Jump start battery

[EACIII]

I have been using a regular 12v car battery for starting the car, etc. But it died the last event so need to replace (it was only 12 years old??). Thinking of getting one of the jump start box things. Any recommendations on brands or types?

Of course I made it though the whole weekend without the jump start battery. Just charged the battery in the car at the end of every day and was in the 40's in the morning. So do I really even need one??

Ed

[Lotus7]

My jump battery is the same make/model as in the race car. That way if the car battery dies suddenly I have a bolt-in spare in my hand.

[Garey Guzman]

I never use a jump battery but I do trickle charge at every opportunity, since that is the best thing for the health of the battery in a total-loss system.

I do keep a spare battery just in case.

[JHerscher]

I use one of those Harbor Freight jump start things.

I also use Anderson plugs on my onboard battery. Quick change and installation. Battery out after each event, plug into the jump battery and charge both. It is a trickle charge Lightweight and portable. Your 120 lb crewmember won't complain (well not much, anyway) about lugging it to the false grid.

When the jump battery starts to get weak, replace its battery with the same that is in your car.

Have used this system for more than a dozen years with zero issues.

[bassracer]

After seeing a friend use a lithium ion jump starter I decided to try it. Totally worth it on portability alone. I had it in the cockpit with me at the 50th photo - when we were done I reached around, plugged it in, cranked, and had a few heckler's tell me that is cheating!

I'm sure quality is all over the map, amazon has plenty of china specials.

The only drawback (maybe not with all?), is that it seems to reset it's supply after so many cycles/cranks/time. So for example, it was not good for turning over the engine to build oil pres or running it on the jump pack alone like you might be able to do with a regular aux batt. It requires unplugging, plugging back in to reset it.

something like this

[hdsporty1988]

I use an Allstart 560 with the battery clips replaced with an Anderson plug. It works great. Light and powerful.

[DaveW]

I never use a jump battery but I do trickle charge at every opportunity, since that is the best thing for the health of the battery in a total-loss system.

I do keep a spare battery just in case.

Same as me - DEKA ETX-18L car battery and spare. Only downside is it weighs 18 lb. But I am at minimum weight and running ballast, so no issue there.

[Richard Hybels]

I got one at Costco, disconnected the battery in my Ford Escape and that little thing fired it right up.

After seeing a friend use a lithium ion jump starter I decided to try it. Totally worth it on portability alone. I had it in the cockpit with me at the 50th photo - when we were done I reached around, plugged it in, cranked, and had a few heckler's tell me that is cheating!

I'm sure quality is all over the map, amazon has plenty of china specials.

The only drawback (maybe not with all?), is that it seems to reset it's supply after so many cycles/cranks/time. So for example, it was not good for turning over the engine to build oil pres or running it on the jump pack alone like you might be able to do with a regular aux batt. It requires unplugging, plugging back in to reset it.

something like this

[EYERACE]

The gel-cell in the race car is virtually always on a Battery Tender attached at the battery's terminals. The gel-cell is also on the Battery Tender most any moment at the track too.

My jump battery is a regular ol' 12V lead/acid thing. At home it sits on board. I charge it at home with a different charger until "full" and then disconnect....let it sit on the board .....a week or two later, charge it again.....I make a point of having it well charged before packing to go to the track.

I took a regular ol' long set of jumper cables and cut 'em in half.....added a clip to the exposed end.....so now it's a half as long "half-clip" & "half jumper" cable.

At the track when the race engine is cold at the beginning of the day and the Battery Tender is now disconnected.....Round 1) I hook up my jump battery, ignition off, and crank until I've got oil pressure......Round 2) ignition on, fire it up.....leave jump battery attached the entire time while warming race engine up - often the dash says I've got something like 12.9 or more volts. Once warmed, shut off, disconnect clip and set jump battery aside.....put gell-cell back on Battery Tender charger. ......an indeterminate amount of time may now pass....maybe a half hour to go before race?.......Round 3) disconnect Battery Tender. jump in car, belt in, fire up car off of gel-cell only, drive to grid, depending on how much time I have and/or how engine (water) temp is......shut off and restart again off gel-cell only - a minute or two after the "5" is given.....or maybe not shut off bringing temp back up a little. Round 4) ....the best part >>> go out on track.

Come in only because they waved a checker at me........climb out......put gel-cell back on Battery Tender almost right away. So you see I really only pretty much use the jump battery once a day early on....and charge the gel-cell at every chance when at the track. To read this thread it sounds as if what I do for extra power might just be more reliable than one of those boxes.......and then what the heck would I do with my trick half-clip jumper cable?