I want to test the cranking amps of my batteries... Does anyone know what equipment i can buy to do that?

just goto a automotive eleclectrical shop and ask for a load test

Edited February 12, 200817 yr by muddybass

just goto a automotive eleclectrical shop and ask for a load test

Ya, i know they can do it, but i want to do it for myself. Especially because i have a need to do it about 30-40 times a month. I probably can troll their stores/shops and see what they use which i just might, but i was hoping someone knew of something less industrial and cheaper. Anyone else have any ideas?

You could always buy an industrial load tester, but why?

Unless you're in the battery business I don't see why you'd constantly need to do that, for SPL all you'd need is a good RMS meter and a charger for whatever kind of batteries you have...

Why do you need to load test your battery 30-40 times a month??

You could always buy an industrial load tester, but why?

Unless you're in the battery business I don't see why you'd constantly need to do that, for SPL all you'd need is a good RMS meter and a charger for whatever kind of batteries you have...

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner! I am looking to be in the battery business... Sort of. I want to recycle/resell, more or less, good used batteries. And i don't want to buy/sell junk so i'm looking for a way to assess the condition of the batteries on site at different locations. In what ways can i do that in a acceptable manner? Is the load testing equipment that is used at the automotive shops my only option or is there another way?

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_0...CBattery+tester

somehting like this?

you can also get it with a little printer to label and keep track of the batts but it doubles the price, sears also has that kit

Autozone's by me use this lil gadget.

http://cgi.ebay.com/SCHUMACHER-WHEELED-BAT...1QQcmdZViewItem

I don't have a current email of his or I'd find out for you sooner, but a friend of mine in NC runs an uninterruptible power supply business, for big commercial apps...talking batteries in the thousands of Ah range, all the way down to several hundred Ah AGM's. I know he's mentioned some of the load testers they use, but I'll ask what he uses the next time I'm home in a week or two.

The 1000CCA machines I'm seeing are a little over a grand, not sure how much capacity you need or what you're looking to spend. That probably takes care of most of the battery market for car applications anyway, those are the smaller ones that are going to be pulled from UPS's and whatnot when a certain time has passed, regardless of condition...