Those mini jump start thingies...

[judas]

Got one of these the other day after our big old Clarke lead/acid unit failed to even try to turn over the Chim's engine.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00Y9RLHM

Just hope it works as well as the reviews claim.

[Squirrelofwoe]

judas said:

Got one of these the other day after our big old Clarke lead/acid unit failed to even try to turn over the Chim's engine.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00Y9RLHM

Just hope it works as well as the reviews claim.

Link isn't working?

I'm currently looking at these kind of things for use on my own Chim so I'm very interested to hear if you have found something that does the job!

[mgv8]

Most are good but you need to get the correct Ah for the car you are starting.
I payed for £68 for mine but I know you can get them cheeper now.
Only thing is you have to use them as instructed. I almost melted mine by turning the car over for to long.

[judas]

Squirrelofwoe said:

judas said:

Got one of these the other day after our big old Clarke lead/acid unit failed to even try to turn over the Chim's engine.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00Y9RLHM

Just hope it works as well as the reviews claim.

Link isn't working?

I'm currently looking at these kind of things for use on my own Chim so I'm very interested to hear if you have found something that does the job!

Try this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00Y9RLHMA/ref...

Claims it will start up to a 6.7L engine - so a piddling little 4L V8 should present no problem

[rxe]

I have one of the expensive Antigravity ones that I bought about 6 months ago. I know you can get something that looks very similar for about 1/3 the price.

However, after 6 months sitting on the shelf, it started my 4.6 Defender 3 times in a row, and still claimed to have used hardly any capacity.

So I'm pretty happy. It also means you can keep a phone charged for about 2 weeks if you need to....

On the width of the cables, remember they are very short - if you made a normal pair of jump leads out of the same cable it wouldn't work, but its OK over about 8".

[Squirrelofwoe]

judas said:

Squirrelofwoe said:

judas said:

Got one of these the other day after our big old Clarke lead/acid unit failed to even try to turn over the Chim's engine.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00Y9RLHM

Just hope it works as well as the reviews claim.

Link isn't working?

I'm currently looking at these kind of things for use on my own Chim so I'm very interested to hear if you have found something that does the job!

Try this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00Y9RLHMA/ref...

Claims it will start up to a 6.7L engine - so a piddling little 4L V8 should present no problem

This was the other one I was looking at, same manufacturer, mentioned earlier in this thread successfully starting an Audi 4.2 V8.

So are you going to try yours out and report back?

I had to jumpstart my Chim for the first time at the weekend- unfortunately due to my drive layout (and the Chim battery location) I had to push it some distance to get it at an angle where I could get my other car close enough... My new girlfriend's willingness to assist with said pushing of the TVR does bode well for the future though!

[judas]

Squirrelofwoe said:

This was the other one I was looking at, same manufacturer, mentioned earlier in this thread successfully starting an Audi 4.2 V8.

So are you going to try yours out and report back?

I had to jumpstart my Chim for the first time at the weekend- unfortunately due to my drive layout (and the Chim battery location) I had to push it some distance to get it at an angle where I could get my other car close enough... My new girlfriend's willingness to assist with said pushing of the TVR does bode well for the future though!

Managed to jump start it from one of the other cars (prompting me to also buy some better/longer jump leads!) and it's now hooked up to the battery conditioner once again, so hopefully won't need to try it, though I really should - don't want to have to rely on it in an emergency and find it doesn't work.

[Squirrelofwoe]

judas said:

Managed to jump start it from one of the other cars (prompting me to also buy some better/longer jump leads!) and it's now hooked up to the battery conditioner once again, so hopefully won't need to try it, though I really should - don't want to have to rely on it in an emergency and find it doesn't work.

I was out in mine all day Sunday so I'm interested to see whether it will start by itself this weekend- not having a garage makes it harder to have the trickle charger plugged in, I've got easy access through a side window to leave it on whilst I am there but obviously it's not an option when I'm out of the house!

In fairness, using the Chim at least once a week has been sufficient to stave off any starting problems until last weekend when the crap weather meant I had gone almost 2 weeks without use.

A pocket-sized jump-starter would just be the perfect solution for the odd time that arises! It's a shame you're not local to me or I'd offer to test it for you

[V8RX7]

Riley Blue said:

There's one on offer in Lidl this week that looks very similar to the best buy in that group test, the Lidl price is around £35 I think. I was given the AutoExpress best buy, it has been brilliant at starting my Riley, even after several months of it standing in the garage. I can't fault the jump charger, it does exactly what it's supposed to do, every time.

http://www.lidl.co.uk/en/our-offers-2491.htm?actio...

Having purchased a couple of "Ultimate Speed" products in the past I wouldn't rely on it.

Their trickle chargers won't start if the battery is much below 12v - unlike the CTEK which whilst it was almost 3x the price, it always works.

[otolith]

I have a DBPower DJS30 which mostly works well. Wouldn't start the Z4M twice (as I found out when I refuelled it after jump starting it) but will start the Elise a few times.

[James P]

I got a ccbetter 400A 12000mAh job from Amazon for £45. I've only needed to start a 2litre A3 but it did that with ease. Comes with adapters for many uses too.

[Hoofy]

Got one from Aldi for £50. Hope to never find out if it works or not.

https://www.aldi.co.uk/lithium-car-jump-starter/p/...

[eliot]

If you want to know how well these things actually perform back to back against each other in a controlled environment, watch this very long and detailed video:
https://youtu.be/DDob_VFrlPk

[MajorMantra]

I've gone for a mid-spec DBPower. Wish me luck!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DBPOWER-12000mAh-Portable...

[S6PNJ]

eliot said:

If you want to know how well these things actually perform back to back against each other in a controlled environment, watch this very long and detailed video:
https://youtu.be/DDob_VFrlPk

Do you have a precis for those not wanting to watch 53 mins of blah?

[TooMany2cvs]

S6PNJ said:

eliot said:

If you want to know how well these things actually perform back to back against each other in a controlled environment, watch this very long and detailed video:
https://youtu.be/DDob_VFrlPk

Do you have a precis for those not wanting to watch 53 mins of blah?

It gets worse. That's only part 1. Part 2 is another 14min.
The URL he slaps on as a subtitle doesn't work, but a two-sec trawl of his site finds...
http://www.mjlorton.com/portable-car-battery-jump-...

Edited by TooMany2cvs on Friday 2nd December 08:49

[S6PNJ]

Great! Many thanks!

[eliot]

S6PNJ said:

eliot said:

If you want to know how well these things actually perform back to back against each other in a controlled environment, watch this very long and detailed video:
https://youtu.be/DDob_VFrlPk

Do you have a precis for those not wanting to watch 53 mins of blah?

Yes, buy cheap buy twice or at worse buy a new car when it catches fire in the boot of your car in the middle of summer.

[Hoofy]

eliot said:

S6PNJ said:

eliot said:

If you want to know how well these things actually perform back to back against each other in a controlled environment, watch this very long and detailed video:
https://youtu.be/DDob_VFrlPk

Do you have a precis for those not wanting to watch 53 mins of blah?

Yes, buy cheap buy twice or at worse buy a new car when it catches fire in the boot of your car in the middle of summer.

I always have a battery pack phone charger thingy in my car charging up via the battery. Still was unable to destroy the shed.

[Winco]

Can you get a device that when you have a flat battery, you plug it into your cigarette lighter socket and leave it for 10 minutes. Remove then start the car?