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[Zonerc]

Anyone recommend a good jump/booster/possibly charger as well for the Petrol 2.5 V6.
the onees at Halfords seem a bit small and reviews say upto 2ltr car.To help whats the cranking power needed on one of these things?

[TheBoy]

Machine Mart do a range.

Thing mine came from Craplins (bought by a mate as a joke (long story), but so useful).  Mines getting tired, it around 10yrs old now.

[Zonerc]

not had any trouble until the last couple of days ,but only being doing short journeys with everything on and then left my indicator on when I parked up so parking light was on most of the day which im sure are ment to be ok ,but guess with everything else it wasnt .
anyway took it good run with nothing on today after jumping it and after going shopping it started perfect,but will see in the morning lol.
so thought I would see about one of these either way but not sure of the size needed.

[Entwood]

This is the new one ...

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/jump-start-4000/path/clarke-jump-starts

Had a couple of the £30 ones  ... ok to start with but deteriorate quickly. they also struggle with a big engine   Only had to use one once on an omega (not mine !!!) and it only just managed !! When I tried one on a rather dead Isuzu Trooper diesel it was totally useless. So I've gone for something "decent" now..

[Zonerc]

Looks a nice one that but would of like it to be able to use it as a charger as well at neally £100. May have to see how i go on lol got recovery ,thank god .

[Welung666]

I have another battery in the boot connected to a dual charge circuit, I just unclip it and use my booster cables if I need it. I haven't used it since I replace my glow plugs though.

[belldarr]

I had a weedy one from Aldi - kept it in the boot on a trickle charge thinking that it would keep it topped up and then tried to start a neighbours car with it - not a chance! took it into the shed and pummeled it with a lump hammer to vent some anger and then to the dump.  I may give this £100 one a go

Can you leave them on charge in the boot using the cigarrette lighter lead?  As in does it do any harm?  I know the lighter feed cuts off after a fixed period when the car isnt running so it only charges when running.

Darren

[Entwood]

I had a weedy one from Aldi - kept it in the boot on a trickle charge thinking that it would keep it topped up and then tried to start a neighbours car with it - not a chance! took it into the shed and pummeled it with a lump hammer to vent some anger and then to the dump.  I may give this £100 one a go

Can you leave them on charge in the boot using the cigarrette lighter lead?  As in does it do any harm?  I know the lighter feed cuts off after a fixed period when the car isnt running so it only charges when running.

Darren

From the .pdf

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/download/jumpstart4000.pdf

B. Charging using the 12 Volt Adaptor

1.Plug the cable into the socket at the front of the unit, then into the cigarette lighter receptacle on the vehicle and start the engine. The green LED will illuminate on the adapter, and the red LED on the charger to denote charging is in progress.
2. Continue to charge until the voltmeter registers ‘Battery Charged’ when the ‘TEST’ button is pressed, WITH THE CHARGING CURRENT DISCONNECTED. i.e., disconnect the cigarette lighter adapter from the receptacle on the vehicle before pressing the TEST switch.
NOTE:
We recommend that you use this system only when necessary, as prolonged use will reduce the life expectancy of the battery, due to the fact that this method can only charge the battery to
approx. 50% of its capacity.
For maximum battery life, we strongly recommend that you maintain the battery in a fully charged state at all times.
If charging does not take place, check the green LED on the adapter. If extinguished, check the 5 Amp fuse within the cigar lighter adapter plug. Ensure all connections are clean and free of grease etc.

So I don't ...  just top it up once  a month from the mains

HTH

[Kevin Wood]

IME these devices all depend on the quality of the battery used. It's a physically small battery to deliver enough current to start a car engine so the battery inside needs to be top quality.

Quite often they use cheap batteries that aren't up to the job, my 20 quid maplins one (which looks identical to the Machine Mart one!) being a case in point. I bought it for powering camping lights for which it is excellent, but it didn't come close to cranking a 2l 4 pot..

Then there's looking after it. They generally come with cheap chargers which don't keep the battery in good condition and can overcharge it if left on trickle charge for long periods. Constant charging without a regular discharge won't help either.

My feelings are that these are great for providing 12v power from a portable unit, but if you want something to reliably start a car, you are best served by either jump leads if out and about, or a good quality mains charger if mains power is available.

If the battery is not a lost cause, a mains charger will get you up and running again in 15 or 20 minutes and jump leads will do it immediately a battery pack will be a lottery, IMHO.

Having said this, I once got stranded with a knackered battery and borrowed a professional jump start battery pack from a garage round the corner. They were not sure if it was charged and I didn't hold out a lot of hope. It started the car without an issue at all. Can't remember what brand it was - maybe Snap-On or something. It was a totally no-frills battery in a box - no tyre pump, light, etc.

Kevin

[Jimbob]

ive got the aldi special one...same as most the £20-£40 ones out there.

it started the car once, when it was new, i charge it religiously, needed it a couple of times since, and it hasnt had the power to start it 

I wouldnt waste my money on a cheapo one again, not sure I could justify a good one either.

I'd resort to jump leads / chargers next time.

handy device when camping though, for fag lighter powered stuff etc.

[wakeyomega]

I bought this one a few weeks ago. Started the Omega in a turn! Also has a meaty invertor on it. Can highly recommend.
Pat
 http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_548601_categoryId_165629_langId_-1?cm_vc=IOV4PDPZ1