Looking for recommendations for a portable jump starter for our cars.
There's a bunch out there to choose from.
My 300SD has been good this year and I want to get it a nice Xmas present


Thanks,
Jeff

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1984 300SD 300,000 miles--two tank WVO setup
2.88 diff & 500SEL anti-squat rear end

I do not know the answer to that one, and most of them seem to have a hard time with the glow plug cycle.

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RRGrassi


70's Southern Pacific #5608 Fairmont A-4 MOW car

13 VW JSW 2.0 TDI 193K, Tuned with DPF and EGR Delete.

91 W124 300D Turbo replaced, Pressure W/G actuator installed. 210K

90 Dodge D250 5.9 Cummins/5 speed. 400K

They are best with gassers. With a gasoline engine you can still be cranking well but if the voltage drops too low you won't have enough voltage for a good spark at the spark plugs.

On a Diesel it is more about available amperage.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

In my experience, portable jump starters have a difficult time with these cars. First it’s the glow plugs, then turning the big ol starter against 300 psi of compression...

Some tow drivers need to double jumper packs. If your battery is totally dead, you’re gonna have a hard time starting it regardless. Find the strongest jumper pack and keep it charged. You’ll need to replace it every few years now

Project Farm tested a few recently. I like the capacitor one the best, less need to keep it charged, but I don't think it'd handle our glow plugs at all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN8A2nIMUWA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixWPx79g3yk

I have an off brand jump starter pack, it jumped a buddy's motorcycle just fine but wouldn't even try to crank over my 13hp Generac engine in my generator. Maybe it needs to sense some level of battery voltage before it'll do anything, and it was the only battery in the system on the Generac. I would not rely on it for anything but charging a cellphone.

On the flip side, with the larger battery and 150a continuous duty alternator, I've been able to jump start much larger vehicles than a lil Yota normally would be able to. 7.3l diesel without much trouble, and with half an hour of idling and charging we were able to get a buddy's semi truck started.

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617 swapped Toyota Pickup, 22-24 MPG, 50k miles on swap

Thanks to all for the input. Project Farm did a good job of testing.
The reason I stated looking is I recently ran out of fuel on the Hwy.
My fuel sender isn't working right. I knew I was getting low and was heading for fuel.

I was able to coast to the next off ramp and get safely to the side.
My wife who was close by brought me some fuel but I killed the battery
trying to purge and start the engine. Almost started. If I had had the portable
jumper, I could have started the car. Engine was plenty warm.

I called AAA for a jump-they said it would be a 45 min wait.
5 min after I hung up a tow truck pulls up behind me and a guy jumps out
"Do you need any help?" No, it wasn't AAA--California has a program called
FSP--Freeway Service Patrol, which is free to stranded drivers.

At no charge they will give you: a gallon of fuel; change your tire; jump start; temporary repairs or get you towed off the Hwy.

Anyways, that's what got me thinking about the portable jump starter.
One of the better units on the Project Farm video would have started the car.


Jeff

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1984 300SD 300,000 miles--two tank WVO setup
2.88 diff & 500SEL anti-squat rear end

I bought one of those compact lithium based packs off Amazon. I tested it when I first got it just to be sure it was "alive". Never had a need for it until over a year later. Found it was completely dead and nothing would get it back working again. Lady in china said they would give me a credit, but they never did. It was out of the 12 month warranty.

If you buy one, get a brand name from local store - or an AAA/CAA membership and a phone

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Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5

you could build your own pack with some headway batteries.
16 or 20 should do it.
https://batteryhookup.com/products/new-headway-38120-hp-3-2v-8ah-lifepo4-10-20-2020

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1977 240D auto w/OM616.916 engine
2005 Matrix 5spd
2006 Prius

https://photos.app.goo.gl/AdP7i8xfCJeFuk5y9

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You definitely have to keep them charged.

Lithium batteries in particular don't handle that kind of discharge, a single run-flat event can kill them entirely. Even if it doesn't, it will absolutely damage them, so they'll never have the same capacity again and will have reduced lifespan.

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617 swapped Toyota Pickup, 22-24 MPG, 50k miles on swap

I bought a 1500A GooLoo on Prine day last year. It’s got a fair amount of grunt for a little battery, but I wouldn’t trust it to jump a flat and cold Om617.
Stupid computer on it is unreliable. It’s set up to only provide juice when it thinks that it is safe to do so.
It did jump my 2.4l Volvo with a totally flat battery, that is after I figured out how to use the damn thing and it decided to work. It also jumped my 7.3l Powerstroke when the batteries were super weak. It’s portability is nice, but keeping lithium ion batteries in hot car isn’t good for them, so it lives inns garage

I bought a NOCO battery charger on the recommendation of a friend who is a retired Nissan engineer working at a small engine shop. He says they use the charger every day and it has worked well for years.

NOCO makes jump chargers also. Perhaps research their products. Here's one example.

https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GB50-UltraSafe-Lithium-Gasoline/dp/B07MVY7K43/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?dchild=1&hvadid=77927939186467&hvbmt=bb&hvdev=c&hvqmt=b&keywords=noco+jump+starter&qid=1608485786&sr=8-2-spons&tag=mh0b-20&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyRzRINEsyOUk3UjY0JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwODEzODI5MVBZMDAxVFg5NTc3UiZlbmN yeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwODM1OTI5OFFZVVFOTkczNUtLJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm9 0TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

For what it's worth, I bought one at Costco about a year ago, works fine for starting my 124 diesels when the batteries get low. I do not like the computerized 'feature' that decides if it is really hooked up to a low battery, as I had hoped to be able to use this as a 12v power source at the pick-n-pull. Mine cannot be used as a simple 12v power source, you need to either connect it to a low battery or figure out a way to fool it.

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Respectfully,
/s/
M. Dillon
'87 124.193 (300TD) "White Whale", ~392k miles, 3.5l IP fitted
'95 124.131 (E300) "Sapphire", 380k miles
'73 Balboa 20 "Sanctification"
Charleston SC

This Lokithor JA301 is absolutely amazing!I bought from lokithorshop. One day after receiving this unit and charging it I received the call from a friend who had a flat tire on his motorcycle. The unit pumped up the tire to 38psi in about a minute from totally flat! The battery indicator did not move at all from full and C Unit did not struggle. The flashlight feature is great especially if you breakdown and need an SOS light that flashes. I'm totally impressed by the size and the amount of lumens that this unit puts out. The jump test was great and of course I had to use it on a 350 V8 engine and it did not disappoint however it did drain the battery down significantly which was expected.
I absolutely love the fact that I can set the PSI for inflation and just let the unit do the rest.
I would totally recommend this for anyone who is looking for extra safety when traveling, camping or just regular day today driving.
Very compact, rugged and feels premium.

I've got a Li jump pack from Harbor Freight, but don't recall if I tested it on my 300D's, just my V-6 gas engine. One thing to note with them is that most turn off the jump output after 1 minute, so you need to get the glowplug and start cycle within that time of setting it to "start", which isn't too hard. Might be hard turning over a cold diesel engine, but should work if the engine is warm or a hot day.

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1984 & 1985 CA 300D's
1964 & 65 Mopar's - Valiant, Dart, Newport
1996 & 2002 Chrysler minivans

Old school jumper cables and a few minutes hooked up to the running booster car so your battery can charge a bit before the jump start, would have got you going in that case.

Sorry, I know that doesnt help with your question, I just suggest that whatever pack you end up with, old school jumper cables would be a nice to have as backup.

Which reminds me, I need to get cables to keep in the trunk of the 300D just in case. I already have them in most of the other cars.