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[Webby the Bear]

Hi again guys. got given this by my mates stepdad...



very kind of him but i'm unsure how to use it as never owned one  it comes with a seperate lead and plug and obviously i know the red crocodile to the pos and black to the neg etc but does the machine itself need charging or should it just stay plugged in during use 

[Andy B]

In effect it's a battery & a set of jump leads. The unit needs plugging to charge the battery inside it. Then you can 'jump start' A N Other car as & when 



There was something similar at the local tip the other day when I binned a dead car battery - like a car's battery, the battery inside won't last for ever ...... especially if left completely discharged for too long

[Webby the Bear]

In effect it's a battery & a set of jump leads. The unit needs plugging to charge the battery inside it. Then you can 'jump start' A N Other car as & when 



There was something similar at the local tip the other day when I binned a dead car battery - like a car's battery, the battery inside won't last for ever ...... especially if left completely discharged for too long

thanks andy. ill plug it in if it does still work do i let the volt gauge get to its limit then its ''ready for use''? 

[flyer 0712]

yep ....rolson is cheap and nasty stuff at the best of times so best to check that it holds a charge before putting it in the boot.....like all things you get what you pay for 

[Nick W]

Even with a good, fully charged battery they are pretty poor at jump starting cars.  It's best considered as a portable supply for anything that you would plug into the cigarette lighter, like a tyre pump, cool box etc.

[dbdb]

You need a 20a/h battery inside to be much use.  Then it will start a mig when the battery has just failed to.  Won't do much with a completely flat battery. These units are all shipped with small cheap batteries that don't like being left low, I replaced mine with a golf cart type.  On the plus side it is much more convenient to have the battery in a case with leads already connected than to have to lug about a spare battery and leads or find another car.

[Lazydocker]

Even with a good, fully charged battery they are pretty poor at jump starting cars.  It's best considered as a portable supply for anything that you would plug into the cigarette lighter, like a tyre pump, cool box etc.

A decent quality one will start a car with a flat battery My Snap-On one used to but after 12+ years of abuse it now needs a new battery

[zirk]

My advice is put it in the bin, I had one about 20 years ago, not only would it refuse to jump start anything but nearly set the kitchen carpet on fire with its stupid charger when the 12v charger lead melted! 

[henryd]

Even with a good, fully charged battery they are pretty poor at jump starting cars.  It's best considered as a portable supply for anything that you would plug into the cigarette lighter, like a tyre pump, cool box etc.

A decent quality one will start a car with a flat battery My Snap-On one used to but after 12+ years of abuse it now needs a new battery

Batterys are available online for about £50,way cheaper than Snap-on

[tigers_gonads]

I've had the Halfrauds 200 one for a good 10 years now.
300 watt invertor
A light on the end
Compressor for pumping up your tyres
Fag lighter style socket for stuff
And a 20ah battery for jumping cars off or running your tv laptop for a few hours 

Brillant bit of kit.
Just replaced the compressor for 15 quid.
The replacement batterys are only 25 quid from halfords too 

[Lazydocker]

Even with a good, fully charged battery they are pretty poor at jump starting cars.  It's best considered as a portable supply for anything that you would plug into the cigarette lighter, like a tyre pump, cool box etc.

A decent quality one will start a car with a flat battery My Snap-On one used to but after 12+ years of abuse it now needs a new battery

Batterys are available online for about £50,way cheaper than Snap-on

Seen them Thanks... I'm considering other options too

[TheBoy]

My cheapo starter stopped starting cars ages ago...  ...but still remains a useful high current 12v source of other projects

[Kevin Wood]

These things are only as good as the battery inside them, and, unless you buy at the professional end of the market, you'll get a cheap and nasty battery that will, at best, assist a car to start when the battery can't quite manage it. Starting an engine is a very tall order for any 20Ah battery.

They are handy for camping and when testing electrical parts off the car, though.

Oh, and the chargers are universally sh1te and will kill the battery in short order if you allow them to over charge it. Mine is now fitted with a connector to allow my CTek smart charger to charge it.