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