Jaycar 5-in-1 Emergency Car Jump Starter, 240V Inverter, Air Compressor & Light $119 (RRP $149)

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Jaycar Electronics

• 

  51ngh on 05/06/2013 - 18:35

  Maybe this is just in time for me.
  I was thinking of buying a 300W Powertech inverter from Jaycar. This sells for around $70. For just an additional $50 bucks, how can they fit a tyre pressure gauge, jump start cables, dials etc ?

  Does this mean that getting a stand alone inverter would be of a better quality one than something like above ?

  • 

    SteveAndBelle on 05/06/2013 - 18:47

    There isn't much to an inverter these days however yes I'd say the stand-alone inverter would be a better unit. What are you planning to power with the Inverter anyway and what does it consume?

    • 

      51ngh on 05/06/2013 - 21:23

      A laptop (120W) and maybe a Coyle of phones and a tablet.
      I reckon 300W would be enough

      • 

        51722 on 05/06/2013 - 21:57

        Laptop chargers typically don't like modified sine-wave inverters. The 300W inverter (MI5104) mentioned is also a modified sine wave inverter.

        If the aim is to charge a laptop only, buy a dedicated car charger. Not only is it efficient (DC-DC transformer), it is also cheap(er). MP3472 for example is a decent car charger.

• 

  [Deactivated] on 05/06/2013 - 18:52

  i am also looking for one this winter. the mobile soldering use is good of square wave inverter lol
  if you dont need an inverter then the kmart one is probably better for $60

  http://www.kmart.com.au/product/performer-900-amp-powerstati…

  there is a guy on youtube with a bee in his bonnet about these devices who does a teardown and the lack of quality design of these 5 in 1 items means buying multiple devices is a good strategy…

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 05/06/2013 - 19:15

    Wherever you buy a jumpstarter pack, particularly if it's from somewhere that doesn't shift many - and especially if it may be a 'limited stock' clearout job - test the voltage!
    At Jaycar you can ask for the use of a multimeter - elsewhere, take one with you or carry a little 3 buck digital panel meter in your pocket.

    New, healthy gel cells (unlike other lead acids), test with a gloss voltage of over 13 volts. Just as a guide - a jumpstarter pack that tests at 12.7 volts has been sitting around for a long time, and even slightly below that will have a significant degree of irreversible sulphation.
    It'll still work - you'll just be dealing with a much shorter service life.

    The convenience of this all-in-one Jaycar unit looks pretty neat.

    When I used to buy a lot more from Jaycar than I do now, the trade card saved me quite a bit of dosh. Worth signing up for, but only as long as you realise just how much cheaper so much of Jaycar's gear - or equivalent - can be had elsewhere.

    • 

      Jooniar on 05/06/2013 - 19:44

      +1

      I worked there for almost 2 years and you're definitely right, Jaycar marks up quite a bit (up to 1000% on big ticket items). But when stock is discontinued it generally comes down below cost, but this is at the discretion of the area manager.

      If you're familiar with the store and the employees there like you they'd be more inclined to give you the trade price but on some sale items it doesn't apply.

    • 

      SteveAndBelle on 05/06/2013 - 20:03

      Oh yeah, completely agree. I used to buy HEAPS from Jaycar back in the late 80s & early-mid 90s but I do most of my electronics shopping online now and from OS saving bundles in the process… but not usually for bulky heavy items like this because of course the shipping kills the savings. It also doesn't help that every time I visit a store I have to hunt through all the plastic novelty crap before I get to the good stuff… and why oh why did they ever decide to stop stocking decent speaker kits?!? Their Kit department seems to be dwindling too :( Sign of the times I suppose.

    • 

      [Deactivated] on 07/06/2013 - 18:25

      I picked up the kmart model, the residual charge out of the box was 12.9v.
      Electus prices are still too high, the world has moved on and mail order direct from china by the end consumer is second nature. Local stores shirking their warranty obligations on items with 1000% markup didn't help them.
      There hasn't been a big name go under for a while, must be another due soon?

• 

  SteveAndBelle on 05/06/2013 - 19:56

  Just cracked them open and both have relatively new batteries (late 2012) but of course this doesn't indicate when they were last charged however they both tested over 12.9V so all good there.

  How do they fit it all in? Well they keep everything in its rawest, cheapest form… check out the pic here: http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w159/SteveAndBelle/JumpSt… That compressor piston can't be any bigger than a AA battery but hey it'll get you out of a sticky situation so all good. I'd say it's the unit that they use for those $5 cheapie compressors Dickies sell. The inverter PCB and especially the row of transistors looks to be the same as the setup in my separate 'toy' inverter so probably no real difference there. The front panel PCB is typically cheap but seems to work OK so all good there. The wiring is typically as minimal as it needs to be but again it seems to do the trick and the battery is just a generic Chinese 18Ah SLA easily replaceable later with one from Jaycar.

  My first unit has saved me a call to the auto club twice now… once because the main battery was low and the second time the battery was low again plus I had a flat tyre from a slow leak. I was up and running within about 5 minutes and drove off happy. Without it I would've sat there for 45-60 minutes waiting for help to arrive so to me these are excellent. The inverter is just a handy addition in this particular unit and would be worth $30-$40 just by itself.

  I know these are cheap & nasty but I looked into building one of these myself from decent quality components and into a Pelican type briefcase however I gave up after the shopping list exceeded several hundred dollars. Yes it would've lasted for decades and this will probably only last the life of its battery but sheesh it's also a fraction of the cost allowing me to buy one for each car and have a spare for the Workshop and still be hundreds & hundreds in front.

  Would I rely on one of these to get me out of trouble in the middle of nowhere? Of course not but they're a great device to have for those times when you really couldn't be stuffed waiting or good enough to get the car to the nearest servo.

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 05/06/2013 - 20:08

    nice teardown.
    the main problem lies in the main functions of the unit. the battery and its charger.
    the battery rating is in chinese amp hours. in reality 0.6 of listed.
    the other is the charging circuit, a half wave inverter. if these are left to charge too long it would boil the battery regardless of its quality.
    to replace a battery with a decent one is more than the entire unit, as you have said.

    • 

      [Deactivated] on 05/06/2013 - 21:13

      I've had three Ritar gel cells pre-installed in devices I've owned. Very non-descript performance and life, but probably par for the course relative others out of China.

      As long as the amperage of the charger is not too high relative to the capacity of the battery, if you have a decent multi-step car charger there's nothing stopping you from using that instead. Just connect it to the alligator clips.

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  cbpeh1 on 05/06/2013 - 22:38

  its spec says 500A cranking amps. does anyone know if that is strong enough to jumpstart a V8 landcruiser?

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 05/06/2013 - 23:21

    Effectively, these packs work to supplement the juice that your main battery can still deliver, so it depends. They add to the cranking amps and equally importantly boost the overall voltage your starter motor receives.
    Heavy to lift, weighty to transport, but simply put, the bigger the pack - the better. This Jaycar pack has an 18Ah battery, mine has a 24Ah, and the next pack size up I remember seeing had two 17Ah batteries inside.
    All will help start your 4wd, but the smaller the pack the more it'll struggle if your main battery is in a lousy state.
    It does need to be said though - the smaller the pack the less likely you are to break your back…