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battery charger

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Hi Guys
After the latest problems with the cruiser and having to look for a jump
start from a passing motorist I have decided to look for a portable battery
power pack/ charger etc.
I have looked at a few on ebay but im kind of lost a little.
There are the ones that you can plug into the cig lighter with a power pack
attached and it is suppossed to give enough power to start the (car).
Others are chargers and power packs , some bulky and some that look very
flimsy.
The problem is I dont know what I need in terms of power to start the
cruiser.
All these Amps and volts of different sizes and the suspect quality of the
items is why im lost.
I want an item that will start the cruiser when I need and not let me down
when I need it the most.
Would one of those little power packs for the cig lighter really start the
cruiser.
Any ideas would be great before I do my usual before geting advice and make
a mess of it.
cheers
john 92HDJ 80 1HDT
 
Hi John,
I've tried two different models of the 'power pack' type of starters, and
neither is really meaty enough to start that lump in the Cruiser with a flat
battery. I do have a charger/starter in my garage that does the job
admirably but of course it's not portable, so I always make sure I've got a
set of jump leads!
TTFN
Chas
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Byrne" <[Email address removed]>
To: <[Email address removed]>
Sent: Friday, December 01, 2006 9:55 PM
Subject: [ELCO] battery charger
 
Hi Chas
Thats the problem im having, i dont want to buy a crap thing that I will
think will help but will not start the cruiser when I need it.
john 92HDJ 80 1HDT
 
I surprised my self and used my "power pack" to start a big generator
(720KW, 27 litre V12 diesel. One battery failed and the pack boosted the
120AH battery that my tester indicated to be 8AH. (Didn't expect the pack
to survive but I needed the engine started)
I think most of the "power packs" etc are let down by the connecting leads,
they are usually too small and the volt drop reduces the performance of the
limited battery power.
Malcolm Bagley
Stafford, UK
1975 FJ45 Pickup (In Work)
_______________________________
I've tried two different models of the 'power pack' type of starters, and
neither is really meaty enough to start that lump in the Cruiser with a flat
battery. I do have a charger/starter in my garage that does the job
admirably but of course it's not portable, so I always make sure I've got a
set of jump leads!
--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.430 / Virus Database: 268.15.3/562 - Release Date: 01/12/2006
13:12
 
John,
If you are ever stuck with both batteries flat you will need Two
passing motorists or Two jump packs to get you going. Fortunately it
is usually only One battery that is really dead, although the other
one is usually not far behind, so one will do it.
I would not use the cigar lighter things to start a car, what
they can do is connect another battery and, if left for 30 minuets or
so, give your battery enough to start you.
Nobody makes a Two battery start pack, although it is on my list
to do. Your best bet is to get One start pack and if both batteries
are flat get One car to help you. As a guide the heavier the start
pack the better it is. Follow the instructions for maintaining it.
No, you can't use One battery and Two sets of leads to give you 24v.
Regards, Clive.
 
Malcolm has a point. Some of these packs have aluminium leads, as do
jump cable sets. Avoid these at all costs. Aluminium only has about
60% of the conductivity of Copper. With the leads, the bigger the
better, this may seem anti-logic to you but it is true.
Regards, Clive.
 
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Hi Malcolm and Clive
What is AH and what do i need to look for .
Ah Clive now you stopped my next question, your starting to antisipate my
next move, crap.
john 92HDJ 80 1HDT
 
John,
Ah is Ampre hours, or Amp-hours. It is a measure of the capacity
of batteries, mainly. If a battery has a capacity of 85 Amp hours you
can draw 1 amp from it for 85 hours, or 85 amps for 1 hour. This is a
rough guide, there are other things that prevent this but you will get
it better like this. If you have a pair of vehicle headlights using 60
watts each, they will be drawing 5 Amps each on a 12v battery. Using
electric laws 60 divided by 12 is 5 (amps). If you put 24v bulbs in
and use a 24v battery you have 60 divided by 24, which gives you 2.5
amps, for the same light output. It is not usually said but the 5 Amps
is per hour. So our 85 amp battery, if it was 12v, would run one light
for 17 hours. The 24v battery would go for 34 hours. The advantage to
24v is more pressure (volts) to push current through a circuit, not a
problem with vehicles. Also, because the Amps is less for the same
wattage, the cable can be smaller. The downside is the purchase of 2
batteries to start with.
The 24v system is better for vehicles but with car, or 4x4 sizes
it will not be a noticeable difference. Larger lorries run 24v but
they have more for the batteries to do.
Regards, Clive.
 
John,
I don't remember how you managed to discharge your batteries Normally
it is next to impossible, unless you left the lights on. If not, I'd
have the battery tested.
Theoretically, rather than carrying around a bulky starter pack, you
could just as well install extra batteries and split chargers. It
would ensure that the backup batteries are always charged and ready to
use when needed.
--
Rgds,
Roman (London, UK)
'92 HDJ80
On 12/1/06, John Byrne <[Email address removed]> wrote:
 
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