What size extension cord do I need...

[A930Rocket]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm electrically impaired, but can do everything else on a car or the house.

[craigster59]

I build all my extension cords (called "stingers" in the biz) except for the ones I swipe from the grips and the gaffers. 3 wire 12g in 10, 20 and 50' lengths with Hubbel connectors on either end. Pieces of parachute cord electrical taped to the male end to tie off the rolled up cord. Works great.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

Thanks for the replies.

I'm electrically impaired, but can do everything else on a car or the house.

Just print this out and hang it from your mirror.

[DanielDudley]

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200332201_200332201

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

He has no tools, but could buy them. He's just not mechanically minded like his dad.

It's an old house. I'll have to ask him about the breakers.

There will be no power tools used.

Add a battery kill switch under the hood for him, that way all he has to do is open the hood, turn the kill switch back on and fire it up. He'd have to put up with lost radio channels though.
And yeah, if he's draining a relatively new battery in a few weeks, he's got a BIG draw.

[RKDinOKC]

My 928 GTS had an underhood kill switch on it when I got it. It was causing more problems than it was worth. So removed it and fixed the current draw problems and haven't looked back.

[jcommin]

Originally Posted by cabmando

This might sound a bit nuts but if he rarely drives it, why not pull the battery and charge it indoors? That or buy him a new battery?
BTW, yes on the battery tender. You could mount that one under the hood with the plug end sticking out the front somewhere and just plug in with an extension cord. I'd look at the breaker size for the plugs you're plugging into and size your cord accordingly. If you under size the extension cord you can melt the wires before the breaker pops. I'd say a 14 ga would be sufficient but a good 12 ga cord is handy for running power saws and other tools as well. Just something to consider.

Pull the battery -

[1990C4S]

The Harbor Freight battery tender works quite well. They go on sale all the time, $4.99.

And this is a pretty good charger:

https://www.harborfreight.com/10250-amp-12v-manual-charger-with-engine-start-60653.html

Nothing above needs a special extension cord.

I would never go to the effort totake my battery out, a trickle charger takes two minutes to connect (or leave it connected and just plug it in). Do you really want to reprogram your radio each time?

[BK911]

Find out where the drain is coming from.
Pretty easy to do.
Disconnect the battery negative cable then put a multimeter in "amp" mode between the batt and batt cable.
That will tell you if there's a drain.
If so, reconnect the ground to the batt.
Then pull one fuse at a time and replace with the multimeter still in amp mode.
Whichever gives you a reading is the circuit that has the parasitic draw.

[billybek]

Remote car starter or alarm system or combination of the two.
Usually they are the top two for draw down on the battery.
You might as well get 12 gauge extension cords. Less voltage drop to the end and you can used them for other high draw uses.

[A930Rocket]

The car is 13 hours away and he doesn't bring it home until next June after graduation.

We'll just have to get him by until then.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

The car is 13 hours away and he doesn't bring it home until next June after graduation.

We'll just have to get him by until then.

A battery maintainer and a decent extension cord is the simplest solution.

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

The car is 13 hours away and he doesn't bring it home until next June after graduation.

We'll just have to get him by until then.

The plot thickens!
Battery tender mounted under the hood with the plug out the front. It easily clips on or can be wired to the battery terminal bolt easily. Plug it in and call it a day.

Good Luck!