Which jumper cables

[JRH02]

I made mine from 2 lengths of 20' 4ga welding cable. No more cursing them for being too short. IF I need them I hook them up and let the starting vehicle run. And run a little longer. Then I do the start. Ya know a 4ga can carry a heck of a lot of amps especially if you return some amps to the weak battery. It's not rocket science.

 

[goeduck]

Jumper cables don’t go bad or discharge sitting around.

If you loan them out, make sure they fill them back up with electrons before returning them.

 

[NUTTERDW]

The reason for larger wire is to reduce voltage drop with distance. The length of the cables needs to be considered as well. The voltage drop in the cable is the product of the resistance of the cable multiplied by the current flowing at that time. Any resistance due to corrosion at the battery terminals or the wires attaching the clamp will also drop voltage. The condition of the batteries themselves can also limit current flow. This is really not a simple question but the generic answer would be bigger is generally better. Of course you can always build your own cables out of even bigger wire. Generally welding cable is more flexible than regular stranded cable.

I have found that I get get some short sections of welding cable half way reasonable and that makes the best jumper cables.A place like Royal King farm store in my area has the clamps. or most auto supply stores. I have clamped them in a vise but my preferred method is to silver solder them on. That is where most jumper cables are weakest.