| Author |
Message |
David Anderson (66.90.197.158)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 19, 2002 - 8:03 pm: | |
I went to NAPA today and priced the 700-1111 Balkamp battery tester. The best price they'd give is $180. Regular list is $200.
That seems pretty pricey. They have a load tester with an analog gauge for $46. It can't show if you have a cell, but can show a weak battery, I guess that means a battery ready for failure.
Do you think I could get by with a load tester, or should I go all the way with the digital?
David Anderson |
Richard Bowyer (Drivingmisslazy) (66.190.119.82)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 7:27 am: | |
Wow, they have really jumped in price since I got mine several years ago.
The digital is just a load tester also, so the analog might do just as good a job. Guess that is what I would buy right now and see how it works. Maybe someone else on the board has had experience with the analog.
In defense of the digital, I know it works, and works extremely well. We have tested thousands of batteries with them and they have never been wrong. Wish I know the principle on how they work. Where are you Marc?
Richard |
Stan (65.59.2.208)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 9:13 am: | |
The key to load testing starting batteries is to test at a load at least equal to the starter load. The common load tester that puts a 50 amp load on a 8D battery is pretty much useless. A 8D with a dead cell will still source 50 amps. I use an old carbon pile load tester that draws up to 800 amps on a 8D. Batteries that can source only 200 amps will not crank a 8V71 on a cold morning. If the new digital testers can put on a big enough load they are a good value. One service call for someone with a 24 volt booster will pay for a good load tester. |
Geoff (64.1.1.164)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 1:13 pm: | |
I picked up a cheapo battery tester from Harbor Frieght and it has worked just fine for the last three years. The load tester has worked for me testing 8D batteries-- if you have a dead cell it will read low. Of course the unit is only 12v, so you have to separate the batteries for 24v. |
Richard Bowyer (Drivingmisslazy) (66.190.119.82)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 9:44 pm: | |
The digital meter loads the battery so that if there is a bad or weak cell the voltage drops from 12 to 3 or 4. Do not know how it puts the load on . The load is adjustable for 600 amp, 300 amp or 200 amp I believe. It is absolutely foolproof, and it it says a battery is bad, it is bad. I have tried many times to re-juvinate a battery that the tester says is bad, and I never had a single success. I used them in testing large banks of Uninterruptible Power Supply battery systems, consisting sometimes of hundreds of batteries. We have probably tested 10,000 12 volt batteries and it has never let us down.
Richard |
David Anderson (66.90.197.24)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 9:55 pm: | |
Richard,
Will it check 6 volt batteries, also?
David Anderson |
Richard Bowyer (Drivingmisslazy) (66.190.119.82)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 10:00 pm: | |
No. It is strictly a 12 volt tester. It is easy to test 24 volt systems though. Just connect test leads across either battery. No need to disconnect, unless there are parallel strings. We used it to test up to 600 volt systems (50 batteries in series) this way.
Richard |
David Anderson (66.90.196.190)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, November 21, 2002 - 11:48 am: | |
If that is the case, how would I check my 6 volt golf cart batteries? I have 8 in my house bank.
The $46 load tester will test both 6 and 12.
David Anderson |
Richard Bowyer (Drivingmisslazy) (66.190.119.82)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, November 21, 2002 - 7:47 pm: | |
David, I never tried it on a 6 volt battery and unfortunately I do not have one to test it on. would actually need two. One good one and one bad one. Sorry, think you will have to go with the analog unit.
Richard |
David Anderson (66.90.194.248)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 23, 2002 - 12:02 am: | |
Thanks again Richard.
David |