Jump Leads

[Guest MATT]

OK, my wife has thrown away my jump leads, she thought they were a waste of space, i said your a waste of space! - i wish i hadn't :(

 

but anyway, while looking through argos, i came across these.

 

has anyone used these, do they work? will they work on all cars? are the "old fashioned ones" better?

 

MATT :blink:

[Guest MATT]

my concern is, that the current draw needed to start the engine, would either blow the fuse, or wouldn't do the wiring much good, but im not sure?

 

also, doesnt the galaxy have a "brain" on the cig lighters, that cuts the power off, if the power falls below a certain level, would starting the engine through a cig lighter, damage this?

 

MATT

[malcolm.dobell]

Don't even think about it. Looks like an awful device, and would in all probability fry the wiring even if it doesn't blow the fuse.

 

Old fashioned jump leads used exaclty in accordance with the instructions is the only way!

 

At least, that's my view!

[Goofygolfer]

perhaps its only a trickle charge? but like the previous posts i would have thought starting would fry the cables

[johnb80]

It's designed to charge up the flat battery at a very low rate, it would take ages, especially for a diesel. Good set of jump leads stowed away with the jack, the missus will never know and your secret will be safe with us :blink:

 

Regards - JB

[Guest MATT]

...that space is already hiding stuff she shouldn't see!

 

Thanks everyone, will get me a set of decent leads tomorrow, and hide them with the jack.

 

MATT :blink:

[MrT]

There are also the instant start devices which are basically a small lead acid battery in a box with built in jump leads and you can often get them for around

[Guest MATT]

yes ive seen them, i might have a look to see if they do one with built in air compressor, lights etc. then i could throw out my current air pump, and keep that in the car. the only thing is, i don't want too much space devoted to "roadside emergency" equipment as it is not very often there is a problem, however, i have just cursed myself :blink: :(

 

so tomorrow i will probably get a puncture!

 

MATT :(

[dave_m]

you cannot use this to start a car, you have to leave the other car running for a while to trickle charge the battery, but theres no way the cig lighter could supply the amount of power required, the led on the unit comes on supposedly when theres enough voltage in the dead battery to start the car, waste of money and incorrectly described as Jump start.

[katman]

so tomorrow i will probably get a puncture!

Thanks for reminding me.

 

I got an OSF puncture on Saturday and then discovered I hadnt got a wheel brace. Luckily there was another Galaxy on the forecourt who lent me his.

 

Must sort it out tomorrow.

 

Keith

[Guest marcusheawood]

Funny that, I don't have a wheel brace either....last time I used the poxy VAG one supplied with the car it split! I threw it away away, but I should have returned it to VW and demanded a new one since it clearly wasn't fit for purpose. :blink:

[Guest MATT]

thanks for the replies everyone. i have to agree, that the supplied wheel brace seems a bit naff, and the spare wheel winch thing seems a bit over the top. but up to yet, i have never needed to change a wheel, must make tyres better than what they used to.

 

MATT :blink:

[familyman]

:blink: Instead of using standard wheel brace try one of the extendable types you see in car part stores ,much more leverage than standard braces , especially if your local tyre fitters have attacked wheel nuts with an air powered tool!

[Guest MATT]

Just found This one!

 

it has a compressor and 12V power, but does not give the size of the dam thing! i don't want it if its too big. it will come in useful for other things as well, like blowing airbeds up on campsites, and providing power when i go on CL sites. it also means i can blow the tyres up on our 3 cars, without having to trail wires round the place. so, if its small enough, i may be tempted to go for it, or something similar.

 

MATT

[dave_m]

a friend of mine has a similar unit to the one above,it also has a light built in and provides 300W of 240v power via a built in inverter i think it is a Ring powerpack 120 the size of it is not too large either quite heavy though due to batteries

[Masked Marauder]

Car batteries are rated by their Amp Hour Capacity.

 

So a 50AHC battery typically found on a petrol Galaxy can provide a continuous current draw of 50 amps for One Hour.

 

So if a fully charged 50AHC goes flat after 5 minutes of continuous cranking then the current draw is in the region of 125 amps a minute.

 

So can that kind of current be supplied through a cigarette lighter socket that is protected by a 10 amp fuse? I think not......

[Guest MATT]

Everyone: it would seem as though Argos are Miss Advertising that Cig "jump lead" as mentioned by members on here, it is only able to "slowly charge" the flat battery, NOT Jump Start a car as such as Argos are advertising it. so i have dismissed that.

 

so now its either a set of decent "old fashioned" jump leads, or one of these Power Packs, with added built in functions. the one dave_m mentions sounds good, i am aware its going to be heavy, as it has got a battery in it, but it needs to be a reasonably small unit (not too space consuming).

 

MATT :lol:

[Guest MATT]

what do you think of this one:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/12V-JUMP-START-AIR-C...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

bit cheap maybe?

 

anyone got any recommendations?

 

MATT :lol:

[Guest tonycoates]

i don't want too much space devoted to "roadside emergency" equipment as it is not very often

 

I speak from experience, a trailer devoted to galaxy breakdowns would not be a waste of space.

 

I plan to get a big trailer and carry a spare galaxy around with me, then I can use that to tow the broken one home.

[gregers1]

matt the power packs are a god send,you can store it in the car between the seats,the air compressor is a bit naff (coz you have to turn it off after about 10mins)to cool,had mine about 3 years,there are better ones out now with better lights ect,and once yove neighbours know youve got one you will have em all knocking on your door to borrow it,but all so buy a decent set of jump leads coz if you break down(you know you sholdve put the pack back in the car after cleaning it)you wont be stuck.

 

regards gregers

[widu13]

what do you think of this one:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/12V-JUMP-START-AIR-C...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

bit cheap maybe?

 

anyone got any recommendations?

 

MATT :D

Had that model for about 4 1/2 yrs now, still going strong. Bought another and keep 1 in each car!!

[Guest MATT]

OK, so i think i am going to get a good set of jump leads, and keep them with the jack, and i will get one of these power packs, and keep it wedged between the 2nd and 3rd row of seats. then ive got back-ups on my back-ups!

 

MATT

[katman]

Car batteries are rated by their Amp Hour Capacity.

 

So a 50AHC battery typically found on a petrol Galaxy can provide a continuous current draw of 50 amps for One Hour.

That always used to be the case but some time ago batteries changed.

 

A 50AH battery in theory has a capacity of 50 amp-hours which could be

 

50 amps for 1 hour

25 amps for 2 hours

1 amp for 50 hours

 

but many modern batteries dont work like that. They will say something like 50AH @ 20 hour rate which means it will sustain a drain of 2.5amps for 20 hours but if you try to draw 25 amps you probably wont get the two hours you could once have expected.

 

Changing technology had enabled car batteries to be able to deliver very high currents for short periods of time and this is marked on the battery as the amount of current is can supply for 3 minutes. By this time the battery is well and truely flat. This enables car manufacturers to supply smaller and cheaper batteries which 99% of the time will be fine, as long as you dont leave the lights on!

 

You can still get batteries that will last a long time. They are called "Leisure Batteries" and are intended to Caravans, Motorhomes, Boats etc but they cost a lot more than the el cheapo car batteries currently being sold

 

Regards

 

Keith

[Masked Marauder]

Hi Kieth, I am aware of cold cranking amps etc, but simplified things for my demonstration of how you can't shove 100+ amps through a 10 amp fuse!

 

I also used a continuous cranking example of 5 minutes, in reality you would likely get about 3 at best from a 50 amp calcium or hybrid battery. But in reality you would not crank continuously anyway!

[katman]

Hi Kieth, I am aware of cold cranking amps etc, but simplified things for my demonstration

Fair enough :D

 

of how you can't shove 100+ amps through a 10 amp fuse!

Not without an awful lot of siver paper wraped round it :D

 

I wish there were "proper" 12V sockets in cars instead of those awful cigar lighter plugs. Upset the kids several times when we accidently knocked the lead to the DVD player and caused the movie to start from the beginning again. The plug didnt come out but moved just enough to lose contact :D

 

Regards

 

Keith