As this tester puts a 130 Amp load on the battery being tested, is that too much load for testing small batteries such as motorcycle &amp; lawn tractors?
1949281
Hi R.W., this tester will certainly tell you if smaller batteries are in good shape but it is kind of over kill as it works by resistance testing. Kind of like plugging a toaster onto your battery. It will draw a lot of juice off the battery in just one test with smaller batteries so if they are weak you will know it fast and they will likely need a recharge afterward. I use it for 4 and 8 D size batteries for starting large diesel engines. I would suggest a lighter amp load tester for what you are doing. Something around a 50 amp range. Hope this helps. Paul paulmgriswold@aol.com
1898635
In my opinion this tester give an accurate gauge of the condition of the battery, I have rechargeable batteries that have shown up as good on another tester but under load were no use, this one weeds them out
1601229
The battery in this is more like the size of what you'd see on a riding mower or generator versus a car, so it's almost a "for sure" on working for those whereas I'd give it a 50% chance on cars (or less if the car battery is fully drained like from leaving lights on all night long).I'd not call it an "overkill" unless you were going for one that costs over $150 and has an actual "car" size battery in it.
1373604
My application was for a John Deere 322 garden tractor and I did not have a tachometer available nor did I care as long as it passed my test. I installed the alternator and at fast idle I obtained unregulated voltage of 30+ volts and better than a 20 amp current. This was plenty for charging my battery.
855894
The battery provides typically 10-12amps, when the battery is running you are provided 14.8amps. Likely, it doesn't have a fuse, or isn't built with the best quality and would draw too many amps thus destroying it
964460
Yes, set it on the 20V scale to measure the car battery voltage since the batter voltage is nominally 12 VDC. It would be hard to use it to learn much more about your battery. Battery weakness would show up under heavy load when high current is being pulled out of it. Voltage for a weak battery would dip under such a condition but this would hard to create without sophisticated test equipment. You can get your battery tested for free at places like Auto Zone.
471912
I have run this off of a large diesel generator (tow behind rental). Worked just fine. Might draw too many amps for a small generator.
1046455
I use this battery for power drive on a wheelchair ,it puts out 15 amp for 20 min. then start to drop of ,but i'm powering a 400watt motor
2055217
Same problem with aircraft batteries. I tried setting it at a low CCA battery setting to see what would happen and got a reading. I have no way to know if that result is accurate. The thing is designed around inputting the CCA to do the test, so I guess it might not be the answer for you. You might want to consider a carbon pile style tester.
1787639
It's got 170 cold crankin amps; it a motorcycle battery, not a car battery.
1784117
I am charging two batteries(lawn mower size) from the panel through the regulator I am adding a transformer to smooth the circuit,,, it ends at a 1000watt inverter, everything seems good,the panel generates electricity even on cloudy days...MPP
1784116
I am charging two batteries(lawn mower size) from the panel through the regulator I am adding a transformer to smooth the circuit,,, it ends at a 1000watt inverter, everything seems good, the panel generates electricity even on cloudy days... MPP
917510
according to Attwood it 2.6 amps at 12 volts and 3.1 amps at 13.6 volts. If you don't know typically a battery is about 12 .4 volts at rest and is about 13.6 volts when engine is running. The alternator on a engine is normally set to give 13.6 volts max to battery. so to answer your question I would say 2.8 amps
1867176
I am maintaining a 1000 CCA Industrial/deep cycle battery on my tractor at the moment but I have used it on my Dodge Ram 3500 Diesel with two batteries and it worked fine as far as I could tell...I had no problems. Hope that helps.
1143600
No, I don't think this battery is really suited for that purpose. It has plenty of cranking amps available for starting engines, but not long time deep discharge capabilities that a trolling motor would demand of it.
1615009
I do not know. I assume you are hooking them parallel (? Is that right?) to keep the voltage at 12 volts, but longer run time. I have a deep cycle cell on mine, but have three motorcycle batteries and I have been thinking of doing this to get maybe more amperage. Don't know if there is more amperage. I don't know why you could not hook more up as long as you don't increase the voltage. How do they show hooking up the two motorcycle batteries? To get more amperage at 6 volts or increase voltage to 12? Sorry, a lot of blather here without saying much. I would be interested in what you decide to do. Good luck. I do not know. I assume you are hooking them parallel (? Is that right?) to keep the voltage at 12 volts, but longer run time. I have a deep cycle cell on mine, but have three motorcycle batteries and I have been thinking of doing this to get maybe more amperage. Don't know if there is more amperage. I don't know why you could not hook more up as long as you don't increase the voltage. How do they show hooking up the two motorcycle batteries? To get more amperage at 6 volts or increase voltage to 12? Sorry, a lot of blather here without saying much. I would be interested in what you decide... » Read More I do not know. I assume you are hooking them parallel (? Is that right?) to keep the voltage at 12 volts, but longer run time. I have a deep cycle cell on mine, but have three motorcycle batteries and I have been thinking of doing this to get maybe more amperage. Don't know if there is more amperage. I don't know why you could not hook more up as long as you don't increase the voltage. How do they show hooking up the two motorcycle batteries? To get more amperage at 6 volts or increase voltage to 12? Sorry, a lot of blather here without saying much. I would be interested in what you decide to do. Good luck. « Show Less
1651791
I think what you are seeing is normal. A good battery will have an open circuit voltage of 12 volts or higher. when you turn the load switch The voltage drops proportionately to the battery's performance. A battery capable of 200 Cold Cranking amps will have a voltage of 10.2 volts, A battery capable of 1000 CCA will hold 11.2 volts with this load tester. If the needle drops but holds lower than 10.2 volts it means the battery is performing at lower than 200 CCA. That may be fine it you live where it is warm and you have a small engine. A battery is bad if it doesn't have a 12 volt open circuit voltage, The needle drops steadily when you turn the load switch, and it won't consistently start your car. I think what you are seeing is normal. A good battery will have an open circuit voltage of 12 volts or higher. when you turn the load switch The voltage drops proportionately to the battery's performance. A battery capable of 200 Cold Cranking amps will have a voltage of 10.2 volts, A battery capable of 1000 CCA will hold 11.2 volts with this load tester. If the needle drops but holds lower than 10.2 volts it means the battery is performing at lower than 200 CCA. That may be fine it you live where it is warm and you have a small engine. A battery is bad if it doesn't have a 12 volt open... » Read More I think what you are seeing is normal. A good battery will have an open circuit voltage of 12 volts or higher. when you turn the load switch The voltage drops proportionately to the battery's performance. A battery capable of 200 Cold Cranking amps will have a voltage of 10.2 volts, A battery capable of 1000 CCA will hold 11.2 volts with this load tester. If the needle drops but holds lower than 10.2 volts it means the battery is performing at lower than 200 CCA. That may be fine it you live where it is warm and you have a small engine. A battery is bad if it doesn't have a 12 volt open circuit voltage, The needle drops steadily when you turn the load switch, and it won't consistently start your car. « Show Less