Battery Charger vs Jump Starter – What’s the Difference?
If you have trouble starting your car in the morning, do you need a battery charger or a jump starter? What is the difference between a battery charger vs jump starter? Well the difference between a battery charger vs jump starter is how quickly you need to start your engine! When you need to get started quickly and get on the road in a hurry, then a portable jump starter is usually the best tool in an emergency. A small jump starter is a very handy device to start your car engine when you have a flat battery. A jump starter can start the engine even with a flat battery, and even if you don’t have a second car to use jumper cables from.
Battery Charger vs Jump Starter
A jump starter is different from a battery charger
On the other hand, a battery charger is more useful to keep your battery on full charge, and in good working condition. When you choose the best battery charger, the idea is to avoid a flat battery, and then you may not need the jump starter! But unfortunately, we can still suffer a flat battery when we are away from home, and when you can’t plug in the battery charger. So in some situations, like when you get stuck with a flat battery, then a jump starter is always a very useful device to keep handy in the vehicle.
Which is better – battery charger vs jump starter?
The problem with this question is that a car battery charger and a jump starter are not a one for one exchange! There is a case for using both of these devices to keep you out of trouble. If you have a tired old battery, or a vehicle that you don’t use every day, then it is a good idea to use a battery charger to keep the battery in good condition. An old battery or an unused battery can suffer from loss of charge, and when they start to degrade, they will often get worse.
So the best way to recondition an tired old battery is to place it on a smart battery charger for 24 hours. When you use a smart charger, it will not only charge the battery to the full potential, but also recondition the internal operation of the battery. A reconditioned battery is better able to deliver full voltage and full current which is needed to get your car started in the morning!
Why not choose a jump starter and a battery charger!
But sometimes, things go wrong, such as when the lights are left on by accident, or some other inadvertent mistake. When the battery loses charge, goes flat, or dead, there is nothing you can do, when you are not at home with the battery charger. So this is when you need a portable jump starter, either from another vehicle with jumper cables, or from you own battery jump starter. This is why we say, neither the jumper starter or the battery charger is better than the other, you really need to have both, in case of emergency! Rather than asking which is better, battery charger vs jump starter. We prefer to describe the battery charger as a maintenance device, and the jump starter as an emergency device!
How to use a battery charger?
The best battery charger is a clever device that can self diagnose problems within the battery. As soon as you plug in a smart battery charger, it can decide whether the battery is 6 volt or 12 volt, and adjust the re-charge settings accordingly. Most battery chargers come with user settings so that you can select rapid charge, slow charge or trickle charge, depending on how quickly you want to charge the battery. But a modern battery charger is much better than an old fashioned charger, which needed to be to monitored constantly.
These days, you can plug in a battery charger and set and forget. If you have a vehicle or a battery that is not used all the time, it is a good idea to place it on a standby battery charger, which can look after the battery for long periods of time. The best battery charger can even condition the internals of the battery so that it performs better when you need to sue it. You can even but a battery charger that can plug into the cigarette lighter socket of the vehicle and charge the battery that way. Much easier than using battery connector leads like old fashioned battery chargers.
How to use a jump starter?
The time you need a jump starter is in an emergency when you are not at home, so you can’t use the battery charger. Or even if you are near home, but you need to start the vehicle immediately. If you have the best vehicle jump starter, it is like a spare battery, but is a very small portable device, with lots of available charge. These handy little jump starters are small enough to store in the car at all times, and hold a lot of charge. Sometimes it can be handy to be able to jump start someone else who is having battery problems!
When you have an emergency and you need to jump start the car battery, simply connect the jump starter to the battery terminals and away you go! Of course, the jump starter may only supply enough charge to get the car started, and then you will need to recharge the jump starter, but it has done the job. In case you didn’t realize, the vehicle will then recharge the vehicle battery as you drive around. Take care not to switch off the engine until the vehicle battery has had time to recharge fully!
Best jump starter
The old fashioned jump starter was basically a spare battery that you can use in an emergency. But these are heavy and bulky, and take up space in the trunk of the vehicle. The latest and best jump starter is a much smaller device, weighing less than a kilogram, or 2 pounds. You can even store the best jump starter in your glove compartment. These ultra portable jump starters are designed from lithium ion batteries.
The best jump starter can hold a lot of charge, and can be stored for several months, before needing to be recharged. But you need to be aware that they will run down and you need to keep them topped up. The best jump starter is a very handy device and can even be used to recharge your mobile phone, rechargeable batteries, LED lights, and even have a USB port to connect with. We were seriously impressed at how much charge that a portable jump starter can hold.
Best battery charger
The best battery charger is designed to maintain and recondition your vehicle battery. No matter whether you have a just one car battery, or a range of vehicle batteries to maintain. The best battery charger is a valuable device, to have in the garage or the workshop. This portable battery charger is also a handy tool for the caravan or even the boat shed. The best battery charger can help to keep your car battery in good condition, but you may not need to use it every day. But it is good practice to maintain and condition the battery once per week or once per month, by plugging into the battery charger overnight.
But other vehicles that are not used every day can also benefit from use of the best battery charger. Simple connect up the caravan battery or boat battery and leave the charger switched on. The best battery charger will run automatically to condition, maintain and charge the battery. So when it comes time to take the boat for a spin, or take a vacation in the caravan, you can be confident the battery will work first time every time!
Where to buy the Best Battery Charger or Best Jump Starter
We always recommend shopping at the Amazon store, where they offer quick delivery and an excellent return policy. There are large numbers of products to choose from, and lots of comments from previous customers. So you can always judge which are the most popular models, and whether the customers were happy with their purchase.
Best Jump Starter
Here is a list of some of the best jump starters available on the market, in case you get stuck with a flat battery! This selection of what makes up the best jump starter is based on power, size and safety features. We want you to choose the best jump starter that offers you the convenience to get your car started no matter where you might get stuck. Or better still, when you buy the best jump starter, you can help other unfortunate drivers who may get caught out with a flat battery.
1. GOOLOO portable jump starter
Most powerful lithium jump starter
The GOOLOO portable jump starter is one of the best lithium ion jump starter on the market and is also very versatile. It comes with USB ports that can be used to charge your mobile phone or even tablet computer. This small lithium jump starter is small but powerful. It can easily delivery the same charge as a 12 volt battery for a car, truck or SUV. No matter if you need to start up a dead battery several times, it has enough charge to help you out in an emergency! That is the power of the best lithium ion jump starter!
Click here to buy the GOOLOO portable jump starter from Amazon.
2. Stanley J5C09 Jump Starter – best jump starter
Click here to buy the Stanley portable jump starter from Amazon.
3. NOCO Genius Boost Plus GB40 1000 Amp Lithium Jump Starter
The NOCO Genius range of car jump starters is one of the most popular on the market. It is also one of the most powerful and portable jump starters on the market. The NOCO Genius GB40 is very compact and small jump starter. It can easily fit into the glove compartment so it is always close to hand if and when you need it. But it is never intrusive, and takes up very little space. The power comes from the intense lithium battery pack, and provides up to 1000 amps. Suitable as a small car jumper, cars, SUVs and even light trucks, the NOCO GB40 won’t let you down.
Click here to buy the NOCO Genius GB40 lithium jump starter.
Best lithium jump starter?
We find it hard to split these great models for the best lithium ion jump starter. Each of the NOCO, the Stanley and the GooLoo have excellent reviews on Amazon. We think it just comes down to personal preference. If you want a powerful lithium jump starter, then any of these is the way to go when you need a compact mini jump starter
Where to buy the Best Battery Charger?
1. NOCO Genius G3500 – Best Battery Charger
It will select the most appropriate charge settings to condition the battery. And it will automatically restore the battery to full serviceability. The NOCO Genius battery charger can be left switched on for long periods of time without supervision. The automatic functions take control while it works to restore and charge the battery. So with the NOCO Genius G3500, you get the best of both worlds, in a small and portable battery booster. You get the best battery maintenance, and best battery charger all in one.
Click here to buy the NOCO Genius G3500 battery charger from Amazon.
2. KeyLine Chargers KC-125A-MPXP Automatic Battery Charger
Click here to see the price of the KeyLine Chargers KC-125A miniature battery charger at Amazon.
3. Schumacher SC-1200A-CA SpeedCharge battery charger
The Schumacher SC-1200A battery charger has a microprocessor. So you can trust that the battery charger delivers the optimal charge and battery maintenance. The Schumacher SC-1200A battery charger performs its own battery diagnostics. This means you don’t have to change the settings and the battery charger does everything automatically. The Schumacher SC-1200A/CA battery charger is a small and portable battery booster. It is also one of the most popular battery chargers on Amazon.
Click here to buy the Schumacher SC-1200A-CA battery charger from Amazon.
Which is better – battery charger vs jump starter?
As we have discussed, there is no correct answer to this question. If was up to us, we would say get both! It is good maintenance practice to keep your battery in good working condition. And the best way is to use the best battery charger or battery tender. That can save you a lot of hassles with a flat battery.
But it is inevitable that someday you or someone you know will have an emergency with a flat battery. When that happens, it is great to know that you can use the best jump starter to solve the problem.
