Slide 1

A battery charger/maintainer is a must if you have vehicles and power equipment in long-term storage or only run them periodically. If lead-acid batteries are not kept a full charge, the lead sulfate inside starts to crystallize and coat the lead plates. This sulfation process eventually reduces battery life or causes them to fail. This AutoMeter BEX 5000 Battery Extender will fully disulfate the battery, charge it at a one-amp rate until fully charged, then decrease power to 250 milliamps to maintain the battery at full charge. You don’t even need to remove the battery from the vehicle.

Slide 2

Tires lose one to two PSI for every 10° F decrease in temperature—and that’s on top of the one to two PSI they normally lose due to leakage around the rim or valve stem. Underinflated tires mean less reaction time for braking and less control in a skid on wet or snowy roads. That’s why you should check tire pressure periodically with a quality gauge like this one from AutoMeter. It reads from 0-60 PSI and is accurate to within 2.5 (+/- 1.5 PSI). It has a mechanical pressure release valve that retains the last measurement until pressed, plus an easy-to-read 2.25 inch dial with rubber shock boot to prevent erratic readings. In fact, get two—one for the shop and one to carry in whatever vehicle you’re driving or riding.

Slide 3

It’s good practice to have a set of jumper cables handy plus a jumpbox like this AutoMeter E-POWER 800. It’s lithium-ion power pack puts out 400 cold cranking amps and 800 peak amps of power—enough to jumpstart a battery up to 20 times on a single charge. The E-POWER 800 also has three quick-charging USB ports that can power a smartphone, tablet, laptop, digital camera, or other USB-enabled device. That’s a big deal when the power goes out in your house or if you’re camping or four-wheeling.