Which load tester should I buy?

[dpep]

I have decided I need to move up from my $4.99 harbor Freight multimeter. There seems to be a dizzying array of options. I will spend what it takes to get a good unit but I am not one to pay extra for a brand name or for unneeded features. I want something that will hold up, is reasonably easy to use, can be used on cars and and bikes on batteries both on and off the vehicle.

Who better to ask for advice than the electrical gurus who frequent the GSR Electric/Ignition forum?
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[rwnielsen]

"load tester"
Are you looking for a meter to measure the load on something, apply a load to something or a hand held multi meter?

 

[rustybronco]

Are you looking for a battery 'load tester' or a different multimeter?

 

[Nessism]

EDIT: guys above posted while I was typing...

A "load tester" is different than a multimeter. Load testers as commonly discussed in the vehicle industry are for testing batteries, under an electrical "load" (resistance). If you just want a multimeter, I recently bought a Harbor Freight "automotive" multimeter and it seems to perform nicely.

http://www.harborfreight.com/lcd-automotive-multimeter-with-tachometer-kit-95670.html

 

[dpep]

It is definitely a load tester I want. It is testing batteries under load that I want to do. The reference to the cheap multimeter was my attempt at a little humor on myself, saying that is all I have now to perform electrical diagnostics. Sorry for the confusion.

Amazon alone has 20 pages of them.
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[eil]

They are pretty simple devices, I've heard even the HF load testers work well.

 

[slayer61]

Choose one that has similar characteristics to your batteries under test. One that is too small won't put enough burden on the battery, and one that is too big will never get used to it's potential. Make sense? Don't buy a 200 amp model if you're only going to test lawn mower batteries.

 

[dpep]

Well, I pondered my options and settled on this one. I'll be testing it on my BMW and will report back on the results.
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[Steve]

Well, I pondered my options and settled on this one. I'll be testing it on my BMW and will report back on the results.
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Don, that is not much of a "load" tester. :-k

Yes, it will test your system, but I don't see it doing much more than your multimeter will.

If you want to put a load on the system, consider this 50-amp load tester. Rather affordable at less than $17, too.

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[posplayr]

Don, that is not much of a "load" tester. :-k

Yes, it will test your system, but I don't see it doing much more than your multimeter will.

If you want to put a load on the system, consider this 50-amp load tester. Rather affordable at less than $17, too.

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The one dep mentioned is 100 cold cranking amps minimum. It goes up to 1200 cca. It must just be a momentary spike of current to measure the battery internal impedance. For most things knowing how much a standard motor cycle load will pull your battery down is a good test. If it is for something else well ok. 100 cca may be a bit much for some batteries.

 

[Guest]

"Well, I pondered my options and settled on this one. I'll be testing it on my BMW and will report back on the results." quote

Is it too late? but thats crap
get an older (or new chinese) carbon pile load bank .
These things used to be in every commercial garage but have been replaced by idiot proof no brainer electric virtual safety testers.
google or ebay "carbon pile load tester" under automotive tools. i have an old Allen.
It will have an analog amp and volt meter and heavy booster cable style battery clamps.There is a big knob in the middle (not the operator) that clamps a stack of carbon togeather to make draw progressively more current, lots, like 4 or 500 amps if desired.
Its nice to have the external inductive pick-up for the ammeter, it is useful for reading high current flow (more than a couple of amps) from other places, ie starter current draw and alternator output.
for the same money as the newer virtual electronic POS

 

[Steve]

The one dep mentioned is 100 cold cranking amps minimum. It goes up to 1200 cca. It must just be a momentary spike of current to measure the battery internal impedance. For most things knowing how much a standard motor cycle load will pull your battery down is a good test. If it is for something else well ok. 100 cca may be a bit much for some batteries.

I just went and re-read the product details. :-k

It says it will test batteries from 100-1200 CCA, but does not say it will load them with 100 amps. Besides, would YOU put 100 amps through what appear to be 18 gauge wires?

The one I linked to will do a load test and costs about 1/4 the price.

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[eil]

Yeah, the one in that Amazon link looks like it's made for testing a car's charging system. I'm not sure it's going to be a good battery-only load tester.

 

[posplayr]

I just went and re-read the product details. :-k

It says it will test batteries from 100-1200 CCA, but does not say it will load them with 100 amps. Besides, would YOU put 100 amps through what appear to be 18 gauge wires?

The one I linked to will do a load test and costs about 1/4 the price.

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As I mentioned, they must be doing it is a fast spike of current. Like a shorting power FET capable of that current with a current sense that they can implement fast enough so the total power absorbed in the tester is small.

It does not put a continuous current load on the battery as the big ones did in the old days.

 

[dpep]

Okay, I had to go past Harbor Freight this morning so I stopped in and picked up this.

All of them seem to say 100 amps. In the reviews posters mentioned using it on motorcycle and lawn mower batteries.

The electronic one should arrive today also. Somehow I am going to get these batteries checked. I will report on both devices.

Thanks to all.
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[posplayr]

This looks to be a pretty good technical explanation of the differences in battery testers.

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/testing_deep_cycle_lead_acid_batteries

After reading this, it is pretty clear that if you are looking to just test your motorcycle battery, the 10 amp load of as described in the first couple of steps of the Quicktest is going to be close to fool proof, although I cant guarantee that just because you pass a t10 amps you will pass at 20 amps with the starter cranking.

The only thing that will do that is the Carbon pile tester as it will actually test to the required level.

 

[barnbiketom]

The one I had at the GM Stealership was electronic and tiny. I really didn't trust it but it somehow it swept the battery, and in 3 different tests, said good or bad. I do not think it did a "load" test as we know it , even short anything even for a moment, but rather polled the frequencies that the bat would pass somehow.
It did find bad batteries and using both the old 50 yr old LOAD tester, the two gave identical results..
go figure? but I like the old style, cause I'M OLD

 

[dpep]

Okay, I just tested three batteries, all AGMs fully charged by tenders. They all three tested good on both devices--the cheapo load tester from Harbor Freight and the little electronic gizmo. The HF one has an analog meter that showed the needle solidly in the green part for the battery's rated CCA range on the dial. On the electronic one I had to enter the CCA before applying the load and it just gave a green light to show the battery passed. After each test the batteries dropped some voltage, down from 13 and change to 12.6-12.9.

The electronic one is smaller and easier to handle. It would pack well for traveling. It also is supposed to check charging and starting problems, but I haven't even read the instructions for those yet.

Te bottom line for me is that I was able to establish that I don't have a battery problem. I have a starter problem. I ordered one from Beemer Boneyard for $200. Your friendly local BMW dealer will charge you $350 for the same thing. Either figure is insane. I know I could have paid less shopping the internet, but I needed confidence in the vendor. I do not want to repeat this process anytime soon.
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