The Ford Capri Laser Page

I noticed that Aldi has stocks of these at the moment, £50 I think.

Cant help but wonder ... if these things are so great ( Im sure they are ) .... why are we still #ucking about with lead acid batteries

Mc Tool wrote:Cant help but wonder ... if these things are so great ( Im sure they are ) .... why are we still #ucking about with lead acid batteries

Hi,
I asked this very question a few weeks ago on a different thread. Electric and Hybrid cars use Li-Ion technology for power, so why aren't they used for the everyday car electrical system?

Andrew.

Mc Tool wrote:Cant help but wonder ... if these things are so great ( Im sure they are ) .... why are we still #ucking about with lead acid batteries

As said, this have been talked about recently. Nick posted a link to an article you might find of interest which explains a few things.

i think you find cell stability is an issue aswell as they don't like vibrations, knocks, heat, low % capacity etc.
Charging cycles and storage are all big factors and really for continual use the batteries need to be larger than you get in these jump starters.

Nothing i am sure which couldn't be overcome, but considering current battery technology is soo cheap, it would mean i large investment into the technology. That is my best guess and from experience of using similar Lithium battery technology.

Has anyone had any trouble with these devices at all? Mine failed to start the car tonight and now it's just giving error beeps and flashes when I try to use it. Might have to take it back I think.

Will01 wrote:i think you find cell stability is an issue aswell as they don't like vibrations, knocks, heat, low % capacity etc.
Charging cycles and storage are all big factors and really for continual use the batteries need to be larger than you get in these jump starters.

I think that`s the point, they don`t like heat, overcharging, excessive discharge.... lead acid batteries are quite tolerant of abuse. And, as above, they may be OK for a short boost to jump start, but would they have capacity to turn a reluctant damp engine over & over for maybe a minute or more? I suspect not. Not for a comparable price anyway.
Plus, my laptop is not yet 5 years old and is on it`s third (genuine HP) battery pack.. My mums Dell was sh***ed after 6 months. The life isn`t always that great.

Paul; the Capri?

stevemarl wrote:
Paul; the Capri?

Yes. Think I will take the jump starter back and get a refund, and get a different one from elsewhere.

Couldn`t you just get a cheap battery to use in emergencies? But obviously get your money back first...

stevemarl wrote:Couldn`t you just get a cheap battery to use in emergencies? But obviously get your money back first...

It is an option, but much more hassle carrying a heavy battery, and having to keep it charged. These little devices really are tremendous, so easy. When they work of course.

Bring back the starting handle I say!

stevemarl wrote:Bring back the starting handle I say!

I remember those

Just disconnect the battery when not in use

Well thought I'd try my local Aldi to see if they had any left of their version (actually made my Energizer) of this, and to my surprise they did have a few left locked in the glass cabinets. So I got one, just been reduced to £38 (from £50) which was lucky. The same one is £95 in Argos. It is even more compact than the Lidl one and it starts a higher engine size also, so I'm actually better off. Hope to test it later!

pbar wrote: to my surprise they did have a few left locked in the glass cabinets. So I got one, just been reduced to £38 (from £50) which was lucky.
It is even more compact than the Lidl one and it starts a higher engine size also, so I'm actually better off. Hope to test it later!

Nice one Paul

This one certainly sounds a very decent one indeed. Great price too. Hope it does the business for you fella but best not "jump" to any conclusions yet

All the best Paul

Nick

Well thankfully the Aldi one worked a treat. Started the car great

pbar wrote:Well thankfully the Aldi one worked a treat. Started the car great

Nice one Paul

i used the Aldi one yesterday. It hadn't been charged in a while and only showed 50% capacity and allowed me to start a car which had laid for 4 years and the battery left connected and completley dead. plugged on cranked for 30secs and the car started (sounded like bag of nails but i only needed to move out the way for engine swap)
it then let me start the car another 4 occasions.

Personal real recent expereince is it is a great piece of kit. highly recommended if it can pull that off! Better than my mains plug in starter booster!!!!!!

Wow that is pretty amazing! Hard to believe that it could achieve all that, fantastic.

These have now been reduced in aldi to just £19.99. Now that is a bargain.

Hi Paul?

As soon as the freezing cold weather goes away they reduce the price. Typical

Still thats a great price and still worth having one of these in case you run down the battery by mistake, or have a problem with the battery and need to jump it to get you somewhere whilst sorting a new one. I looked at my Sakura one the other day. I last used it ages ago when the freezing weather first hit before christmas and my Fiesta battery was on its last legs. Its been sitting around since then and still showing 86% charge !

Great heads up Paul and great bit if kit these things are.

All the best

Nick