saved by portable jump-starter

I have read on several post here about having portable jump-starters. So the other day when I was at a yard sale and someone had one there for $20 (paid$10) I snatched it up. And as luck would have it the very next week (last weekend) I got stuck at the boat ramp with a dead battery. I put the boat into the water and had lowered the motor to start it and when I turned the key to start the motor, I heard the dreaded silence of a dead battery <br />My first thought was to go to the nearest Wally world and get a new battery or jumper cables. But when I went to raise the motor the battery did not have any juice in it to raise the motor. So I am stuck with this monster 200 hp Suziki motor in the down position (skeg right on the concrete).<br />And jsut about when panick was starting to set in I remembered that I had this jumpstarter in the boat. Sure enough I hooked this thing up to the battery and was able to raise the motor and then start it up. I was able to start the motor up 4 times that morning, no I didnt go home just cause I had a dead battery <br /><br />So now I know that I will not leave home with out one of these things. And when this one clonks out I will not hesitate to spend the $60+ for a new one.

Re: saved by portable jump-starter

My question would be how long those things last just sitting around waiting for an occasion to arise to use it?<br /><br />It's just another battery and batteries don't like sitting idle.

Re: saved by portable jump-starter

I have a Solar brand one thats 5 years old, and gets used about 10 times a year. I charge it about 3-4 times a year. When I bought my second home at the shore, it was one of the first things I bought for it. I believe the better ones are gel cell batteries. Mine seem to last a long time without much maintence.

Re: saved by portable jump-starter

I don't think I bought a very good one (can't recall the brand but it is yellow) because it doesn't keep its charge longer than a few weeks. If I think I might need it, I make sure I give it a fresh charge for a full 24 hours before heading out on a trip.

Re: saved by portable jump-starter

Originally posted by Boomyal:<br /> My question would be how long those things last just sitting around waiting for an occasion to arise to use it?<br /><br />It's just another battery and batteries don't like sitting idle.

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I have a Vector that's at least 6 years old and I abuse the hell out of it. I think it finally died a few days ago. I've used it to jumpstart hundreds of engines. I've drained it to 0 volts and left it that way for months at a time. It just kept kicking. They last a lot longer if you keep them charged up and use a good smart charger, rather than the dumb battery frying charger they come with.<br /><br />On the other hand, I've bought a couple cheap no name brand ones on sale for around $25 and they didn't last more than a few months. Obviously they use much crappier batteries. Now I've made my own using a 40ah/1200 cranking amp Hawker battery. Only problem is it weighs about 50 lbs. I won't go out in my boat without one...it's saved me from paddling a few times. It's certainly alot better than trying to pull start a 150hp engine!

Re: saved by portable jump-starter

I have one of the $20 specials and it has saved me a few times. The internal charger in mine has died, so I hook the jumper leads to my battery charger and charge it that way. My BIL takes his with him on electric only lakes, as it is enough to get him back to the dock when the trolling motor battery dies.