Jump cables what ones to get

[sunnyb13]

need a set of jump cables as realised I don't have any.

4.4 diesel and a 3.0 L petrol.

What is reccomended. Seen AA/RAC ones for £10. Will they actually work? any links/brands would be helpful

[normalbloke]

Buy the biggest cross section, and the shortest you’ll need…try and buy copper cables, many of the cheaper ones are copper coated aluminium. I made a set of jump cables for life when I had my workshop, and the copper cable alone was £90. It mostly sits unused now, as I’ve a decent jump pack.

[Panamax]

sunnyb13 said:

Seen AA/RAC ones for £10. Will they actually work?

In my experience, no. Look for fat cables and big, strong clamps.

[eliot]

normalbloke said:

copper cables, many of the cheaper ones are copper coated aluminium.

THIS.
So many cables, from CAT5/6, speaker cables, cctv and jump cables are made from copper coated aluminum and should be avoided.
Any of the cheap £30 ones on ebay with outlandish current claims should be avoided.

[Mammasaid]

Forget jump leads, get a boost pack, much easier to use and you don't need a 2nd vehicle.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=jump+starter+power+pa...

[JimM169]

normalbloke said:

Buy the biggest cross section, and the shortest you’ll need….

Agree with the biggest cross section but I would go with at least 5m length, you'll kick yourself if you've got the jump leads but can't get the donor vehicle close enough for them to reach!

[Smint]

JimM169 said:

Agree with the biggest cross section but I would go with at least 5m length, you'll kick yourself if you've got the jump leads but can't get the donor vehicle close enough for them to reach!

Agreed on all counts.

Best quality you can buy, even with the best quality leads Diesels can still be a struggle unless you have the time to let the donor vehicle put some charge into the flat battery on fast idle.

However i agree that jump pack is the best answer.
Amazon have the Topdon JS3000 on offer currently for £120, usually £150, and it'll fit in a standard spare wheel if you can store the wheel face side down.

[sunnyb13]

I have now purchased brookestone commercial 4.5M 800amp jump cables

apprently good for hgv's?

BR390040

[eliot]

sunnyb13 said:

I have now purchased brookestone commercial 4.5M 800amp jump cables

apprently good for hgv's?

BR390040

at £19 they seem too cheap to be made of copper, also no mention of the cross section of the cable.

25mm2 (170amps continous) cable is about £7.5 a meter - so £67 just in cable.
https://www.vehiclewiringproducts.co.uk/c-48-cable...

[ATG]

I can't say I've ever had a problem cranking large capacity petrol or diesel engines with "normal" jump leads ... i.e. the ones you can pick up for not much at Halfords or a petrol station. Copper has about 60% the resistance of aluminium, so it's a better conductor, but it only amounts to making a cable 20% thicker to compensate for this, so not really a big deal.