REVscene Automotive Forum - View Single Post - Can we talk about battery boosters in condos and other areas without a wall outlet?

mr00jimbo · 01-05-2022, 08:26 PM

I used to keep my car in a garage but now it's in a condo underground. This recent snowfall meant I wasn't able to get it out for 3 weeks.

There's the idea of disconnecting the negative terminal, but I've found a lot of modern cars don't seem to enjoy that too much and it can cause issues. I knew somebody who did this and when they reconnected it, the immobilizer went haywire and it had to be towed.

Thankfully after 3 weeks the car fired up (new battery installed recently) and I was able to drive it around. But I don't like to let my car sit that long without charging the battery.

Soooo what's one to do when they don't have access to a wall outlet?

I do have a trickle charger but there's nowhere to plug it in.

One suggestion I was thinking is some kind of electric portable power station like this:
https://www.amazon.ca/Jackery-Genera...76596395&psc=1

It couldn't be plugged in all the time, but say you plugged one end of the trickle charger to the car, and plug the power outlet end into the portable power pack, leaving it plugged long enough to top off the battery then remove when charged again. Hell my car has a live 12V outlet, I could plug the trickle charger in once a week and plug that into the power pack and leave the battery pack sitting on the passenger seat.

Does that make sense? How big would you need a portable power pack to be to make this feasible?
Seems kind of complicated but I hate dead batteries.

Unless there's some compilation I am missing.

TL;DR - If you lack an outlet for a trickle charger, can you just plug the trickle charger into the car and instead of a power outlet, plug the power cord end of it to a battery-powered portable power pack once a week to charge, then unplug again when topped up.

01-05-2022, 08:26 PM	#1
mr00jimbo Where's my RS Christmas Lobster?! Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Vancouver Posts: 803 Thanked 481 Times in 133 Posts Failed 14 Times in 3 Posts	Can we talk about battery boosters in condos and other areas without a wall outlet? I used to keep my car in a garage but now it's in a condo underground. This recent snowfall meant I wasn't able to get it out for 3 weeks. There's the idea of disconnecting the negative terminal, but I've found a lot of modern cars don't seem to enjoy that too much and it can cause issues. I knew somebody who did this and when they reconnected it, the immobilizer went haywire and it had to be towed. Thankfully after 3 weeks the car fired up (new battery installed recently) and I was able to drive it around. But I don't like to let my car sit that long without charging the battery. Soooo what's one to do when they don't have access to a wall outlet? I do have a trickle charger but there's nowhere to plug it in. One suggestion I was thinking is some kind of electric portable power station like this: https://www.amazon.ca/Jackery-Genera...76596395&psc=1 It couldn't be plugged in all the time, but say you plugged one end of the trickle charger to the car, and plug the power outlet end into the portable power pack, leaving it plugged long enough to top off the battery then remove when charged again. Hell my car has a live 12V outlet, I could plug the trickle charger in once a week and plug that into the power pack and leave the battery pack sitting on the passenger seat. Does that make sense? How big would you need a portable power pack to be to make this feasible? Seems kind of complicated but I hate dead batteries. Unless there's some compilation I am missing. TL;DR - If you lack an outlet for a trickle charger, can you just plug the trickle charger into the car and instead of a power outlet, plug the power cord end of it to a battery-powered portable power pack once a week to charge, then unplug again when topped up.