Friday, May 26, 2017

Product Review: Anker Jump Starter

Ever since I was a kid, I was petrified of the possibility of having to ever jump start my car.  I think I probably watched some B horror movie as a kid that showed me the possibilities of danger lurking anywhere.  (Same reason I don't cook with gas.  As a chef friend of ours said when I said I didn't know why I was afraid to cook with it..."maybe it's because of da kaboom?")  I had a Dodge that was known for having electrical problems when it wasn't run on a regular basis and I would come out to a dead battery more times than I could count.  

When the Mr got his Anker car charger, that dude would look for cars in distress in parking lots because he loved it so much.  He insisted I get one too but the one he found for me was a little different and doubled as a flashlight.  He said if I was stranded somewhere, he wanted me to have it on me.  That's fine.  Then I forgot about it.  When I was on my way out the door for a chiro appointment, I noticed my door wasn't unlocking.  Great.  Totally dead.  The Mr's factory battery died 3 months prior and now it was my turn.  Thankfully he was home when it happened so I grabbed his car.  But when I got back, he said it was time to show me how to jump it before he drove it over to get the battery replaced.  

If you already know how to do this, you can skip it.  If you're a scaredy cat like me, this might just make you feel a little better.

Here's the positive connection...


Making sure on my particular model that the cables are not plugged into the unit, attach the red to the positive connection.


Then clip the black to the negative.


All ready to roll.


Now plug the cables into the power generator part of the unit so the risk of getting jolted is zero.


Clickaroo!


The green light will flash ready but the Mr says he always has to hit the black boost button so he hits that first.


Then he turns the ignition and voila...it starts!


Now the important part to this particular unit, you MUST disconnect it within 30 seconds so no farting around in the car with the radio or A/C.  Go out and unplug the unit from the cables and remove them from the connections and you're done!  Give it a drive around the block to get the juice flowing but it's that easy!  It stays charged for 3 months and holds the charge well even in cold weather.

Now I don't know if they can't keep my model in stock or not but it's currently unavailable.  I'm going to keep checking to see if they get it back in stock and if they do, I'll link to it.  In the meantime, I did a little research and here is a comparable one  (affiliate link) that is small and can provide great peace of mind if you're going on a road trip or sending a kid off to college in the Fall.

Do you feel a little skittish when jump starting your car?

(This post contains an affiliate link.  Should you buy through it, I may get a small commission to help cover blog costs.  You da man!  (Or woman!))

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6 comments:

  1. Everyone should have one of these in every car they own. It's a game changer when it comes to being able to be self sufficient and the fact that the charger can also double as a flashlight and even recharge your phone in a pinch is just icing on the cake...mmm, cake.

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  2. Well that's cool and looks much easier to haul around than jumper cables (and a lot less scary!). I think that will make a good gift for stepkids and my niece!! I'm with the Mr....mmmmmmm....cake. Have a great weekend.

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  3. Before I was allowed to get my license I had to learn some basic maintenance and jumping a car was one of them. I'm not scared. I carry cables at all times, and have jumped strangers in parking lots (ok that sounded dirty, but I left it because... well because it sounded dirty). I also have a battery charger at the house, but it takes a while.

    I should look into getting one of those gadgets you have though. My go to move when my car won't start (which thankfully is very rare these days) is to pop to hood and leave the cable in plain sight and wait for a good Samaritan to pull over. I do have a "rescue" plan through my phone, but it's usually way faster to ask for help from a passerby or even to call a friend.

    How do you charge your gadget? Did it come fully charged? Do you have to plug it in between uses? How long will it hold the charge? I looked at the website, but all I really saw was technically stats and I don't know what all that means in practical terms.

    I'm glad you got the tutorial. Hopefully you won't need to use it with your new battery, but it's always better to know how to do something and never need to do it than the other way around.

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    Replies
    1. You charge it with an included USB charger. It came partially charged but is recommended to fully charge before use. You have to remember to keep it charged, which we do every 3/4 months and that has worked fine for us. Hope that helps!

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  4. I had to very quickly get over my fear of jumping a car when I was a teenager. I had a car that had a crappy battery and it was before the time of portable booster packs so I used to drive around with a second battery and cables so I could give myself a jump without bothering others. I now carry cables with me at all times, even though I am driving a much more reliable car.

    My worst fear about a dead battery came true almost two years ago. There were no signs of issues before, but I was travelling with my boss and another director in our company and of course I was driving. We finished our meeting, got back in the car, and nothing happened. There was no life at all in the battery. It took multiple tries to jump the car and I had to force my boss and the other director to take public transit back to the office while I drove directly to a garage. My boss hasn't let me live it down since :)

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  5. I'm not thrilled with having to jump the car, but I've had to do it. This looks really cool and I like that it's pretty compact for storage.

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