Instead of deep cycle, why not a portable jump starter?

It comes down to capacity the jump starters are like a 1 gallon gass can worth of energy a deep cycle is like a 55 gallon barrel of fuel worth of energy

we can run a trolling motor for hours of fishing from the deep cycle batt , The jump starter might get you 10 minutes of run time

Reread GCPete's good post.

Yes it will work fine for 'nasty times' powering of radio's

. .IF . . you can discipline your self to very limited usage . . . . .that "one gallon" will run out in a hurry. . . . .then where do you recharge it . .?

What GCPete said...

However, if you have a small radio, that runs off batteries, if you have the converter equipment to break the power down to what you need, it could last for months. I have a desktop shortwave that runs on 4D cells... they last over a year... the power consumption is very small... daresay if you powered such a device with a 'jump-starter', it'd be less than the self discharge rate.

It depends on what radios you want to run. If they are just receivers then yes they will last quite awhile. If the are transmitters then it will shorten the life by bunches. To use one of our ham rigs in the car we have to turn it to low power or it kicks off if the engine isn't running. Now our 2 meter hand helds runs on self contained battery packs. Again it depends on what radios you want to run. We have a bank of batteries here for power outages. Sam

I have a xantrex 600 HD powerpack....it has 3 regular outlets, a cig. charge (female) for solar charging...it has a jumpstart port and obviously the 600w refers to the inverter...I LOVE IT! I paid $80 new about 4 years ago and the thing has really earned its keep....I dont like flames in my house or fumes so I plug in a lamp with a 7w CFL and it lasts a long time 8hours plus running the radio on the charger as well...I have used it in a series with another jumpstarter (the plain $30 version) and kept my broilers(meat birds) cool by plugging in a 30w fan...lasted 12 plus hours (2 days during hottest hours) as my barn has no power/water.
I think the price is around $100 now...got mine at Northerntool.

......

http://www.amazon.com/Xantrex-Power...ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1272638603&sr=8-3

28AH (deep cycle I believe)

Shop around for a better price...

up here in Canada, you can get one of those booster packs with a solar panel at Canadian Tire stores. one of the campers that we go camping with uses one to run a florescent trouble light/work light and to run a radio some times. seems to work fine as far as i can tell.


hope this helps

dean