battery booster

[garman]

I'm having the most painful experience finding user reviews on this product on the Internet, too much product advertisement. "Coleman Powermate PMJ9860" It's a little 12V power pack with 2 cigarette lighter power ports and fluorescent light. Only spec from the book is.......
output 12dv
peak amps 500
cold cranking amps 250???? (what ever that means)

What I'd like to know has anyone purchased this model PMJ9860 series and how did it work for your needs, any problems. are there things I should look for when using or charging. My final question what is the constant power output (in watts). Do I just take the cold amps and multipy by the voltage output. I'm just trying to figure out how long my portable tv and dvd player (20W) would last on a full charge. Thanks -garman

[thecoalman]

Batteries tend to not work so well in extreme cold, the cold cranking amps refers to how well it will perform at 0 dgrees F.

I would think you would get at least 4 or 5 hours out of it but that's just a guess.

[garman]

Thanks for the info on the cold amps. Well here's my thought if you say the battery will last 4-5 hours on a full charge where a load is 18W. "My math" would tell me the battery produces 72-90W per hour. I read somewhere on the the net refrencing 10Amps hours. Now if I multiply 12vdc times 10amp/hour that would equal 120W/hr. With an 18W load should = 6.667 hours. What do you think? -garman

[thecoalman]

I dunno my guess is an educated one from experience. The only problem I can see with your math if it's correct is that your estimating full power all the time. At some point the battery is going to be outputting power but not enough to power your "toys"...

[garman]

Full power has crosssed my mind. All this math is based from the 10amp/hour rating. Meaning to me that it will supply a load for 1 hour = 10 amps. I'll find out soon enough. I'll be camping this weekened. Tell you all about it.

[thecoalman]

Why not just set the tent up in your living room in front of the TV. Better yet take a cam out in the woods and film some footage then put the TV right in front of the door and play the footage.

[garman]

You stole my idea about camping in the living room. Instead of babbling brook a runny faucet would do, how about tunning the TV to a nature channel to give him the sense of animals lurking in the dining room. Anyway I'd try that but my son would not appriciate the value of camping. Al jokes aside, the power is for a rainy day. I don't want any complaints from the peanut gallery when dark rainy clouds appear. -garman

[jimmalenko]

isn't camping about foregoing th comforts of home ?

[gitreel]

Yep

[jimmalenko]

I thought so.

[garman]

If that was the case motor homes would not exist. I don't always use camping to leave my creature comforts, I also use camping so I don't have to spend gobs of cash at a motel. I'll rent a campside with hydro and plug my essentials. I did a trip years ago from toronto to arizona, that was four days to get there stayed at campgrounds used hydro to recharge some of my devices like, camcorders, batteries, etc.... for this occasion I decided to bring electronic gear to keep my son occupied on rainy days. This is his first time camping. I want to make it fun for him so he'll go again. Maybe next time he won't need his GBA, but for now I'll start him off easy. -garman

[jimmalenko]

If that was the case motor homes would not exist. I don't always use camping to leave my creature comforts, I also use camping so I don't have to spend gobs of cash at a motel. I'll rent a campside with hydro and plug my essentials. I did a trip years ago from toronto to arizona, that was four days to get there stayed at campgrounds used hydro to recharge some of my devices like, camcorders, batteries, etc.... for this occasion I decided to bring electronic gear to keep my son occupied on rainy days. This is his first time camping. I want to make it fun for him so he'll go again. Maybe next time he won't need his GBA, but for now I'll start him off easy. -garman

whatever floats your boat I guess.

My understanding of camping is doing without most creature comforts, but that isn't up for debate here.

The only problem I see is that you'll have to take your DVD player with you every time he goes.

[thecoalman]

One of the pictures from my vast camping collection, now this is real camping. Accessible only by canoe.




We used to do quite a bit of camping when we were kids. My mom would bring along a box full of games to keep us busy if the rain came.[/b]

[jimmalenko]

One of the pictures from my vast camping collection, now this is real camping. Accessible only by canoe.




We used to do quite a bit of camping when we were kids. My mom would bring along a box full of games to keep us busy if the rain came.[/b]

sounds good, coalman.

did you fish for your supper ?

[thecoalman]

did you fish for your supper ?

No that was more of appetizer, it was usually a 8 day trip. We once caught, filleted,seasoned and ate a fish in 4 or 5 minutes, never got up from a sitting position. Teamwork, and we already had the fire.

BTW that pic isn't from when I was kid, I couldn't imagine my parents attempting something like that. It fairly recent. We used that to get out of the sun, we had regular tents errrr regular good tents. North Face mostly.

[jimmalenko]

did you fish for your supper ?

No that was more of appetizer, it was usually a 8 day trip. We once caught, filleted,seasoned and ate a fish in 4 or 5 minutes, never got up from a sitting position. Teamwork, and we already had the fire.

Now that's what I call camping

[Capmaster]

That's a raggedy-ass looking tent there coalman Looks like fun

[gitreel]

What kind of tent set up is that?

[thecoalman]

That's where I live, doesn't everyone live under a tarp/poncho. Here's my toilet. Fondly called "The Shit Chair".



Actually I edited my post maybe you missed it, we used that as sun shelter. I think we spent about 8 or 9 hours on the river that day. Sun and 90 degrees. We all have good tents, North Face mostly, same brand that a lot of climbers use for Everest. Just different ones for the season.

[handyguy]

I think thats only $24 at pepboys. Does it have a 120v plug?

[edsmith77]

cold cranking amps 250???? (what ever that means)

A bit late I know. Toooooo much work today but....

The definition of the Cold-Cranking Amperage (CCA) of an automotive battery is the amount of current a given battery can deliver for 30 seconds at zero (0) degrees F without dropping below a specified cutoff voltage (manufacturer-specific, but usually 10.5 volts).

[garman]

Man, I take off from work and the thread starts to expand. Well things seem to be getting worse. The little guy brought his sony PSX in the car. Don't realy mind there's a game he has that we both like to play together. Not while driving LOL!!

In regards to "jimmalenko" about having to bring the dvd player everywhere. All electronic gizmos are portable a require little power and little real estate. I don't mind bringing these things, it stops that "are we there yet" crap.

To "handyguy" regarding the 120v output. No it does not have a built in inverter. I don't think it would be a good idea to plug one of those suckers in there. I can't see it running for a long period. It will work I have plugged one in. never waited to see how long. -garman

[Doramius]

I use an 1000W AC inverter with a UPS and Play at LAN parties from the Driveway or parking lot of where it's held via wireless network. When camping, it works great for running a TV & VCR. It's great to have while traveling long distances and keep the youngin' occupied. The chargers aren't really meant for the use you're planning on and they often need to be "flexed" a couple of times to get to their peak performance (IE: Charge fully then drain fully about 3-5+ times). Not all of them need that, but check to see if this one does.

[garman]

Doramius..........

Don't realy have the time to "flex" the booster as I will be parting friday. BTW I have never heard of that term flex when it comes to these boosters. Another thing If I drain the unit completely to flex the battery it will take 24-36 hours to recharge. Sounds like a lot of work if I have to do this 3-5 times. This bring another thought If I don't flex the battery what kind of charge will I be getting. 60-70-80% capacity. One more thing there is a passing note about overcharging and the damaging effects. Does that mean if I fully charge it and leave it plugged in for an hour this may cause me some grief in the future. -garman

[Doramius]

Most newer, especially good brand names, chargers have a built in shut off so you can't over charge it. Nice feature. My guess yours would have it as Coleman is very good about delivering quality products. Not all chargers have the flex period. It all depends on what type of battery it is. It's capacity may run a bit less than it's full potential, but I think you'd still be running over 80-85%. I'm assuming you're charging it from your home. If you're charging it from your car, you should always have your car on. Same thing if using an AC inverter. If you turn your car off, you do not want to keep it connected to your car for more than 1-2 hours. It may be longer to kill the battery, but what happens if you have to cold start your car and it's just below it's operating voltage to make the minimum cranking amps. Again, IMO I would suggest a UPS and an AC inverter. Get an UPS (Uniteruptable Power Supply) that can handle double or more your planned wattage. Some UPS can last 45-90 minutes at full usage. If you already have your charger, you'll probably be the best person to give information on the product, but unfortunately it may be after you get back.