Thread: Lithium Jump Starters

Love my lithium jump starter.

I used mine once on a 3.2 ltr bt50. it just started it so I was happy,I put it away under the front seat(in its plastic case) and when I went to use it a couple of months later it had swollen up and was useless. I am lucky it did not explode.
John

That sounds a bit like the mysterious & suspected cause of some unexplained aircraft fires.

Originally Posted by sharmy

I used mine once on a 3.2 ltr bt50. it just started it so I was happy,I put it away under the front seat(in its plastic case) and when I went to use it a couple of months later it had swollen up and was useless. I am lucky it did not explode.
John

Might have been a good idea to charge it before putting it away.

Originally Posted by 4bee

That sounds a bit like the mysterious & suspected cause of some unexplained aircraft fires.

Mine lives in the driver’s door pocket. Days up to 45C parked in the sun. I may be lucky but is could be a quality issue. Mine costs between $250-$300.

This is an interesting report on how to maximise the life of lithium - ion batteries. It seems to require quite a different approach than for lead acid batteries.
I've been trying to get my head around this to figure out how to prolong the life of my mobile phone's battery, which is already 3 years old. I also have a Projecta lithium jump starter, which is great.
Some tips I've worked out are:

Don't deep discharge the battery as that shortens battery life.
Aiming for about a 70-80 % discharge down to about 30% seems to prolong battery life.
More frequent charging is better than occasional charging.
Don't leave the battery on a charger for more than about 12 hours as that can cause the battery to overheat (this 12 hour figure came from the instructions for my phone).
Hope that helps.


https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/...ased_batteries

Instead of spending $200/$300 on a jump starter wouldn't it be more prudent to spend that money on a decent battery and ensuring that the charging system is working up to spec??, This would eliminate the need for the jump starter in the first place

I bought the ones that I have tried primarily to use on my boat as I spend quite a lot of time at sea in remote areas that it is a rarity to see another vessel and in many areas I go the VHF/27Meg reception is very patchy or non existent.
I tested the units by having them fully charged and stowed away for a couple of months then I try and start the engine 70HP or 115HP 4 strokes with a half flat battery fitted (wont spin the motor on its own) and I found that 9 times out of 10 they did the trick.
This "Fine" if you don't rely on these chargers as your primary "Back Up" But that 1 in 10 failure rate can get you killed in a boat or even if you are stuck in the middle of nowhere with your 4WD with No help available.

Battery "Maintenance"( dual batteries and an isolator switch fitted is a MUST on boats) and maintaining the charging system is MY Primary defence against flat batteries on my boats AND my 4WD's.
As I always carry at least 1 solar panel either on the boat or in the 4wd I use these as my secondary line of defence I case I do something completely stupid by leaving something on that flattens a battery or even both of them overnight.
Even on an overcast and rainy day a decent solar panel WILL put enough charge into a battery to get you out of trouble

In the City or suburbia these starter packs may be useful But NEVER rely on them 100% in the unhappy event of getting a flat battery Especially in a remote area.
Personally I can't be bothered carrying one of these anymore and they have been delegated to a shelf in the shed with all the other things I have bought that I though were a Good idea at the time and have been disappointed at their usefulness and are slowly gathering dust.

I certainly agree with you that maintaining the charging system is the top priority, but I do carry a Projecta lithium pack in the drawer in the Defender as it doesn't take up much space.