I still remember the days when a dead car or truck battery meant someone parked next to you and ran cables between the vehicles. While this does work, newer products like the Loftek Nova Power Jump Starter (model G21) make this method obsolete — and much more convenient to work with. With one of these Loftek emergency starters, you can basically start your vehicle yourself.
How the Loftek Nova Power Jump Starter Works
The portable G21 Loftek Nova Power Jump Starter and others work by discharging the four internal 3.7V LiPo batteries at high current levels. With this model, they claim up to 1100A of cranking current (2200A peak). That only discharges into the 12V car battery for a short period of time. After using it though – it really works and you can jump start a car, SUV or even a truck with up to an 8.0 liter petrol or 6.5 liter diesel engine.
The procedure for jump starting a vehicle is as follows:
- Press the yellow function button on the Loftek Nova Power Jump Starter and make sure there are at least 3 blue LED lights. This indicates that your Loftek G21 jumper has more than 50% charge remaining.
- Plug the included jumper clips/cables into the jumper starter. The light should start flashing red and green alternately when in standby.
- Connect the red clip to the positive (+) terminal and the black clip to the negative (–) terminal of the vehicle battery.
- Note the lights on the jumper clip assembly. When it turns solid green, it means the clamp is connected and the emergency starter is ready. If the clamp is not connected properly or other faults are detected, the indicator light will be red.
- Start the engine as usual. If it doesn't start right away, you may have to wait a few minutes and try again.
- After the vehicle starts, remove the clamps.
More Loftek Nova Power Jump Starter details
Loftek Nova Power Jump Starter has the latest QDSP 3.0. That doesn't mean anything outside of the battery-powered jumpstarter community. Essentially, they claim that the jumper can work down to -4℉. While I lived in Florida, this feature was untested!
Loftek includes short circuit protection, overcurrent and overvoltage protection, and overload protection on the G21 jumper. This should prevent you from doing anything that will accidentally blow up your launcher while in use. Again, we don't do destructive testing, so we use the device as intended, rather than testing protection by leaving it connected for too long or flipping cables.
Other handy features
The blue USB output port on the Loftek Nova Power Jump Starter can charge a phone or even a laptop. It operates at 5V/3A, 9V/2A or 12V/1.5A. Another 5V 2.1A USB port provides fast charging for mobile phones. A single USB-C port serves as the input charging port for the Loftek G21 jump starter, but can also output 5V/3A.
It also comes with a nice, bright LED flashlight that lights up when you press and hold the yellow multifunction button. It includes strobe light and SOS function, which will appear alternately when you press the button again after the flashlight is on.
in conclusion
The Loftek G21 Nova Power Jump Starter works as advertised. We use it to start a 2003 Jeep Liberty quickly and easily. Our familiarity with these products lets us know it can also handle most full-size trucks, cars, and just about anything else you can think of. In fact, the biggest problem with portable battery powered emergency starters is the sheer number of companies that make them! Trying to discern which models are more secure than others is a problem. Of the four different models (all generic brands) we've used over the years, not one has given us grief. This makes me think that the manufacturers may have figured out how to vent these packages safely for what they were designed for.
Finally – Is the Loftek G21 a product that will jumpstart your vehicle? Absolutely…like every other LiPo emergency starter we've tested so far.
Specification
- Model: G21
- LED lighting mode: flashlight/strobe light/SOS
- Safety level: ETL/CE/FCC/RoHS certification
- Peak current: 2200A
- Starting current: 1100A
- Capacity: 20.8Ah, 76.96Wh
- Engine Compatibility: Up to 8.0L Petrol / 6.5L Diesel
- Smart clamps intelligent jumper clamp with 8-fold protection system
- Power output: dual USB fast charging interface (5V/9V/12V); 12V/10A DC output
- Service life: 1000+ cycles
- Weight: 2.2 lbs
- Dimensions: 7.7 x 3.5 x 1.4 inches
- Includes: jumper starter, jumper clips, USB charging cable, user guide
- Price: $39.99