The portable jump starter is a standard piece of kit for your average tow truck operator. DIY auto mechanics are pretty fond of them, too. They are a lifesaver when batteries go dead on otherwise healthy cars. But did you know that the portable power pack you carry in your vehicle is good for more than just an occasional jump start?
Those pocket-size lithium-ion battery boosters might very well be jump-only devices. But invest in a brand like Jump-N-Carry or Booster PAC, and you get so much more. If you already own one, you might be sitting on a bunch of untapped potential languishing in the trunk.
High-capacity Energy Reservoirs
It’s a given that a portable jump starter is a high-capacity energy reservoir. Its main purpose is to deliver hundreds of cranking amps of power in a short burst, power to help you start a car with a dead battery. But it is quite possible that your more expensive jump starter is capable of doing other things. For instance, it could provide emergency backup power in the event of a blackout.
Power for All the Essentials
In the old days, homeowners would keep flashlights and spare batteries lying around the house. Portable radios were also pretty common. These were the devices people relied on when the power went out. And amazingly, power outages were a lot more common 50 years ago.
They are less common in the 2020s, which is why most of us do not think to keep a flashlight with batteries in the utility drawer. When the power goes out, we use the flashlights built into our cell phones. But cell phone batteries don’t last forever, do they? That’s where a portable jump starter comes in.
A portable jump starter can power all the essentials during an outage. Take the previously mentioned Jump-N-Carry and Booster PAC brands, both of which are made by CloreAutomotive.com. The brands are aimed at professionals first, but DIY mechanics and regular homeowners use them too.
With built-in USB ports, a portable jump starter can keep your cell phone charged for days. It can power your laptop computer, your weather radio, and virtually anything else that utilizes a USB port for power. You get all this functionality without having to plug into your car’s entertainment system, thereby avoiding the risk of draining your car battery.
Field Lighting at Roadside
If you are an auto mechanic or tow operator, a good portable jump starter offers even more benefits. For example, a high-end brand might offer built-in field lights. When you are helping a stranded motorist in the middle of the night, your unit can both power a jump start and keep the work area illuminated for everyone’s safety.
If your jump starter doesn’t have built-in utility lights, it may have a power outlet into which you can plug the lights you normally use in the shop. Your favorite 12V LED work light can be taken into the field on every run. Plug it into your jump starter, and you will be able to illuminate the engine compartment just as if you were back in the garage. Best of all, you don’t have to hold a flashlight while you are trying to work on the engine.
There are so many more off-label uses for portable jump starters that they can’t all be discussed in a single post. Here is the point: unless you’re using a packet-size lithium-ion battery pack, the portable jump starter you carry in your vehicle is capable of so much more than just powering an occasional emergency start.
