I'm looking into to getting a jump starter pack. My primary use would be carrying it on the boat in case of a dead battery. I was on a friends boat offshore last summer where we ran one of the batteries down and had to jump the engine to start it. luckily we had a jump pack on board, so it didn't turn out to be a major issue. I will need a pack powerful enough to start my Yamaha f300s. I would like to hear any recommendations from people who have had to at one time or another jump start an engine using one of these packs. I'm primarily looking at a noco gb70. So if anybody has used one I would love to hear your opinion.
Battery jump start pack
- Thread starter drbatts
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SkunkBoat
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In case you were considering a cheapo jump battery from Harbor Freight...DON'T!
I have one that is a year old. It started a car once. It stayed plugged in to recharge for months when not in use.
I used it during the winter to power a new Garmin unit while I was programming waypoints. Worked fine for that.
Just tried to start a minivan last week...Light was green for" charged". As soon as I connected it went yellow. Not enough juice to start the motor. Had to break out the jumper cables.
I have one that is a year old. It started a car once. It stayed plugged in to recharge for months when not in use.
I used it during the winter to power a new Garmin unit while I was programming waypoints. Worked fine for that.
Just tried to start a minivan last week...Light was green for" charged". As soon as I connected it went yellow. Not enough juice to start the motor. Had to break out the jumper cables.
A side thought... wouldn't you be able to use one of your other battery banks (through the use of the battery switches) to compensate for a single, dead battery? I think a jumppack makes a lot of sense with a single battery boat, but with multiple batteries onboard, I'm not sure it's necessary?
Or, since you probably have at least 2 batteries, if not 3 or more, what about just carrying a set of jumper cables so you can jump yourself? I'm not sure if that came out right, but you get the point
Or, since you probably have at least 2 batteries, if not 3 or more, what about just carrying a set of jumper cables so you can jump yourself? I'm not sure if that came out right, but you get the point
Thanks Dennis. Your probably right as it maybe unnecessary on a twin engine, 4 battery boat. I could always switch to the opposite bank, or combine the banks via the switch. But with that being said, I could also use it to jump the vehicles, lawn tractors etc. around the house when needed. I would probably just bring it on the boat as a back up in case of emergency when we go offshore. But if I go to buy one I would want to make sure it has the capabilities to start the yamahas which do require a good amount of power.
BTW the friends boat in which we had to use the jump pack last summer was a twin engine 2 battery boat. However the battery switch turned out to be faulty and would not allow us to start the starboard engine off opposite battery for the port engine. The starboard engine started right up on the pack and once the dead battery had a charge it would start the engine no problem. The boat was an older diesel tiara with a little bit different battery wiring configuration then I have seen in both my grady's.
Skunk, thanks for the review, but I was planning on staying away from harbor freight for something like this.
BTW the friends boat in which we had to use the jump pack last summer was a twin engine 2 battery boat. However the battery switch turned out to be faulty and would not allow us to start the starboard engine off opposite battery for the port engine. The starboard engine started right up on the pack and once the dead battery had a charge it would start the engine no problem. The boat was an older diesel tiara with a little bit different battery wiring configuration then I have seen in both my grady's.
Skunk, thanks for the review, but I was planning on staying away from harbor freight for something like this.
Sure, Doc. Just wanted to make sure the simple solution wasn't overlooked in favor of a more expensive/complicated one. Not that I speak from experience, or anything
I've heard good things about the Noco brand, but I don't have any personal experience. Based on what they say on their website - able to start a 6 liter diesel... starting your outboard will be a piece of cake. Diesels are much harder to turn over.
I've heard good things about the Noco brand, but I don't have any personal experience. Based on what they say on their website - able to start a 6 liter diesel... starting your outboard will be a piece of cake. Diesels are much harder to turn over.
Several sales, and reviews, on the THT thread in the last week or so. Not sure if the deal prices are still good.
I was just going to post recommending the HF version. I don't leave it plugged in all the time and fully charged for months at a time. I also have a more expensive anit gravity Micro start that works great...about 5 years old.
Bought one from Costco that never worked. Would not jump my riding mower. I should have returned it.
Either way, if you don't have one, get one. I keep one in each vehicle and have jumped strangers cars, charged phones and started riding mowers and outboards countless times. Just jumped my Mother's Accord last weekend with the Micro start.
Lt.Mike
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I have a lithium battery powered jumpstarter sold by NAPA auto. It’s small, about the size of a pack of cigarettes. On one charge I’ve used it to jump a couple of V8 engines on one charge. It’s easy to carry onboard the boat. I also have a 6cylinder Valkyrie motorcycle so I wanted a small unit that could be carried in a saddle bag. I did end up jumping the bike a couple times in the spring which it did very well. As for my Grady, I store my boat between trips having deltran battery tenders hooked up maintaining their charge. With the battery tenders I get crazy life out of my boat batteries and haven’t had to jump them yet but it’s jumped a Chevy 350 too so I have no doubt the DT225 will start with it.
It was about $100 off sale and my wife picked it up on a Black Friday sale for about $65.
It was about $100 off sale and my wife picked it up on a Black Friday sale for about $65.
I use a JNC660, have had it for about 4 years now and still going strong (not as strong as day 1), never used on a 300 but used on a 200 hp for a stranded boater with no issues. The Model the OP mentioned, noco gb70 , doesn't specify cold cranking amps - its looks like the better option but all based on the website, no mention of CCA.
Owning a jumppack is a must for me, if not used for the boat (I run dual batteries), used for campiing (has cig lighter) to run a 12v fan for days and charge phones etc.
Owning a jumppack is a must for me, if not used for the boat (I run dual batteries), used for campiing (has cig lighter) to run a 12v fan for days and charge phones etc.
Mine comes with a air pump which has come in handy to top up tires when necessary in remote areas.