Can jump start 12V cars, SUVs, trucks or vans up to 30 times on a full charge
Compact
Compact power bank with 18,000mAh capacity
Has the capability to charges your phone with dual USB ports (one is a 5v/9v Quick Charge) and power your other car accessories using a 12V 10A DC port
Long-lasting Standby Time
Manually turn the Tacklife T8 ‘OFF’ to slow down the battery’s self-discharge to hold its charge for up to 12 months while not in use
Note: Please remember to turn ‘ON’ before charging or it will not charge
User-friendly Additions
Comes equipped with super bright LEDs functioning as an emergency flashlight
Well-designed
Specially designed indicator notifies you of incorrect use with an audible buzz and flashing lights
Bold, unique design that’s easy to handle with the following features:
“Specially designed indicator notifies you of incorrect use with an audible buzz and flashing lights” which you won’t hear over the sounds of screaming after the car battery explodes.
@mcanavino Mmmm, nope. It refuses to make the connection when the polarity is backwards. You would have to be amazingly determined to MacGuyver a way to get this to go into fry mode.
Seems like one of the more worth Meh deals in a while with my shitty broken down car that needs a jump pretty frequently. Ill check back in the morning for other posts on how worth it may be.
What you most need to understand about these - all of the lithium-cell booster packs, and some of the lead-acid SLAs as well - is that if you are boosting a car with a completely dead battery, you will fail. The pack has adequate juice to start most engines, but as soon as the alternator kicks in, the booster pack kicks OUT, and with the battery still dead, the alternator will also kick out and the whole thing will be dead again.
Sometimes you can put just enough of a charge into the car’s battery to let the alternator work, sometimes not. Generally, these are best used for boosting a vehicle with a battery that’s low but not dead, or failing and unable to crank the engine or take enough of a charge to start the car.
OBTW, the flashlight is a bad joke, and the red flasher thingy is the ba-dum-tss for the bad joke.
All of that said, I’m in for one more. They have uses.
@werehatrack Great explanations! This does have some limitations, and won’t produce miracles. But it does have the ability to provide sufficient power to jump many batteries that haven’t dropped too far in voltage (which wouldn’t be very easily saved by many other means, for what it’s worth).
Additional point to help use this well; There is a power switch that can/should be used to turn this off, and help prevent discharge over time. However, the battery will not charge unless that switch is on. Hope that helps
@werehatrack If you put it on a dead battery but dont start the vehicle right away, it it charge up the battery over time so that it can be used to do the jump start?
@RetreadNJ To an extent, maybe. I have not tried it with this exact model, but my experience has been that they will only stay in live mode for a limited amount of time - usually not enough to put a surface charge on the vehicle battery. Typically, they give you 90 seconds to get the engine cranked. They don’t have enough capacity to transfer a meaningful amount of juice to the deader, and still remain able to start an engine.
Hmm. I bought a newer one that charges from USB-C input, which is ideal for me. Second-best would be something common, such as 12v barrel input (i.e. could be periodically charged in-car for maintenance). But this guy needs 15v input, nonstandard, not in-car, etc etc.
Still, if it keeps a decent charge for the better part of a year, I might still pick up a couple and throw it in the kids’ cars’ trunks, and try to remember to charge 'em up every fall and spring…
I don’t have this brand or one that looks like it with a different name, but I’m a big fan of this kind of device.
I’ve used it myself a few times over the last few years, and a couple of weeks ago I gave a stranger a jump start in a parking lot. I plugged it in after, not because it was running low but because it had probably been eight or nine months since I last did it.
I also keep a tire pump in the car, which was a lifesaver after Pep Boys did a shitty job putting new tires on my car.
@craigthom An friend of mine finally added one of those to his emergency carry-along kit, after a “helpful” friend with a pancake compressor DEflated his tires because the helpydweeb didn’t understand that he needed to run up the regulator pressure to a point above that van’s tire pressure before the compressor would do any good. (And neither did my friend; he’s mechanically illiterate to an amazing/appalling extent.) I was off doing something else while they handcrafted their little mess, but I was the one who had to clean it up, as usual.
I got one of these last year from Groupon and it worked great while I needed it!! (My super sweet, awe-some, loving dad buying me a new car solved my need )
I paid just under $40 total and right now they’re selling them for $53.
This is a terrific deal here on Meh and if I didn’t already have one I’d definitely jump on it!!
Get it, JUMP on it!
@Lynnerizer Not surprising. But it was a glowing review and I thought about getting one then and they sold out. So this time I went for it. I also hope I don’t need to use it anytime soon!
These also work to jump lawn mowers and (big) tractors. I used one a few weeks ago to power an entire day of model rocket launches. I have a smaller one I use to run a fan on the back of a telescope. Planning to hook one up to my BBQ controller so I can stop running an extension cord. Handy little devices, and there’s plenty of adapters for the EC-5 12V output available.
I have this exact model. I originally got it because I was having starting issues, but it turned out to be an issue with my starter motor.
I have, however, used it to bring my car back from the dead at least once, and it was successful. Maybe I have a different car than the other user.
@TexasDex The older the vehicle (or the older the tech involved in its alternator design), the better your chances of the booster working as expected when the battery is dead. The majority of newer vehicles regulate the alternator output directly from the powertrain ECM instead of via an old-style voltage regulator, and when the ECM’s not happy, nothing works. The briefest interruption or significant blip in the voltage supply can cascade into a system shutdown if the battery has zero charge. This is one of the places where “smart” systems are predisposed to doing the wrong thing where dumber systems just soldier on regardless.
It’s interesting to see reports of happy users - I’ve never had one of these that worked. Perhaps in my case I’ve only tried to use them on batteries that are “too far gone”. (generally in Florida when a battery dies it’s usually “really dead” from the heat and needs replaced)
@Pufferfishy I feel your pain. I have railed more than once against the engineers that make smartass hardware that thinks it knows more about what’s needed than the user, and renders itself useless in the process. Generally this is done in the name of safety, and like the monstrously dangerous slow fill nozzles on the typical 5 gallon fuel can, they can kill somebody. I greatly prefer stupid hardware, that just does what I tell it to do, and doesn’t question my judgment. Yes, if I make a mistake, bad things can happen. But more often than not, I can make good things happen that the hardware would keep me from doing if it were “smart”.
I don’t have this model, but I do have a meh.com - supplied battery jumpstarter, and it is great to have in your vehicle. I have jumped my Honda Pilot 2-3 times successfully.
It is also cool to be able to help a stranded rando in a parking lot, without having to pop your hood and connect to their vehicle. You just walk over, attach the leads to their battery, and walk away after it starts.
@tkocka there is a standard in some units for a round barrel connector that supplies 12-18V. Units and accessories using this are often available. I don’t know if this is the same connector. I would guess this would gladly charge from a solar panel so in the worst case you’d have to hack the connector.
Also wanted to say I have a similar unit bought last year. I used it to “hot-wire” my 12V camper jack when I had to quickly power it in an emergency situation. That unit worked fine for that.
also I have a big diesel truck, and, NO, I wouldn’t even think to try this on it. If you really need something for a truck or RV or old 8 cyl American car, I’d recommend one of the BIG NOCO units. They range from about $250-$1K. I bought one on a daily sale at the big A, and was really surprised how well it worked on my truck. But it was about 10x more massive and 10x more expensive than this little unit.
Anyway decided to pick up this little one at this price, for garden equipment and emergency 12V in a small package.
@pmarin@tkocka This one’s barrel connector for charging input is tiny, maybe 3.5mm, you won’t push more than an amp or two past it. (I do not know if the internal widgetry regulates the input down to a “safe” level; it probably does.) But the pack comes with a “car charger” (a lighter plug with a pigtail that has the charging plug on the other end), so you could rig a solar panel to supply 14-15VDC to a lighter socket, and plug the pack into that. It’s easier than hacking the plug.
I bought one of these, and it’s failed me twice to start a car with a dead battery. the REAL failure though is TackLife. I wanted to get a replacement, no dice because THEY DO NOT REPLY. I sent multiple emails to every email address they have. I tried their phone numbers, nobody answers OR CALLS BACK. I tried their chat thingie and it’s broken. These guys are a JOKE and I will NEVER EVER buy anything from Tacklife again. Good luck if you ever need support.
@vreiner Be aware that most of the lithium-battery-pack jumpers have a misfeature that keeps them from successfully jump-starting cars with completely dead batteries. They’ll crank the engine, but as soon as it actually starts to run, and the alternator kicks in, the booster pack cuts out - and the engine dies, for technical reasons I went into in another post. A minority of the conventional-battery booster packs have the same misfeature.
However, your observations about TackLife are ones that many others have expressed as well. This is one of those “if it works for you, it’s a fecking bargain - and if not, you’re SOL” situations.
@Polymathic@werehatrack I’d say no… just too tiny for that. I posted earlier that I recommend a NOCO heavy duty model that is about 10x as heavy and 10x as expensive. This was for a Dodge truck with Cummins engine. If it’s a smaller car diesel — I’ve had a Mercedes and older Audi diesels, then you wouldn’t need as much, but surely bigger than this.
Just running the glow-plugs to start might deplete this or make it think that was the starting current before it even “gets crankin’”
@pmarin@Polymathic The listing over at WallyWorld is much more optimistic than I am; it claims this thing can jumpstart a 5.0L Diesel, which I find difficult to believe given the relatively tiny diameter of the contacts in the adapter’s plug.
OBTW, these are apparently being sold without a manufacturer’s warranty because when Amazon shut down their store (gosh, that never happens), they basically evaporated.
Bought one of these for a friend who mysteriously had her battery die twice in a week…so she was borrowing mine!
I’ve owned a similar unit with another name on my friend borrowed it to jump his 6 cyl ranger. He kept it for a year until I needed it to start my 400hp 8cyl MB, after a year without using or charging the jumper it started the car in seconds.
so yeah, my friends have used my jumpers more than I have but everyone who uses it says “I’m getting one of these…soon!” as my jumper dissappears into their trunk and they announce, “I just need this for a couple of days to make sure I’m not stranded!”
I had a similar one, different brand save my bacon when I thought I could listen to the radio for an hour and have enough battery to start and drive off. I need this as a gift, so if I am with the parent and we get stranded I can use this. (They won’t try it without me there though!)
Never commented here before, but wanted to share that by coincidence I just pulled mine out of storage last week (it’s been sitting on a shelf for at least 2 years). Surprised to see it held it’s charge to 98%. Started my daughter’s Prius with it a couple of times very easily. I had used it originally for my wife’s old Lexus SUV. Pretty impressed with it. I had also googled the company last week because I lost the wall charger for it, I also noted they seem out of business except for Walmart. Wish I needed another one. I’d say this is a buy.
@werehatrack and @Bretterson - thanks for the tips. I ordered a new wallwart from Amazon; the same day it arrived I found the original. I can be a bit of an idiot at times.
@Lemans One of the corollaries of The Law Of Perversity Of The Universe is “Buying a replacement for a misplaced object will have a greater than 50% likelihood of causing the ‘missing’ object to be found, usually at the most embarrassing time. This will not occur as a result of the operation of the Law if you actually need both of them.” Another is “This Law is recursive; you cannot intentionally invoke it.” (The Law itself is “The Perversity of the Universe tends toward a maximum.”)
@peenut My three each took overnight to go from 85/88/88 to 100%, so hang in there. I have not tried charging them from the car’s lighter socket yet, so I have no data about whether that is faster, slower, or pointless to even attempt.
@peenut I had the exact same issue when mine arrived last night. I left it plugged in and turned the little rocker switch to off then unplugged, plugged it back in then switched to on and it started charging normally and has ever since.
Not sure if it was just a time thing and the messing with the switch was coincidence.
@ohhwell@peenut The included not-really-a-manual seems to be trying to say that you’re supposed to turn that little switch on in order to make it able to charge, but mine charged without touching it. However, given the overall background behind the people who were selling these, I would not take anything as a given. At least they all worked, so there is that.
@ohhwell@peenut@werehatrack I had the same issue with charge % not changing for the first hour or two. Then it did start to show larger numbers and finished in a few hours. My guess is that the batteries were discharged more than the 83% shown, and it took the first hour or two to build up a base charge before it stared showing correctly.
Mine arrived yesterday, but since I just got home from being out of town for a week I haven’t even taken the plastic wrap off the packaging. I must say though that it is significantly heavier than the one I currently have, which I hope translates into a better build/better battery. I hope to check it out tomorrow…
Just opened mine today (finally). Overall I am impressed with how sturdy the build feels. Nice hard clamshell case with all the accessories packed in one side and the battery pack in the other. Surprised to notice the little compass built into the battery pack (guess I overlooked that in the pics/details).
Plugged it up (with switch off) showed 84%
30 minutes later 83% (WTF!)
90 minutes later 98% (yeah!)
next time I checked… display was off so I guessed 100%. (I did unplug the charger and plug it back in to have it display the battery %… yep 100%)
So far I am pretty happy with this unit. Seems much more beefy than the one I currently have. I guess I will keep this one in the RAV (daily driver) and leave the old one in Mom’s old car (Ford Focus) I figure I am most likely to need it (probably to help someone else) when I am in the RAV. If I need it for my own car, the RAV will take more ‘oomph’ to get it going than the Focus, so bigger/beefy seems like a good choice.
Thanks meh!
@raj810@werehatrack Mine arrived Wednesday. Displayed “Lo” on arrival, did not change after being on the charger all night. Tried with switch “on” and “off”, no difference. Neither of the flashlights illuminate. I checked the charger and it’s putting out ~16V.
I guess it’s time to contact customer service.
@macromeh@raj810@werehatrack BTW for the flashlight I had to press and hold the button for about 3 seconds. That’s probably good so that it doesn’t accidentally get pressed and turn on the light and slowly discharge when you don’t know it.
Just received mine. Surprised by how compact it is. Appreciate the nice case it arrived in. 84% when I turned it on. Currently at 88% after 20 minutes of charging. Wish I had bought two.
Mine doesn’t work, screen just flashes whenever I try to charge the device or charge anything from the device. The switch is in the on position. It just doesn’t work. Customer service doesn’t respond. Very disappointed
@pmarin no number per say, every thing flashes (so 188%, In, Out, 12v, 5V, quick, charge all illuminated). No “LO” indicator. Left charging overnight with switch on, no difference. Company clearly is out of business when you check their website. Looks like I (and other people here) just got duds. Hopefully meh honors DOA return policy
@chienfou@phub@pmarin I can’t speak for anyone else, but for my DOA unit I’ve already gotten a refund on my card and no need to return the defective item.
Again, props to meh support!
Mine came in at 83% charge. Note that I think Li-Ion are not supposed to be fully charged for shipping, so this is expected. Plugged in and in a few hours it was at 99. So, seems to be working.
Unfortunately it’s a small barrel connector for input, not the same as the 12v output barrel connector that is common to many solar panels and other accessories.
so the earlier question of could it be charged from a solar panel, you would need to use the 12V lighter cord that comes with it, or else hack a cable with the small connector.
oddly it comes with a micro-USB cable though nothing on it uses micro-USB, and it can’t charge from it. I guess that cord is to charge your phone from 2010.
I know that members probably get precedence over nonmembers but is it weird that while I got mine days ago, my dad got one too (before I could tell him to let me get it) and his hasn’t been shipped?
Got mine a week or two ago, opened it up and saw the charge was 85%. Tested the flashlight and it charging a phone, worked okay. Fast forward to yesterday, I tried to start my second car (not used very often), and it was very dead, just clicking while turning the key. Perfect chance to test this out. Grabbed it out, it had 83% battery. Hooked it up to the car, turned it on, started the car very easily. Battery remaining afterwards: 81%. This is going to be so nice to have in the car and not have to worry about finding someone to jump my car or calling AAA. Got two, one for each car.
Specs
Tacklife 800A 18,000mAh Jump Starter, Phone Charger & Flashlight
Condition: New
Model#: USAKKOCN1010092
Powerful
Compact
Long-lasting Standby Time
User-friendly Additions
Well-designed
Technical Specifications
What’s Included?
Price Comparison
$59.99 on Amazon
Warranty
2-Year Warranty
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Sep 26 - Wednesday, Sep 28
It’s a Swiss Army Battery Pack!
@yakkoTDI Nah. The flashlight and the red flashers are both bad jokes.
@werehatrack @yakkoTDI, not if you’re on a dark road with no other lights & ya can’t see nutten past ur
!! 
But can it do defibrillation?
@Zott Does the body have pierced nipples?
@yakkoTDI @Zott Just rub ice on it and clamp.
“Specially designed indicator notifies you of incorrect use with an audible buzz and flashing lights” which you won’t hear over the sounds of screaming after the car battery explodes.
@mcanavino Mmmm, nope. It refuses to make the connection when the polarity is backwards. You would have to be amazingly determined to MacGuyver a way to get this to go into fry mode.
@werehatrack challenge accepted!
@mcanavino Don’t forget to make a how-to video!
@mcanavino @werehatrack man I miss the Mythbusters. “Let’s bypass the safety mechanism and watch what happens”
I’ve had this exact item for 3 years. Used about a dozen times. Never an issue! Cost around 60 bucks on sale back then.
@michaelahess Similar positive experience here, but only for about a year in my case.
@michaelahess After a dozen times, maybe it’s time to buy a new battery
@heartny so many assumptions! Only twice on two of my vehicles, used to help others the rest of the time. But thanks for playing!
@heartny @michaelahess Well, that’s the internet for ya
It’s so weird the Amazon link keeps taking me to Walmart…
@bakerzdosen Walmazon
@cinoclav Or maybe Amazart? Amart? I think I like yours better.
@cinoclav @werehatrack new rumors of the big merger waiting to happen? Would be fun just to watch the culture clash between Seattle and Arkansas.
Seems like one of the more worth Meh deals in a while with my shitty broken down car that needs a jump pretty frequently. Ill check back in the morning for other posts on how worth it may be.
@Vitanima See my comment a few farther down for the deets on the you-need-to-know.
Emergency device – Where’s the bottle opener?
@phendrick It’s the black clamp, if you know the secret handshake.
Just bought one on sidedeal last week
@somf69 nice. If you don’t mind me asking, how much did you pay for one?
@courteousblock @somf69 That sale was at the same price as these. (I got one then, too.)
@somf69 @werehatrack thanks!
@courteousblock I had a 5 dollar coupon so It was 30 bucks
/giphy tender-tense-wave
I have this unit, from the recent SideDeal sale.
What you most need to understand about these - all of the lithium-cell booster packs, and some of the lead-acid SLAs as well - is that if you are boosting a car with a completely dead battery, you will fail. The pack has adequate juice to start most engines, but as soon as the alternator kicks in, the booster pack kicks OUT, and with the battery still dead, the alternator will also kick out and the whole thing will be dead again.
Sometimes you can put just enough of a charge into the car’s battery to let the alternator work, sometimes not. Generally, these are best used for boosting a vehicle with a battery that’s low but not dead, or failing and unable to crank the engine or take enough of a charge to start the car.
OBTW, the flashlight is a bad joke, and the red flasher thingy is the ba-dum-tss for the bad joke.
All of that said, I’m in for one more. They have uses.
@werehatrack Great explanations! This does have some limitations, and won’t produce miracles. But it does have the ability to provide sufficient power to jump many batteries that haven’t dropped too far in voltage (which wouldn’t be very easily saved by many other means, for what it’s worth).
Additional point to help use this well; There is a power switch that can/should be used to turn this off, and help prevent discharge over time. However, the battery will not charge unless that switch is on. Hope that helps
@werehatrack If you put it on a dead battery but dont start the vehicle right away, it it charge up the battery over time so that it can be used to do the jump start?
@RetreadNJ To an extent, maybe. I have not tried it with this exact model, but my experience has been that they will only stay in live mode for a limited amount of time - usually not enough to put a surface charge on the vehicle battery. Typically, they give you 90 seconds to get the engine cranked. They don’t have enough capacity to transfer a meaningful amount of juice to the deader, and still remain able to start an engine.
This must be a good brand, because I think this is the same brand they used in Guantánamo Bay for torture
I was trying to think of a brilliant remark, but my battery is low and I just can’t get the energy jolt to start.
@hchavers
Too bad you can’t get jumped.
Hmm. I bought a newer one that charges from USB-C input, which is ideal for me. Second-best would be something common, such as 12v barrel input (i.e. could be periodically charged in-car for maintenance). But this guy needs 15v input, nonstandard, not in-car, etc etc.
Still, if it keeps a decent charge for the better part of a year, I might still pick up a couple and throw it in the kids’ cars’ trunks, and try to remember to charge 'em up every fall and spring…
@blaadnort It comes with a dedicated charging brick. The pocket inside the case is VERY crowded.
I don’t have this brand or one that looks like it with a different name, but I’m a big fan of this kind of device.
I’ve used it myself a few times over the last few years, and a couple of weeks ago I gave a stranger a jump start in a parking lot. I plugged it in after, not because it was running low but because it had probably been eight or nine months since I last did it.
I also keep a tire pump in the car, which was a lifesaver after Pep Boys did a shitty job putting new tires on my car.
@craigthom An friend of mine finally added one of those to his emergency carry-along kit, after a “helpful” friend with a pancake compressor DEflated his tires because the helpydweeb didn’t understand that he needed to run up the regulator pressure to a point above that van’s tire pressure before the compressor would do any good. (And neither did my friend; he’s mechanically illiterate to an amazing/appalling extent.) I was off doing something else while they handcrafted their little mess, but I was the one who had to clean it up, as usual.
I got one of these last year from Groupon and it worked great while I needed it!! (My super sweet, awe-some, loving dad buying me a new car solved my need
)
I paid just under $40 total and right now they’re selling them for $53.
This is a terrific deal here on Meh and if I didn’t already have one I’d definitely jump on it!!
Get it, JUMP on it!
@Lynnerizer I got one - partly because of your enthusiastic recommendation a few weeks ago when it was the Sidedeal special!
@Kyeh
That’s great, hopefully you won’t need to use it though!
I MUST be pretty stressed… I don’t even remember commenting on it before.
@Lynnerizer Not surprising. But it was a glowing review and I thought about getting one then and they sold out. So this time I went for it. I also hope I don’t need to use it anytime soon!
ok, it has to be said- y’all sell the weirdest sex toys.
@alacrity And you keep buying them.
@yakkoTDI what can I say- your mom is into some weird shit.
Was just thinking yesterday that I wanted to get a couple of these as Christmas presents, glad I checked Meh before going to sleep tonight
/giphy plausible-demanding-privateer
/giphy macho-obdurate-kitten
Be a good gift for my son and his wife.
/giphy dogged-cavernous-catfish
These also work to jump lawn mowers and (big) tractors. I used one a few weeks ago to power an entire day of model rocket launches. I have a smaller one I use to run a fan on the back of a telescope. Planning to hook one up to my BBQ controller so I can stop running an extension cord. Handy little devices, and there’s plenty of adapters for the EC-5 12V output available.
@ayryq I’m an Astronomy teacher, so I’d love to come out and watch those launches!
I have this exact model. I originally got it because I was having starting issues, but it turned out to be an issue with my starter motor.
I have, however, used it to bring my car back from the dead at least once, and it was successful. Maybe I have a different car than the other user.
@TexasDex The older the vehicle (or the older the tech involved in its alternator design), the better your chances of the booster working as expected when the battery is dead. The majority of newer vehicles regulate the alternator output directly from the powertrain ECM instead of via an old-style voltage regulator, and when the ECM’s not happy, nothing works. The briefest interruption or significant blip in the voltage supply can cascade into a system shutdown if the battery has zero charge. This is one of the places where “smart” systems are predisposed to doing the wrong thing where dumber systems just soldier on regardless.
I somehow keep losing mine, but they’re great
/image adventurous-martial-psychic
/giphy adventurous-martial-psychic
@Seeds both seem like fun d&d
I have one that I think is a different model but it is a Tacklife and it has been well worth the money.
It’s interesting to see reports of happy users - I’ve never had one of these that worked. Perhaps in my case I’ve only tried to use them on batteries that are “too far gone”. (generally in Florida when a battery dies it’s usually “really dead” from the heat and needs replaced)
@Pufferfishy I feel your pain. I have railed more than once against the engineers that make smartass hardware that thinks it knows more about what’s needed than the user, and renders itself useless in the process. Generally this is done in the name of safety, and like the monstrously dangerous slow fill nozzles on the typical 5 gallon fuel can, they can kill somebody. I greatly prefer stupid hardware, that just does what I tell it to do, and doesn’t question my judgment. Yes, if I make a mistake, bad things can happen. But more often than not, I can make good things happen that the hardware would keep me from doing if it were “smart”.
I don’t have this model, but I do have a meh.com - supplied battery jumpstarter, and it is great to have in your vehicle. I have jumped my Honda Pilot 2-3 times successfully.
It is also cool to be able to help a stranded rando in a parking lot, without having to pop your hood and connect to their vehicle. You just walk over, attach the leads to their battery, and walk away after it starts.
This is a good price too
/image ashamed-twisted-silicone
@LJeAYsy4LoqxEC Wow, super relevant image.
I wonder if I could recharge it with a 20 watt solar panel putting out 14.6 volts DC
@tkocka there is a standard in some units for a round barrel connector that supplies 12-18V. Units and accessories using this are often available. I don’t know if this is the same connector. I would guess this would gladly charge from a solar panel so in the worst case you’d have to hack the connector.
Also wanted to say I have a similar unit bought last year. I used it to “hot-wire” my 12V camper jack when I had to quickly power it in an emergency situation. That unit worked fine for that.
also I have a big diesel truck, and, NO, I wouldn’t even think to try this on it. If you really need something for a truck or RV or old 8 cyl American car, I’d recommend one of the BIG NOCO units. They range from about $250-$1K. I bought one on a daily sale at the big A, and was really surprised how well it worked on my truck. But it was about 10x more massive and 10x more expensive than this little unit.
Anyway decided to pick up this little one at this price, for garden equipment and emergency 12V in a small package.
/giphy parallel-full-hose
@pmarin Thanks for the barrel connector thoughts. Looked up NOCO, definitely a beast.
@pmarin @tkocka This one’s barrel connector for charging input is tiny, maybe 3.5mm, you won’t push more than an amp or two past it. (I do not know if the internal widgetry regulates the input down to a “safe” level; it probably does.) But the pack comes with a “car charger” (a lighter plug with a pigtail that has the charging plug on the other end), so you could rig a solar panel to supply 14-15VDC to a lighter socket, and plug the pack into that. It’s easier than hacking the plug.
/giphy welcoming-grating-illusionist
I bought one of these, and it’s failed me twice to start a car with a dead battery. the REAL failure though is TackLife. I wanted to get a replacement, no dice because THEY DO NOT REPLY. I sent multiple emails to every email address they have. I tried their phone numbers, nobody answers OR CALLS BACK. I tried their chat thingie and it’s broken. These guys are a JOKE and I will NEVER EVER buy anything from Tacklife again. Good luck if you ever need support.
@vreiner Be aware that most of the lithium-battery-pack jumpers have a misfeature that keeps them from successfully jump-starting cars with completely dead batteries. They’ll crank the engine, but as soon as it actually starts to run, and the alternator kicks in, the booster pack cuts out - and the engine dies, for technical reasons I went into in another post. A minority of the conventional-battery booster packs have the same misfeature.
However, your observations about TackLife are ones that many others have expressed as well. This is one of those “if it works for you, it’s a fecking bargain - and if not, you’re SOL” situations.
@vreiner Looks like Tacklife evaporated when Amazon shut down their store. More extensive comment below, with a BBB link.
/buy
@relm256 It worked! Your order number is: nasal-patriotic-form
/image nasal patriotic form
Can Meh reach $100K in one day?
@phelmurh If they can sell 135 per hour until the rollover, it’s possible.
@phelmurh And it’s looking very No.
/giphy taunting-meticulous-beggar
Has anyone tried one of these with a diesel sedan? It’s no truck engine, but it’s not your typical gasoline car engine either.
@Polymathic Probably very iffy for anything more than a two-liter 4-holer.
@Polymathic @werehatrack I’d say no… just too tiny for that. I posted earlier that I recommend a NOCO heavy duty model that is about 10x as heavy and 10x as expensive. This was for a Dodge truck with Cummins engine. If it’s a smaller car diesel — I’ve had a Mercedes and older Audi diesels, then you wouldn’t need as much, but surely bigger than this.
Just running the glow-plugs to start might deplete this or make it think that was the starting current before it even “gets crankin’”
@pmarin @Polymathic The listing over at WallyWorld is much more optimistic than I am; it claims this thing can jumpstart a 5.0L Diesel, which I find difficult to believe given the relatively tiny diameter of the contacts in the adapter’s plug.
OBTW, these are apparently being sold without a manufacturer’s warranty because when Amazon shut down their store (gosh, that never happens), they basically evaporated.
https://www.bbb.org/us/ny/levittown/profile/tools/tacklife-0121-178870/complaints
@werehatrack There is nothing available on their web site. Was on there a few months ago and there were products…hmm
Bought one of these for a friend who mysteriously had her battery die twice in a week…so she was borrowing mine!
I’ve owned a similar unit with another name on my friend borrowed it to jump his 6 cyl ranger. He kept it for a year until I needed it to start my 400hp 8cyl MB, after a year without using or charging the jumper it started the car in seconds.
so yeah, my friends have used my jumpers more than I have but everyone who uses it says “I’m getting one of these…soon!” as my jumper dissappears into their trunk and they announce, “I just need this for a couple of days to make sure I’m not stranded!”
@SCHORERT
@SCHORERT @werehatrack Fairly impressed that something like this started an 8-cyl MB (not diesel, though, MB diesels were usually 6)
@pmarin @SCHORERT The WallyWorld listing claims it will provide enough boost to crank a 5-liter Diesel. I find that unlikely.
I had a similar one, different brand save my bacon when I thought I could listen to the radio for an hour and have enough battery to start and drive off. I need this as a gift, so if I am with the parent and we get stranded I can use this. (They won’t try it without me there though!)
So yeah.
/buy
@Vertabrae It worked! Your order number is: clever-worst-flea
/image clever worst flea
Relevant.
Never commented here before, but wanted to share that by coincidence I just pulled mine out of storage last week (it’s been sitting on a shelf for at least 2 years). Surprised to see it held it’s charge to 98%. Started my daughter’s Prius with it a couple of times very easily. I had used it originally for my wife’s old Lexus SUV. Pretty impressed with it. I had also googled the company last week because I lost the wall charger for it, I also noted they seem out of business except for Walmart. Wish I needed another one. I’d say this is a buy.
@Lemans You can still charge it from the car lighter socket if that cord hasn’t been lost as well.
@Lemans I’ve seen their stuff on Monoprice, but I can’t say I’ve checked recently.
@werehatrack and @Bretterson - thanks for the tips. I ordered a new wallwart from Amazon; the same day it arrived I found the original. I can be a bit of an idiot at times.
@Lemans One of the corollaries of The Law Of Perversity Of The Universe is “Buying a replacement for a misplaced object will have a greater than 50% likelihood of causing the ‘missing’ object to be found, usually at the most embarrassing time. This will not occur as a result of the operation of the Law if you actually need both of them.” Another is “This Law is recursive; you cannot intentionally invoke it.” (The Law itself is “The Perversity of the Universe tends toward a maximum.”)
/buy
@Bretterson It worked! Your order number is: big-tactless-grasshopper
/image big tactless grasshopper
/giphy big-tactless-grasshopper
Ya’ll sold me! I’m in for one…and hope I never need it!
Wow. Missed a deal-day sellout by only 17 minutes.
Just got the charger today.
Showing 84%.
It’s been charging for an hour.
The display is blinking and still at 84%
@peenut My three each took overnight to go from 85/88/88 to 100%, so hang in there. I have not tried charging them from the car’s lighter socket yet, so I have no data about whether that is faster, slower, or pointless to even attempt.
@peenut I had the exact same issue when mine arrived last night. I left it plugged in and turned the little rocker switch to off then unplugged, plugged it back in then switched to on and it started charging normally and has ever since.
Not sure if it was just a time thing and the messing with the switch was coincidence.
@ohhwell @peenut The included not-really-a-manual seems to be trying to say that you’re supposed to turn that little switch on in order to make it able to charge, but mine charged without touching it. However, given the overall background behind the people who were selling these, I would not take anything as a given. At least they all worked, so there is that.
@peenut @werehatrack Yeah, I noticed that too lol.
@ohhwell @peenut @werehatrack I had the same issue with charge % not changing for the first hour or two. Then it did start to show larger numbers and finished in a few hours. My guess is that the batteries were discharged more than the 83% shown, and it took the first hour or two to build up a base charge before it stared showing correctly.
Mine arrived yesterday, but since I just got home from being out of town for a week I haven’t even taken the plastic wrap off the packaging. I must say though that it is significantly heavier than the one I currently have, which I hope translates into a better build/better battery. I hope to check it out tomorrow…
Just opened mine today (finally). Overall I am impressed with how sturdy the build feels. Nice hard clamshell case with all the accessories packed in one side and the battery pack in the other. Surprised to notice the little compass built into the battery pack (guess I overlooked that in the pics/details).
Plugged it up (with switch off) showed 84%
30 minutes later 83% (WTF!)
90 minutes later 98% (yeah!)
next time I checked… display was off so I guessed 100%. (I did unplug the charger and plug it back in to have it display the battery %… yep 100%)
So far I am pretty happy with this unit. Seems much more beefy than the one I currently have. I guess I will keep this one in the RAV (daily driver) and leave the old one in Mom’s old car (Ford Focus) I figure I am most likely to need it (probably to help someone else) when I am in the RAV. If I need it for my own car, the RAV will take more ‘oomph’ to get it going than the Focus, so bigger/beefy seems like a good choice.
Thanks meh!
Got mine in record time! Was 88% charged. Worked on my phone and charged it up to 100% Impressed with build and case.
Anyone else receive it and not get it to charge up. Left it plugged in overnight and still says “LO”
@raj810 Try flipping the little sliding switch to “on”. Sometimes that makes a difference. (And some of them will charge without doing this.)
@raj810 @werehatrack Mine arrived Wednesday. Displayed “Lo” on arrival, did not change after being on the charger all night. Tried with switch “on” and “off”, no difference. Neither of the flashlights illuminate. I checked the charger and it’s putting out ~16V.
I guess it’s time to contact customer service.
@raj810 @werehatrack Wow, I opened a support ticket at 8:14AM and got an email reply at 9:18AM saying a refund is in process.
Props to meh support!
@macromeh @raj810 @werehatrack BTW for the flashlight I had to press and hold the button for about 3 seconds. That’s probably good so that it doesn’t accidentally get pressed and turn on the light and slowly discharge when you don’t know it.
Just received mine. Surprised by how compact it is. Appreciate the nice case it arrived in. 84% when I turned it on. Currently at 88% after 20 minutes of charging. Wish I had bought two.
Mine doesn’t work, screen just flashes whenever I try to charge the device or charge anything from the device. The switch is in the on position. It just doesn’t work. Customer service doesn’t respond. Very disappointed
@phub I
Does it flash with a % number on it? Leave it plugged in for a few hours to see if it changes.
@pmarin no number per say, every thing flashes (so 188%, In, Out, 12v, 5V, quick, charge all illuminated). No “LO” indicator. Left charging overnight with switch on, no difference. Company clearly is out of business when you check their website. Looks like I (and other people here) just got duds. Hopefully meh honors DOA return policy
@phub @pmarin
My experience is they are very good at that…
@chienfou @phub @pmarin I can’t speak for anyone else, but for my DOA unit I’ve already gotten a refund on my card and no need to return the defective item.
Again, props to meh support!
@macromeh @phub @pmarin
that sound right.
Yeah it still doesn’t work. Thanks to all for the advice though
Mine came in at 83% charge. Note that I think Li-Ion are not supposed to be fully charged for shipping, so this is expected. Plugged in and in a few hours it was at 99. So, seems to be working.
Unfortunately it’s a small barrel connector for input, not the same as the 12v output barrel connector that is common to many solar panels and other accessories.
so the earlier question of could it be charged from a solar panel, you would need to use the 12V lighter cord that comes with it, or else hack a cable with the small connector.
oddly it comes with a micro-USB cable though nothing on it uses micro-USB, and it can’t charge from it. I guess that cord is to charge your phone from 2010.
This thing won’t charge. I charged it for two days and it still won’t come on. How do I return it?
@glenda20 Go to Account->Your Orders->View Details->I need help with this
Looks like some of these will be IRK fodder shortly!!
I know that members probably get precedence over nonmembers but is it weird that while I got mine days ago, my dad got one too (before I could tell him to let me get it) and his hasn’t been shipped?
@Skaene Same here. still “Processing”
Got mine a week or two ago, opened it up and saw the charge was 85%. Tested the flashlight and it charging a phone, worked okay. Fast forward to yesterday, I tried to start my second car (not used very often), and it was very dead, just clicking while turning the key. Perfect chance to test this out. Grabbed it out, it had 83% battery. Hooked it up to the car, turned it on, started the car very easily. Battery remaining afterwards: 81%. This is going to be so nice to have in the car and not have to worry about finding someone to jump my car or calling AAA. Got two, one for each car.