Battery Booster/Jump Packs Recommendations?

[james8whippy]

Hey,

Can anyone recommend a good quality powerful booster pack for starting the V8?

I previously bought this one http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Power-Inverter-Air-Compressor-5-in-1-Power-Station-Emergency-Jump-Start-240v-/290845813179?pt=UK_Recovery_Tools&hash=item43b7c2e9bb which claims it has a 900Ah & 17Ah battery but when I tried it on my 4.6 and it was useless couldn't even turn it over properly so sent that straight back.

I'm not that bothered about all the extras gizmos as long as it has enough power to start the car that's all I need.

I know they do a Snap-On  one which I know would be great but a little out my price range I only really want to spend £100-£150 if possible...

Thanks
James

[james8whippy]

I'm thinking this one may be a good one judging by the reviews -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ring-Automotive-RPP210-Complete-Inverter/dp/B001NIBW46/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1361976517&sr=1-1

And its on sale 

What are your thoughts?

[Denis O]

I bought this one for my boat but not had to use it yet. It does seem to hold a charge well anf for a long time.

I noticed most of the cheaper ones have air compressors etc on them but as I was buying a jump starter I decided to go for just that.

Bloody heavy though so you don't want it sliding about in you boot as it will easily damage the plastic trim. Ask me how I know.

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/produ ... start-4000

[graemeX5]

Hi James

Why are you getting a booster pack is your battery playing up?

As a new battery as they are about £120

[X5Sport]

The majority of the booster packs available are not powerful enough to start the V8 as they only deliver about 400A  I went looking at them a while back and although some covered 3.0 litre petrol, none went higher than that, and were often much lower for diesels.  You also need to keep the booster charged monthly or it will be dead.

There are some half decent Clarke units about, and one of those might do the job.  One like the Model 4000 as suggested above will do the job, but it costs as much as a battery.  Their model 1010 might also do you.

Richard

[jaynana]

these are battery based right?if so what' the point - the life of the booster would be the the same as the life of the battery itself.. ie, around 7 years?

worse because the booster doesn't get a regular charge unlike the battery in the car so the chances are it'll be dead when you need it..

unless your need is different to an occasional start when the car battery is weak.

[X5LeMans]

The smaller packs will still start the 3.0D's so I would have thought they would start the V8 too. You just have to put the booster on for 5-10 minutes to get a bit of charge back into the main battery before turning over the engine. That way the amps are divided between the main battery and the booster pack, and no risk of overloading the booster.

Most of the boosters can be charged by mains, and on cold winter days even fairly young batteries can lose quite a lot of their charge due to being too cold. If the booster is indoors, it will be full capacity, and get the car started really easily.

Another plus, not subject to parasitic loads, so cars left at airports.. The booster's might get you out of trouble. Even if you get a bit carried away listening to the stereo, or with the Webasto.. whatever, and accidently drain the battery.. The booster can save the day.

Just got a tiny little Ring one, which is a torch, and a tiny little battery booster.. It can still put enough charge back into the main battery in 10-15 minutes to start the engine.. Better than nothing in an emergency, and would start my 530D just fine.. Boosted charge via the cigarette lighter. (so obviously not high amps

400 Amps cranking is fine if your main battery isn't totally dead. They can start a small car just fine, or a big car as long as the main battery still has some volts/amps...

[james8whippy]

Thanks for the replies guys!

I think I have a drain on the car and I haven't had a chance to get round to finding it yet. No doubt it's the good old FSR that needs replacing again I suppose I should spend a weekend changing it but its just finding the time.

It's so annoying because sometimes it will drain over night and sometimes over a week to two weeks its really un-predictable. I feel I can't trust the car at the moment as I'm sick of coming out in the mornings late for work and then having to get the battery and leads out which makes me miss my train. (Suppose the trick would be to get up earlier but I have another trouble getting up on time let alone earlier lol)

Funny enough I do actually have a spare uprated battery (OPTIMA YellowTop S 5,5) which I bought as I thought there was a problem with the original BMW Bosch battery but it turned out the battery was fine so I have been jumping it off that for the time being which is fine but It's a pain to carry around as its so big and the jump leads are like lorry ones. So I was thinking maybe a power pack may be more suitable as its easier to charge and everything is all contained inside i.e jumper cables etc.

I actually looked at the Clarke 4000 model as I've read good reviews on that.
So it's a toss up between the Clarke 4000 and the Ring PP250...... I'm probably swaying towards the Ring as it has the inverter. I know I originally said I'm not bothered about the gizmos but on second thoughts the inverter could come in handy when camping etc which I plan to do in the summer if it ever comes...

I agree X5Lemans they can come in handy. I flattened my battery just the other night when sitting in the car waiting to pick someone up I had to get a jump of a friends car but if I had the booster pack I wouldn't have that problem

[jaynana]

[quote="X5LeMans"]
The smaller packs will still start the 3.0D's so I would have thought they would start the V8 too. You just have to put the booster on for 5-10 minutes to get a bit of charge back into the main battery before turning over the engine. That way the amps are divided between the main battery and the booster pack, and no risk of overloading the booster.

Most of the boosters can be charged by mains, and on cold winter days even fairly young batteries can lose quite a lot of their charge due to being too cold. If the booster is indoors, it will be full capacity, and get the car started really easily.

Another plus, not subject to parasitic loads, so cars left at airports.. The booster's might get you out of trouble. Even if you get a bit carried away listening to the stereo, or with the Webasto.. whatever, and accidently drain the battery.. The booster can save the day.

Just got a tiny little Ring one, which is a torch, and a tiny little battery booster.. It can still put enough charge back into the main battery in 10-15 minutes to start the engine.. Better than nothing in an emergency, and would start my 530D just fine.. Boosted charge via the cigarette lighter. (so obviously not high amps

400 Amps cranking is fine if your main battery isn't totally dead. They can start a small car just fine, or a big car as long as the main battery still has some volts/amps...
[/quote]

very good points  :thumbup:

[MrMaloo]

Get the snap-on one. Bit more expensive but very reliable and with different length cables available  - so no balancing it on the engine cover!