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Best Battery Booster?
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02-06-2021, 12:42 PM | #1 |
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Best Battery Booster?
Hello, I am trying to figure out which battery boosters are the best for BMW's? I researched the NOCO Genius GB70 2000A booster & the Suoaki U28 2000A I've heard they're pretty good, but I'm not sure how good they are for luxury cars like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi's. Anyone have best recommendations? Also, I have a 2006 E90 330Xi N52B30
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02-06-2021, 03:42 PM | #2 | |
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If you want to keep your battery charged instead of paying MORE for a Booster ($200 & $150 for the two you show) than you would pay for a replacement H8 Battery ($120 to $130), then HFT sells a good 6-Amp battery charger for $40. If you want to be able to Start most automobiles with a dead battery, then Amazon carries what you need for $43 US: https://www.amazon.com/LOFTEK-Portab...2646774&sr=8-7 "Luxury" autos use batteries made by the same sources and basic specifications as Toyota, Kias, Hyundai, etc. Since you are in CA, I would suggest reading about the effects of LOW Temperature (<0 F) on safely starting a vehicle with dead battery, frozen battery due to low charge & Ambient Temp, etc. The Devil is ALWAYS in the details, and people trying to sell a particular product are NOT going to properly cover, or educate YOU about, those details. George |
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02-06-2021, 08:45 PM | #3 | ||
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02-06-2021, 10:40 PM | #4 | |
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https://abbreviations.yourdictionary...eviations.html Amazon.ca just uses the 2-letter, so-I figured you would understand. https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=battery+bo...s_ts-doa-p_4_6 So WHAT is with prices, shipping, and PROTECTIVE Trade on YOUR side of the Lakes? I thought Trumpty-Dumpty was going to ruin China Trade (extremely LOW tool costs: Harbor Freight Tools, Walmart, Amazon US, etc., but CA/CAN prices are outrageous. For some reason, the reasonably-priced units sold by Amazon.US are NOT available on Amazon.CA (CAN ;-), and the NOCO GB70 is $225 in CA vs. $200 in US (Amazon). I don't have any idea HOW they arrive at the "2000A" Rating. That CANNOT be the same type rating as the 900 to 1000 CA (Cranking Amps) rating of an H8 (largest case that will fit in E9x) FLA battery. I would certainly think the 1000Amp-rated "Loftek" for $43 would be ALL you need for a 3.0L N52 Gas Engine in 330xi or 328i/xi https://www.amazon.com/LOFTEK-Portab...omotive&sr=1-5 Battery Explosion is the biggest hazard in performing Jumpstarts, but of course with the E9x, you NEVER open the trunk where the battery is, you apply jumpers at Jumpstart Terminals under the hood, so that is NOT a factor unless you are helping someone with underhood battery. You ONLY have ONE pair of eyes. Here are some other examples of "DEALS" on Battery-related Tools from HFT: 1) a PLUG-IN charger & Jump Starter for $30 (Normally $55) that can Trickle-charge @ 2A, Regular charge @ 10A, or Jump @ 50A. 2) Multimeter for $7, so you can put one in each car & toolbox. https://www.harborfreight.com/10250a...attery+charger https://www.harborfreight.com/7-func...ter-63759.html Can't help with CA/CAN Tariffs, Shipping, etc. Virtually EVERYTHING in tools that I have bought in last 15 years was made in China, and the ONLY thing that has broken or failed to work is the box end of a 19mm Combo Wrench. I MAY have been hitting the other end with a hammer instead of using Impact Wrench (I DO have air tools ;-), so probably user error/abuse. I have TWO Lenovo Laptops. The Eldest is 9.5 Years-old and the battery was replaced once ($25). NO issues with EITHER. I'm sure the Chinese would blame IBM (from whom they got "ThinkPad" rights) IF there WERE issues. Please share your choice and assessment upon use, George |
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02-06-2021, 10:45 PM | #5 | |
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https://amazon.com/dp/B07Q13H23F/ref...XFHA7FB8KZT2WA If you're looking for something portable, grab any of those big portable chargers from Harbor Freight. They've got a tire inflator, usb charger, and all sorts of stuff built in. |
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02-06-2021, 10:48 PM | #6 |
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I saw a review of some of these on ProjectFarm on youtube. I don't think any of them live up to their amperage claims, but the bigger ones of better brands did manage to turn a truck engine over even when cold.
I never see it talked about, but using INPA has a State of Health value under the IBS menu. It's starts at something like 3.xx% and rises from there. Mine is at about 12% at about 3.5 years old. I'm not sure what how that SOH compares to % remaining capacity, but the IBS is gathering enough information to estimate that. If that's the case, then good quality lead acid batteries are normally pretty reliable down to 50% capacity. I'll probably replace replace with the SOC rises to 40% or so so there's some margin for cold weather. |
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02-06-2021, 11:44 PM | #7 |
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I swear every time there’s a thread from a Canadian OP asking for product recommendations, someone suggests Harbor Freight, which unfortunately we don’t have up here. Seems to happen to me every time.
A few years ago during winter I bought a Noco Genius trickle charger for my Dad and the wires split at the stress relief the first time I used it. I ended up exchanging it for a more expensive model, but not surprisingly it had the same garbage insulation that became completely stiff and brittle when temps got even just a little cold. Ended up proactively taping around the stress relief and some other areas to prevent cracking and it’s been okay as far as I know, but that’s only because he’s careful not to bend the wires when plugging or unplugging. Unless the Noco model you posted has better insulation on its wiring, I would look at something else.
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02-07-2021, 12:06 AM | #8 | |
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There is a LOT of data in INPA, and the problem I have is trying to correctly interpret it. As a practical matter, I have NEVER seen a battery fail to crank the starter of ANY vehicle for 2 seconds, at ANY temp > 10F, as long as its voltage measured 12.0 Volts or more. In warm weather, most will crank if > 11.9V. Of course if it has a "Bad Cell" or internal fault, it will FLUNK the load test imposed by the Starter. It could be charged to a Voltage of 12.5 V 10 minutes after disconnecting charger. Waiting that 10 minutes is necessary for "Surface Charge" to dissipate. But as soon as you press START, all you get is "CLICK" with NO Starter engagement or rotation of engine, and your battery voltage NOW reads about 10.5 V. Charge it up again and the same thing happens. Over the years, nearly half of the batteries I have had to replace failed EXACTLY that way. I have had a battery charger "forever" and I don't sweat losing charge in 24-48 hours due to sulfation, or age. However when the battery flunks a Starter Load test, it's DONE. The question has been asked in another thread: "What's considered good battery Volts?" BMW basically says (E90 Voltage Supply TM) the function of the IBS and Power Management Module is to shut down consumers, wake-ups, etc. as needed. "SoC is used during key “OFF” periods to insure the battery maintains a sufficient charge to start the engine at least one more time." E90 Voltage Supply & Bus Systems (BMW Training Manual), Page 10. So it's NOT too far from the truth that BMW considers good Battery Volts as "ENOUGH to start the engine at least ONE MORE TIME." Since the primary purpose of the Battery is to Start the Engine (and NOT to play tunes for 2 hours after engine shutdown ;-), it may sound trite and totally BORING, but that's what auto batteries have been used for during the last Century. The Power Management System CANNOT put MORE energy INTO the Battery during Sleep or Engine OFF. ALL it can do is prevent energy DRAIN FROM the Battery. It cannot even prevent Battery drain due to Quiescent Current or Parasitic Draw. It CAN and DOES record such Quiescent Current in the Log found at DME > F5 > F5 > F4 PM InfoField 3. George |
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02-07-2021, 01:59 AM | #9 |
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To actually answer your question, yes, the GB70 works fine for any E9x. Y'know, in case its the alternator that isn't doing its job vs you. Honestly, the GB40 would probably be good enough for most as well considering the engine. They actually are pretty honest (on their descriptions) about what can actually jump which vehicle vs just the numerical (2000/1000A) rating. I've had one and its helped me the one time I needed it and more importantly the two times my wife's other cars needed it. I'm assuming you're considering the "just in case" situation.
The old models' battery had a tendency to expand in too much heat, so be aware. My first one did, but the second has been going good for a few years (that said it's covered under warranty). Newer models have better (smaller) grips so its easier to place on the terminals. GB70 has fixed, and IIRC GB40 and below have removable ones (I don't think that means a whole lot, just in the way you pack it). It's a nice unit to keep even just for the fact you could plug other devices into (like a portable battery) ie USB chargers, and a few accessory items . There's protection against polarity (pretty standard nowadays) and overdelivery - there's also an override for that if you're "sure" and the battery is below the minimal charge threshold. I can't speak about your other battery option as I have no working knowledge of it. But if you have an N5x I'd recommend a GB40 unless you're seriously in that "just in case" mindset or have a lot of "extra" requirements on turnover. I have the GB70 as I'm one of those and I got it for $150 (plus I have a family with trucks). If nothing else, to be the helpful neighbor on the road, its better than pulling out jumpers and risking anything with your own car while jumping someone (or trying to do that interesting 3pt turn on the highway to match hood to hood). |
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02-07-2021, 07:09 AM | #10 |
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If it's going to stay in the garage and you want it to also be good for coding then I'd do what I did this summer and get a RV power supply, at $126 it's crazy bang for buck. You buy a $14 6 gauge set of booster cables, cut them in half, and attach one half to it. I do have Battery Tenders 1/3/4 amps, and yes we're talking $126 + $14 v. $45....and portability.
https://www.amazon.com/WFCO-WF9855-W...s%2C166&sr=8-2 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...DL4H71TK&psc=1 The bang for buck isn't there on the 75A. You also need a 20A outlet, which I have, but the price delta wasn't there for me. https://www.amazon.com/WFCO-WF9875-M...s%2C187&sr=8-2 I tested it to make sure it does what it says. When the car was off, with ignition on, the unit was providing 15A. When I turned on the headlights, 20A. These units are designed to power 12V appliances and to charge RV batteries simultaneously, and so the power is clean. Why reinvent the wheel... Someone here said the car draws about 15A when the ignition is on and I verified that. this is headlights on https://drive.google.com/file/d/17IC...w?usp=drivesdk For me, I wanted to not drain the battery if I am doing something like ISTA-D I never really got into the coding thing--I watched someone code the keys for my wife's GM and realized the interface is different. My take is it might fail or take forever otherwise (laptop communicating with car)...so I erred to the side of caution |
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02-07-2021, 07:22 AM | #11 | |
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It lead me down the rabbit hole of what constitutes "clean" power. Meaning you plug it into the car and the car wants 70 amps or something, clean power supplies are regulated to stay at 13.6 volts regardlesss of 1-70 amps. Whereas the cheap devices may spike to 16 volts...remember v = ir, so as i goes up, v goes up if unregulated or loosely regulated. That's what led me to the RV power supply--the RV has its 12V appliances riding on this device, and excess juice charges its battery. If it didn't stay at 13.6v max, it would fry a lot of stuff....that's when I said why pay $450 when something without the fancy casing and gauge can be done for $130? Just diy that's what everyone here does anyway... EDIT this looks great but now it's almost $600--when I was watching the video for the ABS/DSC hydro pump replacement, I noticed the gentleman had a device hooked up to his car and wondered what it was. Ideally when you're doing all those functions, you want to be like a dealer and have the car plugged into to power, not relying upon the battery...say the car goes into power save while you're doing the ABL bleed or something... https://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-IN...36251138&psc=1 You can build one yourself, and spend the savings on Game Stop stock! https://www.amazon.com/WFCO-WF9855-W...s%2C200&sr=8-2 Last edited by John 070; 02-07-2021 at 07:39 AM.. |
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03-02-2021, 06:42 PM | #12 | |
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https://bimmerprofs.com/ibs-non-registered-battery/ https://bimmerprofs.com/replacing-the-battery/ https://bimmerprofs.com/battery-dont...stered-really/ I've watched the SOH reading go to 0 immediately after registering a battery. It increases from there (over months and years) and readers show it as 100-(read value) = "Remaining Health" so my 11.72 is 88.28% health left. From what I've read, the SOC reading isn't accurate most of the time. I think I'd read that when the car is powered fully off (as in all modules in sleep) for 2 hours, then it takes the battery voltage and temperature and computes an accurate state of charge at the moment. I think that's still available to be read if you read it before starting the car, but after that, it seems like it wanders around way too quickly. I'm curious what the start capacity readings are. In theory, with a fairly good reading of Ah in/out from one high accuracy SOC reading to the next, they should be able to calculate the total remaining capacity of the battery. The remaining capacity will drop slowly over the life of the battery and it doesn't always mean much as far as being able to start the car, but as that total Ah capacity drops below ~50% of new, lead acids tend to become unreliable and that's when you might suddenly have a loss in cranking ability. I had a 7 year old battery that had been fully drained by failed alternator and after I got the alternator sorted, I measured it's capacity with a full charge and discharge - 27Ah. It worked just fine with the alternator, but at that age with that much capacity loss (Rated at 90Ah, I think) I felt OK about replacing it at my convenience. |
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03-02-2021, 07:14 PM | #13 |
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I had a Noco GB40 and didn't like it. Didn't have the power to jump the 5.0 V8 on my boat (I prefer more power than less), and it wasn't intuitive to use (hold a button down for 10 seconds to activate override?).
Purchased an Audew 2000amp (looks like there's a coupon) as tested by ProjectFarm and have been really happy with it (it jumped the boat!)--so much so that I bought another one. I've used my jump packs to help others more than I've used it on myself. Definitely a good tool to have in your emergency kit. |
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03-03-2021, 10:01 AM | #15 | |
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"clean" power usually refers to things like ripple voltage output from the power supply. a cheapo battery charger for instance is not going to have the same smoothing and rectification as a real nice power supply. I used a dell server power supply and some old jumper cables to build a 60 amp power supply for about $20. It's the "cleanest" cheap option. |
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03-03-2021, 10:53 AM | #16 | |
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My power supply I confirmed it never went to bulk 14.4v (again this is a bonafide RV power supply by WFCO). If the amperage were low it was around 13.8v, and even 20 amps it was doing 13.2v. So let's say at 13.5 volts or thereabouts a battery has begun to float at 0.1 amps. My WFCO that can deliver 55 amps is overkill and it cannot be 100% efficient. So by that definition, to deliver only 0.1 amps, it will use more current than a 1A battery tender. I actually tested my 3A battery tender on my reasonably drained Lexus sitting outside for 4 weeks undriven--it was doing 2.88A at 13.4 volts--my measurement confirms it's doing what it is supposed to. So a person asking this question could walk into costco, drop $40, leave, and never ask again lol Me I'm testing everything because I'm curious by nature. I have a APC 1500SMTC in the box for 2 years. I pulled it out, and the battery is at 95%. Amazing. I plugged the gas dryer into it And saw the load go to 55%. The battery alone for this UPS runs roughly $150. I think its specs are 12V and 18ah, not sure. I also popped a particular 20A breaker in the house plugging in my WFCO, and my WFCO into the APC. I believe both may have capacitors as not plugged into the wall the WFCO's fan starts up when connected to a battery. seriously, I wonder how your Dell would stack up to this This set me back $126 and again I tested it connected to the 335i with ignition and lights on, and it was delivering 20 amps to the car, at about 13.2 volts, exactly what's published... https://wfcoelectronics.com/product/wf-9855-55-amp/ |
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03-03-2021, 12:01 PM | #17 | |
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The truth is, Lithium batteries don't do well with temperature extremes or high surge discharge currents. And those are the two most common attributes of jump starting a car. What I mean by "don't do well" is the internal resistance goes up so high that it can't delivery enough current to do the job. Lithium batteries just aren't designed for below freezing operation. Lead acid discharges just fine in freezing temps. Lithium batteries are also prone to thermal runaway and fire issues. The high current Lithium Polymer type of pouch cells in these batteries are not dissimilar to RC racing quad types. And they do actually catch fire. At the very least, excessive discharge currents cause the cells to puff up and offgas, ruining the battery. I'm a huge proponent of Lithium battery tech and I'm not a lead acid fanboy. But I'm willing to acknowledge the facts. Lithium is sensitive. Lead acid is hardy. Here would be my pros/cons: Lithium Pro: Lighter weight Smaller Lower self discharge Cheaper (maybe?) USB in/out Flashing LEDs and fancy packaging Lead-free Lead Acid Pro: Easier to operate (Always on: no diode pack/mosfets/power button BS) Safer (less fire risk) Better with extreme temps Higher sustained (actual) cranking current It's the correct voltage (12V nominal) (Lithium are either 11.1V or 14.8V nominal) Highly recyclable Cobalt-free Edit: there are also ultra capacitor boosters. These rely on a little bit of charge still available in the "mostly dead" lead acid battery in the car. Sounds interesting but since they can't start a completely dead car, I wouldn't recommend them as your only solution. Last edited by ewicky; 03-03-2021 at 12:38 PM.. |
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03-03-2021, 08:36 PM | #18 | |
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and I tested it to 59 amps at 13.8 volts before it's overcurrent protection freaked out. It does take minor modifications to defeat the over voltage protections, and a resistor to then set the voltage. using my fancy wattmeter for model airplanes that's really just a voltage shunt. |
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