Is my car Lithium jump pack dead?

Photowhit

Well, I should know better, and don't even know the brand...

I've got an amazing lithium jump pack, but left it in the car.  Where else would you leave it...lol

Wonder what the storage temps are for it? It's not on charge or being used, but it's been down to -10. I wonder what the storage temps are for them? I'll warm it up and charge it before I try to use it...

mcgivor

The storage temperature is -40° C or °F, below freezing however  they begin to have problems moving ions, which is needed for them to operate correctly, It's best not to attempt charging or dischargeing until they have reached above 5°C or 41°F, the capacity will begin to recover above this value, recovering to last state of charge at or around room temperature.

Kind of a paradox, they have such positive attributes but are let down by physics, which applies to all chemistries but to a lesser degree to those we are more familiar with, such as lead acid.

Chris11

I just bought one from Costco.  After I read your post I read the instructions ( hey, I'm a man and we normally don't need to read them ) and in mine which has the lithium ion battery, it doesn't even mention low temp.  It does say the display will read "too hot" if the battery is over 55 degrees C and shut down. 

As an aside point I measured the voltage once I charged it fully and it only reads 5.02 volts.  How is this possible for a 12 volt jump?  It does work correctly ... my lil 50 cc hog's tiny battery is on it's last leg so I tried the jumper on it and it fired right up despite freezing temps.

BB.

Which unit do you have? One of these?

https://www.costco.com/CatalogSearch?dept=All&keyword=lithium+battery+jumper

Need to find an instruction manual... But many of these are dual purpose... One is a USB "power bank" (5 volts for basic USB), and have a 12 volt output too for jumping a car.

And you need to read between the lines about how much energy they store... For example, this one does (sort of) tell you how much it stores:

https://www.costco.com/cobra-jumppack-xl-h2o-jump-starter-power-pack.product.100412231.html

This compact UL 2743 certified portable power pack contains a powerful 44.4Wh (12,000mAh) battery with dual 3 amp each USB outputs to rapidly charge two 5 Volt portable devices simultaneously making it the ideal emergency battery pack for home, office, vehicle or the outdoors.

• Two Jump Start Options
• 400 Amp Starting Current, 600 Amp Peak Current
• Dual 3 Amp USB Ports
• Built-in LED Flashlight
• Safe to Use in Any Weather condition
• Charge Your Phone
• Start from Inside the Vehicle

400 and 600 amps from something the size of a paperback book--Pretty impressive. Real numbers...

• 12,000 mAmpHours -- Sounds big.
• 12 AH -- Compared to a typical car battery at 80 AH--Not so much
• 44.4 WH / 12 AH = 3.7 volts -- That is the voltage of a single Li Ion cell (LiFePO4)
• 44.4 WH / 12 volt car battery = 3.7 AH
• 3.7 AH * 1/400 Amps * 3,600 seconds per hour = 33 seconds of cranking at 12 volts

The manual says -14F to 113F for storage--But keep indoors in cold weather.... Not much help there.

Typical LiFePO4 operating range 10C to 40C (50F to 104F):

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/278708441_LiFePO4_optimal_operation_temperature_range_analysis_for_EVHEV

-Bill

mike95490

Simply storing it in chilly cold below zero won't kill it.  Trying to use it below 40F will be frustrating.  trying to recharge it below 40F will damage it.   
Warm it up to 50 or 60F for a couple hours, and it should be fine.

Chris11

Bill,

Nope, not that one.  The one I bought was off the shelf in Costco but they do have it onlne also for 10 bucks more.  It's the Type S .... 8000 mAh.  Not as good as the one you pointed to but it did start my scooter with a dead battery.  The real test is to try it on my 3 cylinder diesel tractor.  Results coming soon, when gungho overcomes too lazy.

Chris11

K... today was sunny and nice.  Temp about 35 when I went to the shop.  I did start the tractor first with it's battery since the engine doesn't have glo plugs.  I let it warm up for about 2 minutes, maybe slightly less.  I disconnected it's battery and used the jumpy thing..  It It turned the engine over for about 1 second....tried a second time and the same thing happeded.  No start, not even close.

This particular jump starter isn't very good.  I'm going to return it for the better one online.