Which car battery booster/jumper?

B0bbyEwing

Could do with getting one. I've seen a NOCO one at £79 on Amazon and another which Amazon apparently recommends, OPENAI I think the brand was, at £29.

Is there any reason to look at getting the costlier ones or just get one of the cheaper units like the £29 one? 

Both our cars are 2ltr diesels. Last car was a 2.2 diesel. Never owned anything that's like 3ltr plus & no plans to either. 

Just thinking why get X when Y seems to do the same for less kind of thing but wondering if there's more to it that I don't get? 

BikingBud

I feel this is an area where you get what you pay for. Bear in mind it is an insurance policy and if it fails because it is cheap and ineffective then it is wasted cash.

Also with issues around battery packs on thing like scooters and aftermarket power kits for push bikes, and their susceptibility to spontaneous combustion I would steer well clear of cheap.

I have a small one under my bike saddle where I paid a premium for the size : https://www.antigravitybatteries-uk.co.uk/microstart-jump-starter/xp-1-micro-start-gen-2.html

Reviews do point towards the NOCO GB40 - I think it's the one you have seen already.

I have just bought that for our daughter for peace of mind.

Betterthanlife

I agree with the pp, the bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten, and the sight of your car catching on fire is a bit of a dampener as well.

Eldi_Dos

Prompted by this this thread I had a look on NOCO web sight and can only imagine how well received a jump starter would be at Christmas.

ButterCheese

Betterthanlife said:

I agree with the pp, the bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten, and the sight of your car catching on fire is a bit of a dampener as well.

Whilst I agree some Chinese electronics are cheap and unsafe and undergo very poor quality control, we mustn't make that assumption for everything.  I bought a YABER 1500a one for about £50 and it has performed very well, it claims to start up to 5.5Ltr Diesel engines but there are many things you should consider first:

• If you look at the packaging or product details, most things like this are made in China.  A known-brand item may also have been made in China.
• The claims of what size engine they will start should be taken with a pinch of salt.  It's all to do with compression and to some extent the state of the bore, pistons and piston rings.
• The claimed power output is sometimes wildly inaccurate.
• I have bought cheap stuff before like chargers/tenders and they perform just as well as the Oxford or other branded items, they just have a cheaper price tag.
• Don't buy anything branded as AA or RAC, they are just cheap inards with yellow plastic brands that try to scream "trust us" and come with a 50% higher pricetag

What you may find with the cheaper ones is, they still work, but the plastic housing and clamps etc are thinner and will break easier if you treat them rough.  Just make sure you don't let them sit in a discharged state and they should all work and last pretty much the same

Betterthanlife

ButterCheese said:

Betterthanlife said:

I agree with the pp, the bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten, and the sight of your car catching on fire is a bit of a dampener as well.

Whilst I agree some Chinese electronics are cheap and unsafe and undergo very poor quality control, we mustn't make that assumption for everything.  I bought a YABER 1500a one for about £50 and it has performed very well, it claims to start up to 5.5Ltr Diesel engines but there are many things you should consider first:

• If you look at the packaging or product details, most things like this are made in China.  A known-brand item may also have been made in China.
• The claims of what size engine they will start should be taken with a pinch of salt.  It's all to do with compression and to some extent the state of the bore, pistons and piston rings.
• The claimed power output is sometimes wildly inaccurate.
• I have bought cheap stuff before like chargers/tenders and they perform just as well as the Oxford or other branded items, they just have a cheaper price tag.
• Don't buy anything branded as AA or RAC, they are just cheap inards with yellow plastic brands that try to scream "trust us" and come with a 50% higher pricetag

What you may find with the cheaper ones is, they still work, but the plastic housing and clamps etc are thinner and will break easier if you treat them rough.  Just make sure you don't let them sit in a discharged state and they should all work and last pretty much the same

I usually buy cheap and cheerful and generally don't have any issues, but things like this or things that could be a safety critical I tend to spend a bit more to ensure better quality. As we all know there are a lot of horror stories regarding cheap rechargeable batteries, and for the sake of a few extra quid is it worth the risk. For me it's not, but each to their own.

sheenas

I would expect to pay around £80 for a decent battery like an exide

paul_c123

They are all either useless or expensive. And the expensive ones will also be useless if you forget to keep it charged. Just maintain your car instead, and save the £80 or so.

Barkin

Oh, I don't know about that.

My neighbour used a cheapo to start his car every morning - and presumably every evening to get home again - for a good 3 or 4 months until he had the alternator replaced...

And no amount of maintenance will guard against e.g. an interior light being left on unintentionally.

paul_c123

I haven't seen a car for a long time where the BMS won't turn off the interior light after (say) 20 minutes, to save the battery. Buy a jump pack if you want though.

Alanp

I bought a Noco GB20, I have a Toyota hybrid that do seem to have battery issues on some cars, mine failed to start a couple of years ago after only doing a very short trip the day before and leaving it for two days over Christmas, Toyota assist got me going and I can trickle charge at home, so, as an insurance policy, I bought a jump starter, I do regularly check it’s state of charge, but now I know how to treat a hybrid regarding keeping the battery charged, I hope I won’t need it, but it’s also handy in case I can help someone else…