battery starter

handyman · Post by **handyman** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 9:21 am

see these battery starters

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ring-Power-Pack ... D8X2VI50QU

this one, for example has a 40Ah battery.

Why not just get a 40Ah car battery and charge it? Is there a difference between these and a normal car battery?

Hoovie · Post by **Hoovie** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 10:31 am

well, it has 12V and 24V outputs as well as an inverters to run low power 240V devices (maybe power-tool battery chargers?), a built in charger for itself (using mains and 12V), and a nice carrying handle.

Looks more like a portable power supply which can also be used to start a car rather then a dedicated device to start a car with a flat battery.

very handy device if you need it and want to spend that much money

handyman · Post by **handyman** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 10:37 am

what about the 12v starting system?

This one is 40Ah ............. most of the cheapy ones are 20Ah and dont crank 2.5L diesel's.

But you can get a 100Ah van battery for £60 odd

Effigy · Post by **Effigy** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 10:42 am

I've recently bought this one from Halfords:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yrn_123101

Cost £75

Its very good - I have a Motorhome in storage. As it doesn't get started very often this time of the year, I bought one of these in case of a flat battery during winter.

Sure enough, in the recent cold spell it wouldn't start. Conected up the power pack and it started first turn of the key.
Mine has other useful features -

12 Volt Power Source

250psi Air Compressor

12-240v Power Invertor - Powers mains equipment from a 12v source.

300 watts of portable mains power for TVs, laptop computers tools etc. anywhere!

I was a bit doubtful about buying one because of the cost, but I'm glad I did now.

EJJ150847 · Post by **EJJ150847** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 10:47 am

Still bloody expensive at £170ish, Machine Mart and others have them £35 to £100ish.

John

handyman · Post by **handyman** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 10:50 am

as far as i can see, under £100 gets you a 20Ah one.

As i say, what is it doing different from a charged up battery (the actual starter part, not the add ons)

Hoovie · Post by **Hoovie** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 11:23 am

It probably contains a standard lead-acid battery as you you find in a car.

if all you wanted was a way to start your car/van if you get a flat battery, then you could achieve the same with a naked battery, set of jump leads, plus a battery charger to keep the battery charged ready.

These various companies are putting the bits together, sticking it in a case, adding some other features and charging you £xx for it - not sure where you are going with the question

Are you saying that the cost is too much for what you want? or what they are offering?

Hoovie · Post by **Hoovie** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 11:29 am

handyman wrote:what about the 12v starting system?

This one is 40Ah ............. most of the cheapy ones are 20Ah and dont crank 2.5L diesel's.

But you can get a 100Ah van battery for £60 odd

My Car battery is a 55Ah unit -(for 2L petrol), so I would have thought any of these units would need some oomph left in the vehicle battery itself in order to start it using one of these portable starters.

My car battery went totally flat a year ago last Jan and even with a jump from the wifes Punto, it wouldn't turn over - needed the RAC to come out and jump it with one of their portable starters - and a new battery had to be fitted (just 18 months old it was

)

(as it happens, same thing happened this Jan and the battery needs replacing again - just a year old

)

handyman · Post by **handyman** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 11:38 am

would rather spend £60 on a new van battery, keep it charged, then use it if the old battery knackers up.

This would then give you 5 times the size of battery as a spare, unlike one of these starters at 20Ah (or 2.5 times the power with the £170 one)...........and i already have a good battery charger

Hoovie · Post by **Hoovie** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 11:46 am

If all you want is a way to jump start if you have a dead battery, then yup - that is a cheaper option for sure. Or call the AA/RAC/whatever out if you have the problem (even cheaper

)

Be sods law that you stick the spare battery in the garage to make room in the van the day you need it

(usually next to the spare fuel can

)

handyman · Post by **handyman** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 12:29 pm

I was thinking of putting a small leisure battery in the back to mainly power lights outside the van. If i do this, then a spare battery could be charged off this circuit as well

Theres a box of tricks (used in campervans) to charge leisure batteries when moving, and theres also one which charges 2 separate batteries

handyman · Post by **handyman** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 12:41 pm

i just thought it was doing something more with the 20Ah battery to make it start a van better from a flat battery...........but its appears to be a small battery connected straight onto the flat battery

Hitch · Post by **Hitch** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 6:47 pm

The powerpacks are much more portable, and easier to charge. Amongst the other usefull addititons like lights, cable storage etc.

For the extra light, i have a split charge module from Maplins, and a high capacity leisure battery powering an inverter, so high capacity 12v & 240v. Very easy to wire in.

As for the starting, you should just put a new battery on, sort owt the glowies and you shouldnt have any problems for another 2/3 years unless there an underlying fault with your charging system.

Hitch · Post by **Hitch** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:04 pm

I forgot to mention, with batteries for starting, they usually have a CCA as well as an a/h rating.

The CCA, cold cranking amps is the number of amps it can put out at highest load i believe.

EG, an 069 battery has an AH or 68 @12v and a CCA rating of 505A
(Medium duty diesel abttery)

Where as a 063 is rated at 44AH and only 360A CCA
(light duty petrol battery)

F

Hoovie · Post by **Hoovie** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 9:21 pm

Hitch - is there anything on the battery to tell you what its CCA is?

as I mentioned, my current car battery is faulty at just one year old, and the last one only lasted 18 months, so when I get a replacement, I was going to tell them I want the battery from the diesel model instead of the petrol as it is beefier - but be good to check the difference.