carbon pile battery tester

[Eevo]

any recommendation or tips for buying one?

im thinking 1000amp (500 too small)


cheers

[Homestar]

Yes, for anything bigger than a car battery a 1000amp unit would be required. While I'm sure cheaper knock offs are available, we've only ever used the Durst units.

We use this one - http://www.durst.com.au/DataSheets/BT-3006M.pdf but at over $2000 not exactly a home handy man unit. We use this at least 3 or 4 times a day at work on both 12 and 24 volt systems so worth it though. We have over 100 bits of plant run through our workshop each day and anything that doesn't crank like it should gets tested - 90% of the time it's just a battry isolator or something been left on and a charge of the battery sorts it, but we still go through about 300 batteries a year just in our small section.

[Eevo]

all the batteries i have are between 600 and 900cca.

im thinking of going with a PROJECTA BLT300, $405

[Homestar]

The CCA rating and the current potential of a tester are 2 different things. A 960 CCA battery can be tested with a 500 amp tester (well a Durst unit anyway)

This unit - http://www.durst.com.au/DataSheets/BT-2003F.pdf - will do 1000CCA.

[Eevo]

cheers. i was just reading that. a 500amp unit will do me fine then.