Where to buy decent jump leads?

Mango Joe

Quick question - I was wondering where to buy decent jump leads?

- The last two sets I bought were from Argos and a chain store Motor factors - Both had problems, the motor factors ones clips came off all the time and the Argos ones despite looking perfect wouldn't carry any current- ie were useless!!!

PS after a jump start, how many hours of driving does it take for battery to reliably start the car again?

It got 45 mins driving earlier after lights being left on accidentally (engine wouldn't turn over at all this morning) - Should I charge battery overnight or is there no need? Battery is relatively new.....

Thanks!

TrailerBob

Go to a farm machinery suppliers, or engineers suppliers, and you'll get heavy duty leads. Genfitt supply good sets, but expect to pay in the region of €60. For this you'll get much thicker cable (35mm) and good strong clamps.

Tzardine

I picked up these 35mm jump leads from Halfords. They are really sturdy and I have used them a few times. I would definitely recommend them.

The ones you get are actually better than the ones in the picture. Good value at €45 too.

http://www.halfords.ie/workshop-tools/garage-equipment/jump-leads/halfords-35mm-booster-cables

fancy pigeon

TrailerBob wrote: »

Go to a farm machinery suppliers, or engineers suppliers, and you'll get heavy duty leads. Genfitt supply good sets, but expect to pay in the region of €60. For this you'll get much thicker cable (35mm) and good strong clamps.

We got a set years ago from a truck spares suppliers near Ratoath (you know the place without naming names) and it has jump started vans/lorries and tractors as well as cars without any issues. Naturally after years they are dirty looking but otherwise fit for use

I have had some nasty cheapo leads begin to smolder/get red hot after a jump start. It's well worth going for a good big thick set of leads with decent clamps

Mango Joe

Perfect - Prob just go with the Halfords ones as passing on the way home anyhow Folks - Thanks a mill.

- PS forgot to mention that the last set were so short you had to touch front bumpers to reach & even still the two cars needed to be meeting almost exactly head on, ie no angle, or they were too short - FFS!!!!

jimgoose

After setting fire to a rather cheap set of leads a couple of years ago jump-starting some youngfella's car that had a completely discharged battery - "Dummind that - fire means it's working well!" - I bought a set of 500-amp leads that are a ton weight and would start an artic. The only trouble is I seem to have forgotten where I got them, they were about €50 or so. If I think of it later I'll update.

A-ha: They're "Raleigh Agencies" leads, based in Enniskillen I beleive. I picked them up at the local Motorway on the old Kinsale Road.

biko

45 mins driving should be plenty to replenish battery fully, often 10/15 is enough (depending how drained it was etc etc).
Driving, not idling.

Mango Joe

What about these yokes? I've been wondering if I should have one kept somewhere handy for a while now - Would have appreciated it this morning at 7am!

This one is 50 quid (Halfords) and has 2 X power sockets, a USB charger socket for phones etc and a light?!?!?

- A good buy? If theres no donor battery anywhere nearby these have to make good sense surely? Do they tend to work well/reliably? Do you need to keep topping up the charge every few months?

Tzardine

Has anybody tried one of these. They look deadly and have good reviews on Amazon. About 50 pounds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pp-jvOtOgo

howamidifferent

Mango Joe wrote: »

What about these yokes? I've been wondering if I should have one kept somewhere handy for a while now - Would have appreciated it this morning at 7am!

This one is 50 quid (Halfords) and has 2 X power sockets, a USB charger socket for phones etc and a light?!?!?

- A good buy? If theres no donor battery anywhere nearby these have to make good sense surely? Do they tend to work well/reliably? Do you need to keep topping up the charge every few months?

Would like to know about these yolks myself...

Special Circumstances

howamidifferent wrote: »

Would like to know about these yolks myself...

In my opinion:
If you have several cars around that don't get used much, fine. Very convenient.
Otherwise a decent one isn't cheap so you may as well just put that money towards a decent quality car battery.

Stoolbend

I bought these.

Trade Quality 800amp 6 Metres Professional Jump Leads https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002NH6NLI/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_qLXXwb6YN4C44

I can jump start a car parked back bumper to front bumper and they fit down in my spare wheel.

jimgoose

howamidifferent wrote: »

Would like to know about these yolks myself...

I have something similar - a five-year-old Halfords Powerpack 200 - and while they're a very handy yoke they're not a substitute for a decent set of jump-leads. The batteries in them aren't very powerful or capacious, and they're not really able for jumpstarting yokes with properly zonked batteries.

Stoolbend wrote: »

I bought these...

Mmm. Superb value, that. Those properly long ones are really handy.

9935452

Stoolbend wrote: »

I bought these.

Trade Quality 800amp 6 Metres Professional Jump Leads https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002NH6NLI/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_qLXXwb6YN4C44

I can jump start a car parked back bumper to front bumper and they fit down in my spare wheel.

I have a very similar if not the same set.
The extra length is a lifesaver. No messing with trying to get cars closer .
I would definately recommend longer jump leads

davycc

Tzardine wrote: »

I picked up these 35mm jump leads from Halfords. They are really sturdy and I have used them a few times. I would definitely recommend them.

The ones you get are actually better than the ones in the picture. Good value at €45 too.

http://www.halfords.ie/workshop-tools/garage-equipment/jump-leads/halfords-35mm-booster-cables

+ 1 i use those too and they seem bulletproof so far after i wasted money on plenty of cheap sets of leads which fell apart on me

BreadnBuddha

biko wrote: »

45 mins driving should be plenty to replenish battery fully, often 10/15 is enough (depending how drained it was etc etc).
Driving, not idling.

It's not enough in many cases.

An alternator is designed to privide the power a car needs when it's running along with recharging to account for the drain when starting.

If the car needed a jump, it's not a safe or sensible assumption that the battery will be recharged in 45 minutes of running.

It might be topped up enough to start next time but that doesn't mean it's full again.

Put the battery on a regulated/automatic charger overnight.

Kristopherus

These are on Deal of the Day tomorrow @ 9.00am on Amazon.de. http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B006DUPVXW/ref=gb1h_img_c-4_4587_4279de06?pf_rd_m=A3JWKAKR8XB7XF&pf_rd_t=701&pf_rd_s=center-new-4&pf_rd_r=1GMAKZYQEFKAX2M3KWEH&pf_rd_i=20&pf_rd_p=773864587

CIP4

I have the heavy duty halfords ones linked above and they are serious you see people with crap 16mm square ones with cheap clamps your at nothing. The halfords ones come in a hard plastic box and all. I've started 2.0l diesels with batteries so dead the ignition lights wouldn't even come on. They are like all essential car tools buy decent expensive ones first time round mind them and they will last a very long time.

Mango Joe

Mango Joe wrote: »

What about these yokes? I've been wondering if I should have one kept somewhere handy for a while now - Would have appreciated it this morning at 7am!

This one is 50 quid (Halfords) and has 2 X power sockets, a USB charger socket for phones etc and a light?!?!?

- A good buy? If theres no donor battery anywhere nearby these have to make good sense surely? Do they tend to work well/reliably? Do you need to keep topping up the charge every few months?

Friend of mine had his car die randomly one day (wouldnt start one afternoon). I jumped him and he left the car running while we had a cuppa tea and a chat and he then intended to head over to mechanic. I was gonna follow him over and give him a lift home.

We went outside and the car (which was left running) was dead again. Everytime the car would come to a complete stop, the battery needed jumping (so when we got to the junction to join the main road to get out of his house estate, the battery would die, rinse repeat, 3 or 4 times).


We eventually went over to the mechanic in my car and got one of the above chargers off him. We btrought it back and my friend attached it to his battery and wedged it under the bonnet. He managed to make it over to the mechanic driving normally from there on.


With that in my head, I think they're a fantastic little yoke to have. That said, i think my mechanic paid a fair bit more than €50, and he reckons they're a waste of time if you're gonna throw them in the boot and forget about them for 3 years until you need it, as the battery in it needs to be charged up routinely to make sure it works. Otherwise, when you're at the side of the road and need it, it won't have enough power to actually charge your battery.


I don't know what 'regularly' means, but i'd assume every 3 months or so it'd need a full charge up again. But my only experience of using one is an entirely positive, 'saved our ass' kind of experience.




In relation to jump leads, i got some in Tesco before. They were reduced to €11. Auto something was the brand. Have had no issue with them. Used them about a dozen times in the 3 years or so i've had them and never any problems. Based on that, I wouldn't be paying over the odds for jump leads. Wire length is important. These are about 6ft which is loads, but i do know people with jump leads that are so short they're unusable. Certainly wouldn't be spending €60 on them, though.

Greyfoot

We have one of those quality booster packs here and it`s being used regularly almost every day. It is extremely handy for us with 200 odd cars on the fleet but would not recommend to the average driver as a substitute for heavy duty leads as KKV mentions they will not hold charge indefinitely. We recharge ours every fortnight or so with daily usage.

howamidifferent

Tzardine wrote: »

Has anybody tried one of these. They look deadly and have good reviews on Amazon. About 50 pounds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pp-jvOtOgo

I've picked up one of these from Amazon. Received it yesterday. Looks like a great yolk. Supports 12V, 16V or 19V output. Has 2 x 2.1A USB 2.0 ports for charging mobiles etc. Has laptop charging port , comes with about 15 laptop ends that fit on the end of a cable. Has an LED flashlight that can alternate to strobe mode, flashing mode etc. Also red leds for roadside danger sign etc.
Came 98% charged...I chose to buy the kit that also has an 80 PSI tyre pump with it. With shipping came to €105 euro.

Tzardine

howamidifferent wrote: »

I've picked up one of these from Amazon. Received it yesterday. Looks like a great yolk. Supports 12V, 16V or 19V output. Has 2 x 2.1A USB 2.0 ports for charging mobiles etc. Has laptop charging port , comes with about 15 laptop ends that fit on the end of a cable. Has an LED flashlight that can alternate to strobe mode, flashing mode etc. Also red leds for roadside danger sign etc.
Came 98% charged...I chose to buy the kit that also has an 80 PSI tyre pump with it. With shipping came to €105 euro.

Sounds good. Any chance you could link it.

howamidifferent

Tzardine wrote: »

Sounds good. Any chance you could link it.

Sure, this is the unit I bought.