battery load tester

[The motor guy]

I bought a 130 amp load tester and it wasn't after I bought it that when you test a battery you're supposed test it at 50 percent of the cranking amps. If that's the case do I need to return it and buy one that applies a greater load?

 

[Trav]

I don't think you have a 260 amp battery which would be double that testers rating.
Are you sure its not half of Ampere hour?

Edit: I dont know about CA and CCA these are methods i have not seen outside the U.S., a large MB 123 diesel battery is about 80A

 

[The motor guy]

It's half of the CCA. So if you have a 750CCA battery you would put a load of 375 amps on it. I used this load tester once on my dads boat and he had to use both batteries to start his boat even though the tester said it was good.

 

[Trav]

I don't know, my OTC tester is 130 amp and i never had any problems with it. The tester can load test a 130 amp battery. I have no idea what you have there.
If you really need to test 375 amps i imagine you need something a lot bigger than a hand held.

This 600 CCA battery is only 61 amp and easily tested with a 130 amp tester.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/store...yId_165762#dtab

Features and benefits
■Startup Power: 600 Amps
■AH Value: 61 AH
■Bench Charge: 6 Amps
■Weight: 14.87kg
■Dimensions (LxDxH): 242x175x153mm
■Guarantee: 5 Years

 

[Donald]

You are talking about a carbon pile load tester. You turn the dial until you have 1/2 the CCA on the AMP meter, wait for the beep (15 seconds) and look at the voltage meter. Mine has a few temp adjusted scales on the voltmeter. Its hand carried, but I don't normally hold it while doing a test. About $60 at HF. You can kind of smell it getting hot after 15 seconds. Consuming 300 AMPs of power for 15 seconds is no small feat.

 

[The_Eric]

Originally Posted By: Trav
I don't know, my OTC tester is 130 amp and i never had any problems with it. The tester can load test a 130 amp battery. I have no idea what you have there.
If you really need to test 375 amps i imagine you need something a lot bigger than a hand held.

This 600 CCA battery is only 61 amp and easily tested with a 130 amp tester.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/store...yId_165762#dtab

Features and benefits
■Startup Power: 600 Amps
■AH Value: 61 AH
■Bench Charge: 6 Amps
■Weight: 14.87kg
■Dimensions (LxDxH): 242x175x153mm
■Guarantee: 5 Years


Evidently different modes of testing. What the op and others are referring to is the common load tester (fixed load) or the carbon pile (adjustable). These are used to simulate starting loads on the battery. Carbon pile testers are set to half the CCA value, a method that has been around for years.

I'd be interested to learn more about the type of tester you're using; would you mind sharing the model of tester?

 

[The motor guy]

well I have a 130amp load tester made by actron that in my opinion doesn't put a great enough load on. The one I was using yesterday is an ajustable 0-500amp load tester from harbor freight made by chicago electric power tools. model #91129