Smart Car Battery Charger

**Archerfish** · May 11th, 2020 01:40 PM

Originally Posted by travajante

Yes, doc...if the internal batt of the powerbank is good & has charge.
Jumper cables, not all are worthy. Some are all insulation....tried 1 that did not even work....& you need to pair w/ another batt. Luck needed for those trips that see a lot of lonely backroads.

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That's right! It claims "heavy duty" and yet it can't allow high current to pass through for that "push start" that you need.

I always bring both, a jumper cable and the power bank. Should the power bank fail, I have the cables. And the said cables are "custom made", rated as a welding cable. I had enough of those "heavy duty" cables.

Unfortunately, I couldn't resist the request of a friend when he asked for the cables...

**Archerfish** · May 11th, 2020 01:54 PM

Originally Posted by sean-archer

Now I'm torn, should I buy a smart battery charger or a portable charger/jump starter/powerbank.? My concern is being able to start the car if my battery died down on me somewhere inconvenient or in the middle of the night.

A smart charger would let me plug in and charge my battery using a wall outlet (hopefully available) and wait for some time to get my battery enough juice to start the car. However, A portable jump starter would start the car conveniently, as long as I regularly charge it and make sure it has enough juice to do its job. Tama ba intindi ko?

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I recommend you buy both! I bought it one at a time, so that it won't feel expensive.
[emoji3]

Just like with tools, I bought a set a few years ago. Then, a torque wrench. If the need arises, I'll buy a digital torque wrench. And since replacing a tire is tiresome for me, I plan on buying a cheap cordless impact wrench. Should it fail, then I do the "tiresome" method.

**travajante** · May 11th, 2020 02:20 PM

Originally Posted by Archerfish

I recommend you buy both! I bought it one at a time, so that it won't feel expensive.
[emoji3]

Just like with tools, I bought a set a few years ago. Then, a torque wrench. If the need arises, I'll buy a digital torque wrench. And since replacing a tire is tiresome for me, I plan on buying a cheap cordless impact wrench. Should it fail, then I do the "tiresome" method.

[emoji16]

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**12vdc** · May 11th, 2020 02:27 PM

^A 2-port car lift is in my wishlist should this ecq be extended.

It is more common nowadays to replace bat 2-3yrs or after the bat warranty expire to avoid downtime, but because of expensiveness people tend to wait until the certain death of the battery. My advise is to monitor the battery health so that you won't be needing extra weight and space for tools inside the car. That way also you may be able to predict when the battery would fail and when to bring those tools for jump-starting.

**travajante** · May 11th, 2020 02:52 PM

Originally Posted by 12vdc

^A 2-port car lift is in my wishlist should this ecq be extended.

Something like this? Power drill drive. Good for low cars, too.[emoji106]

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**sean-archer** · May 11th, 2020 07:25 PM

Originally Posted by dr. d

tama po.
but i am confident, you can afford both. heh heh.

either product, has limitations on use.
buying both, and those limitations diminish.

may i recommend,
the charger stay in the car or at home. always bring the powerbank in the car. many parking spaces have no access to a mains receptacle.

if your car is MT... how confident are you at push-starting?
it needs no powerbank or charger.

Thanks for the tips doc.

Ahh yes, one of the perks I miss when I had my MT car, I was less worried about these battery issues.

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**sean-archer** · May 11th, 2020 07:35 PM

Originally Posted by Archerfish

I recommend you buy both! I bought it one at a time, so that it won't feel expensive.
[emoji3]

Just like with tools, I bought a set a few years ago. Then, a torque wrench. If the need arises, I'll buy a digital torque wrench. And since replacing a tire is tiresome for me, I plan on buying a cheap cordless impact wrench. Should it fail, then I do the "tiresome" method.

Thanks for the advice sir, I read here you own a ctek smart charger, how about for the jump starter, which brand did you get?

Gf never understood why us boys find it quite satisfying to own handyman tools, I just point at her shoes and bags everytime she tells me that.

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**Archerfish** · May 11th, 2020 08:37 PM

Originally Posted by sean-archer

Thanks for the advice sir, I read here you own a ctek smart charger, how about for the jump starter, which brand did you get?

Gf never understood why us boys find it quite satisfying to own handyman tools, I just point at her shoes and bags everytime she tells me that.

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For the jump starter, I bought the one from Ace hardware. I find it expensive considering that there are cheaper ones online. However, there's no way to test it. The first time I saw it, I asked the guy to demonstrate it on my car. The funny part, he connected it without disconnecting the negative terminal.
[emoji3]

Anyways, I helped him out by showing him and explaining that for it to be tested properly, the negative terminal must be disconnected, then connect the jump starter and start the car.

It was my second purchase as I gave the other one to my brother. I think I need to make a third purchase in the near future since my son took it. And that will be next year because I have a relatively new battery.

I have used it several times, mostly to other motorists. With that, I am confident to recommend that brand from Ace hardware.

Surely, those jump starters online are also good. It's just that I haven't tried it yet and because there are times I travel in the middle of the night, I can't take the risk of trying other brands.

Most often than not, I buy things not from my regular salary but from other incomes like hazard pay and bonus. These are not part of our daily budget so that my wife and I won't have any adjustments with these kinds of purchases.

**dr. d** · May 11th, 2020 08:51 PM

those jumper wires from ace or handyman.
they all heat up when used.
the insulation is very thick.
you can just imagine, if the insulation is very thick, and yet they feel hot after using,
the very thin wire inside must be glowing-hot!

when i jump-started my innova, the jumper wires got really hot.
jump-starting the sedan or hatch, the wires did not get as hot.

i should really assemble my own, using stranded cable wire.
what would be the minimum gauge, kaya? i still have to roll it up into a small-ish bundle.

**Archerfish** · May 11th, 2020 09:01 PM

Originally Posted by dr. d

those jumper wires from ace or handyman.
they all heat up when used.
the insulation is very thick.
you can just imagine, if the insulation is very thick, and yet they feel hot after using,
the very thin wire inside must be glowing-hot!

when i jump-started my innova, the jumper wires got really hot.
jump-starting the sedan or hatch, the wires did not get as hot.

i should really assemble my own, using stranded cable wire.
what would be the minimum gauge, kaya?

Gauge 10 or thicker like gauge 8? Perhaps buying a welding cable is the safest!