Walmart

Wal-Mart supplies exactly what the market demands, just like China and every manufacturer in the world.

Luckily not the whole market, else you and I wouldn't be in business....

If your battery went dead due to a momentary lapse and you left your lights on overnight, then their cables are fine. However, if you are constantly jumping/and or charging your battery because you have a system problem, then either fix the problem or go and buy a set of professional cables. Same goes for any other products. PS- In answer to your other unspoken question, NO -Sam Walton did not start this company just to deceive you.

Someone pointed this out here a while back, but in a market driven system you get market driving quality, and that means two kinds of errors: items that are overbuilt for the task (and cost too much) but also items that are underbuilt and cost too little. If you put your faith in the market to determine the right answer, then you are accepting that non-functional junk is going to be made and sold in the process of determining the right cost point.

For things that are consumed regularly this gets sorted out: food items for example, we've probably each figured out where the store brand is serviceable and where we are willing to pay for a name brand product. But if like most consumers you buy jumper cables to have on hand for an emergency, and put them unopened in the trunk, then feedback of quality is so seperated from the act of purchasing as to not play much effective role in determining what is made and sold. Only those who've been burned by failed jumper cables (or know enough to be suspicious) will pay a premium for ones that are reliable.

You see, the issue with the battery cable is as follows. The insulation went bad and is fraying in a very ugly manner. It looks like cheap rubber that is all cracked and hardened. The clamps are shit and already fell apart, I had to fix them, they do not grab anything. The cable is very inflexible and awkward to use. A huge disappointment. It's not so much that I use it too often, I used it perhaps 10 times in 4 years, tops, but it is falling apart from just aging and being in my truck and it was never good to begin with.

I am thinking about buying a mcmaster item 7234K15 instead.

I think that something changed in the last 5 years.

i

Well, I am beginning to want something else.

i

Very true. Fortunately, there is more than one "market" (meaning, for instance, different consumers wanting different quality levels), and it is important for me to properly unerstand to what market I should belong.

That said, some items sold at Walmart are outright unsuitable for their intended use, in my experience.

Yep. You think like an economist, that is almost always the right approach. There is indeed a scam in selling many items that is making them pretty and hoping that they are never used. What should not be underestimated is the value of loyalty that is destroyed when tricks like this are pulled regularly.

To CEOs with near term goals (like getting bonuses based on annual performance), that sort of stuff matters not as much as it should.

i

snip

Probably have to go to china to get sone good import jumper cables then........I hear they import some good stuff that is only sold abroad from the USA........... Best sets of jumper cables I have ever had and still have today were homebrew and well over 25 years old. I used some welding cable, and bought replacement clamps for cables at an autoparts store made out of nicklel plated copper......I used ADEL clamps to join the single conductor wires to each other. One pair is over 25 feet in length.....comes in handy when you can not get up close to the battery compartment on some vehicles. They were a main stay on my boat originally.

Something changed when Sam died.

I am very open minded to this idea (homebrew jumper cables). I am not quite sure what size I need, I have a feeling that 25 ft is too much and unnecessary. Perhaps 15 ft would be ideal. I want to have something that would last for decades under realistic use.

i

I agree, but the changes started occurring a little while after that, not right away.

i

Your right, probably for most folks a pair of 25 foot cables would be more than they need, but it sure makes life easy a lot of times especially if you can;t get close enough to the problem vehicle with standard sized cables (8 to 10 or so feet is usually what I find, with

15 feet being listed as "extra long"

Any good automotive store (not Auto Zone or Advance auto) should have good quality copper clamps.....Welding cable is pretty cheap and highly flexible......Being that I worked aerospace most of my life I had access to the ADEL clamps but you could easily use nylong tie straps etc to hold cables together....

Most of the store bought cables are made with cheap >>>>> >>>>>>>>>>> Wal-Mart supplies exactly what the market demands, just like China and every

You are 100% right about construction of my cheap jumper cable. A perfect description.

So, Roy, what would you say about using 2 gauge 20 ft or so jumper cable made of welding cable, with McMaster clamps 7178K12? Two cables would be held together with electrical tape wraps, spaced about 1 foot.

Or, I could buy something like this

pay $20 or so more and get a [supposedly] quality made item by Bayco.

i

My jumper cables are # 4 wire which seems about the right size to me. Bigger adds weight and bulk.

Dan

How long are they?

i

Jumper cables from Wal-Mart- 6.95- used 10 times over 4 years- 69.5 cents per use or 1.73 per year- looks like you got full value for your money- beats calling a tow truck 10 times. If they are now junk, dump them and spend another 6.95 for the next 4 years emergencies. ( or go to Starbucks and spend the 6.95 on a mocha latte and a donut which will turn to s**t in about 20 minutes.)

"Roy" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@news.east.earthlink.net... | Best sets of jumper cables I have ever had and still have today were | homebrew and well over 25 years old. I used some welding cable, and | bought replacement clamps for cables at an autoparts store made out of | nicklel plated copper......I used ADEL clamps to join the single | conductor wires to each other. One pair is over 25 feet in | length.....comes in handy when you can not get up close to the | battery compartment on some vehicles. They were a main stay on my boat | originally.

Here, here. I have a set I made from welding cable I found in the dumpster, which was used to power the "vans" I worked from in the service. I think they're about 17 feet long or so. In my old truck there was a box opposite side from the battery, and I'd coil it up in there. I could pull up behind someone (left them wondering how I was going to use jumper cables altogether!) and open up the hood. Flip the lid open, grab the clamps on top and with a beautiful whipping motion all seventeen feet would come flying out, regardless of how incredibly cold it was. Loved the look on their face! Being able to park anywhere near the victim (or _behind_ them on the side of the road) is far safer than putting your vehicle in an unsafe spot, so all is good with me. Besides, I've been beating the shit out of them for twenty years now and they're no worse for wear. I started another set but never got around to getting the second set of clamps (the store only had one pair on hand) which are a bit smaller in size both in length and wire gauge, but I'm confident in their ability. Those cheesy cables from the store get really hot, really fast, so any sturdy use requires heavy gauge cable that's the same or larger than that very short battery cable in your car already. I watched a set start to melt down once and it about scared the shit out of me. Not something you want on cars nowadays with all the plastic on them!

Very interesting Carl. Any thoughts on length and gauge of welding cable that would be advisable?

i

I found what I need. I know this guy, he is very good, I bought lots of stuff from him. Good customer service also, he screwed up once and fixed his mistake in the best way possible.

1 gauge, 25 foot cable, with heavy 600A clamps, heat shrink tubing in the right places, etc.

I could use it to extend my welding leads also.

i