How Booster Jump Cables Evolved into Jump Starters
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Portable jump starters are everywhere these days but this wasn't always the case there was a time when booster jumper cables were the norm. so this go me thinking how did booster cables evolve into jump starter packs.
The short answer is that with the advancements in portable battery technology portable jump starters were able to be produced at an affordable price, allowing people to be self sufficient when confronted with a flat battery.
Table of contents
What did people do before jump starters
Before the invention of the portable jump starters people had to rely on more traditional methods for jump starting a flat battery or charging a car batteries.
Back then the only available solution that people had for jump starting a dead car battery was to use a set of jumper cables. People needed to hook up there jumper cables between the batteries of two vehicles, the dead battery in one vehicle which was then charged by the live battery.
Draw backs of jumper cables over jump starters
As I am sure you can probably imagine there were a number of drawbacks with traditional jumper cables, or booster cables, these drawbacks eventually led to the creation of portable jump starters.
One of the main drawback associated with traditional jumper cables is that they are totally useless without the presence of another vehicle which has to have a strong enough battery that could be connected to.
The possibility that when you breakdown and require your jumper cables that there are no other vehicles around which could assist you. If you were to find yourself in this unfortunate situation then the booster cables will be useless to you.
Risk of Incorrect Connection
Another problem that people faced when using traditional jumper cables is the fact that they can be confusing to use. There is a real possibility that if the connections are connected incorrectly you can cause real damage to the electrical components in your car.
For many people having knowledge about the mechanics of batteries or cars in general is a complete mystery. For these people the process of correctly connecting the jumper cables can be quite intimidating and perhaps a little frightening.
The need for a way to charge or jump start your car battery that could remove the dangers associated from reverse polarity connection is another reason that a simpler solution was required.
Improvements in battery technology
Back when traditional jumper cables, or booster cables where the only portable option, batteries were large and bulk to carry around. The evolution of battery technology to make them smaller and lighter was going to be essential for the creation of the portal jump starter.
Lead Acid Batteries
The main battery technology that was in use when jump cables were the easy portable option was lead acid batteries, which in the beginning were not sealed batteries, these batteries required fluid levels to be maintained to ensure the battery would maintain it's charge. These batteries also needed to be stored in an upright position, if they were layed on their side while stored or transported they were in danger of spilling battery acid.
Sealed Lead Acid Batteries
As time went by lead acid battery moved into sealed battery containers, this development enabled the batteries to become maintenance free removing the need for people to maintain the fluid levels.
There were also advances in battery chemistry, this allowed battery manufactures to produce smaller sealed batteries. having the ability for smaller maintenance free batteries paved the way for the creation of a simpler jump starter solution.
AGM Batteries
AGM or Absorbent Glass Mat was the next advancement in lead-acid battery. Unlike in the original lead acid battery which have lead plates floating in free flowing acid, the AGM battery places it's lead plates in acid soaked glass mat.
Due to it's advanced construction these batteries have the ability to provide superior power over traditional lead acid batteries, when placed under heavy loads the AGM battery out preforms traditional lead acid batteries.
Power management is also another advancement that AGM batteries improve upon. Agm batteries have the ability to hold there charge longer than lead acid batteries and they also need less time to recharge once the charge has been depleted.
AGM batteries also posses other advantages including the ability to resist vibration, are totally sealed, non spillable and maintenance-free.
Lithium Ion Batteries
With the evolution of the Lithium Ion Battery the stage was now set for a truly portable jump starter solution to be created. Lithium Ion batteries have the ability to store a large amount o f power in a very small battery.
When compared to our other battery technologies Lithium Ion batteries hold there charge for longer, followed by AGM batteries and then traditional Lead Acid.
Charging times are also shorter for Lithium Ion batteries followed by AGM and then Lead Acid batteries, Lithium Ion batteries also have the advantage that they can be charged at a lower voltage which enables people to charge them on the go using existing modern technology such as USB Charges.
Modern Electronics
Advancement in electronics has been a major contributor to the creation of the modern jump starter. With the miniaturization of electrical component and the ability to mass produce electronic circuitry at a very affordable price the time was right.
Manufactures could now create a jump starter that solved one of the major fear's of motorist, that being the possibility to accidentally reverse the jumper connections. Now the modern jump starter could be equipped with reverse polarity alarms that would notify people that there was a problem with the battery connections, Auto cutoffs could now also cut any power from the jump starter battery from being sent to the flattered battery, people could now have a new confidence that their battery connections would not result in sparks and possible damage to electrical components.
These electronic advancements also enabled smart charging to be incorporated into portable jump starter packs, now people could connect there jump starters to the power continuously without the fear that the battery would be damaged through over charging.
There has also been an explosion of portable and mobile devices, people now carry cell phones and tablets as well as having a larger array of 12 volt devices that they can buy. Having the ability to charge a cell phone in an emergency or run electrical equipment while camping gives the modern jump starter a hugh advantage over the original set of booster jumper cables.
Final Thoughts
So I think we can see that even when booster jump cables were the only partible option people were already looking for a better solution. For the motorist who didn't have a lot of experience with vehicles, traditional jumper cables could be difficult to use.
They was also the scary situation that you could be stranded in a place where there were no other power sources to connect to such as batteries in other vehicles. Having to rely on the kindness of others to get you going again was a driving reason for the need of a portable self contained jumper starter pack.
Through the evolution of battery technology problems with size were over come, non spillable totally sealed and maintenance-free batteries which were fast to charge and could hold large amount of power added to the march towards the Jump starter pack replacing the booster jump cables.
As technology has progressed, more and more convenient features have been added to portable jump starters, these features have been making them more convenient and much easier to operate. The Addition of safety features such as reverse polarity alarms, overcharge protection, charge meters, and many others have made charging a car battery a much easier and hassle free task.
With all of these advances in how the portable jumps starter has been created, one can see why people are choosing to purchase a jump starter over the original set of booster cables.
The final obstacle deterring people from buying a jump starter has been price, originally people had to pay large amounts of money for a basic jump starter, no longer, people can now purchase a lithium ion jumper pack that can be stored in most peoples vehicles glove boxes for less that the cost of a yearly subscription to a road side assistance service. It is no wonder why people are choosing the security and convenience of a portable jump starter over the original booster cables.