I've been thinking of carrying a backup jumper setup for my truck or van when venturing deep into the hills with no cell reception. But, I'm cheap and don't wish to buy a dedicated unit. I've seen some youtube videos where guys jumped their engines using a set of 1.5v alkaline batteries in series to boost the charge enough for a start, or also by using battery packs from cordless drills.
Seeing as how a Duracell battery is extremely reliable and can sit in storage for many years without issue, wouldn't this be a lot more reliable than a unit with rechargeable batteries and all other sorts of components that can fail?
Is there some truth to being able to jump start from such a small power source? Sometimes it's hard to tell if youtube videos are blowing BS out their BS holes.
Basically, I would only need 9-10 C or D batteries, some tape, and some wire. I could cycle the batteries out for other devices so they don't go too long towards the expiration date. I would hope this would provide enough charge to get a semi-dead battery lively enough for a start, possibly even in cold weather.