Emergency jump start power packs?

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Seekandfillet

Member
Do any of you guys carry a emergency power pack when spending multiple days out on the lake? If so, what works well? Seems like a good idea but I'm relatively new to boating. Haven't had an issue yet in 3 years but don't want to have one. My main motor is a 140 Suzuki 4 stroke.
 
Seekandfillet said:
Do any of you guys carry a emergency power pack when spending multiple days out on the lake? If so, what works well? Seems like a good idea but I'm relatively new to boating. Haven't had an issue yet in 3 years but don't want to have one. My main motor is a 140 Suzuki 4 stroke.
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I keep a noco jump pack on my boat. Its small and light which is great for a boat. You can get them on amazon during black friday for pretty inexpensively.
 
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I always carry a Halo Jump start device. It is small yet powerful. I can usually get 4 starts per charge. It is about the size of a box of kraft macaroni and cheese. It comes with cables for jumpstarting batteries, USB ports, and other cords for charging phones and stuff and a cord with a cigarette plug end to charge itself once the vehicle is running. My boat has a power steering system which draws off of the main starting battery and a secondary battery to start the kicker motor. For some reason Lund put all the accessories on the main motor. On good trolling days we would run the small kicker for 8 hours or so all while using the live wells, fish finders, and radio. We would not run the kicker at enough RPM to charge either battery. Often, we would drain the main battery so low that neither motor would start. The little Halo would always start the big motor easily. Best I remember it was about $80. Worth every Penny.
 
This is a great educational thread. You wordlings made me research this stuff....and obviously are up your jumper stuff. Shocking, but very useful....😋

But seriously....If the NOCO & other lithium units are so powerful and so easily recharged.....why are we still going to Costco and buying these heavy & outdated lead/acid batteries for our cars/boats? Is it because they power the toys better over longer hours? :unsure:
 
Rainbowbridge said:
This is a great educational thread. You wordlings made me research this stuff....and obviously are up your jumper stuff. Shocking, but very useful....😋

But seriously....If the NOCO & other lithium units are so powerful and so easily recharged.....why are we still going to Costco and buying these heavy & outdated lead/acid batteries for our cars/boats? Is it because they power the toys better over longer hours? :unsure:
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Good question. I carry a Noco as well and used it to start my Yamaha 130 last week. My optima developed a dead short after 5 years, which is understandable, I pound the snot out of my boat. Interestingly enough, I had a very hard time starting the motor, evidently due to the short in the main battery. The Noco turned it over no problem probably 25 times, but she just didn’t want to start. I finally got it going and the Noco was at 60%, which I thought was impressive. The underlying is the lifepo4 battery question as covered in other threads. I would love to put a lifepo in as my starting battery for a huge savings in cost, weight and power, but my motor wouldn’t like it very much. Evidently some outboards don’t like the backfeed when the battery BMS shuts down abruptly when the battery reaches full and really bad things happen. My motor is one of them. Jumping is no issue because the battery is dead. I just bought 2 lifepo for my camper a few weeks ago, 1000ah x2 for a total of 350 bucks. My new optima weighs twice the lifepo and cost $350… so, a 1000ah lifepo would be sweet for a starting battery if it works for you.

TR
 
I keep an extra battery onboard.(poor man’s jump box) I try and replace my batteries every year or two and I rotate the last one in as my spare. Batteries live a lot longer if properly cared for, I bring mine indoors inside my garage every winter and leave them on a trickle charge. If you keep them full of distilled water and never let them go dead or suffer big thermal swings they can keep on working for years.

That being said portable jump packs are convenient. Some of the higher priced ones have lots of power, like enough to jump start a big rig diesel. You can never be too prepared out there especially this time of year when rescuers can be few and far between
 
Interesting conversation. I bought a Noco for this exact reason. When I tried to use it two weeks ago when I was getting my Malibu decontaminated at CPW it wouldn't power anything. Not my pumps, my blower, radio, nor even spin the starter.

Looking online there may be a different protocol to use if the battery is 100% dead? I don't know what that would be. Also saw that sometimes the jumper pack can be bad, but I don't know how you would test that without a dead battery in a vehicle?
 
Just a comment: When I was butt a lad....in 1973.....an olde Swede mechanic......named Nord.....no kidding, his real name....he said: Never leave a car battery, a lead acid battery, on a concrete floor....it de-charges them....always leave them on a table....or even a piece of wood between them and the concrete. Anyone ever heard that before?

:unsure:
 
Rainbowbridge said:
Just a comment: When I was butt a lad....in 1973.....an olde Swede mechanic......named Nord.....no kidding, his real name....he said: Never leave a car battery, a lead acid battery, on a concrete floor....it de-charges them....always leave them on a table....or even a piece of wood between them and the concrete. Anyone ever heard that before?

:unsure:
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Yes and it is the moisture content in the slab that will suck the charge out of your battery and right into the ground, it’s conductive, it bleeds the charge out over time. So yeah, on a block of wood is fine.
 
Rainbowbridge said:
Just a comment: When I was butt a lad....in 1973.....an olde Swede mechanic......named Nord.....no kidding, his real name....he said: Never leave a car battery, a lead acid battery, on a concrete floor....it de-charges them....always leave them on a table....or even a piece of wood between them and the concrete. Anyone ever heard that before?

:unsure:
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Marina Bum said:
Yes and it is the moisture content in the slab that will suck the charge out of your battery and right into the ground, it’s conductive, it bleeds the charge out over time. So yeah, on a block of wood is fine.
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I believe this is no longer true with modern lead acid battery cases...
Batteries Vs Concrete Floors Need Know | Northeast Battery Blog
 
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