Copper clad aluminum??? Why not just say that up front. I was ready to buy three and read past the “copper…” Cancelled!!! What the hell are your buyers thinking? Aluminum jumper cables are not what you want and arguably the ten gauge ones are dangerous from the beginning. In this area aluminum wiring is against code because it’s a poor conductor and tends to start fires. It takes twice the gauge to transmit two thirds the power. Further Aluminum isn’t as ductile as copper and fatigue cracks after very little use, so coiling and throwing these into your trunk like we all shouldn’t but do anyway, will rapidly render them even more problematic. Shorts, arcing and hot spots. I don’t mind cheap products so long as the only consequence is a short lifespan, we all throw that into the buying mix. But this is the sort of cheap to avoid at all costs. In an emergency when you need them, you will be let down. And potentially your cheap “emergency equipment” will make the situation worse.
Thanks! I was about to jump on this one, too, because the price was so good and I always like to have a pair of jumper cables in my truck, just in case.
I am with the manufacturer and wanted to let you know that when you speak of the below concerns with aluminum you are absolutely correct if were talking about building wire but when it comes to CCA cables, which is copper stranding coated with a thin coating of aluminum you can still jump start a car and deliver 110 cranking amps. copper-clad aluminum cables today are an industry norm.
250 amps? Look at your car battery, and see what it’s CCA rating is. (CCA is Cold Cranking Amps, for those that don’t know.) Jumper cables should at least meet that amount.
A long time go, I was working, tearing apart a chrome plating business. My boss let me have a couple hundred feet of 00 welding (that is called double aught) cable. I made a 40 foot long set of jumper cables, as well as replaced the power lines from the battery to the starter on my 240 Z car I was AMAZED just how much faster the starter turned over, and how easy it was to jump almost ANYTHING with those cables.
That wire had a 1/16 inch thick insulation, instead of the 1/4 insulation on these “cables.”
They were also fine wire COPPER cables. The wire braid inside the cable was about as thick as those old pencils you used in kindergarden. These ones are as thick as the “lead” in those pencils.
I have no idea what he is talking about. Copper Clad Aluminum is an Aluminum core coated with Copper. The copper serves 2 purposes. The first is it prevents the Aluminum from corroding. The second is that it reduces the resistance to a level more similar to pure copper based on a behavior known as the skin effect where the current disproportionately travels along the outer skin of the wire. This allows you to create cheaper, lighter cables with minimal degradation. The problem is that this is only true for higher frequency AC current. For a DC application is does not apply. These cables will operate essentially as aluminum cables which have about 60% greater resistance than copper.
Woot, since you’ve got a LARGE customer base, it may be advisable to check your sources, BEFORE you post them for sale. Are these guys REALLY associated with Motor Trend magazine, or just jacking the name?
