Steve and Karen
Ranger
As a follow-up to the excellent suggestions of a portable jump starter posted by Jenn and Randy in the previous Emergency Gear List post, I thought I'd start a separate post and see what thoughts it elicits.
I went and got one. I estimated that the chances of experiencing a dead TV battery, and the risks (or at very least, the inconvenience) of not being able to start your TV, were significantly higher while towing and travelling. Particularly if you sometimes travel in out-of-the-way areas.
Many of us have a 12V cooler that we keep plugged in to our TV, as the ambient temps inside the car are usually lower than in the the hatch of the trailer. Depending upon your TV model, your 12v sockets can be live, regardless of whether or not your TV is running (our Outback's 12v sockets go dead when the car is shut off). If you don't find another power source for the cooler, or forget to unplug, a cooler can run your battery down overnight to point where the TV won't turn over the next day.
Further, if you do not have a battery isolator installed, and you forget to disconnect the trailer wiring, then your usage of the trailer's 12V system could run down your Tv battery simultaneously to the point of no return, as well.
Both of these scenarios up the risk factor of being stranded, over and above the normal reasons for needing a jump start.
After reviewing the online market, I settled on this one...NOCO - 1000A Lithium Jump Starter - GB40.
Many portable lithium jump starters try to do too much and come with lots of connectivity to charge phones etc... That's not what they were designed to do. They are a specialized battery that's designed to provide a lot of oomph over a very short period of time, and not a trickle over a long period. Many can only perform 2 cell phone charges before they are depleted, but can jump start a dead car battery numerous times. If you consistently use it to charge peripherals then you likely will have a brick that can't start a car when you need it to. Unlike many travellers, we have the trailer's deep cycle for that stuff. So I didn't base my decision on whether or not it was an electrical Swiss Army knife. I carry a separate air compressor so the combo units did not interest me.
Most portable jump starters are "smart"; they have on-board safety circuitry that won't let you jump start if you have the leads crossed, or short circuited, or if the jump battery is too low. However, one safety feature of most is that it it won't turn on at all if it detects that the "dead battery" has less than ~2V across its terminals. I suspect that many of the online 1-star reviews of various jump starters are because people are trying to jump a completely dead battery. However, this safety feature sort of negates the reason for carrying one around in the first place.
The NOCO line , on the other hand, is unique amongst its comparators in that if the dead battery is less than 2V, you can manually bypass the safety system and still jump your battery. You just have to be certain you have the connections correct so as not to cause damage to the TV electrical system. In other words, bypass the safety features at your own risk.
The other purchasing factor was that the clips were well-designed and the cables (though a little short) were 8ga as opposed to the smaller 10ga on many others. It was U.S. designed, robust, and the ports are reasonably weatherproof. The LEDs are easy to read and understand. It fits in the center console. It charged from dead out of the box to full in 3 hours by way of USB.
I jumped a completely dead 14 year old Acura this morning and can confirm that the safety bypass works, along with having the power to do multiple turnovers and starts.
The only downside to all of these units, not just NOCO, is that although they have very wide operating and storage temperature ranges, you can still easily damage it or make it useless by storing it in the vehicle in Southern summer temperatures, or Northern winter temperatures. Its best to keep it fully charged and outside of the vehicle during these times and places.
For your consideration.
Steve
I went and got one. I estimated that the chances of experiencing a dead TV battery, and the risks (or at very least, the inconvenience) of not being able to start your TV, were significantly higher while towing and travelling. Particularly if you sometimes travel in out-of-the-way areas.
Many of us have a 12V cooler that we keep plugged in to our TV, as the ambient temps inside the car are usually lower than in the the hatch of the trailer. Depending upon your TV model, your 12v sockets can be live, regardless of whether or not your TV is running (our Outback's 12v sockets go dead when the car is shut off). If you don't find another power source for the cooler, or forget to unplug, a cooler can run your battery down overnight to point where the TV won't turn over the next day.
Further, if you do not have a battery isolator installed, and you forget to disconnect the trailer wiring, then your usage of the trailer's 12V system could run down your Tv battery simultaneously to the point of no return, as well.
Both of these scenarios up the risk factor of being stranded, over and above the normal reasons for needing a jump start.
After reviewing the online market, I settled on this one...NOCO - 1000A Lithium Jump Starter - GB40.
Many portable lithium jump starters try to do too much and come with lots of connectivity to charge phones etc... That's not what they were designed to do. They are a specialized battery that's designed to provide a lot of oomph over a very short period of time, and not a trickle over a long period. Many can only perform 2 cell phone charges before they are depleted, but can jump start a dead car battery numerous times. If you consistently use it to charge peripherals then you likely will have a brick that can't start a car when you need it to. Unlike many travellers, we have the trailer's deep cycle for that stuff. So I didn't base my decision on whether or not it was an electrical Swiss Army knife. I carry a separate air compressor so the combo units did not interest me.
Most portable jump starters are "smart"; they have on-board safety circuitry that won't let you jump start if you have the leads crossed, or short circuited, or if the jump battery is too low. However, one safety feature of most is that it it won't turn on at all if it detects that the "dead battery" has less than ~2V across its terminals. I suspect that many of the online 1-star reviews of various jump starters are because people are trying to jump a completely dead battery. However, this safety feature sort of negates the reason for carrying one around in the first place.
The NOCO line , on the other hand, is unique amongst its comparators in that if the dead battery is less than 2V, you can manually bypass the safety system and still jump your battery. You just have to be certain you have the connections correct so as not to cause damage to the TV electrical system. In other words, bypass the safety features at your own risk.
The other purchasing factor was that the clips were well-designed and the cables (though a little short) were 8ga as opposed to the smaller 10ga on many others. It was U.S. designed, robust, and the ports are reasonably weatherproof. The LEDs are easy to read and understand. It fits in the center console. It charged from dead out of the box to full in 3 hours by way of USB.
I jumped a completely dead 14 year old Acura this morning and can confirm that the safety bypass works, along with having the power to do multiple turnovers and starts.
The only downside to all of these units, not just NOCO, is that although they have very wide operating and storage temperature ranges, you can still easily damage it or make it useless by storing it in the vehicle in Southern summer temperatures, or Northern winter temperatures. Its best to keep it fully charged and outside of the vehicle during these times and places.
For your consideration.
Steve
