The Schumacher XP2260 1200 Peak Amp Jump Starter can power up your discharged battery at an affordable price. It is lighter than the Schumacher PSJ-2212, which comes with 2200 peak amps.
This unit is oh-so-heavy at 24 pounds. It’s not as portable as the other jump starters we’ve reviewed on this blog. Its dimensions are 12.6 x 12.4 x 12.2 inches so that means it can easily fit in your trunk. But what’s good about this is that it has an On/Off switch. It got a built-in charger for the charging of its internal battery. A LED indicator will show you if the battery needs to be charged. As with other jump starters, you cannot return this because it is considered hazmat.
From the product description, this is what this product does:
“The Schumacher XP2260 delivers 1200 peak amps of power for jump starting vehicles in emergencies. It also offers 400 Watts peak (200 Watts continuous) of 120V AC power. Two AC outlets on the front of the ZP2260 let you power small appliances and electronic devices. A digital display allows you to monitor the charge level of the sealed internal battery and the voltage of an attached vehicle’s battery.”
Price
This unit is very affordable; it costs just a little over $100.
Average Amazon Rating
The average rating by Amazon users is 4.0 out of 5 stars.
User Reviews
Here are several user reviews to help you decide whether this product is suited for your needs.
Positive review from angie:
I was surprised that even though I bought this for my husband, the longer we have it around, we keep finding handy uses for it that we hadn’t even thought of upon purchase. The AC outlets are really nice, especially when we go camping. We have a fifth wheel trailer and before when the kids needed to charge their ipods or PSP’s they would have to start the generator and leave it on to charge their stuff. Now, we can just use this unit and save the generator gas and noise. Also, on long trips if I ride in the trailer, it sometimes gets hot and stuffy and gets boring really quickly. It’s nice to have this unit on board so I can use my laptop or portable DVD player to my hearts’ content and also have a small fan to keep cool. This unit also has a really bright worklight built right in that I use for reading, which is a nice feature. It’s also been really nice to be able to inflate water toys and bike tires while camping.
The inflator for bike tires and such is tucked in the back of the unit with an attached little felt bag that holds the needles for the hub. I just wish that the unit itself had a similar bag to hold the bigger inflator hose and charger cords since it does include an AC charger and a car charger so you can charge your unit from your vehicle while you are traveling. It would also be nice if the USB port had some kind of rubber cover like the AC ports do to prevent dirt and water from getting into the port. Instead, I just used some tape to cover the port to prevent this.
Pros:
*jump starts tractors/lawnmowers very well
*has USB outlet
*has AC outlets
*bright worklight built in
*digital display indicating the amount of charge
*inflator capability
*can charge unit either by plugging in at home or car.Cons:
*no rubber cover for USB port
*can be slow to charge (so keep it charged)
*no storage compartment on unit for charging cords
Another positive review from J. Young
All in all I think this power source will be adequate. My only negative impression was the charging port or socket on the back. I had one on hand so it was not an inconvenience for me but I can see how it may be for other customers. I will update my review once I go camping or if I need to use it to jump a vehicle.
Update: 03-02-2013
After using this unit for more than a year I would highly recommend it. I have used it to jumpstart several vehicles on a single charge. I even left it in my trunk for over 8 months without a recharge and it still jumped two vehicles. I have tested after having it in my car for more than a year and it still functions properly and as advertised. I have jumped small trucks and midsize SUVs but I have not had the opportunity ti jumpstart really large trucks or larger SUVs so I am not sure it ~400 continuos cranking amps would be adequate. For those of you with really large vehicles.
Update: 04-12-2014
This unit no longer works. Well, it charges and holds a charge but for some reason I no longer get the cranking amps out of it anymore. I ran a couple of test and I have lost a significant amount of cranking amps from the unit. The unit has not seen any form of abuse and mostly sat in the back of my car since purchase. I have tried using it to crank several vehicles since January 2014 and it has failed every time even after a full overnight charge. I did purchase back in 2011 I believe so I could say it has become unusable in a little under 3 years.
When it worked it was great (the first 2 years). I would still purchase another one or look for one that has a longer shelf life. I hope this update helps someone.
To read more reviews and learn more bout this product, please click here to go to Amazon.com.
