What's everyone use for battery jump starter

Only had to use it twice in three years helping other people but so far so good.

 

thats pretty bad ass.. amazing how many ways it can be charged. how long does it take to charge up?

 

It depends how low the voltage is on the failed battery, but both times I used it, less than two minutes. Mine has a display that shows the rescue unit voltage, both times I let it get to a little over 15 Volts and then was successful in starting the engines. It was like butter, actually.

I bought this case for it, you have to cut the divider with a knife and fold it down, but everything fits.

$23 Caseling Hard Case Compatible with G3500 6V 12V 3.5A Smart Battery Charger.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B071S1QSTH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I have this one and have used it a bunch. Works great, highly recommend it.

$50 DBPOWER Peak 2000A 18000mAh Portable Car Jump Starter (up to 7.2L Gas, 5.5L Diesel Engine) Battery Booster with Smart Charging Port, Compass, LCD Screen and LED Light (Black/Red)

https://www.amazon.com/DBPOWER-18000mAh-Portable-Starter-Charging/dp/B01D42TYFC

 

Been using this one also for my daughter's car. Plan to purchase one for the Tacoma also.

 

Yep, I have the HD microstart as well. Jumped a dead Subaru in 2 seconds flat. Then powered a portable xm radio & BT speaker an entire day at the campsite. Got mine directly from their website. I've read were there are many copycats on Amazon that don't perform like the real deal.
https://antigravitybatteries.com/products/micro-starts/xp-10-hd/

 

Almost picked it up but I have one of those small portable air compressors so i just picked this one up for $49.99. Charging my truck as we speak.

 

Glad I ran into this tread. Need one for myself.

 

I have this one
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BLM981K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I used it once to jump a friends car (large v8) and it fired right up. I charge it every 4-6 weeks when I remember and it only takes about 5-10 minutes or so to top off so it's holding the charge pretty well. More $$ than a lot of others but meh.

 

I've had my GB40 for 3 years, used it hundred times, (car lots, parts stores for customers) People will laugh at you until you hit the key. I've jumped 2500-3500 trucks with dual 65's. The GB40 will launch a battery into the parking lot. Lol
Zim

 

I just returned mine after it caused my battery to fail and was deemed a defective charger. HF told me I'm not the first one to have this issue with this charger however my dealership was awesome enough to warranty my battery. I know a lot of people haven't had an issue with this charger and I hope it works out for you too

 

Is a battery tender necessary if I just disconnect the negative from the battery?

 

Batteries have a self-discharge rate. For a lead acid battery, it's about 4% a week even if you disconnect it from everything. That's why when you buy a battery off the shelf, the store usually puts it on a charger for a while before you take it away.

I am not a fan of Noco boosters but I have the smallest Noco charger on my sports car while it's garaged in the winter. It has modes for AGM and lead-acid batteries. You can buy an adapter for about $10 that screws to the battery terminals and gives you a quick-disconnect plug to plug the charger in. It just trickle charges the battery all winter.

 

You know that is not a charger, it's a jump start pack, jump box..insta start....whatever. Not a charger.
Zim

 

7,400 reviews on Amazon says a different story. The bottom line on any booster is if you need one, you probably need a battery or alternator. People are looking for things that work. The GB40 works. I live in Missouri and we have subzero weather every year. I've sold a few dozen of these and never had a return.
Zim

 

Have you actually read the reviews? A large number of “good” reviews are from people that haven’t even used it yet. They just took it out of the package, charged, and then gave it 5-stars. From what I can tell the Noco has about the same percentage of failures as the cheap knockoffs based on the reviews.

 

Agree on the NOCOs. Have one in my Tacoma, my girlfriend's RAV 4 and my Audi S3. Used them a couple times after not being charged for appx 6 months, once after leaving lights on overnight. Started each time and used their battery charger after I ran the Optima battery in the Tacoma way down. Charger worked well too. Seems you can always find bad reviews / tests of anything these days.

 

Agreed. But based on the reviews I came to the conclusion that the Noco didn’t seem any better the cheaper ones but costs 2x as much.

 

You cannot rely on Amazon reviews because about 90% of online reviews are fake or paid. Lithium ion boosters can't be used in large parts of North America because of the storage temperature issue, or at least you can't keep them in your truck and expect them to work when you need.

Here is what Consumer Reports says about Noco:

While still excellent performance jump starting at warmer temperatures, it was a notch below the higher Rated products. The Noco’s performance in cold temperatures was only fair and it was among the worst in its capabilities in supplying power for electronic devices. It only comes with one 5 volt 2.1 amp USB output without any accessories to deliver the power. On the plus side it has dual LED lights and beefier battery clips. It lacks the soft-shell case that most others have and comes with a 12 month warranty. Extreme temperatures can be an issue with any of these jump packs. When the jumper pack and cars battery were conditioned at zero degrees F., it wasn’t able to start a vehicle with a weakened battery. Warming up the jump pack for a few minutes increased performance but not as much as the higher rated products. The manufacturer recommends not storing the unit in temperatures above 140 deg. F—a temperature that can easily be reached in a car’s trunk or glove box on a hot summers day.

 

I base my recommendations on my experience. I work in this industry, back shop, front shop, side shop. Y'all can buy what ya want, don't care but if it works, it works. I won't buy a Dodge because I've fixed and sold parts for million's of dollars of Dodge junk. I'm sure HF makes a decent booster, but I'm not trusting my family's security on a magazine article.
Zim