MicroStart Personal Power Supply

[D and M On The Road]

We've been hearing some great things about this MicroStart Personal Power Supply product.

A rep for a company that sells batteries to our auto repair shop says he has jump started 13 vehicles with it and it still has 4 bars of available power.

Does anyone have one and if so, what can you tell us all about it? We are ordering one to check it out.

I figured if anyone has experience with this, it's people from here.

http://antigravitybatteries.com/microstart/

[DQDick]

Going to be interested in your findings. I carry the large, heavy old style but it's been great to have it a number of times. Two days ago when the cars battery gave out while we were at Q, once to open the slides etc. Small and light would be a great improvement.

[jimcol]

That is impressive. Most of our jump start needs are due to cold temps. Wonder how it will do with a diesel sitting out all night in zero degree temps? At these temps the glow plugs or grid heater alone needs about 90 seconds before engaging the starter. Like Dick I look forward to your findings. Jim

[mhs4771]

Interesting, but I question the ability of their jumper cables to supply half the amperage they advertise. Ever try using a set of those cheap jumper cables, you know the ones about the size of a pencil and just as stiff, just can't carry the current needed. For a good set of cables, you need at least 4 guage.
My experience, but will reserve final judgement on your report.

[D and M On The Road]

We've had the opportunity to use the Micro Start 3 times now on other people's vehicles. Two were gas engine cars and one was a gas engine 3/4 ton truck. All were "deader than a doornail".

The Micro Start had no problem instantly starting each one up. It was amazing to watch it. The battery strength indicator is still at the 100% level from when we first charged it in late January.

How it would perform on a diesel truck still remains to be seen but we are thinking as long as the vehicle isn't completely dead and still has some juice in it the Micro Start could quite possibly give it enough assist to get it going.

It's a handy product and comes in two styles with one having much more in the way of attachments. We have no financial interest in this product and sure wish we did. It's a product we wouldn't mind becoming a supplier of through our automotive shop.

We'll have it with us at the Don Moore Memorial Lake Siskiyou Rally in May so if any one needs a jumps, please find us and let us use this nifty product to start up your vehicle. Would love to see it in action on a diesel.

[jimcol]

Thanks for the update. Jim

[Tom S.]

I am a doubting Thomas. If a vehicle battery has less than 10 volts, it is considered by most to be dead since nothing will happen when you hit the starter switch. A truely dead battery will not even turn on small lights, like the interior dome lamp. A diesel on a cold day requires large current draw to heat the glow plugs, run the intake air warmer, and turn over the high compression cold engine. A lot more than the claimed 200 amps this is said to supply. That's why these trucks come with two batteries, each rated at 800 cold cranking amps. To think or imply this unit would start such a vehicle is wishful thinking at best. That's not to say it wouldn't work on a small low compression engine with a slightly discharged battery, but I would never rely on it to start one of our diesels, especially in cold weather.

Another thing I noticed, is it says charge it once. Does that mean it can only be charged one time and when it's discharged, it can't be recharged?

[D and M On The Road]

We can add to our story that we jump-started a 2001 Ford Expedition with a 5.4 V8 and it turned over easily. A shop of 7 mechanics checked the 3 vehicles I mentioned in my original post and they also checked the Expedition. All verified each vehicle was dead before the Micro-Start was used. To say each person at the shop who watched the Micro Start in action all four times became impressed with it is an understatement. And several mechanics were totally skeptical at the beginning.

As for diesel trucks, it remains to be seen. We are in the “skeptical camp” about that also but certainly want to see it used on a few diesel trucks on cold days, warm days and in various situations.

Diesel trucks come with two batteries because they are linked in series to supply 24 volts for the starter. So yes they need to supply a lot of amperage, but more importantly they need to supply 24 volts to start the engine.

Can a Micro Start Battery get a diesel engine running? Maybe. Each situation would have to be judged on its own attempt with consideration to outside temperature, if both batteries are weak, if one battery is weak, and so on.

If both batteries on a diesel are flat-out dead, it probably wouldn’t start it. If two batteries are weak, maybe; if one battery is dead and one is weak, maybe. Now if you had two of the Micro Start batteries to use at the same time on a diesel, everyone at the shop bets on the affirmative after watching it in action so far.

After watching the Micro Start, we’ve learned not to say “never”, but look forwards to watching it in action more and see what happens.

If we get the opportunity to use it on a diesel, we’ll let you know. Meanwhile, I think all the mechanics have ordered them for their own personal use as it will start or power up way more than a gas-powered vehicle engine as it comes with quite a few attachments, and yes, it’s rechargeable.

We've owned and operated a successful automotive repair center for 33 years now and this Micro Start battery (with the exception of not having used it on a diesel system yet), is pretty amazing so far.

[Tom S.]

Again, dead in a car battery is voltage below 10.5 volts. I have jump started "dead" batteries with my little 10 amp trickle charger after only 5 minutes of charge time. One give away is the size of the leads on the unit. It's hard to tell from the picture, but they look to be 12 or 10 gage at most. And while I don't deny they could jump start a car with a marginally discharged battery, it would have done nothing for my truck when one of the new batteries proved to be bad. How bad was bad? I lost all my radio presets and stored driver info like engine hours, oil filter and gas filter life, etc. Even after charging for a few hours the batteries barley had enough charge to turn over the engine. After that charging and driving 8 miles to Sears for a replacement, the one battery was still under 11 volts.

I wonder if it uses batteries or capacitors. I also still wonder if it's a one time charge, or if it can be recharged after being discharged.

[D and M On The Road]

I and others have seen it in action on gas-powered vehicle systems with DEAD batteries and it's safe to say that myself and the others around me when these vehicles were jump-started can testify that the batteries were as dead as they can get and nothing on the vehicles were operational.

There's at least a combined 180 years of career automotive experience between the people at our shop and we prefer to be excited to see what else it can do and under what conditions. We are having fun experimenting with it when the opportunity arises.

Now I am talking STARTING a vehicle. Getting the vehicle started is the ultimate goal so it can be driven, or to run and try to recharge on it's own. I'm not saying, and never have said it would start up a diesel system at all in any condition, but sure want to try and see. I'm hopeful.

Another thing I want to try is opening/closing the slides on our Montana with the Micro Start. That's something I'm going to play with when we take it out of storage next time.

As in my previous post, yes, it's rechargeable.

It's still a handy item to have for gasoline powered vehicles and other items even if it doesn't prove to work on a diesel system.

Not sure what else you want me to say here Tom. You might be missing the whole issue, which is STARTING a vehicle, not fully recharging batteries. But it surely seems like everything I say, you suggest that I am lying and you seem to want to debate and fight. You'll have to go talk with someone else if that's what you want.

I'll still report my findings on the Micro Start as I know there are others who have a positive interest in it. Have a great day.

[Tom S.]

There was never any implication you were lying. I just question how this item can defy the laws of electricity. A cold Duramax can draw several hundred amps during the 5 to 8 seconds required from the point the ignition key starts the glow plugs heating, the air intake heater starts, and the actual starting action commences (after the glow plug light goes out) of turning over a high compression engine. That's a whole lot different than spinning over a 4 cylinder with 8 to 1 compression, no glow plugs or air heater.

Bottom line, you like it, great. I'll pass until it's proven it will start a Dmax (or any other truck diesel) under the conditions I listed above.