jump starter and tire pump (portable) advice

kiwisunset · May 21

I came across these in shops in MC and nearby electronic/gadget shops. I thought having one might be handy. I have some questions.

1. Can I leave this in the car (won't the hot sun cause it to break) ?

2. reliability - most places offer 1 month to 6 month warranty, but they do not repair them after warranty.

Hyaenidae · May 21

I've got both, you shouldn't keep the jump starter in the trunk if you park the car in the sun more than 6 hours. The owners manual of my jump starter warns not to store it in an environment where the temperature exceeds 60 degrees (celcius).

As for the tire inflator get one without an inbuilt battery - those plug into the cigarette lighter socket. You can keep it in the car as long as you want regardless of where you park.

Stick to branded stuff for reliability. My first generic jump starter lasted 2 years (2019-2021) and was used exactly 2 times before it crapped out and refused to charge.

My second one is a 70mai I bought in 2021, still works fine as the day I bought it - I've even started 24V systems with it despite the users manual warns not to (battery terminal started smoking lol)

I've got a 70mai tyre inflator I keep in the house and a Baseus "mini" inflator I keep in the car, 70mai one I bought in 2021 and the Baseus 2023 (because the 70mai one is too bulky) both still work just fine, no complaints on my behalf.

Edited May 21 by Hyaenidae

iRage · May 22

6 hours ago, Hyaenidae said:

As for the tire inflator get one without an inbuilt battery - those plug into the cigarette lighter socket.

10 hours ago, kiwisunset said:

1. Can I leave this in the car (won't the hot sun cause it to break) ?

If you walk around Delkanda I am sure you could find an inflator that comes with these new spare-tireless cars. They are made of hard plastics intended to be kept in the car. If you want to spend a bit more, there are ones with flash and warning lights as well (for night use).

As for the jumper cables...yes and no.
No, if you constantly park the car out in the hot sun, where the car can get really hot (under direct sunlight, the car can reach a lot higher temperature than the ambient temperature). E.g. drive to work and park it on the street or open parking lot all day.

Yes..if you do the above in reverse....park the car in shaded, cold spots for most part of the day (obviously apart from the drive time).

It depends on how hot your car gets....so how hot does your car get ? Even if it doesn't get too hot I would still get a shieled pouch.

But like @Hyaenidae mentioned...jumper cables should not be left out in extreme heat. The shielding rubber/material can start to get weak and create metal exposed parts which are dangerous (as they can cause a short).

May I make a different suggestion? Instead of keeping jumper cables in the car (which you can of course), why not buy a battery charger and do some routine maintenance on your battery regularly (decent chargers have charge and maintenance modes)? That way, your battery is not going to drain out on you (or the risk is lowered), and you can get more life out of your battery, too. I have no idea how much these things are in SL. I use a NOCO Genius 10 in Japan, and it has been amazing. I have to leave my cars parked for about 2 months, and the battery pretty much dies off or becomes too weak for cranking (especially during winter), and the NOCO charger has done a good job in reconditioning it as well as charging it up.

Another option is solid-state battery boosters. But again, can't be kept under extreme heat.