Walmart

Outstanding choice. It's just me, but you should see about insulating the clamps a little bit better. Some places you have to clamp to are downright scary for shorting out to nearby structure. I'm kinda thinking that stuff you can dip your plier handles into would do the job, but I've never used it. I think for making a set yourself you could be into it for about fifty bucks or less. Welding cable isn't all that expensive, compared to other kinds of cable similar in size, but finding good clamps were a bit hard.

Reply to
carl mciver
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Reply to
Mike Berger

Reply to
Mike Berger

Thanks Carl. A DIY cable would cost about as much (Mike is getting his cable at wholesale prices and sells a lot of it, whereas I would have to buy retail), and I would not have the same heat shrink tubing, hydraulic crimpers, blah blah, that Mike already has. Hardly worth doing when I can buy a set for $69.99 plus $10.50 (IIRC) shipping.

This will be, hopefully, the last set I will ever need to buy.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus30644

Good guess, very insightful, indeed I do not read newspapers much.

i

Reply to
Ignoramus30644

Right ya are....its just plain hard to beat welding cable for its amperage carrying capacity and flexibility. As to being to heavy, big deal its not like you use them every hour of the day,,,,,,,. I also had a set made up that had the typical welding jacks on the one end, thatw as kept with my truck which had the female portion of the plugs mounted in the fender well.....No need to even open the hood, just plug and jump.......I had that setup when I lived up north and used to plow snow as a side job and was always having to jumper folks off. I do not think length is a problem as long as wire size is capable of carrying the load for the length, as there is alot of times regular cables and the inability to move vehicles / equipment may come up that that extra length pays off.......That was why I made the really long ones I Used primarily with my boat, as batteries were a pain to pull and where it was docked was too far for standard cables, and it got old pulling a battery or toting a charger around in those times..

Heat shrink will work fine for holding the cables together.....much more durable than electrical tape, and lot less prone to snags from nylon ties..........thats one problem I do have with adel clamps as they will hang on sticks or fenders etc if your not carefull.

There is nothing worse than a flat tire or dead battery, except perhaps getting a set of jumper cables and have them bust or have a melt down..... when you stumble on a person willing to jump you off.....or finding the cold patches and find out your rubber cement is now a rubber block.

On Thu, 19 Jan 2006 19:41:07 GMT, "carl mciver" wrote:

Reply to
Roy

I've only been in a Wal Mart in the St. Louis area once in the past 10+ years. It was the nearest thing when we had a grocery strike here a few years ago. I just got a really wierd, unpleasant feeling in there - like a feeling of impending doom or something.

I've been in them on occasion when travelling, and haven't been impressed by the prices, the merchandise, or anything.

I sure as HELL don't buy tools there, period!

Jon

Reply to
Jon Elson

One day I asked my brother why he didn't buy his clothes at Walmart. He said he didn't have enough money for that. Meaning he couldn't afford to repeatedly replace poor quality clothes.

If you do find something there that meets your needs, just wait. Before long, Walmart will cheapen it to the point of becoming useless.

John Normile

Reply to
John Normile

I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one.

I just can't stand to be in them. I usually enjoy walking around any store with an automotive and home electronics section. I can't wait to get out of Walmart.

Surprisingly, I shop at Sam's Club about every 3 months and don't get the same bad feeling.

Reply to
Jim Stewart

Whenever I need a part for a car, I go to NAPA or CarQuest, or someplace like that. Checker, Autozone, etc, are good for fluids, and a few other items, but when I want something that will last, and I know is made better than their Chinese crap, I go to a different supplier.

It is the same with Walmart stuff.

STeve

Reply to
Steve B

Yes, you are 100% right.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus30644

My jumper cables are shorter than I would like. I found two pieces of welding cable that had been used for grounding consoles in a scrap yard. If I were making some from scratch I think about 12 feet would be good. Long enough to connect the batteries of two cars parked next to each other, where the car on the right has the battery on the right and the car on the left has the battery on the left.

Dan

Reply to
dcaster

Been there - in a 57 ford - a wide and high fender!

Always connect one to the engine block and the other to the +. That way will limit the current just a little to the battery and provide plenty of current to the starter.

I always charge the battery for a while - then disconnect one cable and have the other try. Less strain on a alternator.

If just going to jump or can't get the charge way fast enough - charge a little and then assist with the car at fast RPM.

Martin Eastburn @ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net NRA LOH & Endowment Member NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder

snipped-for-privacy@krl.org wrote:

Reply to
Martin H. Eastburn

Best I ever saw were made from the battery cables from a wrecked Cessna twin engine airplane. The cables were strong, light, and 20 ft long. They were also siamesed, so there was no screwing around with tape or cable ties.

-Carl

Reply to
Carl Byrns

Better start looking at those NAPA boxes- a lot of their stuff is now hecho en chine (sp). A local garage switched to AutoZone for a lot of parts-the owner says they have a much lower failure rate than NAPA stuff.

-Carl

Reply to
Carl Byrns

I used to have some orange jumper cables that were made from 12 ga extension cord. The three conductors were stripped and twisted together where the clamps were attached. These made very good cables! Soft enough to wind up easily and carried plenty of juice.

Ron Thompson On the Beautiful Florida Space Coast, right beside the Kennedy Space Center, USA

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Severe stupidity is self correcting, but mild stupidity is rampant in the land.

-Ron Thompson

Reply to
Ron Thompson

This makes absolutely no sense to me. Wal-mart is a retailer, not a manufacturer. They sell what people buy. If no one buys it, it will be gone from the inventory.

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody." Bill Cosby

Ron Thompson On the Beautiful Florida Space Coast, right beside the Kennedy Space Center, USA

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hobby pages are here:
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Severe stupidity is self correcting, but mild stupidity is rampant in the land.

-Ron Thompson

Reply to
Ron Thompson

Add Parts Plus to that list. Please :)

Rex Burkheimer Parts Plus Program Director WM Automotive Fort Worth

Reply to
Rex B

When one retailer becomes the critical customer to a manufacturer, they gain the power to dictate details of what should be internal decisions within the manufacturer.

To some extent you are safe with name brands for which the large retailer is only one of many places it can be bought... however, there have been rumors of manufacturers making a different version of their product for discount retailers vs. traditional speciality stores.

Reply to
cs_posting

And when one retailer becomes dominant in a geographical marketing area, they worry less about selling what people want to buy: people buy what they sell. For example, the selection that many people in rural areas of the country had, for decades, was whatever Sears sold.

There's evidence that this is happening to some degree with Wal-Mart now, in areas where they've knocked off competing retailers.

-- Ed Huntress

Reply to
Ed Huntress

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