Guest Tracker Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 It occurs to me that one of these might be a good idea to keep the heating etc running if and when the leisure batteries fail - particularly for those of us with power greedy Eberspachers? Theoretically rechargeable via a 12v socket once on the road it seems a cost effective way of getting a battery backup that will also pump yer tyres up and light the way whilst so doing But does it work in reality I wonder - has anyone got one or tried it? http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/products/223278/clarke_jumpstart_910.html Poundstretcher currently have a version for £24.99 and - on the premise that you get what you pay for they might well not be man enough to start the engine - but they may well do a turn as an emergency internal power backup and at that price might be worth a gamble? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 I bought one from Aldi some time ago. I've used it to start a car engine but not the van - didn't want to know the one time I tried it. It does come in useful for charging laptop, mobile phones etc though when we are staying somewhere for several days off hook-up, rather than taking power from the leisure battery. Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 Tracker - 2009-11-21 2:08 PM It occurs to me that one of these might be a good idea to keep the heating etc running if and when the leisure batteries fail - particularly for those of us with power greedy Eberspachers? Theoretically rechargeable via a 12v socket once on the road it seems a cost effective way of getting a battery backup that will also pump yer tyres up and light the way whilst so doing But does it work in reality I wonder - has anyone got one or tried it? http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/products/223278/clarke_jumpstart_910.html Poundstretcher currently have a version for £24.99 and - on the premise that you get what you pay for they might well not be man enough to start the engine - but they may well do a turn as an emergency internal power backup and at that price might be worth a gamble? I have a cheap one of these I bought off Ebay about three years ago. Never tried for the use you want but it will start most petrol engine cars I have tried it on but struggles with diesels. Would not like to pump a van tyre up from flat but it has no problem putting a few pounds in and will work to a high pressure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 For those interested in the idea here are a few more to have a butchers at.. http://www.practicalmotorhome.com/product/mar08.html Perhaps the knowledgeable amongst us could clarify whether, in their view, the limited capacity of the booster pack would have sufficient capacity to be able to put enough back into leisure batteries enough juice to extend their use by any worthwhile length of time? Or am I just a doubting old cynic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aljen Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 I have halford's powerpack 2oo, bought a few years ago. i have used it to put some life into the leisure batteries, but it struggles, they have a 20amp battery and whilst it lasts for a fair while to charge most items like laptop, Phone etc, its really useful as an emergency tyre inflator, comes with lights built in, so at least you can see what you are doing. There are times when i use it to connect to the leisure battery, but it takes ages to show any real boost, forget trying to jump start the vehicle battery, its just not equipped to handle a deisel engine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsandywhite Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 8-) MOST usually have a Gel battery between 15 and 25 amps. NOT much good for any lengthy running. IMH&HO. :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 Interesting observations folks - I wonder, given that the available power is so limited, whether it might make more sense to be able to disconnect the leisure batteries from the 12v system and plug the van's internal electrics directly into a power pack? Would that make all the power available to run 12v systems and no (theoretical?) power would be lost trying to recharge flat leisure batteries so that they in turn can power the 12v system? All I would be looking for would be an hour or two of heating, lighting and water pump so that if the batteries failed during a very cold night (their favourite trick!) I would not need to run the engine and disturb my neighbours in order to get enough internal power back to see us through till daytime? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliB Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 We have used battery packs to power remote CCTV equipment. One 38 Ah battery pack will run a DVR and several cameras easily overnight. The DVR takes 3 Amps, camera 0.5amp each. We have fitted this system to many farms where power in remote barns is not available. It works a treat so I am sure it should fulfill your requirements of standby power. Attaching it to a low leisure battery would pull down the voltage of the powerpack so it would be better to use it in isolation As to starting a engine with one - well it worked fine for few times but then the leads melted. If the engine fires first go they are OK but a few seconds of cranking is too much for the leads. The make in question was a Clarkes but other makes have similar performance. Also tried the SIP Pro booster packs. These will start a 3 litre engine but do you really want to spend £200+ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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