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Jumpstarting your car or truck is usually the furthest thing from your mind—that is, until you face an emergency on a cold rainy morning when your car battery decides to throw in the towel. Getting stranded is a bummer.
The fact is that modern vehicle batteries only last three to five years. When they fail, they do so suddenly and without warning. Thankfully, an affordable lithium-ion jumpstart battery pack save the day.
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In the last few years, the technology to jump a car or truck has made dramatic improvements. With the lithium-ion jumpstart battery packs available today, it’s easier than ever to start your car when the battery bites the dust.
Jumper Cables Are Obsolete
Jumper cables have been the solution for starting an auto for at least 100 years. The idea is that you connect your car’s dead battery to a good car battery, usually in another vehicle, and that provides the charge to start your car. Jumper cables are pretty basic—the batteries are connected positive-to-positive and negative-to-negative.
The downside is that you need another vehicle to provide the power, and the possibility of mis-connecting the batteries and thus damaging the batteries is great. Jumper cables are pretty much obsolete today, and should only be used to charge your battery as a last resort.
Portable Jumpstart Battery Packs 1.0
The Schumacher J1332 includes two AC power outlets, a USB port and an air compressor.
The 1990s brought the first advance in portable jumpstart technologies—with the introduction of jumpstart battery packs in an all-in-one enclosure. Those chargers housed a sealed lead-acid battery. They also include accessories like an air compressor, flashlight, and maybe a 110v inverter.
These batteries have high peak amperage, usually 900 amps or more, and can start the biggest engine in the coldest weather. They recharge themselves either thru a cigarette lighter or AC adapter. The units have polarity sensing on their jumper cables to prevent misconnecting and damaging your car’s battery.
The downside is that these last-gen jump batteries are big and heavy, weighing 15 to 20 pounds. They can take a lot of space in the trunk of a car and thus best left in the garage. Expect to spend between $100 and $300 for one of these old-school units.
State-of-the-Art Jumpstart Battery Technology
Lithium-ion batteries represent the best in today’s in jumpstart battery pack technology. These batteries are a fraction of the size of lead-acid battery units and usually weigh less than a pound. They range in starting power from 400 to about 4,000 amps.
This type of charger often has a flashlight, plus multiple USB outlets for charging phones or other electronic equipment. The best units have polarity sensing on their jumper cables, so reverse connecting to the battery is a thing of the past.
The compact Ultra Safe NOCO GB50 jumpstart battery pack provides 1500 amps of power, with up to 30 jumps per charge.
Lithium-based units recharge through a car’s cigarette lighter, USB port, or AC adapter. These compact units have all the advantages of the larger jumpstart battery packs and the greater capacity to charge the largest vehicles. Costs start at under $100 for high-quality, 400-amp devices and climb to over $400 for heavy-duty 4000 amp units.
This type of jumpstart battery is definitely the one to get if space is an issue. They are small and light enough to fit in your trunk or glove box in case of an emergency. You might even forget it’s there, until that dreaded day when your ride’s battery says: “I’m done!”
Also: Troubleshooting a Car That Doesn’t Start
Shop now for battery-based jumpstarter
