Hello 👋 I have one from marlin,cannot find help with it I’ve just watched your videos very interesting and thank you because you’re you are the only one who has got my make and model of Maplin crap SHENGWEI 6FM17 12v 17AH/20HR cycle use 14 .4-15.0v standby use 13.5-13.8v less than 5.1A sorry it’s long I just let you know About the battery that I have in the Maplin pad £90.95
Found the exact same 5 in 1 power unit like yours . Someone threw it away . Hooked up charger , everything works but battery won’t charge . Now I know how to change the battery and which one to buy. Thanks dude , great info . Really enjoyed it .
Now you know why it was thrown out, too. You'll probably want to find an alternative means of charging it too (for example using a car or bike charger - designed for maintenance free batteries - across the jump leads). Since the video was uploaded the compressor and mains inverter have also died but hey, at least the case works :)
I'd been thinking of buying a lithium jump starter, as bought a £50 lead acid one years ago that was dead in under 6 months. Somehow I landed on this video, which made me realise it wasn't the chemistry at fault, rather the scam batteries inside them. I've just bought a nice used Draper jump starter and a decent Lucas 22ah battery to fit in it. Oh and I already have a CTEK charger and note they do a cigarette lighter charging lead, which is ideal for simple connection to a jump starter. Great video, which got me thinking both inside and outside the box! Thanks.
A bit late asking this but will this charge through the cigarette lighter sockets or does the diode in the charging circuit block it? It would be useful for using a solar trickle charger if so.
@@jeromeperkins4628 The 12v socket is wired via a simple switch to the battery, bypassing the internal charging circuitry. I would check with a meter that the cigarette socket is wired correctly in terms of polarity, though smart chargers like the CTEK have their own protections built in anyway.
I have a blue Mobile Power box, identical to this but 120v US. Its been my go-to tool for airing tires and powering lights and fans, but it seems the stock battery is ready for a replacement. Watched this video to see what I'm getting into before I crack it open. Thanks!
Good to see an honest review on these so called "Power Packs". I just replaced the dead battery in my Draper unit with the 22ah Lucas golf trolley battery. I have both a Draper and an old SIP unit and both had genuine 17ah batteries. The Draper unit is around £115 new. Too much money for so little. A 36 hole golf battery is 34ah and under £50 delivered. Add a set of reasonable quality jump leads and have double the ah of most of these "Power Packs". I think the stupidly priced ones (Clarke 4000 at £145!) use a 38ah mobility scooter battery. If people want real starting power, a leisure or marine deep cycle battery could offer much more for less money. Not so portable, but battery boxes are available cheap enough along with all the other accessories than can be added for a custom "Power Pack". I use the Ctek XS7000 on Snowflake mode as recommended for AGM batteries. Great charger with loads of available add-ons including cigarette lighter socket connector. I hope you get the chance to review one of the big Clarke range!
Another vote for the CTEK chargers, then :) Even with the smaller batteries you can buy satchel-like battery bags, Yuasa do them. Either that or grab a scrap jumpstarter from the tip, I bet that's where a lot of them end up.
AintBigAintClever My two nearly ended up binned. I presumed there was fancy electronics inside to "boost" the power. I was quite shocked at how little was in there. The old SIP one was no longer used years ago after a friend gave me back the wrong charger. I think I ended up with one from his kids toys. The Draper one would not charge either after years of not being properly charged. It showed the fully charged light but would not help start anything. After checking output on the Draper charger I found it was putting out 21v. I figured I had nothing to lose by opening both units up for inspection before scrapping. Glad I did. I never realised how easy it was to get these batteries online and how cheap they were. The Tayna site is great for info on battery sizes and pretty reasonable for price too. I got my Lucas from PureDrive. I know they have really poor reviews on customer service if things go wrong, but other suppliers were charging ridiculous prices for delivery to NI. I found your great video after looking online for how to charge a jump starter without the original charger pack. I am definitely a Ctek fan. Totally reliable and apparently can be left outside, though I prefer not to test that!
I've not used Tayna for jumpstarter batteries but twice so far for car batteries. Some of their technical info isn't quite right, some cars have different batteries in RHD to LHD (mine for example has reversed battery posts, the site had the LHD model info) but you can't fault the service and price, especially considering how much of a lump a car battery is to post!
Great video AintBigAintClever. Just pulled my Australian bought version of this jump starter (Powertech 5 in 1 Power Station) apart after watching your video, as the 240v outlet was playing up. The battery in mine was a "Shengwei Valve Regulated Battery 6FM18 (12V18AH20HR)" that weighed in at 4.1 kg, so I'm assuming it is a fake 18 AH battery too. I've hooked it up to my CTEK charger to give it a proper charge, but will probably put in a decent battery now after watching your video. Keep up the good work mate.
This was a great thorough breakdown and tutorial. The only problem was I only needed to know how to hook the cables to the battery, which you did not show. Still thumbs up :)
Cheers for the time you spent on this video, it helped me a lot in my decision making process. You were easy to follow and made a lot of sense despite myself not being that electrically in-tune so to speak.
I got one of these from eBay. Without this video I don't think I would have got a refund when I reported it as faulty. I sent a video of the jump pack trying to start a 1300cc Yamaha desiel engine on the forklift. All it did was make the starter click. It was useless. When I sent negative feedback I ended up with loads of emails bullying me to retract the post.. Never! These con artists need to be stopped. So if you ever get one. Send them this video and then post a follow up feedback so they can't sell them..Thumbs up for this postThank you 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
So glad I checked for reviews first' I was just about to order one of these Streetwize SWPP5 Power Stations. What a waste of £78.50 that would have been. Thanks for the detailed review.
The green and red light only come on when you connect to another battery to jump start a vehicle. Green will indicate all is connected okay and is ready to jumpstart, red will indicate the power station is not connected properly. So when jumpstarting a car red goes to red and black goes to a non moving metal part on the car; you then turn on and a red led will tell you the connection is fault, and green means good to go and jumpstart. Great video, thanks!
Your vid was the first hit when I looked for info on these, so well done - still getting views after 9 years :-D ! Mine is the same design but slightly newer. Interestingly the battery is a 'RITAR' RT12150 15ah, and the packaging is marked as 15ah too - with an obvious sticker-over-the-original-markings. Bet it used to say 17ah ;-) The inverter board is slightly different looking too - possible 2013 date code. I was going to chuck the whole unit, but might try a new battery to see if that improves it. Not sure what spec to get - is there a standard code to search for to get the right size/shape battery? I've no idea how much my unit cost as it was a present, years ago. I will use the tip for charging via the jump cables too if I do replace the battery. Oh,and my jump cables DO clip into the spaces on the sides!!
Any battery that has roughly the same dimensions as a 17Ah unit should fit. A Lucas LSLC22-12 will fit for example, so look up its datasheet for the dimensions. If the LSLC22-12G is cheaper then get that as the golf buggy connector on the top just unbolts. On mine the inverter's now dead and so is the compressor, so it's just a jumpstarter with a light on the front. Better to use a proper battery charger than the plug-top effort it comes with. Either wire a CTEK or similar connector into the unit or charge through the jumper clamps.
Cheers, ended up getting the LSLC22-12G - slotted in with no fuss. I thought about adding a dedicated charging cable for my oxford, but in the end decided to just use the jump cables as you suggested. The compressor definitely has more chooch now (which means it'll probably pack up completely next time I use it ;-)
I'm curious if it's possible to mod these things with lithium ion batteries? Like make a 12V Li-Ion pack with BMS and maybe even make it so it charges by the DC input and swap out the stock charge circuit with one for the lithium battery.
Excellent work, thank you. I like the way you advise :-) I bought one of theese a few years ago. I didnt realised at this point that this device has no charging circuit. Big problem is also the faulty user manual. It wants me to charge the device for 34 hours and not longer than 48 hours ?! So i managed to charge it, as you mentioned using the clamps and let it connected to a good one (an ok battery from another car that is running) for a few minutes.
GREAT video. Like the time chart at the start. The tip for finding FAKES based on weight VERY smart. I have been wandering about these for awhile and now see they have the same drawback as any multi-tool does NOTHING great and most are CRAPPY trying to just add to the chart on the box of how many CRAPPY things it can do. Looks like I'm better off making my own system.
Thanks for a great review. I purchased an identical product here in Australia branded MiGear 5 in 1 power station and it appears they are sold in the US as Wagan Power Dome. Unfortunately the poor quality battery and jumper clamps seem to be a problem everywhere. Mine weighs 7.8 Kgs and could only start my 3.8 Ltr V6 engine half a dozen times. I now use it for my ride on mower and an inverter although it could only power my laptop for aprox 20 minutes. So I will replace the battery soon and maybe try to fit a charge controller board from a UPS in it.
I just bought one...before i saw this brilliant review....20 hours charge and it still wouldnt 'jump start' the car....i will return this waste of space to maplin asap .tks
A very useful video, I have the Maplin version of this unit, their 5 in 1 Power Station. The battery had died due to age and my forgetting to keep it charged. I've now replaced it with a Yuasa 18ah battery which I'm charging with my new CTEK MXS 5.0. Apart from closing the case which was a bit tricky the job wasn't difficult. I'm looking forward to the unit being lots of use and lasting a few years with its new battery. By the way the original battery was a 'fake' 17ah battery which only weighed about 4kg. How did they get away with that? Thank you for making this video, I'd never have known how to go about the job without it.
Ian Griffiths Which specific Yuasa battery did you order? Refurbing my old Maplin one for astronomy. Also, when charging I am using a replacement 15v/1A charger, tip positive. My charging light flashes when plugged in, is this right?
@@dbc5048 This battery www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002TV64EO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 my charging light doesnt flash it just comes on constantly when charging.
Hello. I realise this video is now several years old but I wonder if you might be able to help me. I have a SWPP6 that I've taken apart as the battery was not charging. I discovered a very poor negative connection that needs to be re-soldered, but I also found a red positive wire that travels between the long circuit board that holds the DC input and led light (among other things), and connects to the positive side of the battery at the main switch. The problem is the red positive wire has broken off the long circuit board and I have no idea where to solder it to. Do you or any of your subscribers know where that red should connect to please?
Many thanks for the tips. All I really need it for was to power a telescope and laptop, with the compressor & booster functions as a "nice to have" should I ever need them. The all in one package just seemed like a relatively neat and civilised way of doing it. I think I'll just go with a decent battery & separate charger now... Cheers again, Dave.
Wouldn't the none return diode inside stop u from charging via its own terminal clamps, using another battery smart charger. Or is the diode in between the charging jack on the front? Regards. ... Great video btw...well done..
The diode doesn't sit between the battery and its jump leads, so you can indeed use a conventional (albeit designed to handle AGM/gel) battery charger to charge it, and it'd do a better job than the one it came with.
If it's a 12 volt pump, I'd suggest a leisure battery (if you intend leaving it there for a while) or a smaller, decent-size sealed lead-acid battery like the one I used.
great video it helped me to find out how to charge my unit as ive lost the power lead, so now ill give it a go and see if it charges, also mine weighs over 10 kl so hopefully i have the decent battery
Fella! thanks for saving me £80! I was just about to order from Amazon and gut feeling told me to Google a review. Haven't had a chance to look through all of your videos yet, but are there any of the cheapo (sub £80) jump starters that you would recommend?
Hi there thanks for the video, i found this very useful. when you mentioned charging the battery direct from the jump leads using an intelligent charger cables? No modification required to the internal wiring?
Hi there thanks for the video, i found this very useful. when you mentioned charging the battery direct from the jump leads using an intelligent chargers. Did you just connect the charger direct to the jump cables, switch on the unit then charge? No modifications required to the internal wiring? Also how long does it take to charge on an intelligent charger like an optimate or similar? Thanks!
very good report thanks man so many car jumper 5 in 1 3 in 1 in the market nowadays Can you please make best top 10 or what do you think is good for 150$ most of people do not know this important information like what you did
Excellent video. I bought one of these under a recomendation and for a summer season it worked well for helping to run a low wattage water pump for an allotment. Unfortunatlly it hasnt stood the test of time and now my inverter keep blowing the 25 amp fuse on the back of the thing. I conntscted streetwize to ask for help and was fobbed off. My knowledge of electrical items is not the best but I refuse to waste the £70 on this and am detrmined to fix it..... somehow. I think I need to replace the inverter and have come to watch your review in the hope I may be able to fix the thing,,,, fingers crossed.
I bought one of these, a Maplin model, and certainly never trusted the bundled charger. Having seen this, I took it out of the cupboard and recharged it with an Ansmann 2-24V 2 stage Lead Acid battery charger. But I couldn't charge it using the jump leads at all, and yes I did turn the switch. I think it might have some reverse current protection on it, so I made up a lead to charge through the little socket on the front. Mine is also lighter than it should be. Thanks for this illuminating video
I’ve bought one from a local car boot sale for £5. Absolutely dead. But I’ve managed to kick start it and it’s now working fine. The Bestway battery was dry as a bone so I’ve replenished it with distilled water.
Thank you for sharing your work with us. I often look at these and laugh when I read the bullshit specs they print on the boxes. One doesn't need to be an electrician to know that a good battery is heavy so the first thing I do is give them the weight test. I have a good one that was not made with jumper leads it's basically just a portable power source with a high quality digital radio, work light and 200 amp inverter. the on board DC charger quit working and since there are no jumper leads I have to charge it through the cigarette lighter power socket. I want another one what brand do you think is best?
have u heard of any other ppl talking about this item having a fake battery , i was looking to buy one now not sure after seeing your review i notice u said u were "givin it" and it looks to have had differant no genuwin jump connectors fitted , is it possible that the previous owner had changed the battery and jump-leads?
There shouldn't be any reverse current protection on the jump leads. A reverse polarity warning yes, but no reverse current protection. The diodes needed to cope with starting current whilst protecting from reverse current would be big and expensive, so they wouldn't be fitted.
I was going to get one of these till I saw your other video, so I built my own instead. Its quite expensive to do (£150ish). I basically took an old brief case, a 24ah Lead acid battery, a 7amp battery charger, a set of jump cables, a 12V compressor, and a few switches and fittings, works brilliant, although abit heavy (16kg)
The inverter I took through the Merthyr Tunnel was one of their 800 watt ones, I've done another vid somewhere on here where I've modified it to tap into the 300 volt DC supply.
Damn. I was just about to buy one of these to power a water butt pump at my allotment. Sadly dissapointed as I like the look of this. Not to mention it has both cigarette lighters and a 3 pin socket. Just what I could do with... On the plus side you have just saved me £79.95 (and whatever the hell the p&p is on top of that). So a very big thankyou for saving ALL of us a huge dissapointment. 5 star video and review. Thankyou. Now.. if i can just find something to power my water butt pump....
It's a tri-colour LED, you'll see the back of it at around 9:35. Three legs, so it can display red, green or amber depending on whether one, the other or both LED chips are illuminated. If it was ONLY a reverse polarity indicator they wouldn't go to the expense of fitting a tri-colour LED as a conventional one would do.
Well Sir, that is a very thorough empirical breakdown and review, thank you. Mine is an almost identical 'RAC Jumpstart', and it weighs 8kg on an analogue bathroom scale. Purchased in April 2012 for £99.99, and still going strong (I used it today in fact to assist-jump-start a large capacity motorcycle whose own battery has been 'at rest' for a while, and just afterwards to top-up its tyres), I'm just going to stick with the supplied wall charger method, as, at 5 years and still pumping, it seems like a winning routine for now. Useful to know about the replacement battery weights, and how to install them when it's time though. I reckon just keeping them in a good state of charge, all the time, is maybe half the secret. Kind Regards.
That's exactly what I do, charge it through its jumper cables. I could fit a charging lead to it but I haven't got round to it. I'm not sure how long it takes to charge, but it's probably about the same amount of time as a motorcycle battery.
Thank you AintBigAintClever . Looking for a power pack and surely not choosing this pile of /!\ CLASS 1 crap. Your informations about batteries and weight are very instructive. Many thanks and keep it up with this great reviews !
Wonder why it has class 1 lazor product on it? not like it has a cd drive or a laser pointer unless i missed something?, The mosfets/transitors/regulators on the inverter lack heatsinks too
I think the led is only red when you reverse polarity How you would do the circuit with a multi color led? Specialy in a cheap device i not see a complex wirering diagram its normal a resistor and a led with a buzzer.
Hi, I'm after a jump pack to start a BMW X5 (4450 CC) what brand and power would you recommend? as I don't want to be duped into buying a bogus product. Thanks in advance.
i would like to know if you are able to provide me a link to where i can get a replacement board for the same time 5 in 1 power station. thank you very much mate.
dear friend i know its six years viedo but thank you its a good one but i have a questiion if i want to go go cheap can i buy a good battery and add cablle and terminals to start acar do you advise it
An unregulated supply has an output potential of about 17V since the ripple suppression capacitor (if any) charges up to about 17V (the peak potential of a 12Vrms sinusoidal waveform). The car charging cable works in the same way, as the operating potential of a 12V vehicle electrical system is about 14V.
If the specs look good and the jumpstarter you receive matches those specs then you should be OK. I'm using the Streetwize (although I need to open it again as there's a fault on the inverter now) with the 22Ah Lucas LSLC22 battery and a CTEK MXS-5.0 charger attached to the jump leads to charge it.
Not really. The best bet would be a battery, decent battery charger and some jump leads, plus something like a laptop bag or rucksack to keep them in, unless you buy a second-hand dead one (there should be plenty about). A genuine 17Ah-sized battery will set you back about £35 upwards (Google for Lucas LSLC22 and look for the Electroquest link), so any jump starters of this price or below are pretty much guaranteed to have a crap battery inside. In any case, don't rely on the built-in charger.
Remember to keep the battery charged when not in use. Cyclic batteries will handle your usage a lot better than regular ones, but like any lead-acid battery they still don't like being left in a discharged state. The C-TEK battery chargers were recommended by one of my other viewers. Most of the jumpstarters' built-in chargers are totally inadequate and won't do the battery any good.
Good video mate but for a few bugs more you have a good new car battery :-) so you dont need it. Little joking ok its most of the time cheap shit inside those things but if it can recover ypur battery on a cold winter day your saved. I buy myselve a converter with the same problem blokwave output so i went back to the supplier and he give me my money back and i bought a goo sinewave converter but, ouths that was 4 times the price. But that thing works perfect. Not made in mainland china but from taiwan. Overload protection low battery voltage protection. I had to take it appart to make it auto start. But quality componets thick cables decent cooling etc etc. Yes more expensive but it works all the time. No strange noice in transformers or motors or tl lamps. Spend a few more bugs and you can realy buy something thatvis relayable. Good videos mate keep up the good work
I have one of these that won't charge. It's light and weighs about 7.5kg. I understand it's a bit crap but it does what I need in my '70's camper van. So I want to replace the battery. What was the model of your lucas battery you put in?
In my opinion Maplin are now what Tandy used to be, CPC (Farnell) are now what Maplin used to be and RS are what RS always were, although the way the others have racked up their prices if you want value for money it's a toss-up between RS and CPC. Need an example? 0.6W metal film resistors (e.g. stock code M47K) used to be 3p at Maplin, now they're 36p. EACH. In the background when I'm dismantling the battery there's a box of 10/0.1 wire. I paid £1.29 per 25m roll. Now they're £6.19.
Where did you get the Lucas battery from? I have been trying to find one that has the bolt connectors like the one in the jump starter but all i can find is the screw ones
A quick scout around Rapid's site shows that they're exactly what Maplin used to be (right down to the minimum-spend-for-free-postage rule). Doug Simmons, Roger Allen and Sandra Allen must hate what Maplin turned into after they left.
Hi, fantastic review! I was thinking of buying this power station for when I do my busking. Only needed to power my 14W mini sound mixer (which I need to control the low level output on some of my backing tracks). It would be used during the summer months, so for 3 hours per day, 4 or 5 days per week for 3 months of the year. Would you recommend the battery on the power station be adequate/sustainable for this; and is it noisy when switched on? Thank you in advance.
+Samantha- Jayne Sorry about the delay, TH-cam gave me no notification whatsoever of your comment. If that's all it's drawing then I'd expect it to be fine, but not with the fake battery it came with. A genuine 17Ah 12V battery will have 204 watt-hours of energy, albeit based on a 20 hour discharge (so it could give out 10.2 watts for 20 hours). A 14 watt draw will give less than 14 hours of runtime due to the way capacity is used (Peukert's Law) and the inefficiency of the inverter, but should still give you plenty of runtime. You'll want a decent charger as well though, I wouldn't expect the taper charger it comes with to be good for the battery.
+AintBigAintClever, no worries and thanks for replying! Think I'll continue to look for other options as I wouldn't have a clue (not even with your step by step' video); nor the time to be changing the battery and charger. Thanks again for a such an informative review of the product!
If you're just after a mobile power source, my suggestion would be to get a rucksack, plus:- Inverter: www.screwfix.com/p/ring-ah-power-source-inverter-single-socket-12v/22290 Pipe insulation: www.screwfix.com/p/economy-pipe-insulation-22mm-x-1m/91078 Duck tape: www.screwfix.com/p/duck-ultimate-cloth-tape-50-mesh-silver-50mm-x-25m/39039 Battery: www.tayna.co.uk/Lucas-Golf-Battery-LSLC22-12G-P7938.html Charger: www.tayna.co.uk/CTEK-MXS-3.8-Charger-and-Conditioner-P9410.html I use a rucksack-and-battery combo with my Gigapan camera head, a battery that size can run it all day long. If I need mains, I've got an 800 watt inverter that'll fit in the rucksack and do the job (my Merthyr Tunnel video used that). The charger will be good for charging not just the rucksack battery but any car battery as well, the slightly beefier MXS 5.0 is the one I use. The pipe insulation sounds like an odd addition, but when duck-taped to the edges of the battery it protects it from knocks and stops it digging into your back when carrying the rucksack, whilst still allowing use of the rucksack as a fifteen-pound anti-mugging device, you certainly wouldn't want to get clopped round the head with it :)
+AintBigAintClever, you're amazing! Thank you for covering my safety whilst busking, as well as finding a possible solution for a suitable power source! :D However, I only understand what to do with the pipe insulation and duck tape! :/ Would you mind talking me through what I need to do please? How would I connect.the charger to the battery; how do I then connect the battery to the inverter; and how would i connect the plug from my mini mixer to the converter? Sorry if I've got it completely wrong!
The charger comes with an additional cable with a plug on it. This can be permanently connected to the battery. You unplug the crocodile clip lead from the charger and plug the battery lead in instead. That's charging sorted. I forgot about the cable, sorry! The easiest way would be to buy this battery instead:- www.tayna.co.uk/Lucas-LSLC22-12G-Golf-Battery-with-Torberry-Lead-P9653.html Plus this cable, which you wire to the inverter (red wire to red terminal, black wire to black terminal):- www.tayna.co.uk/Torberry-Connector-P4872.html That's wiring the battery to the inverter sorted. Your battery will now have two cables attached; one (a black and orange one) which can plug into the charger and one (black with a black-and-red end) which can plug into the inverter; red-to-red, black-to-black. Finally, the inverter has a normal mains socket at one end, plug your mixer into that. p.s. If travelling on the underground make sure all cables are tucked in out of the way. People get shot for stuff like that.
An unregulated supply will go a fair way over 12 volts. It'll probably charge the battery all the way up given enough time (once the current falls off the voltage will start climbing). Far from ideal for a lead-acid battery though, especially a sealed one.
I actually think the best jump starter would be to simply keep a spare battery on permanent trickle charge, use it to jump start if you need to get moving quick, and swap it if the one in the car is a dud.
what a Great review, i was just about to buy one of these but not now thanks mate if you got a min could you recommend me a good one please? Thanks Maplins lol I bought one of those a while ago and returned it within days wish I'd of seen this vid 1st
I can't really recommend one. At the moment I've got an SWPP5, with:- Dead battery (ripped out and replaced with a Lucas) Dead compressor (ripped out and replaced with an external Michelin 12262) Dead mains inverter (ripped out) Dead battery charger (replaced with a CTEK MXS 5.0)
Sorry, I only just saw this comment. First thing to invest in would be a decent battery charger instead of the POS that comes with it. You can charge through the jumper cables or if your charger comes with a ring-terminal adapter (like the Optimate or CTEK chargers) you can hardwire a charging socket to it.
How can you tell if the power station is full charged? I unfortunately don't have a manual. And also, how do you read the right gauge, the one that has "DC VOLTS" in it? Thanks.
Silent Pixel With the crap charger it comes with you won't be able to tell. Better off using a proper battery charger (I use a CTEK MXS-5.0) which will charge the battery correctly.
Hi. Great review and very informative. I would like to use this unit to power a photographers studio flash unit outside. This unit would makes the flash head portable. the flash is a 200w unit but not sure if fuses would blow as the flash is released? any help would be great. thanks.
rtfc_tog videos I'd suggest using a separate, higher-wattage inverter to run the flash head. I wouldn't expect a surge as the flash is released as that's not how they work. A capacitor is charged up, that is what's used to power the flash. To fire, a pulse transformer puts several thousand volts to a third terminal on the flash tube. This causes an arc to develop, which the capacitor then dumps all of its charge through. I think :)
No good for the inverter either I'm afraid, we use these at work and although not used often, I have gone through 3 in about 7 months. If it wasnt for the fact the company i work for supply them free, I wouldnt even spend £20 on one. Pay the extra and get a good solid brand that back up their product. Nice tear down AintBigAintClever!
Cool video. I have a jumper pack with a red charging light that should go out when fully charged it doesn't iv checked battery it's fully charged .any help would be great
I can't really recommend any of them. You could go for a big brand like Ring or Clarke as they won't want to be associated with crap, but I know the Clarke ones share a casing with the Nikkai ones from Maplin (which are total crap, check my oldest vids). The important thing is to ensure the battery inside and the charger used are both decent. If you can, pick up a scrap jump starter (there should be plenty), a decent battery (I use Lucas LSLC22 to start a 3 litre Lexus) and a good charger (CTEK)
Yes, the black one going to the isolator switch is positive, the other two are negative and one of those has a bullet connector which plugs into the black inverter lead.
I've never heard of Werker batteries. Yuasa, CSB and Panasonic are used by big UPS manufacturers. I use a Lucas which is identical to a Numax. Other brands will be available in the US, but if it's a brand known for making batteries, rather than some "Lucky Golden Dragon Electric Corp., Ltd." brand from China it's a good start.
gr8 review but what kind of battery do i or can i replace with the type of 12v 8ah Ritar1280 F2? I bought the streetwise swpp6 6 in 1 power station and its not working,i pulled it apart tested the battery and its only showing 4v dc so its buggered..so any idea on an alternative knowing that this particular style lead acid battery has both connections on one side? cheers buddy
@@AintBigAintClever only issue are the dimensions as the swpp6 unit can only fit the measurements if this particular lead rechargeable battery.15.2cmx6.6cmx9.7cm as im going to fit it back in the power station unit.cant find any other alternative bcos the + &- points are a different config.guess i have to order the same RT1280 lead batt.
@@MrChiptatum That's a standard size. CSB HR1234W for example (first one I looked up): 15.1cm x 6.5cm x 9.4cm plus tabs. www.csb-battery.com/upfiles/dow01520317327.pdf
Hi I have a Samsung 42 inch plasma tv, I don't know the wattage, but can you run something like that off the inverter on this, suppose battery lasts about an hour....Fred.
There are many different versions of this exact jump starter. Different colors/different brands. Found one by the curb with an extremely corroded inverter, which still (amazingly) worked. Actually i found TWO, both with busted jumper cable leads. I genuinely feel sorry for the person that bought TWO of them.
Difficult to say, really. I haven't yet come across one that hasn't been crap in one way or another. Best bet would be to buy a dead one (should be easy), a charger (CTEK MXS-5.0 for example) and a battery (Lucas LSLC22-12G)
I have a Sportsman 6 in 1 power station with a lead acid battery and I have no idea how to recharge the battery. Could you help me with that? Also, do not have an user manual
I'd recommend getting a decent battery charger (one designed to charge maintenance-free batteries) and using that to charge via the jump leads. The built-in charging circuit of these jump starters is often useless. I use a CTEK MXS 5.0 to charge mine.
Any decent brand, really. Mine's Lucas which is a rebadged Numax, and it seems OK. I've found the following brands in APC UPSes: BB Battery, CSB (the majority by far), Panasonic, Yuasa. If it's good enough for APC, it's good enough for me. You'll need to open yours to see what battery will fit. The "17Ah size", for example, is now available in up to 23Ah (CSB HR1290W), all of which should be interchangeable. Find an extra half an inch at the top and you'll even take a CSB EVH12240 (12V 24Ah).
Hi, just a quick question -I have the maplin version. I have just bought a new cablerite 15v/1A charger for it, tip positive. When I try to charge the red charging light flashes. It this right?
Hello 👋 I have one from marlin,cannot find help with it I’ve just watched your videos very interesting and thank you because you’re you are the only one who has got my make and model of Maplin crap SHENGWEI 6FM17 12v 17AH/20HR cycle use 14 .4-15.0v standby use 13.5-13.8v less than 5.1A sorry it’s long I just let you know About the battery that I have in the Maplin pad £90.95
Found the exact same 5 in 1 power unit like yours . Someone threw it away . Hooked up charger , everything works but battery won’t charge . Now I know how to change the battery and which one to buy. Thanks dude , great info . Really enjoyed it .
Now you know why it was thrown out, too. You'll probably want to find an alternative means of charging it too (for example using a car or bike charger - designed for maintenance free batteries - across the jump leads).
Since the video was uploaded the compressor and mains inverter have also died but hey, at least the case works :)
I'd been thinking of buying a lithium jump starter, as bought a £50 lead acid one years ago that was dead in under 6 months.
Somehow I landed on this video, which made me realise it wasn't the chemistry at fault, rather the scam batteries inside them.
I've just bought a nice used Draper jump starter and a decent Lucas 22ah battery to fit in it.
Oh and I already have a CTEK charger and note they do a cigarette lighter charging lead, which is ideal for simple connection to a jump starter.
Great video, which got me thinking both inside and outside the box!
Thanks.
A bit late asking this but will this charge through the cigarette lighter sockets or does the diode in the charging circuit block it? It would be useful for using a solar trickle charger if so.
@@jeromeperkins4628 The 12v socket is wired via a simple switch to the battery, bypassing the internal charging circuitry. I would check with a meter that the cigarette socket is wired correctly in terms of polarity, though smart chargers like the CTEK have their own protections built in anyway.
@@matthewjenkins1161 Thank you for the information, I'll check it out.
I have a blue Mobile Power box, identical to this but 120v US. Its been my go-to tool for airing tires and powering lights and fans, but it seems the stock battery is ready for a replacement. Watched this video to see what I'm getting into before I crack it open. Thanks!
Good to see an honest review on these so called "Power Packs".
I just replaced the dead battery in my Draper unit with the 22ah Lucas golf trolley battery. I have both a Draper and an old SIP unit and both had genuine 17ah batteries. The Draper unit is around £115 new. Too much money for so little. A 36 hole golf battery is 34ah and under £50 delivered. Add a set of reasonable quality jump leads and have double the ah of most of these "Power Packs". I think the stupidly priced ones (Clarke 4000 at £145!) use a 38ah mobility scooter battery.
If people want real starting power, a leisure or marine deep cycle battery could offer much more for less money. Not so portable, but battery boxes are available cheap enough along with all the other accessories than can be added for a custom "Power Pack".
I use the Ctek XS7000 on Snowflake mode as recommended for AGM batteries. Great charger with loads of available add-ons including cigarette lighter socket connector.
I hope you get the chance to review one of the big Clarke range!
Another vote for the CTEK chargers, then :)
Even with the smaller batteries you can buy satchel-like battery bags, Yuasa do them. Either that or grab a scrap jumpstarter from the tip, I bet that's where a lot of them end up.
AintBigAintClever My two nearly ended up binned. I presumed there was fancy electronics inside to "boost" the power. I was quite shocked at how little was in there. The old SIP one was no longer used years ago after a friend gave me back the wrong charger. I think I ended up with one from his kids toys. The Draper one would not charge either after years of not being properly charged. It showed the fully charged light but would not help start anything. After checking output on the Draper charger I found it was putting out 21v.
I figured I had nothing to lose by opening both units up for inspection before scrapping. Glad I did. I never realised how easy it was to get these batteries online and how cheap they were. The Tayna site is great for info on battery sizes and pretty reasonable for price too. I got my Lucas from PureDrive. I know they have really poor reviews on customer service if things go wrong, but other suppliers were charging ridiculous prices for delivery to NI.
I found your great video after looking online for how to charge a jump starter without the original charger pack. I am definitely a Ctek fan. Totally reliable and apparently can be left outside, though I prefer not to test that!
I've not used Tayna for jumpstarter batteries but twice so far for car batteries. Some of their technical info isn't quite right, some cars have different batteries in RHD to LHD (mine for example has reversed battery posts, the site had the LHD model info) but you can't fault the service and price, especially considering how much of a lump a car battery is to post!
Great video AintBigAintClever. Just pulled my Australian bought version of this jump starter (Powertech 5 in 1 Power Station) apart after watching your video, as the 240v outlet was playing up. The battery in mine was a "Shengwei Valve Regulated Battery 6FM18 (12V18AH20HR)" that weighed in at 4.1 kg, so I'm assuming it is a fake 18 AH battery too. I've hooked it up to my CTEK charger to give it a proper charge, but will probably put in a decent battery now after watching your video. Keep up the good work mate.
This was a great thorough breakdown and tutorial. The only problem was I only needed to know how to hook the cables to the battery, which you did not show. Still thumbs up :)
Cheers for the time you spent on this video, it helped me a lot in my decision making process. You were easy to follow and made a lot of sense despite myself not being that electrically in-tune so to speak.
I got one of these from eBay. Without this video I don't think I would have got a refund when I reported it as faulty. I sent a video of the jump pack trying to start a 1300cc Yamaha desiel engine on the forklift. All it did was make the starter click. It was useless. When I sent negative feedback I ended up with loads of emails bullying me to retract the post.. Never! These con artists need to be stopped. So if you ever get one. Send them this video and then post a follow up feedback so they can't sell them..Thumbs up for this postThank you 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Glad it came in handy :D
Thank you because the other videos didn't say anything about the quality of the battery. now I know what to look into.
So glad I checked for reviews first' I was just about to order one of these Streetwize SWPP5 Power Stations. What a waste of £78.50 that would have been. Thanks for the detailed review.
Great review, i was just about to buy one of these when i thankfully came across your review!
The green and red light only come on when you connect to another battery to jump start a vehicle. Green will indicate all is connected okay and is ready to jumpstart, red will indicate the power station is not connected properly. So when jumpstarting a car red goes to red and black goes to a non moving metal part on the car; you then turn on and a red led will tell you the connection is fault, and green means good to go and jumpstart. Great video, thanks!
Hi There thanks for the comments i'm inclined to agree with you on both counts..cheers Fred Chelmsford. Essex.
Your vid was the first hit when I looked for info on these, so well done - still getting views after 9 years :-D ! Mine is the same design but slightly newer. Interestingly the battery is a 'RITAR' RT12150 15ah, and the packaging is marked as 15ah too - with an obvious sticker-over-the-original-markings. Bet it used to say 17ah ;-) The inverter board is slightly different looking too - possible 2013 date code. I was going to chuck the whole unit, but might try a new battery to see if that improves it. Not sure what spec to get - is there a standard code to search for to get the right size/shape battery? I've no idea how much my unit cost as it was a present, years ago. I will use the tip for charging via the jump cables too if I do replace the battery. Oh,and my jump cables DO clip into the spaces on the sides!!
Any battery that has roughly the same dimensions as a 17Ah unit should fit. A Lucas LSLC22-12 will fit for example, so look up its datasheet for the dimensions. If the LSLC22-12G is cheaper then get that as the golf buggy connector on the top just unbolts.
On mine the inverter's now dead and so is the compressor, so it's just a jumpstarter with a light on the front.
Better to use a proper battery charger than the plug-top effort it comes with. Either wire a CTEK or similar connector into the unit or charge through the jumper clamps.
Cheers, ended up getting the LSLC22-12G - slotted in with no fuss. I thought about adding a dedicated charging cable for my oxford, but in the end decided to just use the jump cables as you suggested. The compressor definitely has more chooch now (which means it'll probably pack up completely next time I use it ;-)
you just save me some money , thanks, I was about to buy this exact one but not now. great reviews . Thankyou.
I'm curious if it's possible to mod these things with lithium ion batteries? Like make a 12V Li-Ion pack with BMS and maybe even make it so it charges by the DC input and swap out the stock charge circuit with one for the lithium battery.
Excellent work, thank you. I like the way you advise :-)
I bought one of theese a few years ago. I didnt realised at this point that this device has no charging circuit. Big problem is also the faulty user manual. It wants me to charge the device for 34 hours and not longer than 48 hours ?!
So i managed to charge it, as you mentioned using the clamps and let it connected to a good one (an ok battery from another car that is running) for a few minutes.
Wow what an eye opener!! And to think I nearly bought one!! Thanks for posting!!
GREAT video. Like the time chart at the start. The tip for finding FAKES based on weight VERY smart. I have been wandering about these for awhile and now see they have the same drawback as any multi-tool does NOTHING great and most are CRAPPY trying to just add to the chart on the box of how many CRAPPY things it can do. Looks like I'm better off making my own system.
Still a great video - mine died by not using it over years and now I am able to decide if I rescue it with a new battery.
Great video, are there any jump starters you could recommend ? Thanks
Thanks for a great review. I purchased an identical product here in Australia branded MiGear 5 in 1 power station and it appears they are sold in the US as Wagan Power Dome. Unfortunately the poor quality battery and jumper clamps seem to be a problem everywhere. Mine weighs 7.8 Kgs and could only start my 3.8 Ltr V6 engine half a dozen times. I now use it for my ride on mower and an inverter although it could only power my laptop for aprox 20 minutes. So I will replace the battery soon and maybe try to fit a charge controller board from a UPS in it.
I just bought one...before i saw this brilliant review....20 hours charge and it still wouldnt 'jump start' the car....i will return this waste of space to maplin asap .tks
A very useful video, I have the Maplin version of this unit, their 5 in 1 Power Station. The battery had died due to age and my forgetting to keep it charged. I've now replaced it with a Yuasa 18ah battery which I'm charging with my new CTEK MXS 5.0. Apart from closing the case which was a bit tricky the job wasn't difficult. I'm looking forward to the unit being lots of use and lasting a few years with its new battery. By the way the original battery was a 'fake' 17ah battery which only weighed about 4kg. How did they get away with that? Thank you for making this video, I'd never have known how to go about the job without it.
Ian Griffiths Which specific Yuasa battery did you order? Refurbing my old Maplin one for astronomy. Also, when charging I am using a replacement 15v/1A charger, tip positive. My charging light flashes when plugged in, is this right?
@@dbc5048 This battery www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002TV64EO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 my charging light doesnt flash it just comes on constantly when charging.
Ian Griffiths thanks for the info.
Hello. I realise this video is now several years old but I wonder if you might be able to help me. I have a SWPP6 that I've taken apart as the battery was not charging. I discovered a very poor negative connection that needs to be re-soldered, but I also found a red positive wire that travels between the long circuit board that holds the DC input and led light (among other things), and connects to the positive side of the battery at the main switch. The problem is the red positive wire has broken off the long circuit board and I have no idea where to solder it to. Do you or any of your subscribers know where that red should connect to please?
Many thanks for the tips. All I really need it for was to power a telescope and laptop, with the compressor & booster functions as a "nice to have" should I ever need them. The all in one package just seemed like a relatively neat and civilised way of doing it.
I think I'll just go with a decent battery & separate charger now... Cheers again, Dave.
Wouldn't the none return diode inside stop u from charging via its own terminal clamps, using another battery smart charger. Or is the diode in between the charging jack on the front?
Regards. ...
Great video btw...well done..
The diode doesn't sit between the battery and its jump leads, so you can indeed use a conventional (albeit designed to handle AGM/gel) battery charger to charge it, and it'd do a better job than the one it came with.
If it's a 12 volt pump, I'd suggest a leisure battery (if you intend leaving it there for a while) or a smaller, decent-size sealed lead-acid battery like the one I used.
great video it helped me to find out how to charge my unit as ive lost the power lead, so now ill give it a go and see if it charges, also mine weighs over 10 kl so hopefully i have the decent battery
Fella! thanks for saving me £80! I was just about to order from Amazon and gut feeling told me to Google a review.
Haven't had a chance to look through all of your videos yet, but are there any of the cheapo (sub £80) jump starters that you would recommend?
Hi there thanks for the video, i found this very useful. when you mentioned charging the battery direct from the jump leads using an intelligent charger cables? No modification required to the internal wiring?
Hi there thanks for the video, i found this very useful. when you mentioned charging the battery direct from the jump leads using an intelligent chargers. Did you just connect the charger direct to the jump cables, switch on the unit then charge? No modifications required to the internal wiring? Also how long does it take to charge on an intelligent charger like an optimate or similar? Thanks!
Great job. I really enjoyed watching this video. Thanks for sharing!
very good report thanks man
so many car jumper 5 in 1 3 in 1 in the market nowadays
Can you please make best top 10 or what do you think is good for 150$
most of people do not know this important information like what you did
Excellent video. I bought one of these under a recomendation and for a summer season it worked well for helping to run a low wattage water pump for an allotment. Unfortunatlly it hasnt stood the test of time and now my inverter keep blowing the 25 amp fuse on the back of the thing. I conntscted streetwize to ask for help and was fobbed off. My knowledge of electrical items is not the best but I refuse to waste the £70 on this and am detrmined to fix it..... somehow. I think I need to replace the inverter and have come to watch your review in the hope I may be able to fix the thing,,,, fingers crossed.
+Tony Llinx my inverter failed the same way so I just tore it out. Already got an 800W inverter so not worth fixing.
I bought one of these, a Maplin model, and certainly never trusted the bundled charger. Having seen this, I took it out of the cupboard and recharged it with an Ansmann 2-24V 2 stage Lead Acid battery charger. But I couldn't charge it using the jump leads at all, and yes I did turn the switch. I think it might have some reverse current protection on it, so I made up a lead to charge through the little socket on the front. Mine is also lighter than it should be. Thanks for this illuminating video
What lead did you make up, please? Amps, voltage, and polarity? I have this unit but lost the charger (whoops)
I’ve bought one from a local car boot sale for £5. Absolutely dead. But I’ve managed to kick start it and it’s now working fine. The Bestway battery was dry as a bone so I’ve replenished it with distilled water.
They're meant to be AGM batteries so they'd seem "dry" compared to the flooded cells of a car battery, but well done for getting the POS working.
Thank you for sharing your work with us. I often look at these and laugh when I read the bullshit specs they print on the boxes. One doesn't need to be an electrician to know that a good battery is heavy so the first thing I do is give them the weight test. I have a good one that was not made with jumper leads it's basically just a portable power source with a high quality digital radio, work light and 200 amp inverter. the on board DC charger quit working and since there are no jumper leads I have to charge it through the cigarette lighter power socket. I want another one what brand do you think is best?
have u heard of any other ppl talking about this item having a fake battery , i was looking to buy one now not sure after seeing your review
i notice u said u were "givin it" and it looks to have had differant no genuwin jump connectors fitted , is it possible that the previous owner had changed the battery and jump-leads?
There shouldn't be any reverse current protection on the jump leads. A reverse polarity warning yes, but no reverse current protection. The diodes needed to cope with starting current whilst protecting from reverse current would be big and expensive, so they wouldn't be fitted.
I was going to get one of these till I saw your other video, so I built my own instead. Its quite expensive to do (£150ish). I basically took an old brief case, a 24ah Lead acid battery, a 7amp battery charger, a set of jump cables, a 12V compressor, and a few switches and fittings, works brilliant, although abit heavy (16kg)
The inverter I took through the Merthyr Tunnel was one of their 800 watt ones, I've done another vid somewhere on here where I've modified it to tap into the 300 volt DC supply.
Damn. I was just about to buy one of these to power a water butt pump at my allotment. Sadly dissapointed as I like the look of this. Not to mention it has both cigarette lighters and a 3 pin socket. Just what I could do with... On the plus side you have just saved me £79.95 (and whatever the hell the p&p is on top of that). So a very big thankyou for saving ALL of us a huge dissapointment. 5 star video and review. Thankyou. Now.. if i can just find something to power my water butt pump....
I should think so.
The table of contents is so that people can jump to whichever bit they're interested in, some of my vids go on for a bit :)
Excellent video ! Thanks.
a honest no punches pulled review . makes you wonder how they get away with it.
Hi. Having had this streetwize a year now, what decent replacement battery would you reccomend? Cheers Chris.
It's a tri-colour LED, you'll see the back of it at around 9:35. Three legs, so it can display red, green or amber depending on whether one, the other or both LED chips are illuminated. If it was ONLY a reverse polarity indicator they wouldn't go to the expense of fitting a tri-colour LED as a conventional one would do.
Well Sir, that is a very thorough empirical breakdown and review, thank you. Mine is an almost identical 'RAC Jumpstart', and it weighs 8kg on an analogue bathroom scale. Purchased in April 2012 for £99.99, and still going strong (I used it today in fact to assist-jump-start a large capacity motorcycle whose own battery has been 'at rest' for a while, and just afterwards to top-up its tyres), I'm just going to stick with the supplied wall charger method, as, at 5 years and still pumping, it seems like a winning routine for now. Useful to know about the replacement battery weights, and how to install them when it's time though. I reckon just keeping them in a good state of charge, all the time, is maybe half the secret. Kind Regards.
Do you recommend a power pack that is good quality and value for money?
That's exactly what I do, charge it through its jumper cables. I could fit a charging lead to it but I haven't got round to it. I'm not sure how long it takes to charge, but it's probably about the same amount of time as a motorcycle battery.
which replacement battery would you recommend, is heaviest the best ? Panasonic lc-pd1217p
Great and enlightening video. My compressor no longer pumps air, Any idea of where to get a replacement compressor?
+Bill Thompson I've bought an external compressor and use that instead.
did you take the compressor out to put into the 5 in 1 or just use it as a separate item?
Using it separately, plugged into the cigarette lighter sockets on the jumpstarter.
Also sometimes an adapter cord is provided to charge from a car or other 12v source.
Thank you AintBigAintClever . Looking for a power pack and surely not choosing this pile of /!\ CLASS 1 crap. Your informations about batteries and weight are very instructive. Many thanks and keep it up with this great reviews !
Wonder why it has class 1 lazor product on it? not like it has a cd drive or a laser pointer unless i missed something?, The mosfets/transitors/regulators on the inverter lack heatsinks too
I think the led is only red when you reverse polarity
How you would do the circuit with a multi color led? Specialy in a cheap device i not see a complex wirering diagram its normal a resistor and a led with a buzzer.
Hi,
I'm after a jump pack to start a BMW X5 (4450 CC) what brand and power would you recommend? as I don't want to be duped into buying a bogus product.
Thanks in advance.
i would like to know if you are able to provide me a link to where i can get a replacement board for the same time 5 in 1 power station. thank you very much mate.
dear friend
i know its six years viedo but thank you its a good one
but i have a questiion if i want to go go cheap can i buy a good battery and add cablle and terminals to start acar do you advise it
An unregulated supply has an output potential of about 17V since the ripple suppression capacitor (if any) charges up to about 17V (the peak potential of a 12Vrms sinusoidal waveform). The car charging cable works in the same way, as the operating potential of a 12V vehicle electrical system is about 14V.
what kind of jump starter with compressor wold you recommend? i need to bye one end i have noe experience. sorry for bad english!
If the specs look good and the jumpstarter you receive matches those specs then you should be OK. I'm using the Streetwize (although I need to open it again as there's a fault on the inverter now) with the 22Ah Lucas LSLC22 battery and a CTEK MXS-5.0 charger attached to the jump leads to charge it.
Love ya work mate...And hello from New Zealand.
Not really. The best bet would be a battery, decent battery charger and some jump leads, plus something like a laptop bag or rucksack to keep them in, unless you buy a second-hand dead one (there should be plenty about). A genuine 17Ah-sized battery will set you back about £35 upwards (Google for Lucas LSLC22 and look for the Electroquest link), so any jump starters of this price or below are pretty much guaranteed to have a crap battery inside. In any case, don't rely on the built-in charger.
Would the charging circuit not be in the psu supplied with the unit?
Remember to keep the battery charged when not in use. Cyclic batteries will handle your usage a lot better than regular ones, but like any lead-acid battery they still don't like being left in a discharged state.
The C-TEK battery chargers were recommended by one of my other viewers. Most of the jumpstarters' built-in chargers are totally inadequate and won't do the battery any good.
I have one of the 5 in 1 power stations and the air compressor is not working
Good video mate but for a few bugs more you have a good new car battery :-) so you dont need it.
Little joking ok its most of the time cheap shit inside those things but if it can recover ypur battery on a cold winter day your saved. I buy myselve a converter with the same problem blokwave output so i went back to the supplier and he give me my money back and i bought a goo sinewave converter but, ouths that was 4 times the price. But that thing works perfect. Not made in mainland china but from taiwan. Overload protection low battery voltage protection. I had to take it appart to make it auto start. But quality componets thick cables decent cooling etc etc. Yes more expensive but it works all the time. No strange noice in transformers or motors or tl lamps. Spend a few more bugs and you can realy buy something thatvis relayable.
Good videos mate keep up the good work
I have one of these that won't charge. It's light and weighs about 7.5kg. I understand it's a bit crap but it does what I need in my '70's camper van. So I want to replace the battery. What was the model of your lucas battery you put in?
LSLC22-12G
AintBigAintClever Thanks
In my opinion Maplin are now what Tandy used to be, CPC (Farnell) are now what Maplin used to be and RS are what RS always were, although the way the others have racked up their prices if you want value for money it's a toss-up between RS and CPC.
Need an example? 0.6W metal film resistors (e.g. stock code M47K) used to be 3p at Maplin, now they're 36p. EACH. In the background when I'm dismantling the battery there's a box of 10/0.1 wire. I paid £1.29 per 25m roll. Now they're £6.19.
Where did you get the Lucas battery from? I have been trying to find one that has the bolt connectors like the one in the jump starter but all i can find is the screw ones
I think they've changed the design but the connections should still work, you just have a connecting bolt instead of a connecting nut and bolt.
good video...just one ...turn the clips around and they fit perfectly..
A quick scout around Rapid's site shows that they're exactly what Maplin used to be (right down to the minimum-spend-for-free-postage rule). Doug Simmons, Roger Allen and Sandra Allen must hate what Maplin turned into after they left.
Hi, fantastic review! I was thinking of buying this power station for when I do my busking. Only needed to power my 14W mini sound mixer (which I need to control the low level output on some of my backing tracks). It would be used during the summer months, so for 3 hours per day, 4 or 5 days per week for 3 months of the year. Would you recommend the battery on the power station be adequate/sustainable for this; and is it noisy when switched on? Thank you in advance.
+Samantha- Jayne Sorry about the delay, TH-cam gave me no notification whatsoever of your comment.
If that's all it's drawing then I'd expect it to be fine, but not with the fake battery it came with.
A genuine 17Ah 12V battery will have 204 watt-hours of energy, albeit based on a 20 hour discharge (so it could give out 10.2 watts for 20 hours).
A 14 watt draw will give less than 14 hours of runtime due to the way capacity is used (Peukert's Law) and the inefficiency of the inverter, but should still give you plenty of runtime. You'll want a decent charger as well though, I wouldn't expect the taper charger it comes with to be good for the battery.
+AintBigAintClever, no worries and thanks for replying!
Think I'll continue to look for other options as I wouldn't have a clue (not even with your step by step' video); nor the time to be changing the battery and charger. Thanks again for a such an informative review of the product!
If you're just after a mobile power source, my suggestion would be to get a rucksack, plus:-
Inverter: www.screwfix.com/p/ring-ah-power-source-inverter-single-socket-12v/22290
Pipe insulation: www.screwfix.com/p/economy-pipe-insulation-22mm-x-1m/91078
Duck tape: www.screwfix.com/p/duck-ultimate-cloth-tape-50-mesh-silver-50mm-x-25m/39039
Battery: www.tayna.co.uk/Lucas-Golf-Battery-LSLC22-12G-P7938.html
Charger: www.tayna.co.uk/CTEK-MXS-3.8-Charger-and-Conditioner-P9410.html
I use a rucksack-and-battery combo with my Gigapan camera head, a battery that size can run it all day long. If I need mains, I've got an 800 watt inverter that'll fit in the rucksack and do the job (my Merthyr Tunnel video used that).
The charger will be good for charging not just the rucksack battery but any car battery as well, the slightly beefier MXS 5.0 is the one I use.
The pipe insulation sounds like an odd addition, but when duck-taped to the edges of the battery it protects it from knocks and stops it digging into your back when carrying the rucksack, whilst still allowing use of the rucksack as a fifteen-pound anti-mugging device, you certainly wouldn't want to get clopped round the head with it :)
+AintBigAintClever, you're amazing! Thank you for covering my safety whilst busking, as well as finding a possible solution for a suitable power source! :D However, I only understand what to do with the pipe insulation and duck tape! :/ Would you mind talking me through what I need to do please? How would I connect.the charger to the battery; how do I then connect the battery to the inverter; and how would i connect the plug from my mini mixer to the converter? Sorry if I've got it completely wrong!
The charger comes with an additional cable with a plug on it. This can be permanently connected to the battery. You unplug the crocodile clip lead from the charger and plug the battery lead in instead. That's charging sorted.
I forgot about the cable, sorry!
The easiest way would be to buy this battery instead:-
www.tayna.co.uk/Lucas-LSLC22-12G-Golf-Battery-with-Torberry-Lead-P9653.html
Plus this cable, which you wire to the inverter (red wire to red terminal, black wire to black terminal):-
www.tayna.co.uk/Torberry-Connector-P4872.html
That's wiring the battery to the inverter sorted.
Your battery will now have two cables attached; one (a black and orange one) which can plug into the charger and one (black with a black-and-red end) which can plug into the inverter; red-to-red, black-to-black.
Finally, the inverter has a normal mains socket at one end, plug your mixer into that.
p.s. If travelling on the underground make sure all cables are tucked in out of the way. People get shot for stuff like that.
An unregulated supply will go a fair way over 12 volts. It'll probably charge the battery all the way up given enough time (once the current falls off the voltage will start climbing). Far from ideal for a lead-acid battery though, especially a sealed one.
I actually think the best jump starter would be to simply keep a spare battery on permanent trickle charge, use it to jump start if you need to get moving quick, and swap it if the one in the car is a dud.
what a Great review, i was just about to buy one of these but not now thanks mate if you got a min could you recommend me a good one please? Thanks
Maplins lol I bought one of those a while ago and returned it within days wish I'd of seen this vid 1st
I can't really recommend one. At the moment I've got an SWPP5, with:-
Dead battery (ripped out and replaced with a Lucas)
Dead compressor (ripped out and replaced with an external Michelin 12262)
Dead mains inverter (ripped out)
Dead battery charger (replaced with a CTEK MXS 5.0)
AintBigAintClever so really if you want a good one buy one that does it all and replace the parts with quality parts lol sad really but true
Having wasted £80 on this product is it worth replacing the battery with a decent one and should I replace the reset-able fuse with another?
Sorry, I only just saw this comment. First thing to invest in would be a decent battery charger instead of the POS that comes with it. You can charge through the jumper cables or if your charger comes with a ring-terminal adapter (like the Optimate or CTEK chargers) you can hardwire a charging socket to it.
How can you tell if the power station is full charged? I unfortunately don't have a manual. And also, how do you read the right gauge, the one that has "DC VOLTS" in it?
Thanks.
Silent Pixel With the crap charger it comes with you won't be able to tell. Better off using a proper battery charger (I use a CTEK MXS-5.0) which will charge the battery correctly.
Hi. Great review and very informative.
I would like to use this unit to power a photographers studio flash unit outside. This unit would makes the flash head portable. the flash is a 200w unit but not sure if fuses would blow as the flash is released? any help would be great. thanks.
rtfc_tog videos I'd suggest using a separate, higher-wattage inverter to run the flash head. I wouldn't expect a surge as the flash is released as that's not how they work. A capacitor is charged up, that is what's used to power the flash. To fire, a pulse transformer puts several thousand volts to a third terminal on the flash tube. This causes an arc to develop, which the capacitor then dumps all of its charge through.
I think :)
No good for the inverter either I'm afraid, we use these at work and although not used often, I have gone through 3 in about 7 months. If it wasnt for the fact the company i work for supply them free, I wouldnt even spend £20 on one.
Pay the extra and get a good solid brand that back up their product.
Nice tear down AintBigAintClever!
+Cole Trickle yep, the inverter's gone bang on mine since doing the video (so it's been ripped out), as did the compressor (ditto).
Cool video. I have a jumper pack with a red charging light that should go out when fully charged it doesn't iv checked battery it's fully charged .any help would be great
You may find that the LED indicates that the charger's connected, not going out if/when the battery's fully charged.
I can't really recommend any of them. You could go for a big brand like Ring or Clarke as they won't want to be associated with crap, but I know the Clarke ones share a casing with the Nikkai ones from Maplin (which are total crap, check my oldest vids). The important thing is to ensure the battery inside and the charger used are both decent. If you can, pick up a scrap jump starter (there should be plenty), a decent battery (I use Lucas LSLC22 to start a 3 litre Lexus) and a good charger (CTEK)
Sorry, I just got one of these for free. So all 3 black cords attach to the battery?
Yes, the black one going to the isolator switch is positive, the other two are negative and one of those has a bullet connector which plugs into the black inverter lead.
I've never heard of Werker batteries. Yuasa, CSB and Panasonic are used by big UPS manufacturers. I use a Lucas which is identical to a Numax. Other brands will be available in the US, but if it's a brand known for making batteries, rather than some "Lucky Golden Dragon Electric Corp., Ltd." brand from China it's a good start.
gr8 review but what kind of battery do i or can i replace with the type of 12v 8ah Ritar1280 F2?
I bought the streetwise swpp6 6 in 1 power station and its not working,i pulled it apart tested the battery and its only showing 4v dc so its buggered..so any idea on an alternative knowing that this particular style lead acid battery has both connections on one side?
cheers buddy
Pretty much any 7 to 9Ah battery. It's a size commonly used in intruder alarm panels. F2 indicates it has the quarter-inch blade terminals.
@@AintBigAintClever only issue are the dimensions as the swpp6 unit can only fit the measurements if this particular lead rechargeable battery.15.2cmx6.6cmx9.7cm as im going to fit it back in the power station unit.cant find any other alternative bcos the + &- points are a different config.guess i have to order the same RT1280 lead batt.
@@MrChiptatum That's a standard size.
CSB HR1234W for example (first one I looked up): 15.1cm x 6.5cm x 9.4cm plus tabs.
www.csb-battery.com/upfiles/dow01520317327.pdf
@@AintBigAintClever hi buddy sorry for the belated response..just to say tx 4ur info thats very helpful.Your a star bud.cheers.
Cracking review....keep up the good work
Hi, Sorry to bother you. Do you reckon this powerpack will be able to cope with running a standard 13W printer?
Jordan Morley I don't see why not.
Ah brill, thanks for getting back :)
Hi I have a Samsung 42 inch plasma tv, I don't know the wattage, but can you run something like that off the inverter on this, suppose battery lasts about an hour....Fred.
A plasma'd probably be a bit too power-hungry to run on this, I'd expect an LCD to work though.
There are many different versions of this exact jump starter. Different colors/different brands. Found one by the curb with an extremely corroded inverter, which still (amazingly) worked. Actually i found TWO, both with busted jumper cable leads. I genuinely feel sorry for the person that bought TWO of them.
What an execlent tear down thank you for showing. I enjoyd your video. *Like*
Hi there so if one was buying something like this, which one would you recommend, without spending the earth....Fred Nr Chelmsford, UK.
Difficult to say, really. I haven't yet come across one that hasn't been crap in one way or another. Best bet would be to buy a dead one (should be easy), a charger (CTEK MXS-5.0 for example) and a battery (Lucas LSLC22-12G)
I'd suggest getting in touch with Trading Standards, it's about time Maplin had a visit.
I have a Sportsman 6 in 1 power station with a lead acid battery and I have no idea how to recharge the battery. Could you help me with that?
Also, do not have an user manual
I'd recommend getting a decent battery charger (one designed to charge maintenance-free batteries) and using that to charge via the jump leads. The built-in charging circuit of these jump starters is often useless.
I use a CTEK MXS 5.0 to charge mine.
good point
Excellent video, again customer be aware. An other case of rip off.
Good to have an ale nearby during the autopsy.
Any decent brand, really. Mine's Lucas which is a rebadged Numax, and it seems OK.
I've found the following brands in APC UPSes: BB Battery, CSB (the majority by far), Panasonic, Yuasa. If it's good enough for APC, it's good enough for me.
You'll need to open yours to see what battery will fit. The "17Ah size", for example, is now available in up to 23Ah (CSB HR1290W), all of which should be interchangeable. Find an extra half an inch at the top and you'll even take a CSB EVH12240 (12V 24Ah).
Hi, just a quick question -I have the maplin version. I have just bought a new cablerite 15v/1A charger for it, tip positive. When I try to charge the red charging light flashes. It this right?
I don't know. I don't use the internal charging circuit because it's shite. I use a CTEK with a charging cable wired to the battery.
AintBigAintClever Thanks. Any views on a preferred options for a replacement battery that will fit into the casing?
@@dbc5048 I'd still recommend the Lucas LSLC22-12 as fitted in this video.
Now I understand thanks