Off Topic: jumped my auto battery with......Ryobi One+

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bmet
bmet Solar Expert Posts: 630 ✭✭
in Solar Beginners Corner #1
After a tire blowout on the road this morning, I forgot to turn off the parking lights. This evening after work, the car wouldn't start, so I turned off the parking lights and let the car sit for a while. Still no start(but there was a click). With no one around to get a jump from, I saw my Ryobi 18V battery in the back of the car, and thought that 18 volts is a lot more than 11 ish Volts, and that 7 Volt potential might be enough to overcome the internal resistance of my nearly-drained auto battery.

It must have looked odd, holding jumper cables to a tiny power-tool battery for 2 minutes, but it was enough to turn the motor over(even with $6 jumper cables from the Dollar Store)

I measured the Ryobi's value afterward, 19.1 VDC.

Have crazier things happened?
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  • techntrek
    techntrek Solar Expert Posts: 1,372 ✭✭✭
    #2
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    Re: Off Topic: jumped my auto battery with......Ryobi One+

    Sounds like you drilled right through that problem.
    4.5 kw APC UPS powered by a Prius, 12 kw Generac, Honda EU3000is
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  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    #3
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    Re: Off Topic: jumped my auto battery with......Ryobi One+

    that must really have been hard putting those clamps to that small battery pack and start the car at the same time.
    techntrek wrote: »
    Sounds like you drilled right through that problem.

    you trying to spin a little humor?:confused::D:p:p:p
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  • AntronX
    AntronX Solar Expert Posts: 462 ✭✭
    #4
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    Re: Off Topic: jumped my auto battery with......Ryobi One+

    I have a similar story. Instead of jumper cable, I have small 4.4Ah 12.8V battery pack made with eight A123 LiFePO4 cells sourced from Dewalt 36V pack. It's capable of 200A short circuit current. So far I got to jump start V8 Ford Explorer and Hummer H2. Love the look on people's faces after. Goes from skepticism to awe.

    After each jump start I would recharge and balance the pack. Apparently it takes 150mAh to jump start one car.
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  • Photowhit
    Photowhit Solar Expert Posts: 6,003 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #5
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    Re: Off Topic: jumped my auto battery with......Ryobi One+

    Black and Decker? use to sell something called a battery booster? it was about the size of 10 'C' cell stacked side by side, to jump start cars, I think you plugged it into your lighter for a day once a month or something to charge.

    Very similar to what you did, with out the added voltage (perhaps)
    Home system 4000 watt (Evergreen) array standing, with 2 Midnite Classic Lites,  Midnite E-panel, Magnum MS4024, Prosine 1800(now backup) and Exeltech 1100(former backup...lol), 660 ah 24v Forklift battery(now 10 years old). Off grid for 20 years (if I include 8 months on a bicycle).
    - Assorted other systems, pieces and to many panels in the closet to not do more projects.
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  • bmet
    bmet Solar Expert Posts: 630 ✭✭
    #6
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    Re: Off Topic: jumped my auto battery with......Ryobi One+

    The label on the Ryobi battery doesn't list an AH rating, just the voltage. Niel, I couldn't think of any way to do that either, I merely held the cables to the battery for a solid 2 minutes, disconnected, and turned the key. I wasn't expecting it to work, but sure glad it did.

    The Murphy's Law aspect of this is, that I recently discarded a broken Ryobi charger that I could have stripped down for the odd-shaped socket, to securely connect a pair of wires. It hadn't worked for years! :grr
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  • techntrek
    techntrek Solar Expert Posts: 1,372 ✭✭✭
    #7
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    Re: Off Topic: jumped my auto battery with......Ryobi One+
    niel wrote: »
    you trying to spin a little humor?

    I saw the light. :cool:
    4.5 kw APC UPS powered by a Prius, 12 kw Generac, Honda EU3000is
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