Jump lead question.

[4String.]

Chaps

Just had an issue on the wagon this morning that would have been easier if I had a set of loooooong jump leads.

Am at Teesport all week lifting loaded containers off of Teesport's own wagons and the problem was fuel related on the donkey engine for the container lifter trailer:

By the time our illustrious fitter had the problem solved the (single 12 volt) battery on the donkey engine was flat and needed jumping from his van. What I'd like to do is make up a set of jump leads long enough to reach from the lorry batteries to the end of the trailer, 45-50 foot-ish (13.5-15 metres if you're that way inclined...) with an Anderson connector on one end for 24 volts (the connector at the left of the image isn't connected, there's a live one below it behind the cover) and my sexy adapter for 12 volt work:

What size of cable is good for such items and where is good to buy it? Plain black cable is okay for me for both leads, I'm intelligent (oh yeah???) enough to mark the crocodile clips relevantly.

And for the record I'm happy to do it and pay for it myself as it might help get another wagon driver out of the brown stuff as well as me. My strange ethos is that if I pay for something it's mine and mine alone. If the company pays for it they can quite rightly do as they wish with it and the one time I need it they'll have used it and not put it back... I like being prepared for any eventuality and I'm happy to pay for it. As I said its strange ethos but it's the way I am.

 

[daedalusminos]

How about a battery jump starter pack... probably not far off the price of heavy gauge cable

 

[dan.taylor.1]

I'd get the max size your Anderson connectors will take which I think is 50 or 75mm^2. Croc clips are the difficult bit to get, brass welding earth clamps are good but no insulation.

 

[dan.taylor.1]

How about a battery jump starter pack... probably not far off the price of heavy gauge cable

I carry both, sods law the pack will die before I get something started, or it'll start the car but then I'll need it again before I have chance to charge it.

 

[Mark 5]

Chaps

Just had an issue on the wagon this morning that would have been easier if I had a set of loooooong jump leads.

Am at Teesport all week lifting loaded containers off of Teesport's own wagons and the problem was fuel related on the donkey engine for the container lifter trailer:


By the time our illustrious fitter had the problem solved the (single 12 volt) battery on the donkey engine was flat and needed jumping from his van. What I'd like to do is make up a set of jump leads long enough to reach from the lorry batteries to the end of the trailer, 45-50 foot-ish (13.5-15 metres if you're that way inclined...) with an Anderson connector on one end for 24 volts (the connector at the left of the image isn't connected, there's a live one below it behind the cover) and my sexy adapter for 12 volt work:
What size of cable is good for such items and where is good to buy it? Plain black cable is okay for me for both leads, I'm intelligent (oh yeah???) enough to mark the crocodile clips relevantly.

And for the record I'm happy to do it and pay for it myself as it might help get another wagon driver out of the brown stuff as well as me. My strange ethos is that if I pay for something it's mine and mine alone. If the company pays for it they can quite rightly do as they wish with it and the one time I need it they'll have used it and not put it back... I like being prepared for any eventuality and I'm happy to pay for it. As I said its strange ethos but it's the way I am.

I'm no expert but maybe consider 25-35mm Welding Cable, the flexi type.

15m per lead, that's some weight to drag/uncoil but such leads would get most out of trouble.

DIY or have them made up.

 

[Agroshield]

I was looking around for something similar about three weeks ago. Cheapest I found was Oxford Welding Supplies on eBay.

This lists 30m for £165 (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/233279669373).

Have a very good search through their listings as for some strange reason they list the exact same thing at different prices.

This might be a stupid question, but could it work with only the red lead? My thinking is that the lorry battery and donkey battey share a common ground through the chassis.

 

[MetalMonkey]

I'd get the max size your Anderson connectors will take which I think is 50 or 75mm^2. Croc clips are the difficult bit to get, brass welding earth clamps are good but no insulation.

+1 I'd go for this, depends a lot how much current you intend to pull, but over that distance you are going to get significant volt drop when cranking so the bigger the cable the better.
However 50/70 or even 90 are going to be horrendously expensive for that sort of run, by the time you get the cable, connector, croc clips - I think you will have to get the company to pay for it.

The SB175 connectors will go up to 50mm2, for bigger cables there is the SB350. Keep in mind you will also need to buy the correct terminal pins to go with the housing, and you will need a hydraulic crimper to make them.

 

[voipio]

Donkey engine battery is 12V, lorry battery is 24V!! A recipe for disaster?

If the lorry 24V battery comes as two 12V batteries in series, then you could use just one 12V battery as the source, but that will decrease the state of charge of that battery, leading to overcharging of the other 12V lorry battery. There's also the issue of using the correct 12V battery of the pair, because of the likelihood of a common earth.

If the lorry carries a 12V converter, using that as a supply for the jump leads would probably overload the converter, once the circuit to the donkey engine battery is completed.

 

[gaz1]

id use the anderson connectors but have another connector so it could be swapped to a normal crocodile connecter so the best of both worlds

can be used on both 12 and 24v batterys

 

[Trevorleach]

So long as you use the truck battery that is the chassis side of earth you should be okay, ie 12v only.
When we fit Andersons we use grey for 24v and red for 12v.
Long jump leads are brilliant, even if they will not crank it, just connect them up and let the running truck charge the donkey battery for a bit.
I find 50mm cable is just to heavy for jump leads, 35mm is just right.

 

[Shedendman]

Jump pack all day long IMHO

 

[Barking Mat]

50mm2 cable everytime.

 

[hotponyshoes]

I've made some up with andersons on.
I've got 2 pairs with anderson one end and decent Croc clips on the other. They are about 3m long so you can connect them together to make a 6m set of jump leads.

Then I've got a double-end anderson cable about 6m long again.

Then I've got andersons mounted on all the vehicles I own, My generator, big inverter and the big battery charger/jump starter and so on..
I've stuck the anderson in the front grill of my work truck. The 3m Croc clips are normally long enough if I pull it up to a car without an anderson. For my own use I just use the double end lead and connect between the two.

Mine are all 35mm. I've started plenty of 24v horse boxes with them setup to 9m long with no problems.

Ideally bigger the better, especially for a 15m run. But, apart from the cost, my 6m ones are manageable enough. I'd think 10m wold be ok. I've put different colour heatshrink on each end as that makes it a lot easier to untangle them.
I think 6m at 50mm would be about the limit in terms of not having a coronary trying to coil them away after use. 90mm is heavy enough to pull a 175a anderson apart and is not really usable at all with Croc clips unless you have someone to hold the clips in place.
You can always make up a 15m set then, if it's unmanageable, cut them in half and add another couple of anderson connectors.

If you can't get work to pay for it I've probably got some 15m+ lengths in 35mm.
Might have different colours if required but, to answer your first question, the andersons only insert one way around so (as long as you wire them all correctly!) the cable colours don't matter. Obviously jump lead clips would need to be correctly coded. The red and black handles on mine can come off but I've used red and black heatshrink under the handles just incase all 4 happen to fall off at once!

 

[winchman]

Since we bought a Noco never needed any jump leads and its ever failed to start any vehicle. We have a small one and the biggest they do, both are excellent

NOCO

Discover innovative jump starters, battery chargers, and batteries from NOCO. Shop NOCO Genius, Boost, Lithium, explore accessories, and more.

no.co

 

[Mark 5]

Since we bought a Noco never needed any jump leads and its ever failed to start any vehicle. We have a small one and the biggest they do, both are excellent

NOCO

Discover innovative jump starters, battery chargers, and batteries from NOCO. Shop NOCO Genius, Boost, Lithium, explore accessories, and more.

no.co

I purchased a battery starter pack, haven't uses leads for a long while.

It's got my kids and friends out of more starting issues then it has me.

 

[Cobbler]

I purchased a battery starter pack, haven't uses leads for a long while.

It's got my kids and friends out of more starting issues then it has me.

I carry jump leads, have done for years, dont think I’ve ever used them for myself, started loads of cars for others. I was given a cheap Lidl starter pack thing, took it to Spain with us, didn’t need it ourselves but started the Dutch campervan on the next pitch though.

 

[Mark 5]

I carry jump leads, have done for years, dont think I’ve ever used them for myself, started loads of cars for others. I was given a cheap Lidl starter pack thing, took it to Spain with us, didn’t need it ourselves but started the Dutch campervan on the next pitch though.

Like yourself I do carry them but not used leads for such a long time.

 

[tom2207]

I used to carry jump leads when I drove an automatic ,, [ allroad] tey were a great idea and I started lots of stuff for other folk , never myself though.

 

[voipio]

Started a near neighbour's car with my jump leads a few days ago.

 

[Turbo]

For what it will cost for decent flexible rubber welding cable, connectors and crocodile clips you could buy a really good quality jump start pack.
A lot lighter, easier to use and store and quicker to set up plus you can sling it in your car to use at home.

Since I got my mini jump pack I've never had to use my jump leads.