Streetwize SWPP5 5-in-1 Power Station jump starter review 

Now you know why it was thrown out, too. You'll probably want to find an alternative means of charging it too (for example using a car or bike charger - designed for maintenance free batteries - across the jump leads). Since the video was uploaded the compressor and mains inverter have also died but hey, at least the case works :)

Another vote for the CTEK chargers, then :) Even with the smaller batteries you can buy satchel-like battery bags, Yuasa do them. Either that or grab a scrap jumpstarter from the tip, I bet that's where a lot of them end up.

AintBigAintClever My two nearly ended up binned. I presumed there was fancy electronics inside to "boost" the power. I was quite shocked at how little was in there. The old SIP one was no longer used years ago after a friend gave me back the wrong charger. I think I ended up with one from his kids toys. The Draper one would not charge either after years of not being properly charged. It showed the fully charged light but would not help start anything. After checking output on the Draper charger I found it was putting out 21v. I figured I had nothing to lose by opening both units up for inspection before scrapping. Glad I did. I never realised how easy it was to get these batteries online and how cheap they were. The Tayna site is great for info on battery sizes and pretty reasonable for price too. I got my Lucas from PureDrive. I know they have really poor reviews on customer service if things go wrong, but other suppliers were charging ridiculous prices for delivery to NI. I found your great video after looking online for how to charge a jump starter without the original charger pack. I am definitely a Ctek fan. Totally reliable and apparently can be left outside, though I prefer not to test that!

I've not used Tayna for jumpstarter batteries but twice so far for car batteries. Some of their technical info isn't quite right, some cars have different batteries in RHD to LHD (mine for example has reversed battery posts, the site had the LHD model info) but you can't fault the service and price, especially considering how much of a lump a car battery is to post!

A bit late asking this but will this charge through the cigarette lighter sockets or does the diode in the charging circuit block it? It would be useful for using a solar trickle charger if so.

@@jeromeperkins4628 The 12v socket is wired via a simple switch to the battery, bypassing the internal charging circuitry. I would check with a meter that the cigarette socket is wired correctly in terms of polarity, though smart chargers like the CTEK have their own protections built in anyway.

@@matthewjenkins1161 Thank you for the information, I'll check it out.

Glad it came in handy :D

+Tony Llinx my inverter failed the same way so I just tore it out. Already got an 800W inverter so not worth fixing.

What lead did you make up, please? Amps, voltage, and polarity? I have this unit but lost the charger (whoops)

The diode doesn't sit between the battery and its jump leads, so you can indeed use a conventional (albeit designed to handle AGM/gel) battery charger to charge it, and it'd do a better job than the one it came with.

Silent Pixel With the crap charger it comes with you won't be able to tell. Better off using a proper battery charger (I use a CTEK MXS-5.0) which will charge the battery correctly.

They're meant to be AGM batteries so they'd seem "dry" compared to the flooded cells of a car battery, but well done for getting the POS working.

I think they've changed the design but the connections should still work, you just have a connecting bolt instead of a connecting nut and bolt.

I'd recommend getting a decent battery charger (one designed to charge maintenance-free batteries) and using that to charge via the jump leads. The built-in charging circuit of these jump starters is often useless. I use a CTEK MXS 5.0 to charge mine.

A plasma'd probably be a bit too power-hungry to run on this, I'd expect an LCD to work though.

Any battery that has roughly the same dimensions as a 17Ah unit should fit. A Lucas LSLC22-12 will fit for example, so look up its datasheet for the dimensions. If the LSLC22-12G is cheaper then get that as the golf buggy connector on the top just unbolts. On mine the inverter's now dead and so is the compressor, so it's just a jumpstarter with a light on the front. Better to use a proper battery charger than the plug-top effort it comes with. Either wire a CTEK or similar connector into the unit or charge through the jumper clamps.

Cheers, ended up getting the LSLC22-12G - slotted in with no fuss. I thought about adding a dedicated charging cable for my oxford, but in the end decided to just use the jump cables as you suggested. The compressor definitely has more chooch now (which means it'll probably pack up completely next time I use it ;-)

You may find that the LED indicates that the charger's connected, not going out if/when the battery's fully charged.

Sorry, I only just saw this comment. First thing to invest in would be a decent battery charger instead of the POS that comes with it. You can charge through the jumper cables or if your charger comes with a ring-terminal adapter (like the Optimate or CTEK chargers) you can hardwire a charging socket to it.

Ian Griffiths Which specific Yuasa battery did you order? Refurbing my old Maplin one for astronomy. Also, when charging I am using a replacement 15v/1A charger, tip positive. My charging light flashes when plugged in, is this right?

@@dbc5048 This battery www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002TV64EO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 my charging light doesnt flash it just comes on constantly when charging.

Ian Griffiths thanks for the info.

rtfc_tog videos I'd suggest using a separate, higher-wattage inverter to run the flash head. I wouldn't expect a surge as the flash is released as that's not how they work. A capacitor is charged up, that is what's used to power the flash. To fire, a pulse transformer puts several thousand volts to a third terminal on the flash tube. This causes an arc to develop, which the capacitor then dumps all of its charge through. I think :)

I don't know. I don't use the internal charging circuit because it's shite. I use a CTEK with a charging cable wired to the battery.

AintBigAintClever Thanks. Any views on a preferred options for a replacement battery that will fit into the casing?

@@dbc5048 I'd still recommend the Lucas LSLC22-12 as fitted in this video.

LSLC22-12G

AintBigAintClever Thanks

For this model it's a 17Ah-size battery, typically available in the 17-22Ah range.

You didn't break it. Shit design broke it. Yes you can use a normal battery charger hooked to the jump leads as long as it's designed for charging maintenance-free batteries. I use a CTEK MXS 5.0, not cheap but a damned good charger. CTEK do smaller-output chargers with less features for a correspondingly lower price, but even their cheapest will wipe the floor with the charger that came with the jump starter and will do a good job charging other 12 volt lead-acid batteries as well. Remember to turn the switch on the back so that the jump leads are live.

AintBigAintClever Thanks for your reply. I had a 2 amp universal adaptor thing but it seemed to be taking an age to charge the unit from 80%. I then found an old 12v 4 amp car battery charger and shoved it on for half an hour. When i pressed the charge indicator button the indicator needle was in the red but it seems to have worked. It's holding at just under 13v, Is this ok or have i knackered it? BTW is there any way i can tell what starting boost amps are - 100A, 300a etc? Again many thanks

It's not a starter battery so I doubt you'll find a CCA rating for the battery. If the battery itself can't run the starter it may still be powerful enough to get some juice into the car's own battery and let that do the job.

Jordan Morley I don't see why not.

Ah brill, thanks for getting back :)

Difficult to say, really. I haven't yet come across one that hasn't been crap in one way or another. Best bet would be to buy a dead one (should be easy), a charger (CTEK MXS-5.0 for example) and a battery (Lucas LSLC22-12G)

+steve warren You could but the alternator may not be the best charging source for the relatively small jumpstarter battery.

+Bill Thompson I've bought an external compressor and use that instead.

did you take the compressor out to put into the 5 in 1 or just use it as a separate item?

Using it separately, plugged into the cigarette lighter sockets on the jumpstarter.

I have one of the 5 in 1 power stations and the air compressor is not working

Pretty much any 7 to 9Ah battery. It's a size commonly used in intruder alarm panels. F2 indicates it has the quarter-inch blade terminals.

@@AintBigAintClever only issue are the dimensions as the swpp6 unit can only fit the measurements if this particular lead rechargeable battery.15.2cmx6.6cmx9.7cm as im going to fit it back in the power station unit.cant find any other alternative bcos the + &- points are a different config.guess i have to order the same RT1280 lead batt.

@@MrChiptatum That's a standard size. CSB HR1234W for example (first one I looked up): 15.1cm x 6.5cm x 9.4cm plus tabs. www.csb-battery.com/upfiles/dow01520317327.pdf

@@AintBigAintClever hi buddy sorry for the belated response..just to say tx 4ur info thats very helpful.Your a star bud.cheers.

Yes, the black one going to the isolator switch is positive, the other two are negative and one of those has a bullet connector which plugs into the black inverter lead.

I can't really recommend one. At the moment I've got an SWPP5, with:- Dead battery (ripped out and replaced with a Lucas) Dead compressor (ripped out and replaced with an external Michelin 12262) Dead mains inverter (ripped out) Dead battery charger (replaced with a CTEK MXS 5.0)

AintBigAintClever so really if you want a good one buy one that does it all and replace the parts with quality parts lol sad really but true