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Anyone ever use battery chargers/jump starters?
So, it's a good day -- a better day than in a long time. Lots to do, feel like I can do them, what has to be done first? Pick up an Rx for the cat. Grab bag and umbrella, head for car.
What does car do? Shows many lights and no sound at all. We're talking dead as a doornail.
Now, this happened in August, when I was out of town three weeks. I've been carefully watching to make sure I'm not leaving things on, like lights or wipers or A/C. Don't always remember to turn off the radio, but usually. The car is a 95 Toyota Camry, basic (as in crank windows.) I've owned the car several years, and have not replaced the battery. Sounds like it could be time.
When I buy batteries, it seems that it does not matter what make or power or months of life it has -- it lasts 22-26 months. Which is why I hate batteries so much. And since right now I regularly do the exact opposite of what I planned to do, whether it's turn on cold water and run it instead of hot, or press the toast instead of oven button on the toaster oven -- battery cables are not the best idea in the world here. Yet calling a town truck is $85 plus then going to someplace I hate like Walmart for a battery.
So...has anyone used battery chargers? The things you plug in at home, charge, and then take to the car and recharge your battery? I want to do a deep recharge on this, just to make sure it's not because I drive so little, and left the radio in the on position. Are they worth the money? Costco.com shows two jump starters that have good reviews, and a third which might be as good but costs more.
Amazon has over six of the things, and none are these three at Costco.com. Costco on 183 has a PSX portable jump & power source for $65.99, but his computer did not show a model number.
This is not how I wanted to spend the day.
What does car do? Shows many lights and no sound at all. We're talking dead as a doornail.
Now, this happened in August, when I was out of town three weeks. I've been carefully watching to make sure I'm not leaving things on, like lights or wipers or A/C. Don't always remember to turn off the radio, but usually. The car is a 95 Toyota Camry, basic (as in crank windows.) I've owned the car several years, and have not replaced the battery. Sounds like it could be time.
When I buy batteries, it seems that it does not matter what make or power or months of life it has -- it lasts 22-26 months. Which is why I hate batteries so much. And since right now I regularly do the exact opposite of what I planned to do, whether it's turn on cold water and run it instead of hot, or press the toast instead of oven button on the toaster oven -- battery cables are not the best idea in the world here. Yet calling a town truck is $85 plus then going to someplace I hate like Walmart for a battery.
So...has anyone used battery chargers? The things you plug in at home, charge, and then take to the car and recharge your battery? I want to do a deep recharge on this, just to make sure it's not because I drive so little, and left the radio in the on position. Are they worth the money? Costco.com shows two jump starters that have good reviews, and a third which might be as good but costs more.
Amazon has over six of the things, and none are these three at Costco.com. Costco on 183 has a PSX portable jump & power source for $65.99, but his computer did not show a model number.
This is not how I wanted to spend the day.
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It has jump start cables built in and also a 'cigarette lighter' hole for DC appliances (recharging cell phone etc).
We have one
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I did use a charger on it, one bitterly cold winter. It saved me all kinds of trouble. They are handy to have. Jumper cables, however, are a must to carry in the car.
If you are going through a lot of batteries, something in your electrical system might might be turning off when it should...a door light or something. Also, check your alternator, it might not being doing the job properly.
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---Ellen
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However, I've also noticed that maintenance-free batteries, well, aren't. Once or twice a year I pry up the tops with a screwdriver and look in the cells. They sometimes need to be filled up with a little bit of distilled water, because if the cells get up out of the water they're likely to short out and stop working. The water levels tend to gradually go down over time, probably due to how horrendously hot it gets around here.
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