A Solar Powered Car Jump Starter?

If you ended up here because you were brain storming ideas and just happened to think of a solar powered car jump starter, you're too late. They do already exist. But just because they are already out there for sale, that doesn't mean they are any good. By most accounts they are a bit of a letdown. The idea itself is great, because technically it can self charge. However, due to portable jump starter designers trying to make them smaller to move with the times and please consumers, the actual solar panels on these jump starters are way too small to effectively charge the battery pack from empty or even half full to any really significant level within a reasonable amount of time.

The ALLPOWER Solar Equipped Car Jumper

The solar charging should be looked at as a cool little gimmicky feature, but not one you would be able to rely on in times of need. Solar powered car jump starters are very much the same as the non-solar models, in which they are very much - charge from the mains or, if your car battery is already full of life, charged via the auxiliary socket in the car. Until there are advancements in solar technology, such as the ability to use a small panel but still suck in a lot of energy from the daylight (we're not there yet), it would be wise to steer clear of these products if your sole purpose for buying one is down to the solar charging feature.

A jump starter brand that has this feature is the ALLPOWERS range (Pictured above). They have a decent little selection of solar (iSolar) car battery chargers. They also have make chargers that are not for starting cars. However, their car range starts with the smallest capacity 400A Peak Current - 6000mAh, and goes up to a 400A with an 8000mAh battery pack capacity.

Their products are actually pretty good, and do handle the task they were made to complete, like successfully starting the car and being able to charge other items like smart phones and tablets etc.Sadly, in terms of solar capability, they also fall into the same category as the rest of the products within this line. Conclusion: Set a reminder to go off in 5 years time to tell you to do a search for new solar powered car jump starters. That should be enough time for the highly anticipated technological breakthrough needed.