Portable Battery Packs for Jumps
 

Tell me about the portable battery packs for jump starting a weak battery?
Who carries them? Which one is the most bang for the buck?

Got mine at Sears on sale with a coupon. After experiencing one problem at
the launch ramp mine is always aboard when I go out. They are self charging
so plug mine in the evening before going out on the water for a full
charge. It's a useful gadget to have around as you can plug in any 12 volt
device for use.

Mine is a bit heavy but worth it for the power.

Butch
"Bryan" wrote in message
m...
Tell me about the portable battery packs for jump starting a weak battery?
Who carries them? Which one is the most bang for the buck?

www.harborfreight.com
JR
Bryan wrote:
Tell me about the portable battery packs for jump starting a weak battery?
Who carries them? Which one is the most bang for the buck?




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Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth

"JR North" wrote in message
...
www.harborfreight.com
JR
Bryan wrote:
Tell me about the portable battery packs for jump starting a weak
battery?
Who carries them? Which one is the most bang for the buck?


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--------------------------------------------------------------
Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth

Butch, JR,

Thanks.

Had a 600A continuous/900A surge portable jump-start (with
built-in voltmeter & flashlight) four years ago. In
hindsight, I should have just purchased another battery
(identical to the one I was jump starting) because they have
much more ooomph than the portable. You have to consider
the Ampere-hour rating: after three SHORT attempts at
jumping with the portable, the unit was useless (A-h rating
is 7Ah: can be up to 14 Ah depending on the portable unit).
Sure, you can recharge it, but it's still useless until
then.

With a "real" second battery, in the event the first battery
has to be replaced, you've got your replacement then and
there. If you don't need to replace it, you've got a more
POWERful spare/jumper, literally (~200Ah?). Stick a battery
carrier/strap and you've got a portable... Invest in a good
charger (~ $35) and an electronic trickle charger/maintainer
(~$25) and that's the most bang for the buck, IMHO. BTW,
the portable's 7Ah battery died after one season.

Regards,
Franko

"Bryan" wrote in message
m...
Tell me about the portable battery packs for jump starting
a weak battery?
Who carries them? Which one is the most bang for the
buck?

Franko,

The whole point of the jump package is portability and convenience as well
as safety. Mine is spill proof and I assume others are as well.

Although my boat has dual Optima batteries I always take the portable along.
It's relatively light weight and has a comfortable carrying handle and
built-in cables. The charger is built in so it can be topped off overnight
before going fishing.

I had an occassion when I arrived at the ramp with two dead batteries. I'd
downloaded some reef coordinates on the GPS the evening before and when
switching off had NOT switched off completely before releasing the switch.
An old gentleman was also launching, saw my dilemma and started my OB with
his portable. The good news was that it was a slow day at the ramp. But I
learned from that experience that stuff happens and portables are cheap
insurance.

I highly recommend one for any boater.

YMMV.

Butch
"Franko" wrote in message
...
Had a 600A continuous/900A surge portable jump-start (with
built-in voltmeter & flashlight) four years ago. In
hindsight, I should have just purchased another battery
(identical to the one I was jump starting) because they have
much more ooomph than the portable. You have to consider
the Ampere-hour rating: after three SHORT attempts at
jumping with the portable, the unit was useless (A-h rating
is 7Ah: can be up to 14 Ah depending on the portable unit).
Sure, you can recharge it, but it's still useless until
then.

With a "real" second battery, in the event the first battery
has to be replaced, you've got your replacement then and
there. If you don't need to replace it, you've got a more
POWERful spare/jumper, literally (~200Ah?). Stick a battery
carrier/strap and you've got a portable... Invest in a good
charger (~ $35) and an electronic trickle charger/maintainer
(~$25) and that's the most bang for the buck, IMHO. BTW,
the portable's 7Ah battery died after one season.

Regards,
Franko

"Bryan" wrote in message
m...
Tell me about the portable battery packs for jump starting
a weak battery?
Who carries them? Which one is the most bang for the
buck?