Just had the second one die on me after a bit over three years. I religiously kept the charge topped up on it but it still failed. It charges up to around 13V but discharges very rapidly from there.
They were both el cheapo brands, are there any decent ones around that will last longer! Replacing the battery with an equivalent sealed lead acid one seems to be about as expensive as buying another jumpstart pack.
dasfi,
Jul 1, 9:57am
Iv had a supercheap one for 5 years now still works fine, struggles to start a v8 but other than that works fine
drsr,
Jul 1, 10:46am
Thanks but this was also a Supercheap, the "1200 Amp" (yeah right) one, that failed. Inside it has a 24Ah gel battery designed for emergency lighting, I guess it isn't really suitable for bumping around in the back of a vehicle.
NZTools,
Jul 1, 6:55pm
If you are getting 3 years out of it it is outlasting half the automotive batteries fitted to cars these days.
budgel,
Jul 1, 9:14pm
Thank god I seem to get some of the other half!
tigra,
Jul 1, 9:24pm
Yeah me too. Just replaced a battery after 8 years use.
tazcsv,
Jul 1, 9:59pm
Dont waste your time with the cheap ones. I brought the big purple one at super cheap think it was around $200+ a couple of years ago and its great. I found the cheap ones were lucky to turn a car over after a few uese.
trader_84,
Jul 1, 10:06pm
Same, got the purple one also years ago and still runs strong. I remember it was more expensive than the other ones Supercheap was selling at the time and hoped paying extra would be worth it.
kazbanz,
Jul 1, 10:20pm
Ive got the old battery on a barrow setup.I've had the same 12v truck battery for the past 5 years with no issues at all.
carmedic,
Jul 2, 12:52am
I have Snap-on boost packs and seem to have to replace the battery every year on average ($110 from Century),however they do get used and abused every day.
drsr,
Jul 2, 6:42am
Thanks, I will have to consider my options.
les6,
Jul 2, 6:47am
I had the yellow one from mighty mega or repco!kept the charge up on it but it was stuffed in under two years,got big 12 volt lead acid and a $30 trolley from super cheap,not quite as portable but plenty of spark there for the old b&s rideon mower!
louweez1,
Jul 2, 8:26am
ours are lasting maybe 18mths max. bit over them
bigfatmat1,
Jul 2, 9:13am
I replace the battery in ours every year gets a hammering though. At least then i dont have no light weight chinese buldging at the seems pile of junk useless unreliable battery in there
fryan1962,
Jul 2, 11:03pm
You can just replace the sealed battey
kazbanz,
Jul 2, 11:07pm
hey folks can I ask.Those of you saying they don't last. How often are you putting the battery pack back on charge! Its just that I have one thats 7 years old and still going fine. Wont start big trucks but does start cars
studio1,
Jul 3, 12:18am
The batteries used in these units are sealed lead acid types, mostly made in china (= crap). When you look at the capacity of them (24 A/hr) as mentioned above, they are not designed or matched for starting an engine. All they will do is provide a 'boost' voltage for a flattened car battery and it's no surprise they don't last. They rely on instantaneous discharge current to wind an engine over, and this is really hard on them. SLAs are better suited to deep cycle applications, not starting. You'd be better off mounting a large car battery on a hand cart and hooking up some leads to it.
drsr,
Jul 3, 4:31am
I charged it monthly, in fact I wonder if I overcharged it and that's what ended up killing it, as the charging circuit is basic to say the least. Also apparently heat is bad for these batteries as it dries out the gel, so storing it in the back of the vehicle during the summer may be killing it. http://connectedplanetonline.com/wireless/mag/wireless_battery_battle/
It hardly ever got used for jumpstarting, was just there for emergencies and as a portable power pack for camping (and during earthquakes!). It needs to be compact and able to fit in the boot so a truck battery on a trolley is not going to work for me.
audi_s_ate,
Jul 3, 5:47am
Just replaced the factory battery in mum's 01' Barina. 11 years - that must be some kind of record!
rjrae,
Jul 3, 8:17am
we have 99 honda logo still has original yusa battery,must be close to dying
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