Features A Portable Jump Starter Must Have
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Purchasing a portable jump starter is not any easy task by any means, especially if you have never purchased one before. With so many options to choose from, how does one go about finding the right jump starter for their particular situation?
The critical features that any portable jump starter must have is good build quality, be of a size that is suitable for you needs and have adequate cranking amps to be able to start your vehicle with ease.
Table of contents
Jump Starter Power
One of the more important features that you will want to pay close attention to when shopping for a portable jump starter is the amount of power that it is capable of outputting, as the amount of power is going to determine exactly what it can be used for.
The amount of power that a jump starter can output is typically measure in amps. There are three different types of amps that a jump starter is capable of producing including peak amps, cranking amps, and cold cranking amps.
Peak power numbers (amps in this circumstance) are frequently plastered by manufactures all over there jump starters because they are higher and look more appealing to consumers. People looking for a jump starter see the higher peak amps and think, the higher the peak amps the better the jump starter right? Wrong.
When you are trying to determine which jump starter is correct for you the actual starting power or cranking amps is the more important power rating to consider.
The cranking amps (CA) of a battery refers to the amount of power that a battery can discharge for 30 seconds at 32° F, which is designed to start your vehicle. Temperature can effect the performance of a battery so if you live in a cold climate, you will need to pay particular attention to a battery’s cold cranking amps (CCA), this rating refers to the number of amps that a battery can output continuously for 30 seconds at a temperature of 0° F without dropping below 7.2 Volts.
The bottom line is that the peak power is not as important as the starting power, and depending upon your climate you need to size your jump starter based on the cranking amps or the cold cranking amps.
If you plan on using the jump starter for charging car batteries, then you'll want to ensure that it is capable of producing enough amps to complete the task.
The general rule of thumb is that 300 cranking amps is an adequate amount of power for jump starting most types of vehicle batteries. Of course, the amount of power that is actually needed for your vehicle will depend on the size of the battery that it uses.
Charge Sustainability
It's true that the amount of power that a jump starter is capable of producing is a very important feature, but it may not be as important as the ability of the fully charged battery to hold that charge for a long period of time.
As soon as the fully charged jump starter is removed from it's power source, it begins to lose power. Therefore, the longer the amount of time the jump starter is able to maintain it's charge the better. Finding out how long a particular unit can hold a charge on average is definitely a good idea.
Different battery technologies hold their charge for different times, the 3 main types of battery technology are Lead Acid, AGM and Lithium Ion. Lithium Ion batteries hold there charge for longer, followed by AGM batteries and then Lead Acid. Charging times are also shorter for Lithium Ion followed by AGM and them Lead Acid, but lead acid batteries are more tolerant of over charging than AGM and lithium Ion can over heat and catch fire. Weighing the pro's and cons of each battery technology is a definite must when considering which jump starter is best for you.
Quality Clamps and Cables
There is no point in having a powerful battery that is fully charged and ready to go when you need it if your jump starter has low quality cables and clamps. This is why the quality of the Jumper Cables of your jump starter are a crucial part to consider, To get the best performance from your jump starter you should definitely choose the best quality of cable that you can afford.
Jumper Cables are also graded for quality into 3 grades. these being #2 Gauge Cables, #4 Gauge Cables, #6 Gauge Cables. The grade for cables use the American wire gauge (AWG) as there standard. The easiest way for you to understand which cable will give the best performance is that the smaller the grade the better the cable. so following this example the #2 Gauge Cables will give you much better performance than the #6 Gauge Cables, the reason for this is in the diameters of the wire used in the cables, the diameter of wire used in the #2 Gauge Cables are 0.2576 Inch, where as the diameter of wire used in the #6 Gauge Cables 0.1620 Inch. The important thing to know when considering current flow is that the larger the wire, the less resistance electrical current will encounter, less electrical resistance will give you better jump starting.
Having quality jumper clamp allow's your jump starter to provide a solid connection to your vehicles battery. All Jumper Clamps have their clamps color coded, the red clamp is the positive clamp and the black clamp is the negative clamp, you should always pay attention when connecting the clamps so that the correct jumper clamp is connected to the corresponding battery terminal of the vehicle. Failure to connect the jumpers clamps to the correct battery terminal could cause damage to both your vehicle's battery as well as your jump starter.
Jumper Clamps are also graded for quality into three grades, these are Standard, Heavy Duty and Industrial Grade Hot Jaw. There are also differences in the way jumper clamps are connected to the jumper cables with standard and heavy duty clamps only have power connected to one side of the clamp, as opposed to Hot Jaw clamps where both sides of the clamp are connected to the power. This increase in connectivity gives the Hot Jaw clamps a better connection to the battery terminal which allows for easier current flow when jump starting.
Reverse Polarity Alarm
Connecting the jumper cables the wrong way to your car battery when jumping a car is something that you definitely want to avoid at all costs. Sometimes, however, people can make mistakes and accidentally hook up the jumper cables the wrong way during the process.
In order to prevent any damage from occurring either to the car battery itself or the jump starter, jump starters can be equipped with what is known as a reverse polarity alarm.
This means the jump starter will warns the user, by means of a light or audible alarm, if the cables are connected wrong, and in many cases jump starters may even be equipped with safety shutoff mechanisms that cause the unit to turn off if the cables are hooked up incorrectly, therefore eliminating any chance of supplying current that could case damage to your electrical components.
Build quality
Jump Starters can be subjected to accidental drops and rough treatment, bouncing around in the back of a tray or boot can subject your jump starter to damaging bumps and scraps, this is why the construction quality is something to consider when shopping for a jump starter. Finding yourself in a situation with a broken jumper is just as bad as not having one at all.
If you choose a jump starter that is manufactured by a know recognized brand you can be confident that they have conducted quality test so as to try and eliminate breakage from normal use.
Another point to mention about the jump starter build quality is in regards to the actual battery itself. All reputable manufactures will have certifications for the electrics, the most popular of these are CE, RoHS, UL, FCC, and CE. This may or may not be important to you depending on your price range.
Additional jumper features
Aside from the jump starters main purpose of providing a quick power source for your auto battery, some portable jump starters also function as power banks allowing you to run electrical equipment while on the go, in this case you may find a separate power rating which is there to give you an idea of how many electronic devices you can charge on-the-go before the battery will de depleted.
Other features such as additional charging or 12v accessory ports are common, and it’s standard to have a built-in flashlight with three modes (on, blink, and rapid strobe) which can be handy if you find yourself stranded at night.
Final Thoughts
As you can see there is definitely a lot to consider when deciding what features a portable jump starter must have. If you have enjoyed this article you may like to check out or article on (jump starter feature)[/jump-starter-features/] which is a detailed article explaining the most common features you will find on modern jump starters.