Our car battery died over the weekend, but we didn't go anywhere so it was good and dead today. I don't even have normal jumper cables at hand, far less any other easy options.
Oh wait I sort of do.
Once upon a time I bought a power center with multiple purposes. For one it could power a items via 12v power plugs; it could also convert to 110v and power telescopes and other items used in remote areas (its primary purpose for us). It could also inflate tires or air mattresses - for a while, but that broke early on so it was put out of sight and therefore out of mind. Its fourth purpose was to jump-start a dead battery. I've never tried that part! Now to find it in our two garages of mostly-unpacked items...
I went out to our large garage and found the orange box, and plugged it in to get back to its full capacity. One of the first general-garage boxes I looked into had the jumper-clip cable - amazing since that alone could have taken an hour or two! Then it was time to wait and let it gain strength, as it probably had not been charged in over a year.
My first attempt went poorly, as the cables must be done in proper order along with switches on the power station. Once I puzzled those steps out the car brightened up, but insufficient power left it dead. About a half-hour later I tried again, and was successful!!
This was a valuable lesson, and I'm glad it happened in good weather and when all parts fell to hand at the earliest moment. This could have been so much tougher. Hopefully I'm surrounded by neighbors who are familiar with such trials and could have fixed me up -- but so nice not to need help for a problem that anyone in the wild lands should be able to fix!
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