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I have a Tacklife T8. It works great. You can jump your battery, plug in your phone, use it as a flash lite or emergency roadside flasher. I used it to jump a lawn tractor battery a couple nights ago. It’s convenient and holds a charge for a long time. Great to have stored in the car/truck.
Have had one that I keep in the back by the rear 12v outlet for years. But so far I've only used it during a power outage to charge up phones, provide some light, etc.
Biggest reason for them is all the electronics in modern cars. There's quite a lot of expensive equipment at risk for both the jumpee and the jumper.
I had one before, but never used it. You have to keep it charged up once in a while. I forgot and when I needed it, it didn’t work. If you commit to taking care of it, it would be nice to have.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Jumper cables are great if you have another vehicle close by and the owner is willing to help out. I have a power pack that also has a tire inflator, and several USB charging ports. I have only used it a couple of times for starting cars, but I use it often, whenever I start the riding mower. It's not running long enough to keep the battery charged, so when it stopped holding a charge I didn't replace it. I just hook it up to the power pack to start it. We have also used it to charge phones and iPads in a power outage. Whenever I use it I then put it on the charger, so it's always ready to go.
I don't particularly want to have yet another battery to keep charged up.
I carry a set of cables in every vehicle, have done since I started driving in 1977. If I had a good uncluttered place to leave battery devices charging, and without any concerns about fire, I might rethink this. At present I don't have a good place to leave such a device plugged in and maintaining charge.
Of course, I do realize that probably anyone under 40 will freak out if approached in a parking lot by an old guy with jumper cables. So many people have been brainwashed into learned helplessness that I would probably get a lot of refusals. So maybe I SHOULD rethink this.
I had one before, but never used it. You have to keep it charged up once in a while. I forgot and when I needed it, it didn’t work. If you commit to taking care of it, it would be nice to have.
This is my biggest concern. The fact that it holds a charge a "long time" is problematic as it's too long to remember the last time it was charged. But they are small enough that I can keep both in the truck.
I don't particularly want to have yet another battery to keep charged up.
I carry a set of cables in every vehicle, have done since I started driving in 1977. If I had a good uncluttered place to leave battery devices charging, and without any concerns about fire, I might rethink this. At present I don't have a good place to leave such a device plugged in and maintaining charge.
Of course, I do realize that probably anyone under 40 will freak out if approached in a parking lot by an old guy with jumper cables. So many people have been brainwashed into learned helplessness that I would probably get a lot of refusals. So maybe I SHOULD rethink this.
A small pocketed sized is way more practical than having cables and it doesn’t need to be recharged very often at all. I recharge mine every 4 months or so and it takes all of 15 minutes to top it off.
It’s also great for changing a cell phone or tablet if you get caught somewhere without a power source, as others have mentioned.
I have a jumper and the charge lasts over 6 months and once charged can jump a battery over 10 times without needing another charge.
With jumper cables unless you have another car or battery near by you're screwed.
Plus it has a port for cell phone charging and a flashlight.
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