We purchased the JNC300XL about a year ago to power a camera system we were developing for a truck. We needed 12Vdc vehicle power while in the lab and in the field for testing off the vehicle. It charges quickly, holds a charge for months and is light and compact. Last summer my wife called to say she was first in a left turn lane on a busy expressway and her car stalled and would not start. I grabbed to JNC300XL where it had set for months without a charge and off I went. I connected it to her battery and it provided plenty of power to turn over her fair sized V6 engine and start the car. The nice thing is it was a quick hook up. I wasn't in the middle of a busy road trying to get my car close enough to her car to string a couple of jumper cables. It is great for powering gadgets that normally plug into a cigarette lighter for power. You unplug the "flashlight" on the front of the unit to access the cigarette lighter plug. As with all batteries it should be charged every several months to keep the batteries from becoming un-chargeable. Since it is a sealed spill proof lead-acid battery like a car battery it does not have a memory nor will it be damaged by being topped off once in a while. It will die if left discharged for a long period. The manual can be found at [...] Jump-N-Carry JNC300XL 900 Peak Amp Ultraportable 12V Jump Starter with Light
I already had a JNC 660 for my truck and wanted to put smaller units in each of our cars. I bought 3 of these, then 2 more for Christmas gifts. They are easy to use and much more dependable than the cheap imports with lots of whistles and bells.... I prefer the larger unit for my dodge 1500 with a V-8 (I've jumped it 5 or 6 times between charges without a problem... electrical trouble...) This smaller unit is great for our Toyota 4 cylinder cars and Chrysler Concorde with a 3.5 6 cylinder. These beat the heck out of jumper cables, and my daughter and wife don't have to ask strangers for help... or wait for AAA.
GREAT PRODUCT! for the price.
I spent 2-3 hours on-line looking for what I needed. A Battery Jumper: 1) not too much money, 2)would help me start my car immediately...This accomplished both needs. This is the cheapest, most reliant item. Ignore the Black&Decker item. I read too many bad reviews.
I used this one 5 times (within 2 months) before I took my car into the shop to correct the REAL problem ---My real problem: I bought a cheap replacement battery.
This item saved me from having my Auto Club telling me, "SORRY, YOU HAVE CALLED US TOO MANY TIMES".
This Jump-N-Carry appears to have been repackaged by Griot's Garage and sold for twice to price as Amazon. It has identical features except for color and stickers. I have a 2004 half-ton pickup that I use for towing a travel trailer. The truck is heavily bedecked with high tech equipment (engine programer, gps, cb radio,satellite radio, back up camera, spotlight, etc) and frequently the battery is too low to start the truck when it is not driven for several days. Also, I have rescued many clicking starters of stranded drivers in parking lots during my travels. It is comforting to have this jumper riding shotgun during my travels. I highly recommend this jumper.
I highly recommend this jump starter without reservation.
I got this a few days ago (fully charged upon arrival). I probably won't have much of a need to use it to jump start autos, but rather to run 12V devices through it's 12V outlet. This it does just fine. Nice little, light unit.
The description (and the on-line owner's guide) don't mention a 12V outlet socket, but it's there. One other reviewer just mentioned it in passing so I thought I'd check before ordering. I called both the technical support and sales numbers from the owner's guide and on line. One said, "No 12V outlet in this model." Other said, "Older model had no socket, in newer version flashlight unplugs revealing standard 12V socket." If the (incorrect) belief that there is no 12V outlet socket has influenced your buying decision, it just ain't so.
I wish all cars had auto shut-off feature so that it turns off the headlights and all electronics (except for door lock), so that if you forget to turn these off and remove the key, it wouldn't be sucking power off of your car's battery. My Mercedes would turn off the headlights and all electronics but my Honda would not. Having been spoiled by the Mercedes, I often forget to turn off the headlights and interior lights on my Honda, resulting in a dead battery.
Since I bought this jump starter, fortunately I didn't have to use it because I never ran into a situation. But just yesterday, I had someone walk up to me as I was proceeding to get into my car, asking if I had a jumper cable. I told him I had more than just a jumper cable and handed him this jump starter. Five minutes later, the guy came back very happy and told me that it worked on the first attempt.
Even though I had charged it almost 3 months ago, it worked on the first attempt which is reassuring. I didn't want to write a review of this product until I had tested it and now I am doing it because I do think this is a great product and can save you a lot of hassle. Please make sure to take it out to fully charge it every 3-4 months so you don't end up with a dead battery AND a dead starter.
***Update 09/04/2011***
Just to give you update, I have been using this product for more than a year now. I only had to charge it once. Its internal battery is just amazing if you're only using this for a quick jump-start every once in a while. I have used it at least more than a dozen times and it has always worked flawlessly. I last charged it several months ago and it still shows that the internal battery has enough juice to go on (two green LEDs).
Even after using it for more than a year, I am still raving about it. This purchase was well worth it and it has saved me a lot of time since I bought it.'
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