Bought this because it has a Li-Ion battery.

I've always known (or believed) that SLA batteries should be charged every three months whether used or not to prevent sulfating on the plates. So I chose the above unit because it has Li-Ion technology. Yet, the instructions say it should be charged every three months, used or not. This sounds like someone copied and pasted instructions from another product but the instructions WERE for an SLA battery.

Am I missing something? Should Li-Ion's be charged every three months? My "off the cuff" answer would be "No." Just need a little validation.

 

I agree that you shouldn't need to charge the Li-Ion battery every three months, so just monitor its voltage occasionally so you know when it needs a charge.

 

No, you should not NEED to charge your emergency jump starting battery every three months. Of course, you also should not NEED to use it, either. My experience with battery failure has been that it very seldom happens at a convenient time, and on some occasions that eventual start requires a fair amount of engine cranking. Mostly on other people's cars. So as a more reliable alternative, I carry a set of jumper cables. They have saved other folks quite a few times, and been a benefit to me on a few occasions as well. And good jumper cables with an adequate sized conductor are still less costly than any of the jump-start battery packs that I have sen advertised. Of course, that was with buying the wire and installing slightly used clips myself. Number 6 wire costs a lot more now. And the cables do not ever need to be recharged.

 

I carry a set of jumper cables.

But you can't pump up a tire.

There have been relatively few times when I needed a jump. And yes, I carry jumpers. But sometimes finding someone to jump you can be problematic. This early summer I went to The Badlands in Wyoming and Utah. We took some undeveloped roads that were terribly bumpy. So I let half the air out of the tires to save my kidneys, and that worked out great. When we got back to regular roads having the tire inflator was a huge benefit. But because my old unit was - well - old, it took almost 20 minutes to pump back up to highway pressures. So that's part of the reason for buying a new machine. And I HAVE had the opportunity to jump from one of those pidley jump starters, and yes, they did work. I was impressed.

One time I needed a jump because my alternator belt was slipping. Couldn't get anyone to help me. Fortunately I knew a trick; I shorted the coil leads and had my wife crank the engine. The back pressure from compression made the weak battery not able to start the engine or turn it over at a startable RPM. But shorting the ignition allowed the starter to spin the engine over. When I un-shorted the ignition I got the car started.

 

I ALWAYS carry a hand tire pump when I go any farther than I would care to walk carrying a soft tire. I learned all about that back in my first year of college. AND, for the past 0 years, I also carry one of those string/plug tire fix kits. AND I have used it, both for myself and for others. The patches might not be as good as at a tire center, but they certainly beat changing a tire in the rain.

 

the instructions say it should be charged every three months, used or not.

That sounds excessive. I'd just monitor the battery level and charge as needed.

Li-ion batteries hold a charge for quite a while. I had a Makita drill battery that held a charge for around 10 years.