Jump Starter

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Wimblowdriver

Wimblowdriver

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I am thinking of buying a jump starter pack but have never owned one so know nowt about them and looking for advice. Question is - how long will they hold and store a charge (and still be able to start an engine? I sometimes need to leave my landy in storage while out of the country, usually a couple of weeks, I don't want to be stuck with a flat battery on return. (its never failed to start on its own but one day------). Will the pack hold up for that long? I know you gets what you pay for but I am not looking to spend much more than £100 and have seen the Clarke Jump Start 1100, which has a 500amp starting boost and 1100amp peak starting current. Is this big enough for a defender diesel engine? Do they connect to the battery terminals, or do they need to earth to the engine / chassis like a jump start from another vehicle (so needing to consider the length of the jump starter cables)?
 
Recently a few of us were having a discussion about the Noco brand booster packs.
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/noco-gb40-jump-starter.356104/#post-4772240
I was a bit sceptical about this kind of thing, because when I was a lad you used to have those metal trolleys full of batteries and it was hard to imagine a hand held device packing the same punch. However I bought one and it has been very useful. For several months it was the only way I had of starting my JCB (4.5 litre yellow painted iron ingot) and it holds charge better and longer than a car battery.
 
I've just realised the Noco thingumajigs are a bit dearer than you were hoping to pay.

It's perfectly possible to clip directly to the battery terminals, however you're powering the jump start. That advice about clipping to the body or chassis is so you don't make sparks in the battery compartment in case there's an accumulation of gas.
 
Brown said:
Recently a few of us were having a discussion about the Noco brand booster packs.
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/noco-gb40-jump-starter.356104/#post-4772240
I was a bit sceptical about this kind of thing, because when I was a lad you used to have those metal trolleys full of batteries QUOTE]

In that case you will also remember that a petrol motor with a low (but not dead) battery could be boosted by means of a 9 volt flat torch battery linked into the LT circuit.
We also had useful bits of kit called starting (or crank) handles.
Showing my age again :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
 
Brown said:
Recently a few of us were having a discussion about the Noco brand booster packs.
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/noco-gb40-jump-starter.356104/#post-4772240
I was a bit sceptical about this kind of thing, because when I was a lad you used to have those metal trolleys full of batteries QUOTE]

In that case you will also remember that a petrol motor with a low (but not dead) battery could be boosted by means of a 9 volt flat torch battery linked into the LT circuit.
We also had useful bits of kit called starting (or crank) handles.
Showing my age again :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
 
I don't remember ever trying to start a car with a torch battery, but on several of the things we had in the early 80s such as the Morris Oxford and various Triumph Heralds and Spitfires it was fairly easy to separate the ignition supply and power it from a separate battery so it didn't dip when the starter was running.
Yes it's a great shame they don't have starting handles any more. That generation of Morris Oxfords and Austin Cambridges were among the last UK cars to have them
 
The 9v battery wasn't used to 'jump' the car, you connected it into the LT circuit (coil to points if I recall correctly) & that was enough, assuming you still had some juice in the car battery.
There were others, like starting a big old diesel with a rope looped around the starting handle, so that two blokes could swing the thing, lighting a fire under the diesel tank in the winters' we had then, or poking a burning diesel soaked rag (on the end of a length of stiff wire) into the air intake whilst your mate cranked the engine.
Don't anyone even mention 'easy start' Sounds implausible to say that an engine subjected to this crap on a regular basis became addicted to it, but they did :(
 
I left out the "stiff wire" and lost the burning rag through the engine...
My Perkins has a flame starter which does the same thing, it works a treat.
 
Useful info for anyone who isn't up to date with jump starter technology. There are two very different types of small jump starter available now.

The first is a battery pack using Lithium Ion batteries such as the Noco GB40. They seem to work well but I wasn't nearly as impressed with the Noco as I am with the Audew unit and I have one of each.

The second type uses DC to DC converters to up the voltage of a partially discharged battery and charge super capacitors for a fairly brief but powerful charge to spin the engine at a higher speed for long enough to start. The beauty of these is that they have no internal battery to go flat. They are ideal for the classic case of a single cell giving up in the vehicle battery so its voltage drops from 12V to 10V. Plenty of energy left in the battery but it cranks really slowly.
The super capacitor would be pretty useless however if you have left your lights on so the battery is completely flat. That said, the manufacturers claim these units can be charged up in a very few minutes from a laptop. They can also be attached to another vehicle's battery to charge in a couple of minutes and then taken to the car to be started.
The Sealey Electrostart looks good but I haven't tried one out yet.

Sealey also do a unit that combines both technologies but it's more money than most of us would want to pay for a jump starter for occasional use.
 
norseman said:
Don't anyone even mention 'easy start' Sounds implausible to say that an engine subjected to this crap on a regular basis became addicted to it, but they did :(
Click to expand...

Addicted is not the right term its bollocks...using a chemical spray to start an engine is covering up an issue on the fuel/air supply to fire engine...
 
Shippers said:
Addicted is not the right term its bollocks...using a chemical spray to start an engine is covering up an issue on the fuel/air supply to fire engine...
Click to expand...

If this a more modern arrangement then you could be right. Perhaps addicted is an inappropriate term for a machine, but talk to members of the older generation that used to drive these diesels & they will tell you the same. Back then diesels habitually started with ether would eventually not start without it, even in warm weather.
At a guess I suspect you may be of a younger generation :rolleyes:
 
norseman said:
If this a more modern arrangement then you could be right. Perhaps addicted is an inappropriate term for a machine, but talk to members of the older generation that used to drive these diesels & they will tell you the same. Back then diesels habitually started with ether would eventually not start without it, even in warm weather.
At a guess I suspect you may be of a younger generation :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
it was a myth back then,excessive use can wash lubrication from rings and cylinders,and the wear or insufficient cranking speed etc causing the need for help starting is only going to get worse
 
norseman said:
If this a more modern arrangement then you could be right. Perhaps addicted is an inappropriate term for a machine, but talk to members of the older generation that used to drive these diesels & they will tell you the same. Back then diesels habitually started with ether would eventually not start without it, even in warm weather.
At a guess I suspect you may be of a younger generation :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I started mucking about with engines at 15 and as a student at 17 worked for the parks dept cutting grass in the holidays we never used any easystart the engines were well maintained...bet if the old guys re-bored new pistons and overhauled head and glow and fuel system their addicted engines would start on the button...I'm 62 by the way does that put me in the younger generation?...lol
 
Some engines in days gone by had an Easy Start option built in. AEC Matadors could be ordered with an ether injection kit to aid starting, which the driver could activate from the cab. I'm sure they weren't the only manufacturer to offer this sort of thing.
 
Shippers said:
I started mucking about with engines at 15 and as a student at 17 worked for the parks dept cutting grass in the holidays we never used any easystart the engines were well maintained...bet if the old guys re-bored new pistons and overhauled head and glow and fuel system their addicted engines would start on the button...I'm 62 by the way does that put me in the younger generation?...lol
Click to expand...

Firstly I apologise for totally misreading the first part of your post, when you said 'fire engine' my befuddled brain interpreted it as fire-engine LOL
Secondly you are only 13 years younger than me, so join the club ;)
 
Brown said:
Some engines in days gone by had an Easy Start option built in. AEC Matadors could be ordered with an ether injection kit to aid starting, which the driver could activate from the cab. I'm sure they weren't the only manufacturer to offer this sort of thing.
Click to expand...

I don't know about today, but I drove army trucks in the 'eighties (ghastly Bedford MK's) that had what I believe was a chemical injection system for starting in extra cold climatic conditions.
 
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