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GumbyCT wrote:

moresleep wrote:Many of the reviewers were saying that it worked at first, but then let them down.

My perception was those people were following the billbolton method and not keeping the battery on charge as you were saying in your post.

moresleep wrote:One thing to consider when choosing a jump start battery is whether it seems to have charging circuitry such that it will go into a float/maintenance mode after the battery is charged. This has a lot to do with how much life you are going to get out of the battery, if you leave it plugged in to the mains all the time.

I would shy away from any product that comes with a discount coupon for repair as that likely means you will need it. Would you buy a car with the same offer? To me a warranty is more attractive.

It has a one-year warranty. The coupon is for repair at anytime, i.e. years, beyond that point. It's quite attractive from my point of view, as it shows a certain faith in the product on the part of its maker. But, I'm not pushing any products, here. Even though I have in the past used them that way, I consider all jump start battery packs a bit "iffy" when used as a UPS. Their AGM sealed lead acid batteries run from poor to good, but none are true deep cycle batteries. And, not enough is known about their charging circuits to have much assurance there, either.

Honestly, when I am looking for a device to use during a power outage, a survival tool, I would want something with more features and can be used for more than one purpose. I have a jump starter that only jumps cars. Paid $25. In fact, that is what got me started using a jump starter for my cpap, using what I had on hand instead of buying a cpap battery.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=28154&p=242683&hili ... ty#p242683

I thought it would be handy to have an inverter, an air compressor, a USB receptacle, and a charge indicator, so I bought one. Going on 2 years ago now.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=47625&p=434501&hili ... 50#p434501

IF it died tomorrow, I'd prob buy another. IF it was just the battery, I'd fix it. Which is what attracted me to this Sears unit. Everyone knows Sears has good batteries and the manual said this battery is "User Replaceable".

Unfortunately, Sears no longer sells the exact placement battery because you can buy the battery elsewhere. So that's what I will do when the day comes that the steady charge kills the battery.

IF my buddy had given me the B&D BEFORE I bought the Sears 1150 I likely would have only replaced the battery in it and as a result only had the one battery during TS Irene in late Aug 2011.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=64943&p=615544&hili ... er#p615544

When reading a review that says it (a battery jump starter) worked fine but then 6 (8 or 10) months later it didn't work I just thought they didn't charge it at all during that time. Maybe not even before or AFTER the first use.

You can't just go out and buy a battery that has been sitting on the shelf (for who knows how long) and go camping this weekend or for a power outage that just happened and expect to get good results.

You have to plan these things and
1. charge the battery up to FULL capacity FIRST, maybe up to a week BEFORE use.
2. Buy or make a cable to fit whatever you will use it with.
3. AND try things out to make sure they do what you expect them to BEFORE you need them. Ever heard of "Fire Drills".

Also you should be aware that many, many websites have bogus reviews posted by bogus reviewers who also taint the competitions reviews. I know I don't rely solely on reviews for movies or restaurants either. What does not appeal to me may in fact appeal to you. As in this case.

IF I could find that $25 Roadmaster again, I would even pay $35 or $45 just for the battery. Then use the 17ah battery either in a UPS or the B&D jumper. You can't find the battery for that price even, so how do they do that?

Another gismo that helped me during the power outage. A DC-DC converter unfortunately it will NOT work on re$med$
BUT did work for my Eton wind-up radio and LED flashlight. So for small things esp. if they have rechargeable batteries.
obtw - I have several rechargeable LED flashlites that will work directly off 12V.
Plus several of those solar LED landscape lites I linked to earlier in this thread.
Those things are great so you don't need to use candles or kerosene lanterns. NO Fire in the house, period.



http://www.amazon.com/12V-2A-DC-Convert ... 054&sr=1-1

Just read another thread where he is having trouble charging the battery when not using it. Thought I'd update this to say mine is working just fine by keeping it plugged into the charger even when using the Jump Starter at nite to power my BiPap. Just keep it going.

It has a 1 Amp 15V wall wart doing the yeoman's work.

For those following along at home this setup is still working like a champ for me. Using it continuously since Jun 09, 2011 kinda like a UPS for cpap or bipap. You just need to get the right power adapter wire to fit your machine or make one yourself.

IF you need to you can pick up the jump starter and go camping if you want. I have two diff jump starters. The spare one also stays plugged in and charging so it is ready to go when ever needed.

I also use the spare around the house or to inflate the car tires or exercise ball, etc. Each jump starter has an AC inverter if needed also.

For those wanting to use Re$med$ with a DC battery keep an eye on this link -
viewtopic/t76448/Do-I-need-to-use-the-D ... my-S8.html

Someone needs to figure out how to make a cord for the $9 Re$med too.

With our first significant rain since the Oct 2011 snowstorm CT and other areas of NE could be in for power outages tonite. IF you have a jump starter, this would be a good nite to give it a go.

I am certainly glad I no longer have to worry about that. IF the power does go out, I can still go get some

http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/weather/m ... 4.html#top

Some areas are w/o power already. Flooding is expected w/high tide at midnite. What's your cpap plugged into?

this is the post use for a battery backup or ups at home or take it camping when using cpap or bipap how many peeps already have one sitting around

For those considering "Solar Power" as an option Harbor Freight often has decent sales on item that may be of interest. Of course there is always Amazon too. But you may have a Harbor Freight store near you.

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsea ... olar+panel

GumbyCT wrote:For those considering "Solar Power" as an option Harbor Freight often has decent sales on item that may be of interest. Of course there is always Amazon too. But you may have a Harbor Freight store near you.

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsea ... olar+panel

They tend to be kinda chinsey though ... For top quality, look at http://www.windsun.com/

123.Shawn T.W. wrote:

GumbyCT wrote:For those considering "Solar Power" as an option Harbor Freight often has decent sales on item that may be of interest. Of course there is always Amazon too. But you may have a Harbor Freight store near you.

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsea ... olar+panel

They tend to be kinda chinsey though ... For top quality, look at http://www.windsun.com/

Chinsey as in chinese? I thought they were all made in China?

I happened to be in a HF store today and saw some on display. Then thought if I didn't know these solar panels were sold at HF maybe others didn't either. Now I know they are also sold at Windsun.com - are those not made in China?

Chinsey as in cheap! Typed on a made in China NOT cheap iPhone, China can make some good quality things, if they bid on a job with quality spec's.

Here is a company that makes panels in AZ, USA http://www.solar-electric.com/kykd140wasom.html certainly not cheap, but something you can depend on! I'm not sure of the other manufactures that make the smaller 20 - 65 watt panels that they sell, but there a whole different league from what HF sells.

We used this company Kyocera to supply our panels for our 30 kw array at a school I use to work at, gov grant required USA manufacture!

Around here a 1 kw system will produce 4 kwh of energy a day on average for the year but I know of places that are closer to 6. An S9 comes with a 90w power supply (at 24V) but they have a 30w power supply as an option that won't run the humidifier. That would mean the basic load for 9 hours is less than 270 watt-hours and 67.5 watt solar system would only just cover the energy needs without losses in a battery charging circuit or the inverter. Someone had a link to how much energy the device takes with different settings and that can be used to fine tune the system, but with solar and battery, the next size up tends to be a good idea.

The panel I linked to is 140 watt, should keep a battery up ... For cpap useage ... Then you need a controller, and battery ...

One thing to remember is that heat is not your friend when it comes to solar panels and batteries ... The two systems we had at school (24kw & 30kw) were grid tie systems, and they actually produce more power during the winter than the summer, even considering the shorter days, as the panels were cooler ... We have about 330 days of sunshine where I live!

Of course going with a battery will about double the cost of the panel(s) as you need a controller, wires, usually an inverter. The disadvantage of grid tie system is that if you loose grid power you can't get any power from you array of panels ...