Portable Jump Starter teardown vid

[Torn Mind]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AROzJAQNX-M
User AintBigAintClever

I didn't bother paying attention to every detail, but the guy found the battery is actually lighter than it should be for its rating. So, there is a "weight test" for these power packs, and cheap ones have overrated batteries with fillers to make it look more capable than it actually is.

The inverters that come with these things are likely square or modified sine wave.
As far as weights go, any lead acid power pack that is 13 pounds or under is going to have a battery than is less than 17 Ah.
http://www.powerstream.com/Size_SLA.htm

So, if the thing weighs about 22 pounds, there is probably a 18 or 22 Ah battery in there. The heavier ones either come with a single 30 Ah one or two 18 or 22 Ah ones. The professional units better have a quality charger in there thick cables, or else they making some serious bank.

Basically, the merit of these products is that they integrated of bunch of products into one convinient package
Inverter for units that need an AC output
Backup battery, smaller battery to start a car
Air compressor for filling up a tire
Flashlight.
Battery charger for the battery inside.
Cables to connect to battery

The inverter, and light are really just extra frills for profit. The compressor can be handy, but if they put in the same one as that is in $10 Slime or the cheap $7 one from Harbor Freight, then it is more about it having one in a integrated package than having a faster tire inflator. The charger and the battery is what necessitated a purchase of such a device in the first place and if either or both are bad at what they do, the product is a load of garbage.

These smaller lead acid batteries balloon in price once the Ah goes above 22. Even some "professional" packs will only weigh around 22 lbs, so the battery's Ah is not going to be that high, although it might be a proper small "starting battery" with more surface area.

As far as a heavy pack goes, I found the Clore ES6000KE weighs in at 37 lbs, so there is a big battery in there. It also costs around 300 dollars.
The Npower Dominator also weighs 35 lbs, and comes with a 30 Ah battery. http://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...ZDBaSY_qkZVZWvcS6FIHqnMZzQe-oGMTgmhoCHKrw_wcB

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDob_VFrlPk
This is different video, where the guy talks a lot and load tests a bunch of packs, but no teardowns.

 

[WackyDan]

I had a jump pack with compressor built in. It lasted for about 12 years... Probably jumped 15 times in it's lifespan. Had the typical motorcycle battery in it. I wouldn't say that a small Ah battery is a negative. The idea is to provide enough juice to jump a car or truck multiple times before recharge which that unit did just fine.

I've been carrying a Lithium Ion jump box about the size of a pencil box with me on the bike for three years. It has jumped two bikes and two V8 trucks... and takes up a shit load less room.

If you drive a tow truck or run a shop of some sort I can see you investing $300 in a more professional or higher capacity jump box... Otherwise most mid range ($100) jump boxes are going to do the average shade tree mechanic just fine.

 

[jlee]

I had a jump pack with compressor built in. It lasted for about 12 years... Probably jumped 15 times in it's lifespan. Had the typical motorcycle battery in it. I wouldn't say that a small Ah battery is a negative. The idea is to provide enough juice to jump a car or truck multiple times before recharge which that unit did just fine.

I've been carrying a Lithium Ion jump box about the size of a pencil box with me on the bike for three years. It has jumped two bikes and two V8 trucks... and takes up a shit load less room.

If you drive a tow truck or run a shop of some sort I can see you investing $300 in a more professional or higher capacity jump box... Otherwise most mid range ($100) jump boxes are going to do the average shade tree mechanic just fine.

Lithium packs FTW. I love mine.

 

[Wuzup101]

I too have a lithium jump pack... way too convenient not to have.

 

[lxskllr]

I use lead acid jump boxes from harborfreight daily. They power my gear for work, and will jump start the truck. Heavy to carry though. I wouldn't buy one with any crap built in(compressor, inverter...). Cheap compressors are slow, and they break. A good hand pump is more reliable. A built in inverter is just gonna leave you with a bulky battety that can't do ac, or a 20# inverter when something eventually goes up.

 

[Torn Mind]

To satisfy my undying curiosity about the cranking amps and cold cranking amps of battery packs, I opened up two that I recently bought. One in an emergency where the car was dead at a Walmart, the other was a proactive buy but didn't arrive in time). Having a Quicklynks BA101 on hand, I decided to take measurements.

The Stanley Fatmax with 700 peak, 350 continuous, apparently provides about 125 CCAs and 155 CAs. I see why the warranty is only one year on that device. Over time, the CCAs and CAs will decrease, and the little power brick that charges the unit...I doubt it is a very smart charger. Also, it was sitting in a warehouse since Ocotober. I don't know how sealed lead acid batteries are better than their wet counterparts in terms of staying "fresh", but the resistance reading from the Quicklynks was a 23.-something. A 9Ah SEL battery is inside the unit. The $40 clearance price is about the only sensible price for the unit.

The other unit I took measurements of a Schumacher with 1000 volts peak and 500 continuous. Here, it has 275 CCA and perhaps 350 CAs. Sells for about $100 at Walmart. An in-house Schumacher batteries powers the unit. Resistance is only about 6.5 ohms.

 

[Torn Mind]

I had a jump pack with compressor built in. It lasted for about 12 years... Probably jumped 15 times in it's lifespan. Had the typical motorcycle battery in it. I wouldn't say that a small Ah battery is a negative. The idea is to provide enough juice to jump a car or truck multiple times before recharge which that unit did just fine.

I've been carrying a Lithium Ion jump box about the size of a pencil box with me on the bike for three years. It has jumped two bikes and two V8 trucks... and takes up a shit load less room.

If you drive a tow truck or run a shop of some sort I can see you investing $300 in a more professional or higher capacity jump box... Otherwise most mid range ($100) jump boxes are going to do the average shade tree mechanic just fine.

It can be a negative, because it doesn't cover extreme contingencies a unit with a superior battery can, like having a totally depleted battery and not just a sulfated old battery with 150 cranking amps and 12.3 volts. Or, the unit itself being subjected to neglect and when you need five years down the line, it has already lost too much cranking capacity.

In smaller vehicles or bikes, it is true that the size becomes a liability. Whether convenience or more insurance is chosen certainly depends on the situation.

Getting the most cranking amps for your buck does matter, since you never know when the necessity arises when you are is "dead" and needs a jump. If you don't have enough, it's roadside assistance time. Alas, most of the makers except for Clore doesn't mention cranking amps anywhere on their spec sheet, so buyers can only go by "bigger numbers is probably better".

Your pack actually has an indefinite lifetime. It just depends on if want to swap the battery inside with a new one.

 

[Childs]

I got one of those jump packs for Christmas. The Halo Bolt 58830 ACDC. My mom saw it on QVC. I looked it up and saw the sales pitch on Youtube, and I see why she bought it. Seems cool enough, and much move convenient than the traditional heavy ones. There are a couple videos on YT where guys completely drain the battery in their trucks and use to Bolt to start em up.

Whats lame is I happened to get her a battery pack for Xmas too, but it was a simple 20Kmah one that just does usb power, no jump starting, light or AC power. Out geeked by my own mom. lol Now I'm going to buy her a Rugged Geek RD1000 since it can supposed do 1000 peak amps, and throw in a DC to AC inverter. Hopefully she wont mind when I suggest she keep the Bolt and I'll keep what I got her, since the Bolt is all in one and more convenient for someone like her.