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I've been toying with putting one over my windshield, should help me get over rocks easier.
 
Noco, antigravity and gooloo are all good compact jump batteries. If you don't have one get one. They are in the 75$ range now. Stick with something in the 12000-18000 range. You will find you use it as a usb charger more than anything else. There are some things you cannot do with it. It's made to start a car not be used to run the car. You will damage it if you leave it on the vehicle after it's started. 10-30 seconds.

I now use this at the shop and it's hands down the best jump box but it's heavy and has no other features other than starting vehicles. Though I see they came out with a new model that does.

Amazon.com: Jump-N-Carry JNC770B 1700 Peak Amp Premium 12-Volt Jump Starter - Blue: Automotive
 
FJCRAWLER said:
thats what I was thinking. Hope I can have them installed by GM.
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yes but will it be curved? :rainbow:


Trollhole said:
Noco, antigravity and gooloo are all good compact jump batteries. If you don't have one get one. They are in the 75$ range now. Stick with something in the 12000-18000 range. You will find you use it as a usb charger more than anything else. There are some things you cannot do with it. It's made to start a car not be used to run the car. You will damage it if you leave it on the vehicle after it's started. 10-30 seconds.

I now use this at the shop and it's hands down the best jump box but it's heavy and has no other features other than starting vehicles. Though I see they came out with a new model that does.

Amazon.com: Jump-N-Carry JNC770B 1700 Peak Amp Premium 12-Volt Jump Starter - Blue: Automotive
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All good info. researching last night and the antigravity is the one that consistently came up. I have 2 full sized jump boxes but they're not practical on the trail.

In regards to 20 ft. jumper cables, yup they're handy for sure but I just prefer something that's a little more self dependent.
 
FJCRAWLER said:
Funny you say that. I bought not one but two 40" lights bars. I want to join the FJC crowd and that will give me a total of 8 on the runner. I wonder is that enough?

Ok do as you will , I just figured I would add my opinion.

I know "opinions are like @tgreco , everyone has one" :rimshot:
Click to expand...

Darn, @FJCRAWLER with zingers in two threads. I keep trying to come up with a wity response, but I am drawing a blank :doh:.
 
I work with a guy that has one that he ordered off of Amazon for around $100. I used it one day and it had the juice for my 1FZ with the big starter to turn over powerfully about 7 times before it started to drain. (timing chain was broke, so no spark) Based on that use, I'd buy one.

I used a pack like the one you posted Ted. It was weak and wouldn't hold a charge for long at all. I would NOT trust it to last through a trip.

This is the one that worked great.
Amazon.com: Antigravity Batteries AG-XP-1 Multi-Function Power Supply and Jump Starter: Automotive
 
Thanks for the input Bill.

So after some digging I ran across a Consumer Reports article that laid out some good info. This article along many similar reviews indicated the Antigravity brand is the way to go but at 50-100% higher price tag I went with one of the less models found in the CR article.

Jump Starter Buying Guide

This is the one I purchased, came in today so gimme some time and I'll get back with you guys.

Amazon.com: Bolt Power D28 400 Amp Peak With 13600mAh Portable Car Battery Jump Starter: Car Electronics
 
A buddy of mine has one of Matco's newest mini jump boxes. He uses it 24-7 at his shop. Jumped his 7.3 Powerstroke first try, truck had been sitting for 2 + months with dead batteries and 270,000 mile original glow plugs... lol. For something about the size of a composition notebook, it packed a punch. He would normally get 6-7 jumps out of a charge. We also used it to jump my 80-series when I got stranded in TN. If memory serves, he hadn't charged it in 1-2 weeks (one of the rare weeks it wasn't in constant use). Only reason I paid such close attention is he wouldn't shut up about how awesome it was, and I kinda wanted one lol. He bought it off the truck for $170ish?

As far as the >$100 ones go, I'd be super interested to see how they compare.
 
I need to see the electrical engineering data for these little things. Something just doesn't add up mathematically.
It's like somebody coming up with a gas tank that's half the size of your current one yet claiming you can drive just as far as before.

I've used a JNC660 (1700A peak I think) for years and have had good experiences overall. I can run the vehicle off it, run my 12V heating pad in my sleeping bag on cold trips, jump cars and even used to run my portable 8000# winch with it. But it still uses a lead-acid battery so it'll die over time and, just like a car battery, even quicker if you deep cycle it a lot.
 
They use Lipo technology I believe. As off as it sounds, your analogy isn't far off. They were a game changer in the RC world and have a much higher capacity than the old stick packs. I think they have just taken that tech and applied it to these jump boxes. My guess is that they hold just enough to "jump" but I'd bet if you had a prolonged labored start I bet it would test the limits. I have no idea, but for the price, if it will hold a charge for an extended period, it could be a life saver for those times when you can't find somebody to hook the other end of the cables too.

I'm gonna be interested in Ted's thought on the unit and his long term usage report,
 
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