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Maplin currently have an 'Emergency Jumpstart and 12V Power Supply' unit (essentially a 12V 17Ah battery in a box) for £20, and since it also contains a compressor, thus removing the annoying part where you have to trail the lead around the car from the lighter socket, I wondered if it was worth having. The battery alone is probably worth the price, but a lot depends on the implementation - are the leads long/thick enough, does the compressor shift any air, etc? Has anyone here got one?
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you mean this?
tinyurl.com/ysyzva
if yes i cant do my job without one
make sure you give it the full charge as stated when purchased
if the compressor is as good as mine then yes very effective too
a good price to boot ,every home should have one
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- That looks very good value compared to these:
tinyurl.com/37m47e
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If you get one of these don't just leave it in the car-keep it on charge in your garage/house-a warm battery will put out a lot more power.
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Thank you all - that seems to settle it! It appears to be identical to the Clarke version - the comparative review is very useful. I will keep it indoors, too - the cold mornings are when it's most likely to be needed...
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They can be used for absolutely loads of things, things you wouldn't of thought of till you get one! mine powers all sorts of things from soldering irons, to small craft tools, I use it with an Inverter to power small 240v appliances when i havent a plug socket handy, and some of them even allow you to select betweem 3v,6v, 9v, 12v, which is useful if you (or kids) have games that require batteries, and you have forgotten to buy any! ie, i use mine to power a Chess Computer game. (most games use a lead with a small jack-plug on the end, you can buy these at any electric shop, and usually one size fits all) Wouldn't be without one now!.
Billy
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so this is what I should be replacing my jump-leads with then? Screwloose told me I shouldn't use them on ECU equipped cars.
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When you connect them,leave them on for a few minutes to stabilize-do the same when you connect them to another battery.
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"shouldn't use them on ECU equipped cars"
I don't really see why not. The car's battery will sink any extra voltage (especially if depleted) so unless you connect it the wrong way round...
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JBJ
It's the shock of the sudden voltage change that causes the problems. [Particularly body modules on French cars.]
Waking up the ECUs so brutally causes them to corrupt their own data - many fleet cars now have warning stickers prohibiting jump-starts.
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"sudden voltage change"
I don't doubt the warning messages, but I'm surprised that car electronics are so sensitive. A fully-charged 12V battery produces about 13.2V, which is a good volt less than the car's own charging system will deliver. I don't really see how bumping the voltage from around 12V to 13V (however suddenly) is more of a shock than applying the initial 12-13V when you switch on!
Car electrics have sudden loads (starting) and high voltages (30kV sparks) to contend with all the time, and their effects are difficult to contain completely.
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JBJ
You're right - it shouldn't happen. Unfortuately; the manufacturers have their components built by the lowest bidder and look upon such failures as a workshop profit opportunity.
I'd feel very uneasy about de-powering any car now - it's usual to keep the the car voltage-fed even when changing batteries.
Rovers are notorious for corrupting their immobilizers if the battery is disconnected and there is a very specific "wake-up" procedure for any Peugeot with a BSI that has dropped below 9 volts. [Most post '01.] Ignore that at your £900+ peril.
Flat batteries on late cars should have a smoothed charger connected and be left to stabilize - then ECUs revived using the correct procedure. If jump leads must be used, then they should be left connected for at least two minutes post-start.
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"look upon such failures as a workshop profit opportunity"
That's sobering! Progress, eh..?
What do you do if you need to change the battery?
Edited by J Bonington Jagworth on 16/11/2007 at 13:45
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What do you do if you need to change the battery?
You keep the vehicle powered from another battery or a proprietory gizmo.
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>>>You keep the vehicle powered
Would it be OK to keep the vehicle powered during a battery change using jump leads?
I am interested because my Passat's battery is over 6 years old and I think it is getting a bit tired.
JBJ, IMO if you need to keep charging your battery, then it's time for a new one. Batteries have gone up in price recently, one for my tractor which was £75 last year is now £100. They said it is the price of lead, but scrappies only give you £2 for an old one!
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>>Screwloose told me I shouldn't use them on ECU equipped cars.
>>When you connect them,leave them on for a few minutes to stabilize-do the same when you connect them to another battery.
>>It's the shock of the sudden voltage change that causes the problems.[Particularly body modules on French cars.]
>>Waking up the ECUs so brutally causes them to corrupt their own data - many fleet cars now have warning stickers prohibiting jump-starts.
>>I don't doubt the warning messages, ...I don't really see how bumping the voltage from around 12V to 13V (however suddenly) is more of a shock than applying the initial 12-13V when you switch on!
>>Car electrics have sudden loads (starting) and high voltages (30kV sparks) to contend with all the time, and their effects are difficult to contain completely.
All very concerning but when I RTFM for vehicles in my household it seems equally important re what you should do BEFORE disconnecting the jump leads.
It is not something you would guess so do RTFM in case you have instruction like those in Ford user manuals.
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"what you should do BEFORE disconnecting the jump leads"
Which is? Assuming you're allowed to start the car...
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"what you should do BEFORE disconnecting the jump leads"
I quote from the 1998 Mondeo Owners Guide.
"Do not connect to the -ve terminal of the flat battery"
(I treat this as normal practice - connect the -ve to the engine)
To answer your question for my vehicle...
" ....To disconnect the leads
. To reduce voltage peaks on disconnection, switch on the blower and heated rear screen in the vehicle with the flat battery
. Disconnect the - lead first and then the +
Warning
Do not switch on the headlights in place of the heated rear screen. The peak voltage could blow the bulbs "
Re the above
I suspect few would know or carry out these instructons, hence my suggestion to RTFM.
Of course the usual disclaimer - other makers may have different instruction so please RTFM and do not bleat to me.;-)
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"powers all sorts of things"
So it would appear. It wasn't apparent from the pics that it has a standard lighter socket on the side and I'm already beginning to think of extra uses. I hope they haven't sold out...
(I notice that the Halfords one has an inverter built in, but it does cost rather more.)
Edited by J Bonington Jagworth on 15/11/2007 at 21:17
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I just bolted an inverter to mine. Turns it into a much more useful box (for me).
Poor mans UPS ?? (although they get cheaper and cheaper).
Edited by martint123 on 15/11/2007 at 21:27
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I do have a UPS, but I doubt it could start my car! I'm sure there are loads of uses for a portable 12V/240V supply though.
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Costco are selling something similar at the moment, but with a built-in inverter. More expensive than the Maplin one of course - about £40-45 incl VAT I seem to recall. Was very tempted last weekend.
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There are loads and loads of these floating around in stores. They are all the same except for the sticker on the front! £20 is about the going rate, and they are worth the money for the rechargeable torch function (that'll last forever before a recharge!), air compressor and 12V cigarette lighter socket alone. The jump leads look fairly substantial but for £20 they aren't going to be fantastic, I have not used it to jump start a car so can't comment about its ability to do that.
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I think it's probably better without the inverter, and to regard that as a separate extra unit if required. As soon as you start thinking how useful an inverter would be, you need a bigger one, one that will run an electric drill or a a proper vacuum cleaner, not just a lamp and a laptop.
Also remember that very few "compressors" will actually inflate a tyre, as in spring the tyre beads onto the rim. They are best regarded as top-ups rather than inflaters.
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i will have you know two of us have blown tyres onto beads with a footpump before now. so an electric one could be pure luxury if we were stuck in the desert
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"blown tyres onto beads with a footpump"
I've done that on a motorbike, but happily it had an inner tube and was a nice old-fashioned skinny one. I'm not sure I'd want to try it with a car tyre!
In answer to Cliff, I was only really considering it as a top-up, but even then there a big differences between models. I had a really useless 12V one a few years ago - it made an awful racket and took forever, hence my original enquiry about the compressor. At least it can't be any worse...
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i will have you know two of us have blown tyres onto beads with a footpump before now. so an electric one could be pure luxury if we were stuck in the desert
A tubeless tyre?
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>>A tubeless tyre?
Yes! - I've done a few - they certainly got my heart pumping!
Number_Cruncher
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Put a rope round the tyre(circumferentially)and pull it tight-putting it in the middle pushes the beads towards the rims and allows you to use a footpump.
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JBJ - excellent spot. I've been after one of these for years now, since they were £100 or so, but never been able to justify the expense to myself! My compressor has just given up the ghost, so at £20 for a compressor and jump start etc this looks brilliant. I've just ordered one!
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