I have JS5IN1 (jump starter) which hasn't seen the light of day for some
time. The battery is flat, the worklight come son quite brightly but
otherwise nothing. I have attempted to charge it using it's own charger
plug with little result, the compressor will run for a short time but
that's it.

I have a "smart" battery charger the instructions of which suggest it
might be able to revitalise a flat battery. Can I connect this directly
to the JS5IN1 across it's jump cables without doing any damage? Taking
the battery out to charge it would probably be a better option but none
of my screwdrivers will fit the screws I assume hold the case together.

There is a lot of varied expertise in this group so any thoughts?

Thanks.

In article ,
Me wrote:
I have JS5IN1 (jump starter) which hasn't seen the light of day for some
time. The battery is flat, the worklight come son quite brightly but
otherwise nothing. I have attempted to charge it using it's own charger
plug with little result, the compressor will run for a short time but
that's it.

I have a "smart" battery charger the instructions of which suggest it
might be able to revitalise a flat battery. Can I connect this directly
to the JS5IN1 across it's jump cables without doing any damage? Taking
the battery out to charge it would probably be a better option but none
of my screwdrivers will fit the screws I assume hold the case together.

There is a lot of varied expertise in this group so any thoughts?

I have a similar one which I've charged using my Lidl car charger. But
like many chargers, it won't even connect to a very flat battery. And any
type of lead acid battery isn't going to recover fully after being left
flat for a while. It may work well enough for the compressor, but unlikely
to ever jump start again. If its own charger does show it to being
charged, I doubt you'll do much better with another.

--
*A fool and his money can throw one hell of a party.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 05/04/2018 16:24, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Me wrote:
I have JS5IN1 (jump starter) which hasn't seen the light of day for some
time. The battery is flat, the worklight come son quite brightly but
otherwise nothing. I have attempted to charge it using it's own charger
plug with little result, the compressor will run for a short time but
that's it.

I have a "smart" battery charger the instructions of which suggest it
might be able to revitalise a flat battery. Can I connect this directly
to the JS5IN1 across it's jump cables without doing any damage? Taking
the battery out to charge it would probably be a better option but none
of my screwdrivers will fit the screws I assume hold the case together.

There is a lot of varied expertise in this group so any thoughts?

I have a similar one which I've charged using my Lidl car charger. But
like many chargers, it won't even connect to a very flat battery. And any
type of lead acid battery isn't going to recover fully after being left
flat for a while. It may work well enough for the compressor, but unlikely
to ever jump start again. If its own charger does show it to being
charged, I doubt you'll do much better with another.



+1

Had something similar many years ago, the battery gave out after not
very much use even though I was religious in keeping it charged.

If you take it apart it will be a standard sized battery but IMHO you
would be better off just to buy a lithium one if your main purpose is
jump starting (search "jump start" in Amazon or eBay).

Never found the torch, pump, or inverter in these "all in 1" units up to
all that much.

Yes unfortunately normal lead acid batteries do not like no use.
I'd have a look and see if you can first source a screwdriver then a
battery!
Brian

--
----- -
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please!
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Me wrote:
I have JS5IN1 (jump starter) which hasn't seen the light of day for some
time. The battery is flat, the worklight come son quite brightly but
otherwise nothing. I have attempted to charge it using it's own charger
plug with little result, the compressor will run for a short time but
that's it.

I have a "smart" battery charger the instructions of which suggest it
might be able to revitalise a flat battery. Can I connect this directly
to the JS5IN1 across it's jump cables without doing any damage? Taking
the battery out to charge it would probably be a better option but none
of my screwdrivers will fit the screws I assume hold the case together.

There is a lot of varied expertise in this group so any thoughts?

I have a similar one which I've charged using my Lidl car charger. But
like many chargers, it won't even connect to a very flat battery. And any
type of lead acid battery isn't going to recover fully after being left
flat for a while. It may work well enough for the compressor, but unlikely
to ever jump start again. If its own charger does show it to being
charged, I doubt you'll do much better with another.

--
*A fool and his money can throw one hell of a party.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Me formulated the question :
I have JS5IN1 (jump starter) which hasn't seen the light of day for some
time. The battery is flat, the worklight come son quite brightly but
otherwise nothing. I have attempted to charge it using it's own charger plug
with little result, the compressor will run for a short time but that's it.

I have a "smart" battery charger the instructions of which suggest it might
be able to revitalise a flat battery. Can I connect this directly to the
JS5IN1 across it's jump cables without doing any damage? Taking the battery
out to charge it would probably be a better option but none of my
screwdrivers will fit the screws I assume hold the case together.

There is a lot of varied expertise in this group so any thoughts?

Thanks.

I think once it gets to that stage, it's knackered. As others have
said, if it won't charge from its own charger....

Always found those sort too big anyway and no use for the compressor,
so I went for one of these instead https://tinyurl.com/yasal9sp.
Absolutely brilliant - started a mate's 4.3 litre Lexus LS430 no
problem at all, and the car had stood unused for 6 months.

On 05/04/2018 18:43, Pete Zahut wrote:
Me formulated the question :
I have JS5IN1 (jump starter) which hasn't seen the light of day for
some time. The battery* is flat, the worklight come son quite brightly
but otherwise nothing.* I have attempted to charge it using it's own
charger plug with little result, the compressor will run for a short
time but that's it.


This battery is no more! It has ceased to be! It's expired and gone to
meet its maker! It's a stiff! Bereft of life, it rests in peace! It's
kicked the bucket, shuffled off the mortal coil, run down the curtain
and joined the bleedin' choir invisible!! THIS IS AN EX-BATTERY!!

Bill

On 4/5/2018 3:38 PM, Me wrote:
I have JS5IN1 (jump starter) which hasn't seen the light of day for some
time. The batteryÂ* is flat, the worklight come son quite brightly but
otherwise nothing.Â* I have attempted to charge it using it's own charger
plug with little result, the compressor will run for a short time but
that's it.

I have a "smart" battery charger the instructions of which suggest it
might be able to revitalise a flat battery.Â* Can I connect this directly
to the JS5IN1 across it's jump cables without doing any damage?Â* Taking
the battery out to charge it would probably be a better option but none
of my screwdrivers will fit the screws I assume hold the case together.

There is a lot of varied expertise in this group so any thoughts?

Thanks.
I wouldn't bother...waste of time trying ....

--
Resisting Freemasonry for 39 years .....
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in
their own education.....
I have rarely if ever found anyone out of whom I could not extract
amusement or edification....
Halal intolerant...
Zam Zam intolerant...

On Thu, 05 Apr 2018 19:18:09 +0100, Bill Wright wrote:

On 05/04/2018 18:43, Pete Zahut wrote:
Me formulated the question :
I have JS5IN1 (jump starter) which hasn't seen the light of day for
some time. The batteryÂ* is flat, the worklight come son quite brightly
but otherwise nothing.Â* I have attempted to charge it using it's own
charger plug with little result, the compressor will run for a short
time but that's it.


This battery is no more! It has ceased to be! It's expired and gone to
meet its maker! It's a stiff! Bereft of life, it rests in peace! It's
kicked the bucket, shuffled off the mortal coil, run down the curtain
and joined the bleedin' choir invisible!! THIS IS AN EX-BATTERY!!


Or, as the rappers would express it, "THIS IS AN EX EX-BATTERY!!" :-)

--
Johnny B Good

In article ,
Pete Zahut wrote:
Always found those sort too big anyway and no use for the compressor,
so I went for one of these instead https://tinyurl.com/yasal9sp.
Absolutely brilliant - started a mate's 4.3 litre Lexus LS430 no
problem at all, and the car had stood unused for 6 months.

I've got an ages old one from Lidl. Before Lidl stores were common in the
SE. The compressor part gets used regularly. I'm surprised the battery has
lasted this long. Over 10 years.

--
*24 hours in a day ... 24 beers in a case ... coincidence? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 05/04/2018 18:43, Pete Zahut wrote:
Me formulated the question :
I have JS5IN1 (jump starter) which hasn't seen the light of day for
some time. The battery* is flat, the worklight come son quite brightly
but otherwise nothing.* I have attempted to charge it using it's own
charger plug with little result, the compressor will run for a short
time but that's it.

I have a "smart" battery charger the instructions of which suggest it
might be able to revitalise a flat battery.* Can I connect this
directly to the JS5IN1 across it's jump cables without doing any
damage?* Taking the battery out to charge it would probably be a
better option but none of my screwdrivers will fit the screws I assume
hold the case together.

There is a lot of varied expertise in this group so any thoughts?

Thanks.

I think once it gets to that stage, it's knackered. As others have said,
if it won't charge from its own charger....

Always found those sort too big anyway and no use for the compressor, so
I went for one of these instead https://tinyurl.com/yasal9sp. Absolutely
brilliant - started a mate's 4.3 litre Lexus LS430 no problem at all,
and the car had stood unused for 6 months.

+1

I have one similar in the van which started a diesel tractor in almost
the same state, a smaller one which now lives in the car, and a "spare"
indoors (which came out a couple of times in the winter to start a
neighbour).

Some of them have adaptors to run laptops too, but (as I just found out
this morning) they didn't include a plug for the vet's HP.

On 05/04/2018 15:38, Me wrote:
I have JS5IN1 (jump starter) which hasn't seen the light of day for some
time. The batteryÂ* is flat, the worklight come son quite brightly but
otherwise nothing.Â* I have attempted to charge it using it's own charger
plug with little result, the compressor will run for a short time but
that's it.

I have a "smart" battery charger the instructions of which suggest it
might be able to revitalise a flat battery.Â* Can I connect this directly
to the JS5IN1 across it's jump cables without doing any damage?Â* Taking
the battery out to charge it would probably be a better option but none
of my screwdrivers will fit the screws I assume hold the case together.

There is a lot of varied expertise in this group so any thoughts?

Thanks.

Going slightly OT, pulled an apparently dead 105 AH leisure battery out
of a caravan yesterday (hadn't been used for months and the charging
circuit claimed it was dead when on mains hookup).

Gave it best part of a pint of demin water and stuck it on charge on a
traditional charger, this morning all the cells are bubbling nicely and
it's showing over 14 volts immediately after disconnection. Will stick
it on a smart charger for a few days but I'm quite hopeful.

On Fri, 6 Apr 2018 12:34:24 +0100, newshound
wrote:

snip

Going slightly OT, pulled an apparently dead 105 AH leisure battery out
of a caravan yesterday (hadn't been used for months and the charging
circuit claimed it was dead when on mains hookup).

Gave it best part of a pint of demin water and stuck it on charge on a
traditional charger, this morning all the cells are bubbling nicely and
it's showing over 14 volts immediately after disconnection. Will stick
it on a smart charger for a few days but I'm quite hopeful.

I get given and collect myself many batteries in various states of
charge and whilst some appear the be ok (in that they show a
reasonable terminal voltage pre charging, come up to full charge and
cut-off / test as 'ok' etc) most have a much reduced capacity, both as
seen on my instant capacity tester and a monitored discharge (down to
~50% DOD etc).

So, typically a car (SLI) battery that was generally good in the
summer but failed in the winter may be down to 20Ah from it's 60Ah
when new.

If it's not too big and comes with a built in handle I might keep it
to use as a portable jump-start battery and if not it goes down the
scrappy (I try to take them in reasonably sized batches as it
minimises the 'loss' from stuff being sub 1kg increments). ;-)

If a battery looks 'tired' (dirty, writing worn off, damaged
terminals, bulging case etc) I'm happy to weigh it in. It's when they
look brand new (like the 2 x 12V x 17Ah GEL batteries I recently took
out of Dads old mobility scooter) but are completely shot it pains me
a little (such a waste etc).

Looking upon these things as 'consumables' helps (a bit [1]). ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[1] During my role as a 'Field Tech' I have visited many industrial
premises and often got the chance of a quick 'personal tour' (don't
ask you don't get etc). ;-)

One process that was probably the most 'messy' and potentially fairly
dangerous (for all sorts of reasons) was one of the big lead acid
manufacturers (running various EV's I was particularly interested).

I was fairly used to the smell of hydrogen (my own EV's and wet LA in
general etc) but it was all the hot machinery (lead casting) other
chemistry and acid knocking about that made one want to look but keep
it all at a safe distance (especially from my eyes and suit)! ;-)

In article ,
newshound wrote:
Going slightly OT, pulled an apparently dead 105 AH leisure battery out
of a caravan yesterday (hadn't been used for months and the charging
circuit claimed it was dead when on mains hookup).

Gave it best part of a pint of demin water and stuck it on charge on a
traditional charger, this morning all the cells are bubbling nicely and
it's showing over 14 volts immediately after disconnection. Will stick
it on a smart charger for a few days but I'm quite hopeful.

Sadly, voltage is no real check for a lead acid. You need to measure its
capacity in amp.hrs. No real point in keeping a thumping great 100
amp.hr battery if it's well down.

--
*If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Friday, 6 April 2018 15:05:34 UTC+1, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
newshound wrote:
Going slightly OT, pulled an apparently dead 105 AH leisure battery out
of a caravan yesterday (hadn't been used for months and the charging
circuit claimed it was dead when on mains hookup).

Gave it best part of a pint of demin water and stuck it on charge on a
traditional charger, this morning all the cells are bubbling nicely and
it's showing over 14 volts immediately after disconnection. Will stick
it on a smart charger for a few days but I'm quite hopeful.

Sadly, voltage is no real check for a lead acid. You need to measure its
capacity in amp.hrs. No real point in keeping a thumping great 100
amp.hr battery if it's well down.

I thought the only way to estimate the charge in a lead acid cell was to test it Specific gravity or similar with a hydrometer, well this is what I was told at school when given the job of charging their lead acid cells for physicas experiments.

On 06/04/2018 14:25, T i m wrote:
On Fri, 6 Apr 2018 12:34:24 +0100, newshound
wrote:

snip

Going slightly OT, pulled an apparently dead 105 AH leisure battery out
of a caravan yesterday (hadn't been used for months and the charging
circuit claimed it was dead when on mains hookup).

Gave it best part of a pint of demin water and stuck it on charge on a
traditional charger, this morning all the cells are bubbling nicely and
it's showing over 14 volts immediately after disconnection. Will stick
it on a smart charger for a few days but I'm quite hopeful.

I get given and collect myself many batteries in various states of
charge and whilst some appear the be ok (in that they show a
reasonable terminal voltage pre charging, come up to full charge and
cut-off / test as 'ok' etc) most have a much reduced capacity, both as
seen on my instant capacity tester and a monitored discharge (down to
~50% DOD etc).

So, typically a car (SLI) battery that was generally good in the
summer but failed in the winter may be down to 20Ah from it's 60Ah
when new.

If it's not too big and comes with a built in handle I might keep it
to use as a portable jump-start battery and if not it goes down the
scrappy (I try to take them in reasonably sized batches as it
minimises the 'loss' from stuff being sub 1kg increments). ;-)

Similar to my experience, but such things are often recoverable enough
to use for electric fencers and lighting.

If a battery looks 'tired' (dirty, writing worn off, damaged
terminals, bulging case etc) I'm happy to weigh it in. It's when they
look brand new (like the 2 x 12V x 17Ah GEL batteries I recently took
out of Dads old mobility scooter) but are completely shot it pains me
a little (such a waste etc).

Looking upon these things as 'consumables' helps (a bit [1]). ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[1] During my role as a 'Field Tech' I have visited many industrial
premises and often got the chance of a quick 'personal tour' (don't
ask you don't get etc). ;-)

One process that was probably the most 'messy' and potentially fairly
dangerous (for all sorts of reasons) was one of the big lead acid
manufacturers (running various EV's I was particularly interested).

I was fairly used to the smell of hydrogen (my own EV's and wet LA in
general etc) but it was all the hot machinery (lead casting) other
chemistry and acid knocking about that made one want to look but keep
it all at a safe distance (especially from my eyes and suit)! ;-)

Went round a hard chrome plating and grinding plant the other day. A
fine collection of near antique planetary grinders, the baths looked
fairly evil. Apparently they fabricate their own "custom" electrodes
from lead bars about 10 mm square. They melt down old electrodes and
re-cast them, but I didn't see them doing that.

On 06/04/2018 15:24, whisky-dave wrote:
On Friday, 6 April 2018 15:05:34 UTC+1, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
newshound wrote:
Going slightly OT, pulled an apparently dead 105 AH leisure battery out
of a caravan yesterday (hadn't been used for months and the charging
circuit claimed it was dead when on mains hookup).

Gave it best part of a pint of demin water and stuck it on charge on a
traditional charger, this morning all the cells are bubbling nicely and
it's showing over 14 volts immediately after disconnection. Will stick
it on a smart charger for a few days but I'm quite hopeful.

Sadly, voltage is no real check for a lead acid. You need to measure its
capacity in amp.hrs. No real point in keeping a thumping great 100
amp.hr battery if it's well down.

I thought the only way to estimate the charge in a lead acid cell was to test it Specific gravity or similar with a hydrometer, well this is what I was told at school when given the job of charging their lead acid cells for physicas experiments.


SG is an indicator of the state of charge, not necessarily so reliable
in an old battery which may have been abused.

In article ,
whisky-dave wrote:
Sadly, voltage is no real check for a lead acid. You need to measure
its capacity in amp.hrs. No real point in keeping a thumping great
100 amp.hr battery if it's well down.

I thought the only way to estimate the charge in a lead acid cell was to
test it Specific gravity or similar with a hydrometer, well this is what
I was told at school when given the job of charging their lead acid
cells for physicas experiments.

Lots are 'sealed' these days. Luckily you can get an electronic tester
which gives a direct read out of amp.hrs. Not cheap, but a decent battery
place should have one.

--
*Why do we say something is out of whack? What is a whack?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 06/04/2018 15:02, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
newshound wrote:
Going slightly OT, pulled an apparently dead 105 AH leisure battery out
of a caravan yesterday (hadn't been used for months and the charging
circuit claimed it was dead when on mains hookup).

Gave it best part of a pint of demin water and stuck it on charge on a
traditional charger, this morning all the cells are bubbling nicely and
it's showing over 14 volts immediately after disconnection. Will stick
it on a smart charger for a few days but I'm quite hopeful.

Sadly, voltage is no real check for a lead acid. You need to measure its
capacity in amp.hrs. No real point in keeping a thumping great 100
amp.hr battery if it's well down.

Voltage tells you if you have one or more bad cells. Also, it will
indicate self-discharge.

Depending on what you do with it, as Tim says they may still be useable
even if the capacity is down. The owner of this one tells me that in
fact he hardly uses the battery (probably why it has been neglected)
because he almost goes straight on to mains at sites.

I will do a bit of a capacity check once it has had a good charge.