Lithium Ion Simple Start Battery Charger
2.1
5
9
9
Half a day wasted
Recieved this product as a stocking stuffer this year, and wouldn't you know it, 4 days later my 3 year old leaves my dome light on over night.
I had charged the unit 2 days earlier. After letting it run for thirty minutes, nothing. Charged again, still nothing. It has already been returned and replace with a larger, connect to the battery model. Which worked straight out of the box.
December 30, 2012
Cute, but ineffective
Does not work, tried this twice on a Toyota where the starter clicked but motor would not turn over. Began with a fully charged SimpleStart, it was solidly plugged in, let it run for it's 30 minute count-down, and engine would still not turn over. On top of that, the manual says do not store it below 5C, or above 20C. So forget about thinking you can keep this in the car during the winter or summer. Good concept but re-charging through the lighter would need a much bigger battery and take much longer. Don't give this as a gift - the recipient will believe they can depend on this, and they'll find out when they need it, it won't help them.
December 2, 2012
I've bought 2 for friends and will buy a third.
As a previous reviewer said: "be realistic."
Chargers this small cannot work miracles, but they are useful for batteries that are too low to start the engine. "Too low" is not the same thing as dead.
I gave two of these away and so far one of my friends was helped by having it. I will buy a third for another friend as a Christmas present.
I tell my friends that if their engine is turning over too slowly to start this will probably get them going. If they hear nothing when they turn the key, or if the dome light won't come on when they open the door, then they will probably need to call for a boost.
To use a medical analogy, I think of these chargers as "first aid kits." Very helpful for small injuries, but not intended as a substitute for paramedics.
The reason I give this product only 4 stars, is that in the past Canadian Tire sold another model that had 12V cigarette lighter plug that you could use to charge a cell phone (this model doesn't have that).
November 13, 2012
Have realistic expectations
This thing WILL NOT boost a car that has a defective battery (mechanical failure). That would require a lot of power and connected right to the dead battery. The only way to boost a car with a "broken" battery is with another car and a set of jumper cables or perhaps with a booster pack. If you're battery is as low as 2 volts, it's broken!
What it WILL DO is recharge a drained battery. A drained battery still has at least 9+ volts left in it. If you left a light on or ran the radio with the car off or something else that drained the battery down, this gizmo will put enough power back into your battery to allow it to start the car.
It can be a real life-saver under certain conditions. You just have to have realistic expecations - nothing that plugs into a cigarette lighter outlet can have enough power to replace a full size car battery.
August 19, 2012
First faulty, tried another, again faulty!!!
Sorry for say but giving two chances to find the good one could worked. My first was toast, I thought I should replace hence would get the working one BUT belevie me I just unboxed the new one and SAME toast !!!
I would never try the third one. Enough is enought!!!
August 7, 2012
Read Instructions well
I purchased this product back and December 2011 and have used it a couple times. I agree with the other commentors that you have to read the instructions well (or re-read as some parts are a bit confusing).
The product did charge my battery (the interior lights were obviously brighter even after a single 30 min charge) but I must mention that my battery was not completely dead. I do not drive my car over the winter months so I am using this to keep the battery from going dead (I cannot unhook my battery as all components reset). I use it every two weeks to keep the battery "fresh".
As long as you have some juice left in your battery then I think it does a decent job of re-charging.
February 2, 2012
Battery Charging instructions
Box says the Booster can hold a charge up to 1 year, manual indicates to charge 3-6 months, but on the 12V plug of the booster label attach says to charge every 30 days. Seems confusing which charging instruction to follow.
Charging time is less than 20hrs, but manual also says do not overcharge, so you have to keep track of the time you plugged the booster.
I was going to use booster during winter when car fails to start because of the freezing weather, but manual says do not use booster on a frozen battery. So when do you use this? During warm weather only? While most cars will fail to start during winter.
Also you cant leave booster in the car, so you have to carry it with you indoors and bring it with you to the car when you go out.
January 30, 2012
Dead battery = useless
Like the other reviewer, I had a dead battery and tried one of these. Useless. I called the manufacturer and he said that unless your battery has some power left it won't work. What's the use of such a product, then? If there is power left in the battery, I don't need this product! Buy a good booster pack instead, this 'innovation' isn't one, even on special.
January 5, 2012
Lithium Ion Dud!
I purchased this product after my battery was completely dead and I took it home and read all the instructions, and I could not get it to work. I returned it for another one and that one also did not work. I called the manufacturer and they said that you had to have a least 2 volts left in the battery for this product to work. I was pretty annoyed because no where in the paperwork did it say that you needed to have 2 volts to make this work.
December 19, 2011
