Beats for the Beach

Provide the soundtrack for any beach party—from day into night—with a solar powered stereo and LED light. This DIY project can easily be made from a cooler, the right battery and an old stereo.

Should You Buy a Used Battery?

 

Batteries are expensive and you will likely be tempted at some point to buy a refurbished one. As a general rule it is not advisable, and here’s why:

• You probably won’t know the history of how the battery was used by the previous owner. How was it stored? How often was it used? New batteries come with warranties so you know they will at least last as long as expected or you get a free replacement. 

• Over time batteries lose their ability to hold a charge, so even when fully charged up an older battery won’t last as long. For the ones you recharge often, like cell phones, this can become a problem if you end up needing to charge it several times a day at inconvenient times.

• They are designed to be charged only a certain number of times. Older batteries, such as NiCad can also suffer from memory effect, which means they will only charge up to the last point they were charged, whether or not that was to full capacity. 

Taking care of car battery

Learn about some common fixes to car battery-related issues and some simple things you can....read more

How to Recognize a Worn-Out Battery

Batteries can only be charged so many times over the course of their life, and over time they lose the ability to hold that charge. That means that as a battery gets older, you will be recharging it more often. If you intend to keep your electronic device, look for these signs that your battery needs replacing.

• When you are charging it more often but it takes a shorter time for it to finish charging, it means the battery’s capacity and power is weakening.
• If your computer shuts down or hibernates unexpectedly even if the battery meter claims it has plenty of charge, this is another sign your battery is going bad. This happens because the meter is using the limit of the last complete charge as the measure of a full charge, even if it isn’t.

Battery Recycling De-Mystified

From flashlights to musical toys, a family can go through a lot of batteries. It turns out that recycling them instead of sending them to a landfill is easier than you may think.

Reasons to Invest in a Jump Start Kit

There is little more frustrating than having to be somewhere at a specific time, jumping in your car, and the car won’t start. If you’re lucky, your car died in a populated place where maybe someone has a jumper cable that they can use to help you get your car going again. What do you do if your car has died in your driveway and none of your neighbors are home? What if you’re all alone in a parking lot? What if your car is parked so awkwardly that there is no feasible way to hook up a traditional jumper cable between your battery and another car battery? That’s when you need a jump start kit.

Jump start kits are basically portable batteries that you can hook up to your car to give it some extra juice to get started. This means you don’t have to rely on anyone else to get your car started for you. The kit usually comes with clear instructions on how to use it. As long as you keep the kit in your car and fully charged, you should be able to start your car yourself. It doesn’t matter if there are hundreds of people around or you’re all alone.

You also don’t have to worry about where you’re parked when you have your own kit. Traditional cables require that the batteries of the two vehicles be within a certain distance. If you can’t get the cars very close and the cable isn’t long enough, you’re usually out of luck. Since you there is no reason to have another car help you jump start your vehicle when you have a jump start kit, it matters less where and how your vehicle is parked.

Jump starting a vehicle can be tricky if you don’t know what you’re doing. In fact, if you do it in the wrong order or attach the clamps to the wrong area, the car giving you the jump start could suffer some serious damage. It’s doubtful that you’re looking to ruin another person’s vehicle when they are just trying to help you out. With a kit, there is less chance of damaging your vehicle. Because you are not hooking up your car to another vehicle’s battery, you don’t have to worry about accidentally frying a nice person’s vehicle.

If you have ever suffered the stress of a dead car battery, finding someone to help you out, making sure your car was accessible, and worrying about performing the jump correctly, you could probably benefit from a jump start kit. To learn more about a battery store in San Diego, please visit this website.

How to Use Jumper Cables Safely

You’ve likely been in a situation when your car wouldn’t start when you put the key in the ignition. It seems that this happens in the most inconvenient of times, like when you are on your way to work or headed to an important appointment. While this can be a pain, having a set of jumper cables can help prevent this from becoming a major headache. It’s a great idea to keep a set in your car for moments like this, whether it’s for your own car or to help jump start someone else's. However, it is important to make sure you know how to use jumper cables correctly. Using them incorrectly can be dangerous and sometimes deadly. Here are a few steps to make sure you are using your jumper cables safely and effectively.

If your car is dead, the first thing you are going to need is a second car to give your car a boost. Park the booster car so that the two vehicles are close to each other, and then turn the engine off. Be sure that the two cars are not touching. Take out the jumper cables and connect the red clamp to the positive terminal on the dead car’s battery, which has a plus sign by it. Connect the second red side to the other car’s positive terminal. Next, take the black clamp and connect it to the booster car’s negative battery terminal, which has a minus sign by it. Clamp the other black side to a metal surface on the dead car. A good place to do this would be on a screw or bolt. Make sure that the cables aren’t touching the engine on either vehicle.

Once you have the jumper cables properly connected, start the booster car. Let it run for a few minutes, and then try starting the dead car. After letting it run for a few minutes, disconnect the black cable from the dead car’s battery and disconnect the black cable from the other car. Finally, remove the red cable from the booster car, then do the same with the other car.

Following these steps exactly will help ensure that you are using jumper cables safely. If you follow these steps and your car still will not start, then it is likely that the issue is not with the battery. Calling a tow truck or mechanic would be a good next step.

Prevent yourself from getting stuck on the side of the road. Keep jumper cables in your trunk wherever you go. Not only can this keep you from being stranded, it can also be helpful if you need to help start up someone else's car. Visit this website for more information.