How to choose the best jump starter
Author: jrAutofix Date Posted:13 September 2022
A flat battery can happen suddenly, and no one want to be in this situation but fortunately a portable jump starter can save your day.
One day your battery won’t crank your engine even if you have been doing your car maintenance. This can happen anywhere either because you have left your inside light on during the night, it’s a cold morning or your alternator stopped charging the battery.
Fortunately, it’s something that can be easily fixed with a jump starter.
When choosing a Jump starter the first thing to check is what voltage do you need? 12V 24V
You need to have a matching voltage with the equipment you want to use it on. Usually, 12V for cars and motorbikes and 24V for trucks.
What current (Amperage)?
The Amperage is the critical value that represent the load available for the starter.
Retailers provide 2 values are normally given for the Amperage:
- Peak Amperage is the highest Amperage available to the starter for a few seconds. During the initial phase of the starting the torque required is higher to turn over the engine.
- Continuous Amperage is the amperage available for a longer period.
A small car with a petrol engine will only draw about 400A of peak load, so a slim power pack will be sufficient. For medium size car up to V6 engine (4L petrol or 3L diesel engine) drawing more Amp you should consider a jump starter providing 1000A of peak load.
More power full car with V8 engine or Diesel found on SUVs Ford Ranger Diesel, Large 4X4 or small truck will need a higher cranking current you should consider a jump starter providing 2000A of peak load.
The benefit of having a jump starter with high Peak Amperage (2000Amp) is that it’s more likely to start first time and you won’t have to try a second time which make you also less reliable to the battery capacity.
Key to choose a powerful reliable jump starter
The key components to consider in a Jump starter are the battery type/Material and the electronic that manage the charge and discharge of the battery.
The Battery material is evolving every day starting with lithium ion followed by Nickel rich Lithium, Lifepo4 Lithium iron phosphate and now Aluminium Rich Lithium.
Aluminium Rich Lithium (AI) battery have higher energy density offering higher capacity and faster discharge, increased energy storage and operate at a lower temperature (safer).
The quality of the electronic is important too as it’s what manage the battery charge and discharge and provide you the best performance.
So from this point of view to make sure that you select your jump starter from the more specialised manufacturer.
Jump starter capacity.
The Amp hour indicate the capacity of your jump starter which is important in the case you need to do multiple jump start to get your engine starting.
To make the most of your jump starter recharging after use is recommended also to ensure long-life of its battery. It also helps determine how long auxiliary features (lights / charging etc) will run before recharging is required. Most jump starters will display the internal battery level for your information too.
Ideally you want to get minimum 12000mAh, which is enough to restart your engine 6X and recharge your phone afterwards.
But 400Amp 8000mAh will still start your car.
Also, you want to try to verify this figure as often exaggerated by marketer!
Usually, the mAh given is based on the lithium cell capacity with a voltage of 3.7V and 4000Ah equivalent of 4Ah.
To calculate the total mAh of a jump stater you also need to know the number of cell, usually 4.
4 Cells x 4000Ah = 16000mAh.
To check the total Wh (Watt Hours) of a jump starter multiply Ah x V
3.7Vx16 Ah =49.2 Wh
The weight of the jump starter can also be a good indication of the actual capacity of the unit.
A 16000mAh > 550g
A 20000mAh > 650g
Voltage rating for 12V Jump Starter?
Even you are looking at a 12V Jump starter (advertised) the internal battery rating can varies from 11.1V to 16.2V.
The higher the voltage the more powerful the jump starter will be.
Also expressed in DC output.
What are the features with it?
They can offer a variety of output ports:
- 12V 10 Amp Volt for Car Jump Starter clamp
- 12V/6A for Car Electronics (Car refrigerator, Air pump)
- USB Type C (In/Out- 2 ways) 5V/3.0A
- USB 5V/2.1A
- QC3.0 (Qualcomm- Quick Charge) USB 5V/3.0A
- -Torch and warning strobe
What are the accessories with it and how good they are?
- Jumper cable, they connect the jump stater to your battery and usually they have an electronic device that protect your jump starter. They are critical for Safety.
- Charging cable.
- Charger 240V or 12V their quality or type can help charging faster the jump starter. Are they QC 3.0?
- How many output ports?
- Handheld protective case
- Female Cigarette lighter adapter
What are the bonus features?
Make the most out of your jump starter by choosing a unit with extra features such as laptop charging, a torch with a strobe function, or an onboard compressor to top up your tyres or other accessories offered.
Battery failure stat and how to fix it.
It can be quite frustrating when it happens everyone will experience it on average each year it’s estimated 550,000 cases per year.
There is 3 ways to quickly away with it:
- Have a spare battery available (Not often the case)
- Use a jumper lead (Not always a car and lead available)
- Use a jump starter (Most convenient and effective)
How to prevent batteries to go flat?
Batteries have a limited lifespan. They tend to last between 3-5 years, depending on the conditions it's been subjected to.
Weather exposure, if a car can be stored inside a garage it’s always better.
Short distance driving as they don't get a chance to fully recharge.
More recent cars with Auto stop start technology are relying heavily on the battery specially if you drive in the city.
Make sure you don’t leave headlight or interior light on.
Check that your alternator is charging your battery.
Do periodic battery maintenance. Get a battery load tester to check the health of your battery.
You might want to install a battery gauge to be able to watch the voltage of your battery.
How can I fix a flat battery?
If your battery is flat you will need to test with a battery load tester or battery analyser device to figure out if it will need to be recharged or replaced.
If the voltage has gone too low the battery will have permanent damage and its life will be shortened.
Even with a low voltage you will still be able to start it with a jump starter. You'll have to drive it around for a while to recharge the battery.
It should recharge itself fairly quickly once the engine running and should be able to restart on its own after otherwise the battery might need to be replaced.
How easy is it to jump start a car!
In the past to jump start a car, we used jumper leads with a secondary power source (normally a battery on another vehicle) to connect the leads to.
Today, portable jump starters are compact and more convenient! They provide the secondary power source. Essentially a jump starter makes you totally self-sufficient out on the road.
Which mean that you won’t require expensive call out fees if you're not a roadside assistance member.
Just connect the leads of the jump starter to your battery, start the motor, disconnect the jump starter and drive off.
More info on how to jump start a car Here ...
Jump starters these days are now really affordable and for the benefits they offer its much worth having one.