Replacing the battery in a 12 volt jump start box?

[Jim Ed]

Is it possible to replace the batttery inside a 12 volt jump start box?
I was thinking of using a small lawn tractor battery to replace the battery inside.
Has anyone done this?
Is it possible?
TIA!

[Steve Arndt]

The older types usually had a sealed lead acid. Some fancy new types have higher power density batteries.

I would say take it apart and see what it has inside.

[Dale M.]

The older types usually had a sealed lead acid. Some fancy new types have higher power density batteries.

I would say take it apart and see what it has inside.

Ditto... MY HF unit has something a bit small like a 20 amp hour 12volt GEL cell....

Dale

[Manny]

The cost of a replacement battery plus the labor of doing the job will cost more than a trip to Costco for a brand new unit.

[Marc]

I buy cheap Chinese SLA batteries all the time for uninterruptible power supplies for computer equipment - the smaller 12V ones can be had for ~$25 shipped. I'm with Steve, open it up and see what's in there...hopefully it uses an industry-standard size. The place I usually get mine sells most 18 Ah batteries for $36.75 including shipping, while the 22 Ah models go for $47.79 - as Manny says, they can cost as much as a complete new unit.

For example, Harbor Freight has their cheapest (regular $50) jump box - 17 Ah - on coupon right now for $39.68 ...thru 10/4/15

[Jim Ed]

We went ahead and bought a new Schumacher XP2260W jump start box.
It had the best reviews at amazon.com.

http://www.batterychargers.com/xp2260w/

It works really well but, it has a few drawbacks like the big battery clamp handles are made of plastic and could break easily.
Someone said the little air compressor hose breaks off easily if you are not careful.

[Dale M.]

To me air compressor is just extra weight to pack around and they are slow... To many features on jump box is just that much more to go wrong.... And plastic clamps, I don't think so...

Dale