Black & Decker BB7B Simple Start 12-Volt Battery Booster

by Vector

Product Features

• Built-in 12 volt DC charging port for charging cell phones
• Built-in, ultra-bright LED light for night time emergency roadside assistance
• Compactly designed for storage; fits in most glove compartments
• No jumper cables required, charges & starts vehicle in minutes
• Rechargeable from any 12 volt DC vehicle outlet or 120 volt AC household charger

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8 x 3.4 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.7 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B000H774BY
• Item model number: BB7B
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (246 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #39,170 in Automotive (See Top 100 in Automotive)
  • #55 in Automotive > Tools & Equipment > Jump Starters, Battery Chargers & Portable Power > Jump Starters
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Being stranded by the side of the road with a drained car battery can cause anyone to panic, especially if you don't have jumper cables. But you can give your car battery a boost from inside the comfort of your car with Black & Decker's Simple Start Battery Booster Car Starter. The Simple Start puts you back on the road quickly--just plug, charge, and go. No need for jumper cables or waiting for help to arrive. Simply insert the Simple Start's DC adapter into any of the car's 12-volt DC or cigarette lighter outlets and wait several minutes. A boost indicator LED and audible beep lets you know when your battery is charged and ready to start.

Instead of jumper cables, plug the Simple Start into your cigarette lighter and start your car in minutes. View larger.

Charges cell phones or laptop computers.

Small enough to fit in your glove box.

No More Jumper Cables
With the Simple Start there is no more worrying about lifting the hood and connecting jumper cables to the wrong part of your car battery, creating sparks and potentially damaging your vehicle. Whether you're in the rain, on an empty street on a dark night, or alone in an unfamiliar place, you no longer need to track someone down to jump-start your car. With the Black & Decker BB7B within reach, you'll never have to get under the hood to restart your car.

Charges More than Your Battery
The Simple Start offers a powerful, built-in LED light for emergency use and a 12-volt DC port for charging cell phones or anything with a car charger outlet, including laptop computers.

Easy to Store
The compact design of the BB7B allows for storage inside most glove compartments, toolboxes, car trunks, or even under the seat.

Rechargeable
The Simple Start recharges easily from any household AC outlet or DC automobile cigarette-plug style outlet, so that it will be ready the next time you need it.

Warranty
Black & Decker offers a full 2-year warranty.

Product Description

The Black and Decker Safety Start battery booster plugs directly into the vehicle's DC outlet, no jumper cables required to charge and start your vehicle in minutes. It also provides power to recharge your cell phone in case of emergencies.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

194 of 199 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is a CHARGER -- NOT a jumpstarter!, January 25, 2007

By 

chobo "chobo" (chobo) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black & Decker BB7B Simple Start 12-Volt Battery Booster (Automotive)

Note that this thing CHARGES your car battery, so that the car battery will have enough juice to hopefully start your car. This does NOT jumpstart your car. For jumpstarting your car, you really need a jumpstarter with lots of current, and direct connection (i.e. by opening the hood) to the car battery terminals. This is NOT meant for that. It is a battery *booster* which means it adds more charge to your car battery. Recharging takes time because it cannot pump too much current through that cigarette lighter (otherwise it will damage it). That's why you'll need to wait 15-20 minutes. There are faster chargers in the market, but because faster chargers put out more current for the charging, you will need to open the hood and connect directly to the battery terminals - not a tough job, but that takes at least 5-10 minutes anyways and you have to get out of the car, which can be dangerous if you're stalled by the road.

Also, note that depending on your car model, you WILL have to turn your ignition key to the "accessory" mode (i.e. car radio on) before you can charge through the cigarette lighter. I believe this is the problem of an earlier review where the charger beeps right after plugging it in.

I have used it a couple of times and it works perfectly. Sure, 15-20 mins is a long time to wait, but hey I always have a good book handy.

I dock 1 star from the ratings because I thought the instructions could be clearer and I wish the TV commercial hadn't been so misleading - letting people think that you can jumpstart through the lighter - big NO NO... But otherwise, as a charger, this is GREAT!

246 of 255 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Works Great and Easy to Use, November 24, 2006

By 

Steven (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black & Decker BB7B Simple Start 12-Volt Battery Booster (Automotive)

I just bought this a week ago after my battery first started failing. Since then I've had to use it twice and it's worked great both times. All you have to do is plug it in and press "Boost Vehicle". The only downside is it takes about 10 minutes before you can start your car versus the 4-5 minutes of one of the larger battery boosters. But you can't beat this small size and weight and especially not having to get out of your car when it's raining or cold. 5 stars all the way!!

58 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Battery Start UNDER-Booster, January 15, 2007

By 

FlyMike55 "Mike" (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black & Decker BB7B Simple Start 12-Volt Battery Booster (Automotive)

Nice little package with lots of claimed potential, however, when our less than two year old 2005 pickup truck battery ran down from an unchecked map light, and we tried using the fully charged BB7B as advertised, letting it complete it's cycle with appropriate lights and sound feedback, it could not boost the truck battery enough to achieve a start. Recharged BB7B and tried again - same results. We had to go and get a regular battery charger to recharge the truck battery.