Lidl and Aldi Car accessories

[Dormouse]

I see they had a Jump Starter Pack for £35. I just treated the car and Pint Pot the Camper to one each. i haven't had to try them in earnest yet but a quick try on the car for a cold start did have the starter spinning well. Not scientific, I know, but they are small, lightweight and have a built in torch and power bank sockets. The bigger capacity BRPOM one I got also came in a soft shell padded pouch with room for all the connectors as well as room for some gloves. It's list price was $77 when "Project Farm" tested it on YouTube. so £34.99 isn't too bad a price. Better than the old style booster packs for keeping in the car. The smaller one was an Ebay return without the box, pouch and instructions but, at £21 delivered and still warrantied, I took the punt and don't regret it. I found a plastic Tupperware box for it to live in and it is easily stored.

[mickthemaverick]

A few useful things there James , I'll have a run to Lidl and see what looks good in real life. However I can't believe they have an electric ice scraper!! How unnecessary can you get and consume more energy out of pure impatientness or laziness!!

[bobins]

My first thought with that ice scraper was "I wonder how badly it scratches the glass ?"

[Michel]

Angle grinder for less than a tenner!

Angle grinder

I still have a parkside one I bought before Covid that's been well abused and still works fine

[Michel]

This coming Sunday (12/01) Lidl have a few car care bits;

https://www.lidl.co.uk/c/winter-car-car ... Sales_Week

Right, I need a set of those car mats, possibly an impact wrench, a battery charger and a jump start pack.

[Hell Razor5543]

This coming Sunday (12/01) Lidl have a few car care bits;

https://www.lidl.co.uk/c/winter-car-car ... Sales_Week

Right, I need a set of those car mats, possibly an impact wrench, a battery charger and a jump start pack.

and £116!

[bobins]

I wonder what Halfords sell in the grocery department that you'd normally find in Lidl's

[mickthemaverick]

I wonder what Halfords sell in the grocery department that you'd normally find in Lidl's

How about nuts?

[CitroJim]

Even I'm tempted to venture into Lidl for one of those battery chargers... I've not stepped foot in Lidl (or Aldi) since god was in nappies as I'm functionally allergic to both and similar establishments

Having said that, the same applies to most retail establishments. If I must, I know precisely what I need and I'm in and out like a cuckoo in a clock on the hour...

I may need to be accompanied

[Dormouse]

I am torn between elation and dispair. It was -2.5'c at 11.00 today and I finally got to try out my booster packs in earnest. Elation! My car battery is probably old and past it now. Dispair!

A bit of context - the car is fitted with a 3 camera cctv that works 24/7. So there is a small constant drain on the battery. It was showing 11.4v on a separate clock/voltmeter guage that similarly is wired to work 24/7 so I can see the gauge from outside the car ( assuming the windows aren't frosted ) This dropped to 10.5v after my first 2 tries with the Hilldow booster. The car would not start. More Dispair!

I changed the boosters over and used the BRPOM on the 1.6 DDiS diesel and it started first time. More Elation!

The Hilldow claimed to be able to start diesels this size and had a claimed 500a/1000a peak output. It dropped to 75% capacity after 2 attempts.

The BRPOM claimed to be able to start diesels well above this size with a claimed 600a/3000a peak output. It dropped to 93% capacity after one attempt.

When you try to get facts about these online you enter into the realms of gobbledegook and cherry picked "facts"

The first thing I noticed is that the BRPOM is larger and a lot heavier suggesting it had a larger battery since plastic and electronics don't weigh that much. So, bigger seems to be better.

So the review I saw in Project Farm suggesting the BRPOM was the best of the cheap boosters tested seems to be correct.

[mickthemaverick]

Bring back the starting handle is what I say!!

[CitroJim]

So the review I saw in Project Farm suggesting the BRPOM was the best of the cheap boosters tested seems to be correct.

Caveat Emptor - out of interest, how much does each cost? I tend to find with devices of this nature - and much else consumer electronics too - that to buy cheap is to buy twice...

[mickthemaverick]

Does that thought affect my buying at Lidl tomorrow Jim?

[CitroJim]

Does that thought affect my buying at Lidl tomorrow Jim?

No, not really as at that price point - if it lasts as long as its warranty then it owes you nothing when it curls up and unlike Dormouse's booster pack, it will do what it claims, even if it does not have a long and distinguished career doing so. Dormouse's would appear prima-facie to be not fit for purpose.

That said, pay what say, a CTEK maintenance charger would cost you and it's likely it will last a lifetime.

[Dormouse]

The Hilldow has a forced start/flat battery selector switch to increase the output but I did not use it. The blurb on Amazon claims it is suitable for 5.5l petrol and 3.5l diesel engines with 12000 mAh capacity and a weight of 380g. On Amazon as well, the BRPOM weighs in at 680g and 26800 mAh with claimed engine sizes of 10l petrol and 8l diesel. But hop around the web and you get different claims and specs.

I won't get a chance to try the boost button on the Hilldow today and the weather forecast is for improving temperatures so doubtful anytime soon, but I do suspect that the boost selector would give a significant increase in power but shuts off all the electronic safeguards built into the battery clamp leads. It would be a last resort thing anyway as unchecked power out of the small battery is not going to be good for it's longevity.