Recommended battery tester

[Rkh]

Looking to buy battery tester to check battery condition under load, cca, etc. Any recomendations? Have 3 tractors, two vehicles, and a battery backup sump pump. All are 12v & would be nice to be able to check batteries myself, not just voltage from a volt meter.

 

[Sean Feeney]

Topdon ArtiBattery 101 12V 100-2000 CCA Automotive Analyzer-Cranking Test, Charging Test and Battery Test for Battery System


new egg $40.00

 

[jeffcat]

Look around on Ebay and Amazon's. Have seen them qs cheap as 50 bucks. This thing will test anything you got. I bought one about a month ago. Very nice.

 

[Bob]

I have an older Motorola "transconductance" battery tester, and it's OK/accurate, I guess.

For fleet use or maintaining vehicles you don't drive I can see where this is more important.

On the other hand, for a couple of family vehicles and several tractors you drive, you KNOW, when a battery is no longer "up to par".

At that point, shopping wisely in a timely manner and replacing the battery sure beats having to deal with a vehicle that won't start when you need it, or a "wrecker call" when it fails to start on the wife when parked away from home!

 

[Dave F. 54]

Do they make anything to test 6volt batteries. Dave F.

 

[Goose]

I have a load tester I bought from HF that will do 6 volts. As I recall, it was less than $20, and it's always done what it's supposed to.

 

[JGayman]

Like you I have multiple vehicles, tractors, mowers and other equipment with batteries. I have one of the Solar digital analyzers shown below by Jeffcat. I also have an inexpensive analog 100A load tester that I got from Harbor Freight for $20. These two testers along with a $8 multi-meter has allowed me to quickly diagnose most battery issues.

 

[Hobo,NC]

jeffcat all those cheap testers use is the logic of a voltmeter whodathunkit... When right there on a good voltmeter is a min/max function that will do the same thang... Whodathunkit...

The next thang needed is a load when its right there on the car a starter whodathunk it...

A carbon pile tester that will apply at least 400 amps is about as good as it gets it has a voltmeter, amp meter and a load source you can apply a static external load... Basic testing all in one whodathunkit...

It lacks the magic tho that those little toys do ....

A useful 500 amp load tester can be had for less that $100 HF around $50 :shock: if you are lucky a Sun Vat 40 for a song I got my last one for $40 off of cracklist...

The one before that a vat 30 are 35 for $25 but its junk the bad I knew it but I was not gonna make a dry run.... I wanted the stand for my other vat the wheels are shot...

I have a Christie load tester I paid big money for it wont hold a candle to the sun's its parked in a dark corner...

The rest is right there in the manual basic load testing 6 are 12V the way it has been since the early 1900's.... Whodathunkit...

 

[JMOR]

Beware of some of the "load' testers as they often draw less than 20 amperes, not the 400 that Hobo mentioned, which makes them virtually useless.

 

[Roger in Wisconsin]

I bought a Schumacher for around $50.
When you connect it to a battery it senses 6 or 12 volts. You select the battery type conventional, deep cycle, AGM, power sport. It then starts charging showing 12 or 6 volts and the percent of existing charge. When the charge is complete it shows a green light and switches to maintain. Very nice.

 

[guido]

Hello Dave F. 54,

Yes they do. If you look REAL close in the picture, you can enlarget it, it also has voltage readings that ARE, TEMPERATURE COMPENSATED. like hobo says: who would havethunk it! There are 1000 amp units, that will let the smoke out of most automotive batteries, if you crank them the load to 1000 amp !!!

Guido.

 

[guido]

Hello Goose,


NOT really, just a toy! Battery testing is not rocket science. !/2 the battery amp rating load, hold for 15 seconds. Final voltage 9.6 volts minimum @ 80 degrees F. This most be the 50TH time I posted this info
Your harbor Freight tool DOES NOT DO THAT,

Guido.

 

[JMOR]

(quoted from post at 13:43:11 03/21/19) Hello Goose,


NOT really, just a toy! Battery testing is not rocket science. !/2 the battery amp rating load, hold for 15 seconds. Final voltage 9.6 volts minimum @ 80 degrees F. This most be the 50TH time I posted this info
Your harbor Freight tool DOES NOT DO THAT,

Guido.

xactly! The HF that I have provides a 17 amp load, if you want to call that a "load". My good load pulls 380 amps.

 

[Brian G. NY]

Maybe this one does?
Its made by Milton.
I paid $20 for it over 20 years ago from a retired mechanic.
It will put a real load on the battery as evidenced by the heat
it gives off after holding the switch just 10 seconds.
I didn't get them in the picture but the cables and clamps are as good as the best jumper cables you can buy.

 

[JMOR]

(quoted from post at 17:08:50 03/21/19)
Maybe this one does?
Its made by Milton.
I paid $20 for it over 20 years ago from a retired mechanic.
It will put a real load on the battery as evidenced by the heat
it gives off after holding the switch just 10 seconds.
I didn't get them in the picture but the cables and clamps are as good as the best jumper cables you can buy.

easure the current.........it won't be much. Probably less than 20 amps, not 400A.. That little switch can't handle much current.

 

[Brian G. NY]

If you're going to make a comment, at least make it reasonable....
you know that it has to be 100 to 120 amps.....not 20 amps!
Do you think that Milton would put that much effort into building something that durable that would only test 20 amps?