Home made Jumper cable question
The clamps on my old jumper cables were shot so I ordered new ones. When the new clamps arrived I cut off old ones and was disappointed to see the wire in my old cables were so small. My old wires we...
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May I make a suggestion?
Your area has a welding supply store. Those stores sell neoprene (Hypalon) sheathed custom cut genuine copper conductor cables. The industry is intensely competitive so these supply shops usually offer the best deal.
Four gauge cable is great but if you have to settle for 1 AWG and pay the extra price it would be light-years better than aluminum cables which because they expose aluminum on the cut ends are utter garbage.
Your next objective will be to lay the cables parallel on the ground. You need to find out what size heat shrink tubing will fit over the paralleled cables. Proper size will just slip over the two cables.
Cut 1" lengths of the heat shrink. One strip every six inches is more than adequate. The DW's hair dryer will shrink the lengths.
The best clamps I have used have plastic tips covering the copper jaws. They are usually rated 500-amps and they are not the cheapest cable clamps around. Those mean-looking exposed silver colored clamps are steel and I probably don't need to emphasize why they are inferior.
Makeup 500 amp clamps come disassembled with the jaws, nuts and bolts in a plastic baggie.
You need to find copper lugs EXACTLY the size of the screws that attach the jaws to the plastic coated cable clamp.
While you're at it, go to eBay and buy a short length of SILICONE TEN GAUGE wire. Color does not matter but the ring terminals must fit that little clamp screw exactly.
I solder the terminals to the copper clamp pads for good reason. Then bend the strain relief pad ears over the terminals.
Cut the ten gauge silicone wire to length. The length is to BRIDGE the two pads in the same clamp together. This allows BOTH sides of the clamp to pass electricity evenly. Example: Four inches of ten AWG will pass 100 amps - no sweat.
Time to assemble: First slather on silicone dielectric grease all over the pads - every micron, both sides.
Then assemble the pads to the clamps.
You have made the finest jumper cables on the face of the earth. An heirloom for your grand kids. A 25' super long 4 gauge set will pass near full battery voltage even at 200 amperes.
Just don't leave them lying around.
Your area has a welding supply store. Those stores sell neoprene (Hypalon) sheathed custom cut genuine copper conductor cables. The industry is intensely competitive so these supply shops usually offer the best deal.
Four gauge cable is great but if you have to settle for 1 AWG and pay the extra price it would be light-years better than aluminum cables which because they expose aluminum on the cut ends are utter garbage.
Your next objective will be to lay the cables parallel on the ground. You need to find out what size heat shrink tubing will fit over the paralleled cables. Proper size will just slip over the two cables.
Cut 1" lengths of the heat shrink. One strip every six inches is more than adequate. The DW's hair dryer will shrink the lengths.
The best clamps I have used have plastic tips covering the copper jaws. They are usually rated 500-amps and they are not the cheapest cable clamps around. Those mean-looking exposed silver colored clamps are steel and I probably don't need to emphasize why they are inferior.
Makeup 500 amp clamps come disassembled with the jaws, nuts and bolts in a plastic baggie.
You need to find copper lugs EXACTLY the size of the screws that attach the jaws to the plastic coated cable clamp.
While you're at it, go to eBay and buy a short length of SILICONE TEN GAUGE wire. Color does not matter but the ring terminals must fit that little clamp screw exactly.
I solder the terminals to the copper clamp pads for good reason. Then bend the strain relief pad ears over the terminals.
Cut the ten gauge silicone wire to length. The length is to BRIDGE the two pads in the same clamp together. This allows BOTH sides of the clamp to pass electricity evenly. Example: Four inches of ten AWG will pass 100 amps - no sweat.
Time to assemble: First slather on silicone dielectric grease all over the pads - every micron, both sides.
Then assemble the pads to the clamps.
You have made the finest jumper cables on the face of the earth. An heirloom for your grand kids. A 25' super long 4 gauge set will pass near full battery voltage even at 200 amperes.
Just don't leave them lying around.
