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Life of a Jump Starter

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crunch
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 271 Niagara County, NY
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2008-09-13          156639

I had a 250 CCA Mighty Mite jump starter which did not even start my mother's lawn mower the other day after charging to a green status light the night before. Do these things just go bad after a while? How long can I expect these jump starters to last?

I did purchase a replacement Jump N Carry 450 CCA (model 660) jump starter for my car. I read good reviews for it on Amazon.com. I just wonder if I will have to replace all the Mighty Mites I had in our cars.


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kwschumm
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 5764 NW Oregon
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2008-09-13          156642

Sorry, can't help with your specific question, but it sounds like that jump starter was made by the same folks who made my Craftsman 14.4V cordless drill. Both batteries on that barely turn the drill over but the charger says they are fully charged. It wasn't used more than a dozen times in the last year, and was a gift, but it reminded me why I don't buy anything from Craftsman that has moving parts. ....

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hardwood
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 3583 iowa
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2008-09-13          156643

Crunch, fill me in a bit. Is the Mity Mite one of those dodads you see on late night TV where the lady with a car full of kids has a dead battery during a rainsorm. She pulls this thing out of the glovebox, plugs it into the cigarette lighter and presto the car starts????

KW; After swearing never to be seen there again several years ago I did go to a Sears tool depaertment a couple weeks ago, and all I came out with is a remeinder of why I won't go there again. I'm sure I know more about how to operate the Hubble Space Telescope than the tool manager knew about the most basic of things there. Wow, why do they hire these people who know absolutely nothing about their products???? Frank. ....

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crunch
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 271 Niagara County, NY
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2008-09-13          156644

Hello Frank - no it doesn't use a cigarette lighter. What was nice about it was that it was very light for the wife (and me) and it did manage to start a car at one time although not with overpowering strength. It was a very handy and inexpensive little jump charger that you could put in every car. I just expected it to last a while (dumb me!). Ken, I feel your pain.

....


Link:   Mighty Mite Jump Charger

 
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earthwrks
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 3853 Home Office in Flat Rock, Michigan
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2008-09-15          156661

Frank: (No need to grab your helmet :) ) That tool manager must have a twin brother here, or he got transferred from our store to yours! Manager = Mangler when it comes to box stores.

Crunch: I'm wondering if the saying applies here esp. when it comes to batteries: use it or lose it.

I was surprised the other day when I saw an oldtimer whip out his jump starter--the kind that has its own jumper cables---and use it to power his 5,000 electric winch he had mounted on his car trailer. At full load those winches can draw 450A even at no load it can be 50-80A ....

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yooperpete
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1413 Northern Michigan
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2008-09-15          156665

There are a number of different sizes of jump starters.

I have had a 450A/800A peak unit for about 10 years that still works good. It was a good investment for $39.95. Several times it didn't have enough power to start my truck and a couple of cars with real dead batteries. I've also used it to assist my battery on the dump trailer when its getting weak and it really does the job on lawn tractors, etc.

Recently, I purchased another one from Harbor Freight with a 650A/1200A peak for about $59.95. I used it about a dozen times to jump my Lincoln which takes allot of juice until they found out my one year old car battery had a bad cell that lost power when sitting around for a couple of days. This baby works good!!!! Knowing this, I would only recommend purchasing the big one! ....

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yooperpete
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1413 Northern Michigan
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2008-11-04          157662

Just a follow-up on the life of a jumpstarter.

Mine worked well for about 10 years but just lost its zip this past week. It won't even turn over a lawntractor engine now. I still can use the light but that is about all. It was a well spent $39.95 in terms of use and longevity! Am going to get another larger unit. ....

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