Battery Load Tester HF

wrote in message

> Would the Harbor Freight battery Load Tester be any good?
> lot no 90636
> Is the low tech enough that it may actually work no matter who made
> it?
>
> m
>

I'm pretty sure that the Harbor Freight battery load tester would work,
however, I doubt if it would get much use. I got mine from my dad, and as
far as I know, it hasn't been used in 40+ years, and that is with me fixing
most of my friends' cars. A volt meter, the car's headlights, and the age
of the battery are what I use when deciding whether or not to replace a
battery.

Most places that sell batteries will load test your battery for free.

> PS.
> Is there an adapter available for an old standard radiator tester so
> it will fit the Toyota one? If so - where and how much.
> Perhaps T radiators never fail. ( I have an 06 Sienna)
>
> m

Radiator testers usually come in kits so you can check the cap and
pressurize the radiator. Caps are inexpensive enough that when in doubt, I
just recommend replacing it, especially if it is over 10 years old. I am
not a fan of pressure testing old radiators because the pressure test itself
can make an old radiator leak because the pressure test can be more than the
pressure developed by the cooling system. Bottom line, a cooling system
tester is probably not worth the money unless you intend to work on a lot of
old cars.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)
 >> Stay informed about: Battery Load Tester HF 

On Mon, 04 Feb 2008 22:57:04 GMT, mike.RemoveThis@nosam.org wrote:

>Would the Harbor Freight battery Load Tester be any good?
>lot no 90636
>Is the low tech enough that it may actually work no matter who made
>it?

I have one (not sure if it's the exact same one...) used it a few
times - it's useful as an easy "Go/No Go" test of the battery, don't
expect any precision out of it.

When I used it, I hooked up my known accurate Fluke DVM across the
battery posts to make sure I was getting an accurate voltage reading
out of the HF tester, and the mechanical gauge movement was close
enough for gummint work.

I'm still in the "When in doubt, get a new battery - they're both
perishable and relatively cheap" school, but it's nice to know it's
really bad before you condemn it.

--<< Bruce >>--
 >> Stay informed about: Battery Load Tester HF 

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 >> Stay informed about: Battery Load Tester HF 

mike.DeleteThis@nosam.org wrote in

> Would the Harbor Freight battery Load Tester be any good?
> lot no 90636
> Is the low tech enough that it may actually work no matter who made
> it?



The best battery load tester available is your own dome light and starter.



>
>
>
> PS.
> Is there an adapter available for an old standard radiator tester so
> it will fit the Toyota one? If so - where and how much.
> Perhaps T radiators never fail. ( I have an 06 Sienna)
>



What do you want to test it for? Leaks? Coolant strength?


--
Tegger
 >> Stay informed about: Battery Load Tester HF 

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 >> Stay informed about: Battery Load Tester HF 

On Mon, 04 Feb 2008 16:55:52 -0800, mike RemoveThis @nosam.org wrote:

>On Tue, 5 Feb 2008 00:36:26 +0000 (UTC), Tegger
>wrote:
>
>>mike@nosam.org wrote in
>>
>>> Would the Harbor Freight battery Load Tester be any good?
>>> lot no 90636
>>> Is the low tech enough that it may actually work no matter who made
>>> it?
>>
>>
>>
>>The best battery load tester available is your own dome light and starter.
>>
>>
>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> PS.
>>> Is there an adapter available for an old standard radiator tester so
>>> it will fit the Toyota one? If so - where and how much.
>>> Perhaps T radiators never fail. ( I have an 06 Sienna)
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>What do you want to test it for? Leaks? Coolant strength?
>
>Pressure and leaks that result from road and corrosion problems.

The coolant level will tell you all these things. If you are loosing
coolant, you have a leak. If you have a leak then either you will
have low or high pressure, high if it's a head gasket that's leaking
from the combustion chamber into the water jacket.

Jack
 >> Stay informed about: Battery Load Tester HF 

On Mon, 04 Feb 2008 22:57:04 GMT, mike RemoveThis @nosam.org wrote:

>Would the Harbor Freight battery Load Tester be any good?
>lot no 90636
>Is the low tech enough that it may actually work no matter who made
>it?
>
Why spend any money, you have a load tester. Turn on your headlights
and watch the battery voltage. A good battery should be able to power
your headlights for 1/2 hour before the voltage drops below 11 volts.
Don't discharge the battery below 11 volts, you risk damaging a cell
by reverse charging it. You might want to have a battery charger
handy incase you can't start the car after the test.

You might also consider the fact that you can't do a load test on a
battery that isn't charged.

Jack
 >> Stay informed about: Battery Load Tester HF 

In article ,
mike.DeleteThis@nosam.org wrote:

> Would the Harbor Freight battery Load Tester be any good?

Is anything HF sells any good?

> lot no 90636
> Is the low tech enough that it may actually work no matter who made
> it?

Yes, sort of.
The HF tool claims to be a 100 amp load. If your battery were
for example a 600 CCA battery, the proper load test would be 300
amps (CCA X .5 or amp hour X3) for 15 seconds, battery voltage
not to drop below 9.6 volts during load.
Since the HF tool only applies a 100 amp load, you'd need to
increase the load test time from 15 seconds to 45 seconds to
obtain the same results as a real carbon pile that can apply a
300 amp load.
Headlamps that draw 10 amps left on for 450 seconds would achieve
the same results also.

Transconductance testers are much more accurate and capable of
finding a battery with potential problems, they also have the
advantage that the battery needn't be fully charged to obtain
accurate results.

> m
>
> PS.
> Is there an adapter available for an old standard radiator tester so
> it will fit the Toyota one? If so - where and how much.
> Perhaps T radiators never fail. ( I have an 06 Sienna)

Yes. Snap-On, Mac, Matco, Cornwall and many on-line tool vendors
sell the correct adaptor.
Price; I'd guess between $30 and $50
There are threaded styles and bayonet styles so choose carefully.
 >> Stay informed about: Battery Load Tester HF 

wrote in message

> On Mon, 4 Feb 2008 21:54:58 -0600, "Ray O"
> <rokigawaATtristarassociatesDOTcom> wrote:
>
>>
>> wrote in message
>>
>>> Would the Harbor Freight battery Load Tester be any good?
>>> lot no 90636
>>> Is the low tech enough that it may actually work no matter who made
>>> it?
>>>
>>> m
>>>
>>
>>I'm pretty sure that the Harbor Freight battery load tester would work,
>>however, I doubt if it would get much use. I got mine from my dad, and as
>>far as I know, it hasn't been used in 40+ years, and that is with me
>>fixing
>>most of my friends' cars. A volt meter, the car's headlights, and the
>>age
>>of the battery are what I use when deciding whether or not to replace a
>>battery.
>>
>>Most places that sell batteries will load test your battery for free.
>
> So one does not need to remove the battery?
> Autozone here I cum.

CUM? He said CUM!!!!


>
>
>>
>>> PS.
>>> Is there an adapter available for an old standard radiator tester so
>>> it will fit the Toyota one? If so - where and how much.
>>> Perhaps T radiators never fail. ( I have an 06 Sienna)
>>>
>>> m
>>
>>Radiator testers usually come in kits so you can check the cap and
>>pressurize the radiator. Caps are inexpensive enough that when in doubt,
>>I
>>just recommend replacing it, especially if it is over 10 years old. I am
>>not a fan of pressure testing old radiators because the pressure test
>>itself
>>can make an old radiator leak because the pressure test can be more than
>>the
>>pressure developed by the cooling system. Bottom line, a cooling system
>>tester is probably not worth the money unless you intend to work on a lot
>>of
>>old cars.
>
> I have one of those kits BIG $$$ (about $150 15 years ago).
> It saved my behind several times prior to trips. Without such a
> tester it is tough if not impossible to find small leaks that can be a
> disaster at high temperature or altitude. I take it that the Sienna
> 06 cap is a 'mini' pressure cap. Is this one standard size for all T?
> What psi or equivalent do they typically use - guess it is metric?
> Just driving in flat land around town - one can safely do without it.
>
> If I purchased a cap and modified it to take a hose - then there would
> still be a problem of testing the cap.
> m
 >> Stay informed about: Battery Load Tester HF 

"aarcuda69062" wrote in message

> In article ,
> mike.DeleteThis@nosam.org wrote:
>
>> Would the Harbor Freight battery Load Tester be any good?
>
> Is anything HF sells any good?

I bought a Harbor Freight's Pittsburgh brand pry bar set, and I have been
pleasantly surprised. I don't know if I would purchase something that
requires precision, but for simple tools, they seem to be fine.

I also bought Harbor Freight hammers to take camping to pound tent stakes
and lift Dutch oven lids. The Scouts I take camping have figured out a way
to make hammers vaporize, so I'd rather loose a $3 HF hammer than a $30
Estwing.

I consider HF tools to be good enough for a job where I'll probably only use
the tool occasionally.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)
 >> Stay informed about: Battery Load Tester HF