Best Diesel Jump Starter UK
As a diesel car owner, you know that there a few things that are different to petrol cars.
One of those areas is the amount of power required to give your vehicle a jump. Simply put, they need more of it.
That being the case, let’s check out the Best Jump Starter For Diesel UK.
Here are the products that we’ve found that are best suited for jumping diesel cars, specifically.
The best overall is the Topdon JS3000, check price here. The top performing 24V model is the Sealey RS125 (see it on Amazon). If you’re on a budget, opt for the Topdon Jump Surge 1200.
Here are the specs of the best models in each category. Below that are the reviews and ratings in full.
Topdon JS3000
- Voltage: 12V
- Peak Amps: 3000A (12V)
- Battery Capacity: 24,000mAh
- Dimensions: 26.5L x 12.5W x 6.5H cm
- Weight: 2.2kg
Sealey RS125
- Voltage: 12V/24V
- Peak Amps: 3000A (12V); 1500A (24V)
- Dimensions: 26 x 48 x 47cm
- Weight: 15kg
Topdon JS1200
- Voltage: 12V
- Peak Amps: 1200A (12V)
- Battery Capacity: 10,000mAh
- Dimensions: 19.6L x12.5W x 9.0H cm
- Weight: 0.95kg
We’ve tested a jump starter or two on our time. We know the important aspects to look for; including the ones you may not even think about.
For example, the power of the booster is meaningless unless the clamps are high quality enough to allow that power to actually be transferred.
And even then, even if the clips are good enough, they must be designed in such a way that they’ll maintain a good, strong, widespread connection with your battery terminals.
Our selections were based on:
- Boosting amps, in practice (not the stated Peak Amps for reasons we’ll go into)
- Quality and design of clamps, wires
- Main unit build quality
- Are the safety features modern enough?
- Size and weight – how practical is it to keep the diesel jump starter in your car.
Finally, we’ll describe who these jump packs are best suited to, according to the main needs you may have.
12V/24V Diesel Jump Starters – Category Winners
- Top Pick: Topdon Jump Surge 3000
- Best 24V model: Sealey RS125 12/24V
- Best on a Budget: Topdon JS1200
Jump Starters for Diesel Vehicles Reviews
Let’s look into these diesel jump packs in more detail.
Here are the pros and cons of the winning models in each category.
Topdon JS3000
Pros and factors that may make it the right option for you:
Superpowered value
We found it provided a very powerful boost; jump starting diesel cars even in deeply discharged states (which means they had a low voltage). And did so successfully even with the bigger vehicles. And yet, it’s priced not a million miles away from half that of its equivalent NOCO jump starter (and a lot less than NOCO’s biggest model, the NOCO Boost X GBX155).
The latest technology
Released in 2022, and with genuinely modern technology. What does that mean? It means a battery with much higher capacity (24,000mAh) than the equivalent 3000A NOCO GB150 (5,950mAh). Lightweight at only 2.3kg. USB Type-C charging ability. 12V DC Output power. And, deserving of a Pro in it its own right, the top safety features on the UK market…
The safest credentials
The Topdon JS3000 has probably the safest product out there. The latest generation of Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) is key to this. This form of Lithium is of a particular chemistry that makes it pretty much impossible to explode. And it won’t leak. That makes it safer even than products with lead-acid batteries.
Cons and which type of buyer could consider alternatives:
Not as hardy as NOCO
Elsewhere on this site, we’ve referred to Topdon as something along the lines of being NOCO quality at a much lower cost. But NOCO are still the kings when it comes to ruggedness and resistance to water and dust ingress. NOCO’s jump starters are IP65 as a matter of course. The Topdon Jump Surge 3000 does offer a fairly high level of protection, with an IP54 rating, but that’s still an appreciable level below NOCO in this area.
Here’s a full review of the Topdon JS3000 jump pack.
Where can you buy it?
On Amazon, see the price here.
Sealey RS125
Pros and who needs this jump pack:
It‘s a highly respected British brand with well-made products
Sealey have an excellent reputation for the quality of their products. The RS125 is no different. From the moment you pick it up, it just feels sturdy and hard-wearing. We at Car Battery Geek know from personal experience that Sealey make ruggedness one of their key priorities when making their products.
We were very impressed by the power
In our experience, jump starting a 24V truck is the ultimate test for a jump pack. We’ve tested plenty that can handle big petrol cars without breaking sweat, and then pretty much literally cook themselves in attempting to start a diesel! As far as 24V jump starting is concerned, this is the best performing we’ve seen on the UK market. It successfully started even some big trucks and lorries. 1500A at 24V is an impressive Peak Amperage, and while we didn’t find it quite reached those levels, it was still clearly superior to any other 24V jump starter.
Surprising longevity
We also scoped out distributors with long-term experience of selling the Sealey RS125 and they said their customers are getting a long lifespan out of it. A testament to the quality of the internal components and tough, well-sealed outer casing, most likely.
Cons and why this model may not be for you:
It’s not LiFePO4
If you’ve been paying attention to the battery world recently, you’ll know that Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4 is a game changer. It’s powerful, light and, with an accompanying BMS, extremely safe. There are one or two 24V jump packs made with LiFePO4 but they’re small and underpowered. It has to be said, though, that the Sealey RS125 is extremely powerful and safe, but it is heavy – worthy of its own Con, in fact…
A weighty beast
Weighing in at 15kg, it’s not something you’d want in your little 1.2 Ford Fiesta. But if you’re checking this category out, you’ve probably got a truck or some kind of larger vehicle, so maybe that’s not the biggest drawback in the world.
Where to check it out?
Here’s where to see it up close, on Amazon.
Topdon JS1200
Pros and who needs this :
Excellent build quality
The JS1200 is a well made piece of kit. Materials are hardy, internal components are high quality. As mentioned elsewhere in this article, Topdon’s jump starters are a match for NOCO’s in almost all areas in terms of quality.
Ability to reach close to its rated Peak Amps
Over the many years and many, many times we’ve used and tested jump starters, we’ve already accepted that Peak Amps is going to be somewhat misleading on any given jump starter you test. And with a lot of 12V jump packs, the test results we obtain are significantly below what the product’s stated Peak Amps are. In the case of the JS1200, it’s a heck of a lot closer than the vast majority of products.
A real jump starter
The market is flooded with glorified power banks. Made by general tech accessory product makers. They’re not bad to have in a pinch, but they’re reliable only up to a point. They’ll jump start your car if your battery’s charge is just slightly below what’s needed to start. But that’s it. Topdon are the real deal, a proper battery accessories manufacturer. And that means their jump packs work when the chips are down much more often.
Cons and why this jump starter model is not for you:
It‘s not equipped to start large vehicles
It’s all you need for any smaller vehicle, great for the vast majority of medium sized vehicles, but will start to struggle with larger vehicles.
Full deep-dive and review of the Topdon Jump Surge 1200 jump starter.
Where can you get it?
You can see specs and pricing right here.
Best Diesel Jump Starter UK Summary
Those products, then, are the ones representing the best jump starters for diesel in the UK.
Jump starting a diesel is a different level of challenge compared to petrol vehicles. (Here are the differences between petrol and diesel, by the way). We’ve seen many a product scale peak after peak of petroleoum hills, only to founder at base camp of the diesel mountain.
These were the ones that showed the capacity, power and quality to handle diesel.
There was the top overall model, the Topdon JS3000 (see it on Amazon). The best performing 24V diesel jump pack was the Sealey RS125. And the best on a budget was the Topdon Jump Surge 1200.
Thanks for reading, and good luck with whichever boosting solution you go for.