Those mini jump start thingies...

[HotJambalaya]

eliot said:

And that's a point lost on many people - rather than simply jumping a flat battery and driving it for 1/2 hour, you will do far more good giving it a long slow charge on a smart-charger overnight.

yeah, that was my ideal choice, all I wanted to do was jump it, so that I could get it to a powerpoint in my underground carpark to give it a good charge. Was a bit miffed that there was a perfectly good outdoor socket already next to me!

As an aside. I think C-tek charges really are the absolute mutts nuts

[RobM77]

Mr2Mike said:

eliot said:

And that's a point lost on many people - rather than simply jumping a flat battery and driving it for 1/2 hour, you will do far more good giving it a long slow charge on a smart-charger overnight.

That misses the entire point of these devices; they are for situations where you need to get the car started quickly.

Or where you've flattened your car's battery after leaving the car in a remote car park with the sidelights on 20 miles from the nearest power point

[Mr2Mike]

RobM77 said:

Or where you've flattened your car's battery after leaving the car in a remote car park with the sidelights on 20 miles from the nearest power point

Years ago the warning buzzer in my old Honda Civic stopped working and I managed to leave the lights on. I was stuck at work, so removed the battery and used a bench power supply to charge it in the lab. It was only a 5amp supply so took a good few hours to get enough charge to start it.

[Hoofy]

Last year, I bought one of these but hadn't had to use it so wasn't sure if it'd work: http://amzn.to/2nGn3UJ

Anyway, check the golden dildo was still clicking when I turned the key (ie battery definitely dead). Plugged the battery charger in as instructed, crossed fingers, turned the key... the engine fired up as if it were on a new battery!

Best bit is, it used so little power (1.8 litre engine) that the battery pack is still showing 4 lights out of 4.

Very impressed.

I'll overlook the fact that I nearly wasn't able to open the bonnet as the handle was so stiff.