Battery analyzer tester question

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Gradywhite3535

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Dec 29, 2012
Messages
480
Hi all, I want to buy a battery tester for my toys. Mostly for my car and boat batteries. I have found a few testers and doing some research but I'm not an electrical engineer and I'm having some difficulty in understanding which tester should I buy/need? So far I've been looking at one at amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00IZ...IgL&ref=plSrch....
And then a carbon pile 500 amp battery tester
https://m.harborfreight.com/500-amp-...ter-91129.html

What would be the difference in the two different testers being used for 12v marine and auto batteries? woild these be helpful in determining battery condition or is there anything else out there that would be better for testing battery condition?How many amps would a car and boat use to start them?any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
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rallyart

Lieutenant Junior Grade
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Jun 7, 2008
Messages
1,177
Hopefully you will get more answers than just mine.
The Harbour Freight style is a big resistor that makes heat as it draws a heavy load for about 15 seconds and gives an indication of the battery's ability to handle a large load, like starting. This effectively gives you an idea of the functional capacity your battery actually has. It works well for conventional lead acid batteries (starting or deep cycle) but is not as useful with some others such as AGM. It does not give you a direct reading of reserve capacity but it follows that as the battery is less effective under full load it will also be less effective under a long term load.
The Amazon tester uses an electronic algorithm to evaluate the battery by what happens as it is loaded. This should be good for all types of batteries but it is making an educated guess as to the quality of the battery.
The load tester style is what has been the standard in auto shops for many years.

A small block boat motor starting in the summer might need 200 amps. In the winter, or if it does not start right away the draw is higher. The load can go up to more than 450.
 
oldrem

oldrem

Commander
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Nov 7, 2013
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2,002
I'm going to tag along and follow you on this one. Been looking for something with the features of the HF one myself.
 
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Lowlysubaruguy

Chief Petty Officer
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Dec 3, 2012
Messages
514
My two cents worth for what its worth im the the auto repair business own two carbon pile testers and two moderatly expensive digital testers. ( 1300 or more each) Not to mention ive been testing batteries for a very long time and have seen batteries that pass every test but still be bad even brand new batteries new doesnt mean good its just a starting point.

Deep cycle marine batteries that go dead in slow motion ( sitting a few days or a week or more or under light load for a few hours) rarely test bad with most tests. I have some mental processes that help me decide when its time to replace one when these tests pass and its a battery that has suspected problems or trouble. Wait back up just a second the best test method for water filled deep cycle batteries is with a Hydrometer batteries that fail to meet even and good readings across the board after appropriate charging and rest times are bad. This will show weak or dead cells. The cost of a cheap hydrometer is $5 a decent one $15 a great one $30 They do not lie.

Drain one to the point its not lighting a high beam bulb brightly and then charge at medium or 40 amps the needle should start at close to 40 amps ( this means its taking a charge right off some may not excluding gell cells you should see it taking a high amp rate of charge quickly ) and start dropping to less than twenty in 10 minutes and continue to drop because the battery is taking a charge correctly if not your battery is weak. ‘So if the charge starts low or stays high id be less than likely to return it to my boat if its 3 years old.
There’s a few other test sulfation which requires more than most can perform not to mention the high end battery testers are performing this test its accurate on less than half the batteries i fail for other reasons or that discharge on there own in a short amount of time.

My boat batteries get a date I try to buy them one to two years apart not always. at 4 years if that battery ever leaves me with the thought its low its replaced. Something low a slower crank than the other ones or I see the voltage low longer than normal after start up etc. I usually get 3 plus years of zero faults from mine. I store them inside over the winter and put a low amp charger on them every month. Gel battteries are another story all together a completely dead one may not regain a charge unless its put at a high amperage charger for a bit Ive seen them trickle charged for days from a completely dead state that would not take a charge unless some hefty current was put to them. This is not a bad battery but a trait of these style batteries. I don't like them for a few reasons one of which I can buy three batteries for the cost ( my cost any way) and ditch them every three years and never think to myself Im to FN cheap to buy a new battery and thats why im being towed not to mention that some of them will not take a jump if completely dead when that occurs. It really isnt an issue in most boats that have proper isolation switches and more than one battery but take that boat 25 miles from shore and drift and idle for a full day with 6 year old batteries well its not going to happen in my world. Regardless of how much faith many put in there high end gell cells. Dont get me wrong theres a few great reasons to run them like location and the abuse they going to see. None of my boats require this. I would not buy a new one for a car period unless it was a mounting thing. But thats just me.
 
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