Jump Pack Jump Starters.....Recommendation Please

[Haoleguy]

I know diddley squat about battery jump starters and whether there is much of a difference besides peak and cranking amps. I'm thinking about buying one for the farm which would also have the air compressor for inflating tractor tires when needed. What brands are decent and features I should be looking for?...Thank you, Gary

 

[sam5570]

Gary here is what i have and it has worked great for us. this one is about 3 years old i have used it to start big truck's in winter. not sure how well the compressor works have never used it, probably slow. got it at sears

 

[joshuabardwell]

I have a Black and Decker, and I get a lot of use out of it. It is a bit old at this point, and lacks enough juice for cranking larger engines, but it's still useful for jumping lawn mowers and tractors. I also use it when I go camping, to recharge my cell phone off the 12 volt port.

Regarding the air compressor: I have yet to find a small (tankless) air compressor, such as the ones that are included in the battery packs, that didn't die within the first 10 or 20 hours of use. Especially if you are going to be filling larger tires, like truck or tractor, I wouldn't rely on one of those. They just don't have the duty cycle to do more than top off a tire occasionally. I ended up buying a small 2 HP, 120v compressor with an 8 gallon tank, and use that for filling tires. If access or portability is a concern, just buy another 50' air hose or two to get where you need to go.

 

[joshuabardwell]

Also, not sure what you intend to jump-start, but if you have a large diesel engine, make sure your battery pack has enough amps to turn it over. Our Ram 2500 has two batteries, and the jump-starter battery pack doesn't even make it flinch.

 

[Haoleguy]

Thank you for the information and suggestions. My uses are more for (1) top off tractor tires(Landini Mistral & JD 5325), (2) cranking over the Landini, JD, and Ford F150, (3) running Jasco auxilliary pump, and unknown other. I assume that the compressor side would have difficulty inflating a tractor tire from 5 to 25lbs but that 12 to 25lbs might be doable. This morning was a good example of the inflation need in that I had a delivery of materials where 7 pallets each weighed in at 2500lbs and I needed to get my front tires up in inflation(I might have a super slow leak). My portable compressor from home was taken up to full pressure and volume and brought to the farm for inflating my JD front tires. So I'm curious whether the jump pack with compressor will handle the tractor tire inflation?........Thank you, Gary

 

[jenkinsph]

Just my thoughts but I have found it easier to have good batteries in all my equipment and have used the portable air tank with good results and longevity. I have bought a half dozen of the little air compressor/ lights and two jump starters none lasted very long and I gave up on them.


I should add the best thing I have to jump start with is a set of 20 ft jumper cables made with 3/0 welding cable, very heavy but combined with a good batteries in my trucks it is foolproof. Mine are about 25+ years old now and still in good shape so worth the extra expense imo.

 

[joshuabardwell]

In my experience, the tankless compressors are very slow; they get very hot during use; and they work when you first get them, but they quickly break, leaving you in a lurch. If you get a jump-start battery pack, and it comes with a compressor, you may as well use it, but you may not be happy with how long it takes to get your tractor tire from 12 to 25 psi, and you will probably end up using your portable compressor from home before too long anyway, once it breaks.

 

[jenkinsph]

In my experience, the tankless compressors are very slow; they get very hot during use; and they work when you first get them, but they quickly break, leaving you in a lurch. If you get a jump-start battery pack, and it comes with a compressor, you may as well use it, but you may not be happy with how long it takes to get your tractor tire from 12 to 25 psi, and you will probably end up using your portable compressor from home before too long anyway, once it breaks.

Pretty much my thoughts too.^^^

 

[KubotainNH]

I have a jump starter from Harbor Freight that has all the bells and whistles. The quality is not great but it does what it needs to. The compressors are kinda week on these things, they squeeze them into that little box, but in a pinch they work. They are slow, pumping up my truck tire from 20 to 35ish is 15 to 20 mins. You also have to make sure you always have the battery charged, putting it on a daily timer that's charges it for an hour a day may be useful. I've had mine for a year and a half, it all still works but that's after I took it apart and fixed a bad solder joint. When the battery goes (the weakest link IMO), I will just get a better quality battery and stick it in there. I do wish mine had a radio with aux input....lol.

 

[Haoleguy]

Sounds like the air compressor portion is a waste of upcharge dollars. For my use it seems limited to places my Landini might get to(vineyard rows) that I can't get another vehicle close to it for jump starting. .....Gary

 

[Guesseral]

I also have a Harbor Freight unit, it doesn't have the compressor on it because I didn't want one. The unit works just fine for starting up tractors, trucks, cars etc. If it was me I would just get a jump starter to start the vehicle when needed and a 12V air compressor to use after the unit was running, as long as the charging system works the 12V unit should work much better and faster.

 

[jenkinsph]

Sounds like the air compressor portion is a waste of upcharge dollars. For my use it seems limited to places my Landini might get to(vineyard rows) that I can't get another vehicle close to it for jump starting. .....Gary

Why not put the money into a good battery for the tractor instead? Fix the real problem and the tractor should be dependable.

 

[crazyal]

I don't own one but my sister and BIL have them in each vehicle. His thought is that it's much better than having jumper cables and not too much more money. Around them people are willing to help but leery of connecting jumper cables to their car in fear of doing damage to the car's electronics. So each weekend he makes sure they are fully charged.

 

[caferacermike]

Just my thoughts but I have found it easier to have good batteries in all my equipment and have used the portable air tank with good results and longevity. I have bought a half dozen of the little air compressor/ lights and two jump starters none lasted very long and I gave up on them.


I should add the best thing I have to jump start with is a set of 20 ft jumper cables made with 3/0 welding cable, very heavy but combined with a good batteries in my trucks it is foolproof. Mine are about 25+ years old now and still in good shape so worth the extra expense imo.

Holy cow Batman, your batteries have lasted 25 years?:laughing: What kind are they?

While I see a few of you are going on about buying good batteries, that does not take into account the occasional, oops I left the key on. My little Satoh is easy to leave the key in the on position. You kill the engine by pushing the throttle lever all the way forward. A quick visit from a friend or neighbor can lead to a distraction of when you just kill the engine and forget about the key. You think it will be a quick chat and then low and behold you get off and walk into the garage for a cold drink and before you know it, your battery is dead. I cannot think of any single brand of battery, no matter how good the build quality or warranty, is going to help out should you leave the key on, or use the lights at night without the engine running, etc.....

 

[jenkinsph]

Holy cow Batman, your batteries have lasted 25 years?:laughing: What kind are they?

While I see a few of you are going on about buying good batteries, that does not take into account the occasional, oops I left the key on. My little Satoh is easy to leave the key in the on position. You kill the engine by pushing the throttle lever all the way forward. A quick visit from a friend or neighbor can lead to a distraction of when you just kill the engine and forget about the key. You think it will be a quick chat and then low and behold you get off and walk into the garage for a cold drink and before you know it, your battery is dead. I cannot think of any single brand of battery, no matter how good the build quality or warranty, is going to help out should you leave the key on, or use the lights at night without the engine running, etc.....

Jumper cables are 25 years old. When I have a brain fart and leave the lights on or similar as you describe I jump with these cables. If I can put a charger on and have the time to wait I prefer that method. I don't bother with trickle chargers either, with over 30 batteries to keep up with it is too much trouble imo.

 

[PRF]

We've had one of these in the shop for a few years and it works like a charm..

Amazon.com: Clore ES5000 'Booster PAC' 12V Portable Battery Booster: Automotive

 

[KubotainNH]

While I see a few of you are going on about buying good batteries, that does not take into account the occasional, oops I left the key on.

Keys on, door left ajar or dome light left on. That's when I typically need it, rarely is it a bad battery. Sometimes not easy to get a car up close enough to use jumper cables. I prefer the battery pack. I can see why someone would not want to jump start another person with all the electronics in today's cars. I certainly wouldn't want my wife to let someone get a jump off her van, she doesn't have the knowledge to make sure it's cabled correctly.

 

[94BULLITT]

I have 2 jump and carrys. The one is pretty old and it will start a car. The other is maybe 5 years old. It is a JNC 660. They have a 12v power port/ cigarette lighter on them. You could run a little compressor off of that. A small compressor is only good for a car tire or a small tractor tire. You could also get a 10gal or larger air tank. The longer the leads are on the jumper the better they are. The jump and carrys also come with a coupon to replace the battery in them.