Professional jump starter battery pack

[Mungler]

Alright PW massive.

So I know there are some mechanics on here who know their game.

I want to buy a proper commercial garage battery jump starter pack. I’ve had all manner of Halfords £60 jobs and they are rubbish - don’t hold a charge, no guts and always let you down.

A few months a go I borrowed the jump pack from the garage next door to my office - now that was a different piece of kit; heavy, well made, and loads of grunt / charge.

I’m guessing that a pro pack will be into the hundreds but with all things I expect the price will be forgotten long after the quality remains. Moreover, I have old bangers all over the place and there’s nothing worse than a dead battery in a car with no nearby mains (to plug a charger into). Yes I could go the jump lead route but with modern cars and batteries in the boot, sometimes that not feasible.

So what do the pro garage mechanic boys recommend and is available on Amazon 😀

cheers all

[Rewulf]

You can spend a lot of money on jump packs, the new lithium or capacitor ones are interesting, they can even fit in your pocket !

Like you say the Halfords things are a waste of money, lifetime and performance are lacking for your £50 worth.
To get a decent multiple starting pack , you need to spend upwards of £150.

But there is a much cheaper option, and this is what I use.

Spend £30-40 on some good quality jump leads.
Spend £50-60 on a good quality battery, something with 600+ cold cranking amps .
Depending on casing size required , smaller size 001 type or larger type 643 type, or equivalents , check for offers at local factors, I bought a load of 001s the other day for £50 each  all in, and an extra £5 for 'lifetime ' guarantee .
You can make ,borrow or mackle up a trolley for it if you like.
You then have the versatility of jump leads, and a replaceable power source.

[Snoozer]

SNAP ON PRO RANGE 1700 JUMP STARTER PACK / BOOSTER

[Westley]

I use my jump leads and an 85 amp/hr leisure battery that I have for my electric outboard motor. Just use a trickle charger for the leisure battery.

[figgy]

I have the big Clark 4000 one from machine mart. Can start 4.0l diesels and 6.0l petrol engines weighs in at 17 kilo. Had to use a big pack to start the Audi diesel when it's bettery started going iffy,  it works a treat and can start lots of engines one charge, or if your cars not easy started it has the capacity to keep going.

[rovercoupe]

I bought one of those cheap lithium power packs and it has been amazing! Multiple starts off one charge and so small and light.

it will not cold start a 2.5 td with a spanked battery but has never had any issues on a normal jump. 

I do keep a huge leasure  battery and leads for big jumps and that's linked to a solar panel to keep it topped up. 

[ph5172]

We have Clarke 12/24v in some of our motors. Always seem to do the trick even on big 4x4s and horse boxes (as long as they are recharged!!) 

they have a 12v recharge lead that goes in the aux socket so usually are ready to go   

Never had an issue with them aside from the charging leads breaking due to being bashed or not disconnected while getting it out the boot  

 

Edited December 27, 2018 by ph5172
Spelling

[johnnytheboy]

On 27/12/2018 at 13:37, Mungler said:

Alright PW massive.

So I know there are some mechanics on here who know their game.

I want to buy a proper commercial garage battery jump starter pack. I’ve had all manner of Halfords £60 jobs and they are rubbish - don’t hold a charge, no guts and always let you down.

A few months a go I borrowed the jump pack from the garage next door to my office - now that was a different piece of kit; heavy, well made, and loads of grunt / charge.

I’m guessing that a pro pack will be into the hundreds but with all things I expect the price will be forgotten long after the quality remains. Moreover, I have old bangers all over the place and there’s nothing worse than a dead battery in a car with no nearby mains (to plug a charger into). Yes I could go the jump lead route but with modern cars and batteries in the boot, sometimes that not feasible.

So what do the pro garage mechanic boys recommend and is available on Amazon 😀

cheers all

We have been through hundreds of jump packs and eventually gave up, we now have a 220 amp bus battery on a garden trolley with the thickest jump leads we have found with quick release clamps direct to the battery terminal. It would start a diesel train if required 😂 

the only problem is it’s heavy so the boys chuck it on the tow bar of the car/truck they have started and tow it back to the workshop, so now instead of going through hundreds of jump packs we are going through loads of wheels 🙄 

[Tam]

Well, what would I know about jump starting up to 100 cars a day 🤣 we have tried them all (including Snap-on @ mega bucks) we buy SIP 1600 @ just over £100 from A14 Supplies & have found them the best - can start a 3l BMW Diesel from flat & they are the worst we have found to start. We also have the SIP 12/24v Just 2 batteries in parallel or series (whatever is switched - but greater amps on 12v) 

[la bala]

Dont know how you stand jumping modern stuff. I worked in heavy earthmoving most of my life and if something needed jumping, we jumped it directly to starter not through the dead battery. Ditchman will know what i am on about.

[Mungler]

Tam, your recommendation is also ‘Amazon’s choice’.

As an aside, I now ‘know’ the High Street is dead. Something as obscure as a jump pack and Amazon has it in stock and there’s a ‘Amazon choice’ product that actually matches the choice of the PW jump start king.

 

[haynes]

Just a side note of you don't mind. I'm after a good quality battery charger to charge Up to my 2.5l van batterys. Any reccomendations?

[Mungler]

I’ve got a ‘Ring’ workshop charger and one of those intelligent chargers you can leave on all the time or use when you completely drain a battery - last year I completely drained a battery and the charger brought it back (took about 3 days mind you).

[johnnytheboy]

1 hour ago, Mungler said:

I’ve got a ‘Ring’ workshop charger and one of those intelligent chargers you can leave on all the time or use when you completely drain a battery - last year I completely drained a battery and the charger brought it back (took about 3 days mind you).

This is the best option we have about 10 of them, your safe in the knowledge that if someone leaves them on over the weekend your not going to come back to the workshop burnt out! Only thing I’d say it that the small optimate 4 chargers have recovered battery’s the ring won’t touch but they take time! 

[B725]

11 hours ago, haynes said:

Just a side note of you don't mind. I'm after a good quality battery charger to charge Up to my 2.5l van batterys. Any reccomendations?

Ctek x5 you can leave them on all the time if you wish and will charge your small battery if you use a magnet or flapper, they also have a reconditioning mode. 

[haynes]

Thanks all will take a look. Had dismissed the ring products. But they look like a strong contender. 

I knew the PW massive would come up trumps.