Lithium Ion Booster Packs

[RossKean]

I am looking for the dual purpose unit. I have a small pack that has two USB outlets but the overall capacity might charge my phone 1.5 times or so at most. It would not boost the bike (no 12 V out, even if it could supply the amps). That big NOCO unit might have sufficient functionality but there is no information on total capacity (also only has one USB). Pretty expensive - even at the CTC sale price. There are some extremely high output lithium batteries out there in terms of number of amps they put out without large voltage drop. This is what is important for starting a big engine. It does not necessarily translate to how many times it can charge your tablet or phone - that is strictly capacity, not peak power output.

 

[James]

I'll be watching this as my solution for this issue (mostly starting in very cold weather) has been putting a small car battery in the right side case in colder months, with 10 g jumper cable wire running up to the bike battery in series. Been putting it in in November or so & removing it around March. Fairly redneck, but when it's 0, my bike will start. And cheep, around $40.00 including the stiff foam around the battery to hold it in place. Something like these would free up that side case in the winter, and I'd probably keep it on the bike year round.

 

[fjrob1300]

https://www.amazon.ca/Quip-All-PCAJS500-Battery-Intelligent-Vehicle/dp/B0156ACMJ0

Here's the one I use every day. I boost up to 10 cars on a single charge. works very well. As a charging unit you will drain the booster to charge a phone.

 

[RossKean]

I'll be watching this as my solution for this issue (mostly starting in very cold weather) has been putting a small car battery in the right side case in colder months, with 10 g jumper cable wire running up to the bike battery in series. Been putting it in in November or so & removing it around March. Fairly redneck, but when it's 0, my bike will start. And cheep, around $40.00 including the stiff foam around the battery to hold it in place. Something like these would free up that side case in the winter, and I'd probably keep it on the bike year round.

There is a profusion of small, lightweight lithium battery jump start solutions out there. I spent a couple of hours looking at them on eBay and Amazon last night! Trying to compare specs when the sellers don't necessarily provide them and looking at customer ratings. (Still haven't found one that covers all the bases). The lithium battery you keep on your bike for start assist in cold weather won't work, no matter what the sellers claim. Lithium batteries have poor cold weather characteristics - much worse than lead-acid so one left in the side case might as well stay there! On the other hand, these things are small and lightweight. Keep it indoors when not in use and you can slip it into an inner jacket pocket to be kept warm by body heat. For the "Emergency Start Mission", you don't need one with particularly high cranking amps for a motorcycle and high capacity is only a requirement (for starting) if you need extended periods of cranking to deal with a flooded engine (or its so cold that no sane individual would be riding anyway).

 

[RossKean]

https://www.amazon.ca/Quip-All-PCAJS500-Battery-Intelligent-Vehicle/dp/B0156ACMJ0
Here's the one I use every day. I boost up to 10 cars on a single charge. works very well. As a charging unit you will drain the booster to charge a phone.

I didn't come across that particular one in my searches but I am sure that it, like many others, would serve well as an emergency start device. As you suggest, charging other devices might draw it down too far to be effective as a jump starter (until you get it recharged). Hopefully, at any given day, you wouldn't need to do both. It would be a bummer to get all of your electronics charged in the evening at a campsite and find your bike in a no-start condition the next day and without a jump starter with sufficient remaining capacity to do the job!

I did not see a manufacturer specification for capacity in the link so I couldn't say whether it would be suitable although your comment about it being drained to charge a phone might suggest the capacity (ampere-hours) is not terribly high. It is surprising how much energy it takes to charge a modern smartphone or tablet!

 

[RossKean]

I had a PM exchange with BluenoseFJR; mostly commiserating about some of the difficulties with mail order from the USA - especially if ordering something that may need to be returned. Tends to be difficult and expensive to do so from Canada and you have to deal with customs/border issues. (Makes trying an unknown device somewhat risky.)

My initial thoughts on this were to find an all-purpose device that could take care of both the "Emergency Start" mission as well as the "Charge the Gear" mission. While these could be combined into a single device, I have not yet found anything that really does everything I want. In our discussion, BluenoseFJR suggested using two separate devices.

I have done a little looking into this and may give it some consideration although I will still look at the possibility of a one-device solution. The battery characteristics for the two missions are different:

For a jump-starter, you need a battery that can dump out lots of amps without suffering too much voltage drop. Capacity only needs to be high if you need extended cranking to clear a flooded engine or if multiple restarts are needed because of chasing a problem. High rate lithium batteries tend to be relatively expensive per ampere-hour of capacity.

For a power bank to recharge devices, capacity is of greatest importance. There is no need to be able to deliver more than 5 or 6 amps when charging multiple devices simultaneously. This can be accomplished with a cheaper battery. It seems that there are some low-cost power bank devices out there that would fill the bill. I have a couple of them I bought a few years ago but they do not have the needed capacity - not much more than one full charge of my phone. They are much less expensive than they used to be!

I'm still looking for the perfect device (of course) but I may just get the power bank for now. (Even if I find the perfect jump starter/power bank in the future, I can still use this at home.) I appreciate all comments and suggestions.

 

[Powerman]

My AntiGravity unit from Amazon was bootleg.

The unit I got direct from AntiGravity worked fine.

Lithium Ion Booster Packs Years ago that would have been rocket scientist stuff.

 

[Harald]

This forum is great for stimulating the economy. After reading about the latest farkle or good deal, I often end up spending money.

After doing a little research, I found the old model Antigravity PPS (XP-3) on sale for $60:

https://shop.antigravitybatteries.com/products/super-sales/xp-3-micro-start-original-design/

There's only 1 usb outlet, but that's all I need. And I have no need to start a diesel truck, so the capacity works fine for my motorcycle or small cars. I really like the super compact size that can be easily stashed in the side bag without taking up too much room.

There's also an ebay vendor that makes a convenient cable that connects the older XP-3 direct to the SAE battery tender lead for convenient jumping if necessary:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-pcs-EC5-Female-Connector-to-SAE-Power-Automotive-Cable-10AWG-10cm/401111506790?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

It's coming from China, so no review on it's quality yet.

 

[RossKean]

That's a great deal on the XP-3. Not the capacity I would like for the mission of charging electronics but should provide the emergency start function. I noticed in their ad that it is "not intended for large V-Twin motors" so it might not start a Harley! (Even though it can start a V8 truck)

I was concerned that it might be one of the counterfeit ones at that price but it seems unlikely since the website link is actually Antigravity.

Edit: Don't use the SAE connector to your battery (Battery tender lead). It is likely fused wih an in-line fuse at 10 amps or less. Starting current will pop that fuse very quickly!!

 

[Bill Lumberg]

Great thread. My juice pack that I used when I was doing stuff in a place for work got scary hot during charging, so I dunked it. I want something that can start the bike and charge or run my iPhones and my work surface pro. Great info here.

 

[rbentnail]

This forum is great for stimulating the economy. After reading about the latest farkle or good deal, I often end up spending money.

After doing a little research, I found the old model Antigravity PPS (XP-3) on sale for $60:

https://shop.antigravitybatteries.com/products/super-sales/xp-3-micro-start-original-design/

There's only 1 usb outlet, but that's all I need. And I have no need to start a diesel truck, so the capacity works fine for my motorcycle or small cars. I really like the super compact size that can be easily stashed in the side bag without taking up too much room.

There's also an ebay vendor that makes a convenient cable that connects the older XP-3 direct to the SAE battery tender lead for convenient jumping if necessary:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-pcs-EC5-Female-Connector-to-SAE-Power-Automotive-Cable-10AWG-10cm/401111506790?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

It's coming from China, so no review on it's quality yet.

That's the one I got a couple of yrs ago. For my bike (twice), 2 different HDs, a few of Nissans and Toyotas, numerous lawnmowers & tractors and 1 F150 V8 5.0 it's done the job. I've used it a couple of times for mp3 or phone charging, 1 usb is more than adequate for my needs. Like the flashlight, too!

I think rossk just needs to buy 2 of them. THEN maybe he'll be satisfied....

 

[RossKean]

I think rossk just needs to buy 2 of them. THEN maybe he'll be satisfied....

I'll NEVER be satisfied!!!

Possibly a power bank high capacity device plus a starting device of lower capacity...

Who knows. Still looking for the perfect solution.

 

[rbentnail]

I think rossk just needs to buy 2 of them. THEN maybe he'll be satisfied....

I'll NEVER be satisfied!!!

Possibly a power bank high capacity device plus a starting device of lower capacity...

Who knows. Still looking for the perfect solution.

Dunno what yoose guys in Canadia call them but down here in the Southern Murican States we call them "a pickup truck". Or sometimes "a car" but that term is usually reserved for gurls, like wives and hoes and such.

 

[rbentnail]

Revisiting...... just in casr RossK is still looking

.

Fella on a Ford150 forum mention a power pack that his dept issues to their vehicles,

"My Department supplied us with these to carry in our Patrol Cars (see Link below). After having it nearly a year now, it still works perfectly, jumped whatever vehicle every time, very small in size & has its own carry case.... https://starkpower.com/product/jumpbox-v8-pro-1000."

 

[RossKean]

Revisiting...... just in casr RossK is still looking

.
Fella on a Ford150 forum mention a power pack that his dept issues to their vehicles,

"My Department supplied us with these to carry in our Patrol Cars (see Link below). After having it nearly a year now, it still works perfectly, jumped whatever vehicle every time, very small in size & has its own carry case.... https://starkpower.com/product/jumpbox-v8-pro-1000."

Haven't bought anything yet. Urgency seems less in the middle of winter, for some reason. This one looks decent and at a fair price.

Thanks

 

[user 31223]

I bought the antigravity XP3 about a month ago - to me the issue was size - so i wanted a smaller one to put in my small tankbag and charge my phone whilst riding ,i place the boost cables under the seat ,

I bought it because i flattened the battery on my bike twice - still not sure how - but anyway - didn't want to get stranded somewhere.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E5T4L74/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[FTL900]

Warning: Repost from another thread

Battery jump starters have gotten ridiculously cheap. I bought this one for $36 at wally World and it's great- I've used it a few times already. Then I bought one for each of my 2 boys to keep on their bikes.

I also changed the pigtail hooked to my battery to a heavier gauge (8 is TOO big, trust me) with the blue EC3 connectors on it, so I don't have to remove the battery panel anymore if I need to jump the bike. Then I plugged a short jumper into that to convert it back to an SAE plug for everyday use.

 

[rbentnail]

I bought the antigravity XP3 about a month ago - to me the issue was size - so i wanted a smaller one to put in my small tankbag and charge my phone whilst riding ,i place the boost cables under the seat ,
I bought it because i flattened the battery on my bike twice - still not sure how - but anyway - didn't want to get stranded somewhere.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E5T4L74/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I like my XP3. I used it a few times on my bike last year and a few cars now and then. I think I got it 3 yrs ago and it keeps going and going. When winter is here in the sunny south I take it off the bike and use the flashlight daily just to drain it to very near dead and charge it up again in the spring for regular bike travels. So far, so good.

 

[rbentnail]

Revisiting...... just in casr RossK is still looking

.
Fella on a Ford150 forum mention a power pack that his dept issues to their vehicles,

"My Department supplied us with these to carry in our Patrol Cars (see Link below). After having it nearly a year now, it still works perfectly, jumped whatever vehicle every time, very small in size & has its own carry case.... https://starkpower.com/product/jumpbox-v8-pro-1000."

Haven't bought anything yet. Urgency seems less in the middle of winter, for some reason. This one looks decent and at a fair price.

Thanks

No problem. If it helps your mindset, I've got winter/early spring flowers sprouting in my yard now. The worst is almost over.... ride on down and I'll buy ya a cuppajoe

 

[Spud]

Don't know if this was covered in the thread (didn't see it), but what I think would be great is a compact chargeable battery with a jump starter like what's mentioned here, along with a small air compressor for inflating a flat tire that would run off the same battery, so you could have the battery, air compressor and jump cables all in a small package. Anyone seen this? In a perfect world it would all fit under the seat of the FJR......