JPS

I see a ton of little hand held battery packs that claim to be able to jump start up to 5L or something.

Any of these actually work? Which are best? Seems like a good thing to have in the garage if they work...

Vandit

This is the one I carry around.

https://www.amazon.com/Antigravity-B.../dp/B00MQ5Z5F2

I bought it a couple of days before an extended weekend hill country road trip. On day 1, we woke up and one of the guys had a totally flat battery on his 351ci 1970 Mustang Mach1. This battery pack was able to confidently get his car started a couple of times that morning till we drove around enough for the alternator to catch up the battery.

Lots more useful to keep in the car in case you (or another motorist) end up stranded with a flat battery. Especially in the winter time when folks tend to find out their battery is weak.

phoneyman

I have this one below

https://www.amazon.com/SNAN-Starter-...r+jump+starter

I got it on a whim because of the price, but ive used it on my Audi with the battery floating around 11.5V (starter wouldnt turn over at all) and it was able to jump the car with ease. It will probably struggle with a very dead battery though, especially compared to Vandit's suggestion above.

bcameron59

Bought this one last summer when it was on sale; claimed starting capacity 1000A peak.

https://no.co/gb40

I got a chance to use it not long after, when my battery drained completely while at the body shop for a few weeks getting resprayed. I needed to start the engine to load the car onto the trailer to take it home to reassemble the body panels.

The engine cranked a couple of times and before it could catch, the booster died. Completely fried, not just out of juice. Luckily the body shop had a real booster unit available. Something in the circuitry blew and there is no fuse or circuit breaker that can be re-set. Of course I didn't save my receipt for warranty, d'oh.

So I'm skeptical that one of these would be much use if you parked outside in -20C and left your lights on all day while at the ski hill. Glad I didn't toss my lead-acid booster: it's reasonably compact (albeit much bigger than the lithium units) and has proven itself several times on various vehicles in the dead of winter.

If you are looking for a unit to keep in the garage "just in case", I would stay with a lead-acid booster since space is at less of a premium than in a vehicle, plus they are cheaper and more likely to work than a lithium unit when really needed, at least in my experience.

If you want a highly compact portable unit to keep in your car, I guess the lithium ones are better than nothing and if your battery is just a tad low it might save you a long wait for the AAA tow truck to come give you a boost. But don't count on it in a situation where your life could depend on it.

Mike Pezely

Purchased this unit (Wagen) on the recommend of another rennlister. Received excellent reviews for what they are worth. Hope I never have to use it, but I have it if I need it. A little pricey but they do go on sale every now and then.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

bcameron59

Did some googling to see what was out there for reviews. No evidence that any of these reviews did any actual real world testing of any kind, or give any indication of how they selected, scored or ranked them. They could just be pumping the highest bidder or the product they're trying to sell at the moment.

The NOCO brand seemed to be frequently recommended, my own experience notwithstanding. Here are a couple of links to some reviews for whatever it's worth:

This one is my favourite review because the top choice includes a video of a booster being used by a cute girl in snug athletic wear:
http://www.autodeets.com/top-10-what...on-the-market/

Here's another, no video sadly:
http://jumpstarterlab.com/#Our_Recom..._Jump_Starters

This one likes the brand that Vandit picked:
http://www.carbatterychargerscentral...pact-boosters/

Consumer reports did a review, but it's $20 to sign up and I'm not that curious. If anyone reading this subscribes, it would be interesting if they could share what's the top rated pick(s).

bcameron59

Update: just found out that (according to Amazon), Vandit chose wisely: the Antigravity XP-10 is rated best by Consumer Reports:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._ti?th=1&psc=1

JPS

Thx guys.

coltj

I've used the NOCO gb40 for over a year with excellent results. Just jumped my C4 in which the battery was so drained I couldn't unlock the doors with the remote. The gb40 was stored in my DD, which is parked outside, for at least 6 weeks after charging it. Connected the unit to the battery, waited about 30 seconds and the C4 started right up. Have also used it to start a 25 year old, 75 Johnson outboard.

E30M3

I recently bought a generic portable charger from BJ's and the first time that I used it was on my friend's 2005 Lincoln Town Car that has been sitting in their garage for over 5 years with no battery and not only were we able to jump and start that car but 2 other cars in their driveway as well that had no batteries. (Acura 3.5RL and Nissan Altima )

serval

[QUOTE=Vandit;13805073]This is the one I carry around.

https://www.amazon.com/Antigravity-B.../dp/B00MQ5Z5F2

+1 - works great

Gbos1

+2 I have the same one and works great also