Gone are the days when you had to plaintively hold up the jumper leads hoping that a Good Samaritan fellow motorist would stop and give you the benefit of their running engine and ample electric power to kick start the dead battery in your vehicle and fire up the engine.
Gone also are ether days of the small suit cased sized jump starter packs taking up lots of room and with dubious reliability.
These days the wonders of lithium has allowed makers to produce tiny jump starters that can hide in your glove box, have an enormous charge and performance and can fire your vehicle up in seconds.
One such jump starter came into the T&B News office the other day and we have to say we have been very impressed with Projecta’s new INTELLI-START 1220A jumpstarter which uses something the company describes as Rapid Recharge Technology or RRT, which was seen in its INTELLI-START Professional 1500A model.
As you may know traditional jumpstarters require regular recharging particularly if used frequently, and if this maintenance is overlooked, the jumpstarter will lose charge in the same way that a battery does.
Like the IS1500 model, the new IS920 and IS1220 do away with traditional recharging, instead, once the vehicle is running, the user simply leaves the jumpstarter connected to the running vehicle for 40 seconds to replenish the charge used to start it.
The new models’ Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO₄) battery and clever engineering allows them to accept charge from the vehicle alternator and receive a much higher current charge compared with other Lithium batteries and conventional lead acid batteries.
This saves time and increases convenience, as the jumpstarter will always be charged and ready when next needed to keep you moving. Other benefits of the LiFePO₄ batteries include a longer operational life (up to 1800 battery cycles) – that’s around four times higher than competitor products.
Both the IS920 and IS1220 are suitable for use on a wide range of vehicles including motorcycles, watercraft, passenger cars and four-wheel drives, and can be used in extreme temperatures, even as low as -20°C.
Providing 900A peak amps and 240A clamp power, the IS920 can start four, six and eight-cylinder petrol engines of up to a 6.0l capacity, and will have enough charge to jump a vehicle with a flat battery up to 14 times (more of course if the jumpstarter is recharged at the time of use).
The more powerful IS1220 with 1200A peak amps and 400A clamp power provides even greater versatility, and is suitable for petrol engines of up to 7.0l capacity and on diesels as large as 4.5l. This unit holds enough charge to jump start a petrol engine up to 68 times or a diesel as many as 34 times. With the patented RRT though, it’s fast and easy to keep the device at full charge all of the time.
As well as being easy, convenient and practical, the new IS920 and IS1220 jumpstarters are extremely safe to use. Their LiFePO₄ batteries have been purpose-built for jumpstarting and specifically for cranking, making them much safer than the Lithium Cobalt (LiCoO₂) batteries found in many competitors’ jumpstarters.
Other safeguards include an ‘all-in-one protection system’ that prevents surges, short-circuits, overheating and overcharging. The units also feature premium, ergonomically-designed clamps that won’t spark if they’re not correctly connected, protecting both the user and the vehicle.
Operating the new models is also simple – an indicator light lets the user know that the jumpstarter is correctly connected to the battery, while another light shows the level of remaining charge.
For added durability the IS920 and IS1220 are resistant to dust and dirt, and are splash proof – rated to IP53. They also feature a rubber moulded housing that’s impact and drop resistant.
Other benefits of these new models include a 2.1A USB outlet that allows the units to be used as powerbanks to recharge mobile devices; they also include a bright, built-in L.E.D light which is perfect for breakdown or emergency situations.
Both new models feature a compact design, removable clamps and come with a convenient storage pouch, allowing them to easily fit in most gloveboxes and meaning they’re always at hand and ready for use.
“Mums, dads, adventurers, P platers or for lending a helping hand to someone else with a flat battery, these jumpstarters are designed for everyone,” Projecta marketing manager Jake Smith, said
The new INTELLI-START IS920 and IS1220 jumpstarter models can be purchased at all leading transport, automotive and four-wheel drive outlets throughout Australia.
