This deal is extremely YMMV, but is/was a national sales clearance item at select US Walmart stores. Keep in mind that the item needs to be scanned at the store to reflect the sale price (to see if the item was marked down at that particular store). I just scored 5 at one store, but all the other stores in my area were already sold out. Cold cranking amps is claimed to be 400 and may have difficulty starting V8 engines, but easily started my 3.0 V6 with normal rotational cranking speed. If one pack doesnt do the job, I would think two of these in parallel would have no problems starting larger engines. Also doubles as a 12,000mAh USB portable power bank (5V 2A USB) and has a cheap blue tinted built-in flashlight and multi-segment LED charge status indicator.
A quick tear-down reveals a quality looking build with 3S 4000mAh Lipo Pack and balance charging circuitry. The cell alone would cost about $25 or more to replace.
I’ll probably never need a jump start with my cars or toys, so I might wire 5 of these together (1S5P) to drive a triple XHP70/MT-G2 bike light on CPU heat sink.
Good luck!
The build looks high quality.
Tear-down pics added:
Well now I have to go and find one!
At $10, why not?
And you are right, sometimes the cheapest way to buy parts is get it from functioning stuff on clearance. To some, it might not make sense to cannibalize new equipment for parts, but it’s true!
TIP: http://brickseek.com/walmart-inventory-checker may help, but It wasn’t accurate in reflecting inventory levels for the jump-starters in my area. The item ID is 46528407. If a store does show stock at brickseek, you can ask a clerk to confirm the inventory amount and price check it at a scanner. Walmart employees arent as notorious for buying out the entire stock of sales items, like most clerks at other stores do when you call in for a price check… and tip them off. If they scan at $9, then immediately drop wtf you’re doing and use your car as a demolition derby/battering ram, to plow your way to the store and horde their entire inventory all for yourself!… just like dchomak does during his notorious viking-style HD pillaging raids.
Of course, if you strike out, there’s always something else to buy at Walmart.
I was going to use these as gifts, but since they need to be topped off at least twice a year (while spending their lives sitting in a hot or frozen car, awaiting their day of truth), I decided against it. Rechargeable lithium cells dont like sustained amounts of high heat, nor do they like to spend their lives resting while fully charged. Yeah… mega-amp-bike-light-power-pack sounds much better!
Good luck with that. My local store showed _one or less_in stock. I knew as I drove up there it wouldn’t be there. Sure nuff… What a xxxx waste. (insert cuss words)
