Load battery tester

[Harry]

I found this battery tester in one of my cabinets. I’m not sure where it came from possibly my Dads house when we cleaned it out after his passing. I did acquire a lot of tools and odds and ends that siblings wanted to throw away. I used it today on two older 12 volt GT batteries after having them on the load tester. Both went to red very quickly so time to recycle them. The tester appeared to be new in the box. It can test batteries, starters and generators. Have any of the members used a load tester? Harry

[Eugen]

Interesting that it's so small. I never used one but I sure would not mind having a tool like that. Thanks for sharing @Harry !

[Harry]

There is a coil inside that gets hot under load. I tested two old batteries and it threw off very little heat. I purchased a new diehard for the 444 and put it under the load tester. In no time at all the coil was red hot and throwing off intense heat. Harry

[Spike188]

The load test button label reads "Press Load Switch Maximum 10 seconds". The reason is a 12 volt battery charges to about 14 volt. Onan engines require 350 cold cranking amps, meaning they store at least 4000 watts. 4000 watts is a lot of heat. If the test button is depressed more than 10 seconds when connected to a good battery the heat generated inside the tester would be significant. As a side note, electric heaters operate on 120 volt/12 amp/1400 watts.

[DavidBarkey]

Yes , many times . In my field they are refereed to as "toasters " It creates a 100 amp load on the battery representing a starter load on a battery .

[MattA]

That coil inside is likely a wire wound resistor. 12 volts × 100 amps = 1200 watts. 12 volts / 100 amps = 0.12 ohms. At 14 volts, 14v × 14v / 0.12 ohms = 1634 watts.

[THEOTHERHALF]

i had a friend give me one about 15 years ago, it was full of wasp nest, i cleaned it out and still use it,great tool to have, when i charge a battery i usually let them set several hours then load test them. yea they get hot quick.

[Jancoe]

I had one similar to yours Harry. A little longer in length. The more time I spent around batteries I found that a hydrometer will give you a better idea of battery condition. Of course sealed batteries you can't get to the acid. I picked up an electronic battery tester years ago and is a great tool. You can check the charging system. CCA and ah on a battery

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