NA jumped a car for strangers while walking the pups

My problem with the jump packs is that I'd have to drop $200-$300 to have one big enough (and of decent quality) to deal with my larger gassers or diesel engines. May as well buy an AGM battery for that cost. Jumper cables are relatively cheap (even for a good set) and don't self-discharge or swell up and cause fires. My wife had one of the older jump packs that was a cheap POS which never seemed to have enough power to do anything, even when left plugged in. Tried to use it a time or two on a 1965 Corvette that had been sitting for a few months and it wouldn't do a thing. The newer Lithium ones are better, but are still going to be a bit capacity limited, so the engine better fire off in fairly short order. Having to crank a diesel engine for 20-30 seconds (not consecutively) may zap a boost pack.
 
Fiveslide said:
I went to guy's shop to work on his motorcycle. He worked on construction equipment and his big diesel trucks, but wanted help on his Triumph motorcycle. He had an awesome jump setup. It was a garden wagon, with eight 6v golf cart batteries wired so that it could output either 12v or 24v with the flip of a couple of switches. That little wagon would jump start anything. It just needed an overnight charge about once a year.
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Bet that garden cart weighed several hundred pounds for sure. Those golf cart batteries are HEAVY!
 
If you live in South Florida or other similar climes, you get used to dealing with prematurely dead batteries. Boats are particularly prone, since they tend to sit unused in high heat, humidity, and direct sun. I have battery tenders, cables, and jump packs. Never without one of those. Just part of the lifestyle.

I used to buy budget batteries, but now I go to the car parts store and ask for the biggest strongest battery I can stuff in my vehicle.
 
Racerx said:
Would you have offered to help if it was a group of men? Would they accept or stubbornly decline?
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Mechanical aptitude seems to be eluding some of the younger generation. I've met some younger men that couldn't pop their own hood.

After I bought my new truck several years ago, I found during my research that this particular model (F-150) is known to consume a small amount of oil, as it seems many new cars are. Sure enough, by the first oil change it was roughly a quart low and I mentioned it to the service writer. He asked me why I was checking my own oil?

A better story from when I was in college, 20+ years ago. I was known on my dorm floor to be mechanically inclined and equipped with tools, so my fellow students would sometimes come to me with problems. A fellow classmate stopped by and told me his truck (Ford Ranger) keeps overheating, would I mind taking a look. As we were walking to the truck talking through the problem, he stated he wasn't sure why it keeps overheating, he keeps adding oil. :oops: Pop the hood, sure enough, the radiator is bone dry, but the engine is full to the brim with oil. Have to give it to those old Danger Rangers, they were fairly bulletproof, if not idiot proof.
 
SoonerAviator said:
Bet that garden cart weighed several hundred pounds for sure. Those golf cart batteries are HEAVY!
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It did, but it had big ol tires and rolled easily. It was also down at the coast, so the parking lot was flat as can be. It wasn't like you had pull it up any big hills.
 
I remember the time at the race track after dark, that a racer used a bic lighter to check his dead battery. They took him away in a ambulance after the explosion.
 
I've got to drink less caffeinated drinks... Full Dyslexia Mode.... I thought you jumped a couple of strangers for a car...and the next question would be, "If I was not convicted, do I need to report it on my next medical...since it was kind of a motor vehicle offense? asking for a friend".
 
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I end up jump starting a stranger's car, or using a tire strap and my truck to pull them out of a ditch in the winter, every couple of years or so.

SoonerAviator said:
My problem with the jump packs is that I'd have to drop $200-$300 to have one big enough (and of decent quality) to deal with my larger gassers or diesel engines.
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You might be surprised. I finally bought one after a friend started the camp's V8 powered truck after it'd been sitting all winter. Started my plane with it quite a few times while I was having charging issues.
 
Dana said:
I end up jump starting a stranger's car, or using a tire strap and my truck to pull them out of a ditch in the winter, every couple of years or so.


You might be surprised. I finally bought one after a friend started the camp's V8 powered truck after it'd been sitting all winter. Started my plane with it quite a few times while I was having charging issues.
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The ones from well known brands like Noco or Schumacher rated for 8.0L gas or 6.0L diesels generally have 3K or more amps. I'm sure if the batteries aren't completely toast you can get by with a lesser-rated model but that might compromise any warranty it might have. I've got 40' of 00 Guage jumper cables for now which handle any duties I typically have. Luckily the only thing I've had to jump start in the past few years has been a Kubota garden tractor that just had bad clamps and I didn't feel like messing with them lol.
 
AvNavCom said:
I don't really understand why people are still messing about with jumper cables when stuff like this works brilliantly with far less hassle. Charge it. Throw it in the trunk. Forget about it until needed. Way better!
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Clicked on it, costs $130. Will keep my cables, thanks. Bought them 42 years ago, still work. There was a thread about jumping a plane here a few months ago and someone went on about how dangerous that is, but I never had a problem.
 
I was waiting for the line "And then the next day I read the headline: 'Local pilot assists two sweet old ladies in stealing car'"

I like the jump boxes too, but I still have some old jumper cables in the back of the truck. Maybe a couple of times a year I'll run into someone that needs help, and once in a while it'll be that their battery is so low the power pack won't start it up. So I'll attach the cables and let the truck idle for maybe 10 minutes and then it'll usually start. I don't know why that is, except that the battery may be so low/damaged that it's sucking up charge from the jump box and can't bring them both up to a voltage high enough to start. But the cables/alternator can put enough surface charge in a few minutes so that the combined setup works.

I charge my lithium pack about once every 6 months. I really need to get a list of everything lithium to regularly do that...if you let them go to zero they're gone, and some things don't have easily replaceable batteries.
 
Iflydogs said:
Clicked on it, costs $130. Will keep my cables, thanks. Bought them 42 years ago, still work. There was a thread about jumping a plane here a few months ago and someone went on about how dangerous that is, but I never had a problem.
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Fair enough. You can buy them as cheaply at $50, depending on how much juice and features you want. The one in my wife's vehicle saved her probably ten times while we were dealing with a battery issue (now resolved, thankfully) and if it's easy enough for her to do, that's a recommendation by itself! I also like that mine has USB slots to allow device charging and a flashlight, which is helpful in a pinch. The integrated compass makes me laugh. If I'm down to that, things have gone badly! I agree that it's hard to beat the cost of a traditional pair of cables, but I'd venture to say that the jump packs beat cables in virtually every other way, especially in not needing another vehicle to be present. Still, whatever works best for you is best for you!

Albany Tom said:
once in a while it'll be that their battery is so low the power pack won't start it up.
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Yeah, I can see that as a case where classic cables might be easier. Some jump packs have a button specifically for that situation. They act as a fast-charger for the battery, and then apply that big burst of cranking power during start. I've done that once and it seems to work pretty well.

Edit: typo
 
wanttaja said:
Depends on whether you're in the northern or southern hemisphere. Get it wrong, and the engine turns backwards.....

Ron Wanttaja
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That can be true with some electric motors!
 
AvNavCom said:
I'd venture to say that the jump packs beat cables in virtually every other way
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I can think of a couple counter-examples. But really, which ones to choose comes down to the targeted use-case and intended mission.
 
Jump packs are like cordless drills... great to have and usually adequate, but sometimes you need to pull out the corded drill.
 
Iflydogs said:
Clicked on it, costs $130. Will keep my cables, thanks. Bought them 42 years ago, still work. There was a thread about jumping a plane here a few months ago and someone went on about how dangerous that is, but I never had a problem.
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I paid $79 for mine. Has a tire inflator/pressure gauge. Used it to jump cars 3 times in two years and the inflator almost every day for two weeks while I waited for a new rim to show up (weld on steel rim separated and was allowing air to leak. Supposed to work on an 8L diesel (which I don't have).

Project Farm did a video on them and most of the jump boxes worked fine.
 
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