With great battery power comes great responsibility

"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
12/11/2014 at 13:05 • Filed to: None

A few weeks ago I picked up this cheapest-of-the-cheap jump starter box. I used it to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Last night, I helped someone out again. Might as well spread the vehicular good karma around if I can.

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I had gone out to Walmart to return a couple things and pick up a new string of Christmas tree lights, because when my gf and I went to decorate the tree last night, one of the light strings was dead.

On my way home, I decided to take my Jeep to the gas station for a quick wash in order to clean off the mass quantities of bird shit it had accumulated a few nights ago when I parked it on my driveway under a tree. Who knew so many birds would be hanging out on that tree in Wisconsin in December?

Now, pretty much every gas station car wash lets you just pay at the little control box. But this gas station car wash control box doesn't take cards and its bill reader never works, so you have to go inside to pay for a wash.

I went in, and the clerk was looking very upset, and she had her daughter there. While I paid for my wash, she said she just wished she could get her car started, and sounded pretty desperate.

I told her I had both a jump start box and jumper cables, and I'd be happy to help her out. She gave me her keys (people in Wisconsin are sometimes a little too trusting) and I hooked up the jump box to her battery. She then came out to the car, and we got it started on the second try.

I told her to keep it running to charge the battery back up, she let out a huge sigh of relief, and I ran the Jeep through the wash.

Moral of the story is, it's nice to be nice.

DISCUSSION (15)

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Textured Soy Protein
12/11/2014 at 13:08

Nice.

Do you have to charge that thing every night, or just after each use?

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Textured Soy Protein
12/11/2014 at 13:09

People who stop to help are the best. I remember a few years ago my mam left the lights on at a petrol station and by the time she paid and got back the battery was dead. A guy straight away heard the car struggling to start and grabbed some jump leads out of his boot and asked if we needed help (I've made her buy her own jump leads now). Nice guy.

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > Textured Soy Protein
12/11/2014 at 13:18

please, continue not being a dick. The world needs more of you

Vic-in-Norway > Textured Soy Protein
12/11/2014 at 13:21

I carry mine with me everywhere I go, it has saved my friends and I, and strangers too, countless times. http://www.electric-store.eu/Perel-Tools/Wo… is the one I have. It of course has a booster, 400 amp, it has a compressor, it has an inverter to run laptops or, as I did one time, my 12v trickle charger to charge the battery up where I had no access to a power outlet, it has USB ports, it has 12V ports, it has a light, and emergency red flashing light, it is extremely useful toy! There is even a way to plug it into a 12v socket and it will maintain itself in your car, I would have to wire 12v to the trunk, so I don't do that, I just bring it in about once a month or so, and even then it only takes 5 minutes to top it up if it hasn't been used in the previous month. I love the damn thing so much!

Textured Soy Protein > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
12/11/2014 at 13:24

You're supposed to charge it up once a month or so. The button with the red/yellow/green LEDs on the right is the charge status indicator. As long as the green LED comes on when you press the button, it's good to go.

DrScientist > Textured Soy Protein
12/11/2014 at 13:26

A holiday miracle! well done.

i suppose it doesn't really matter, but why doesn't the gas station have one of these on its own?

Textured Soy Protein > DrScientist
12/11/2014 at 13:29

That's a good question. My guess is they don't want to have a semi-valuable item lying around that the clerks have to keep track of. Or they just hadn't thought of it.

Textured Soy Protein > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
12/11/2014 at 13:29

That was all very...English.

Textured Soy Protein > Vic-in-Norway
12/11/2014 at 13:32

That one's a whole lot fancier than mine. Having one with an air compressor would be nice though.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Textured Soy Protein
12/11/2014 at 13:33

Sometimes it comes through haha. I try to avoid certain words on oppo since most of you guys are american and don't know what I'm on about.

Textured Soy Protein > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
12/11/2014 at 13:36

The summer camp I went to as a kid and also worked at when I got older, had a lot of counselors who came over through BUNAC . Plus I watch Doctor Who, Top Gear and Sherlock. So I can understand British.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Textured Soy Protein
12/11/2014 at 13:37

That, and liability... Lawyers ruin everything.

Tohru > Textured Soy Protein
12/11/2014 at 13:37

good on you for being helpful.

Also, come check out uppermidwest.kinja.com. You've been made an author there.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Textured Soy Protein
12/11/2014 at 13:43

You might be able to understand british but I've lived near newcastle all my life where we have the geordie dialect. If I typed how I spoke informally most people wouldn't have a clue what I was saying.

Rico > Textured Soy Protein
12/11/2014 at 13:51

God meant for you to go to the car wash, he sent the birds to shit on your car.