NOCO Jump Pack

This afternoon I got to meet a new neighbor and try out a piece of equipment I bought a couple years ago.

My daughter was at the neighbor's playing outside with their daughter. She called and asked if I knew how to jump start a car, because her friend's older brother's car wouldn't start. It's been a long time since I've had to jump a car, but heck, I'm Gen-X and we know these things.

I went down the block to meet them. His car was an older Toyota RAV4 and when asked, he didn't know how old the battery was. It had died without the lights or accessories being left on, so I told him it's time for a new battery but we would try to start it.

Back in 2018 I bought a NOCO Boost Plus GB40 1000 Amp jump starter pack on sale from Amazon. Since then I have kept it in the back of my truck, taking it inside a few times a year to top off the charge. This was the first time I've had to use it.

I connected up the unit and let it charge the dead battery for about 30 seconds then had him start the car. It fired right up, whereupon I disconnected the jump pack and told him to keep the car running for about 20 minutes.

The jump pack worked like a champ and I'm glad to have it. The only thing I didn't care for is that it doesn't come with a decent storage case, so I bought one of these separately.

As far as I'm concerned everyone should keep a jump pack in their vehicle. They are a lot more convenient than jumper cables, not to mention you don't need another vehicle. The lithium battery powered units don't take up much space and retain their charge for months.

This is where I get to make fun of Millenials: The guy who's car I jumped is obviously one, in his 20s, and asked me how long his battery would be good for after I charged it. He didn't know that as long as the engine is running there's a part called an "alternator" that charges the battery.

I'll give the kid a break, because he was wearing a volunteer firefight shirt, which means he's no wimp.

However, with a lot of kids growing up in fatherless households not learning how to work on cars, coupled with the complexity of modern cars that discourages a self-repair work, a lot of Millenials and Zoomers never learn how cars function. To them, it's just an appliance.

Driver's education courses really should include a basic education on how cars work and emergency procedures like how to jump start one and change a tire.