Imagine turning on the key and the only thing you hear is a “click, click, click…’ sound and no engine turning. Well, this is bound to happen at some point without prior warning. It may be caused by a bad battery, frozen battery, bad electrical connection that is draining the battery.
Starting a car with a drained or faulty battery is easier and safer with a good jump starter. It will produce adequate peak and cranking current to get you going, comes with many safety features to protect you, your cars electrical and the jump starter itself.
To get yourself out of the fix, you need a reliable jump starter. This device will boost your battery allowing the engine to turnover and ignite.
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Choosing The Right Jump Starter
Choosing the best jump starter is both a challenge to both inexperienced and seasoned car users and motorists. This is because the reliability of a battery is influenced by many variables including engine size, climate, temperature, engine type, remaining charge in the car battery, etc. The below some characteristics which will assist you to find a good product:
- Capacity: This is rated in mAh (milliamp-hours) or Ah (Ampere-hours). A booster with a slightly higher capacity than the recommended value is better than that with same or lower capacity;
- Cranking Current: This is the electrical current produced in short bursts. It should be higher than the recommended current;
- Peak Current: Unlike cranking current which is short-lived, peak current will be generated for a longer period and is usually not as high as the cranking current. The jump starter should produce slightly above the manufacturer recommended peak current;
- Engine Type: Diesel engines usually require higher peak and cranking current compared to their petrol/gasoline counterparts. This is because the latter engine is much smaller than the earlier;
- Engine Size: The bigger the engine the more powerful the jump starter should be. Four-cylinder petrol engines are suited with starters rated between 150 and 200A, six cylinders 200-250A and eight cylinders 250-300A. Four-cylinder diesel require 300-400A, 6 cylinder diesel 400-500A, and between 600 and 700A for eight cylinder diesel;
- Climate/Weather: Batteries can lose up to 50% of their usable cranking current in cold temperatures. This means that people living in cold regions should go for jump starters that produce twice the standard value; and
- Safety Features: Top jump starters will come with several safety features including over-current protection, overload protection, over-voltage protection, and overcharge protection.
Best Jump Starters in 2023
10. Stanley, J5C09 Jump Starter with Compressor
This high-powered jump starter from Stanley produces up to 1000 peak amps and 500 instant starting current/amperes.
The 12-volt unit is ideal for standard vehicles, motorcycles, lawn mowers and can also be used to charge personal electronics via the USB outlet. The unit includes high-powered 270-degree rotating LED light, reverse polarity alarm and a 120PSI compressor with gauge.
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