Carbon Pile Load Testing

[@robscott8370]

Great job...one bit is safety advice however, dial the load charge counterclockwise until it won't turn any further before you disconnect your carbon pile test leads. Batteries can expel invisible explosive gases. You do not want to create an arc anywhere near explosive gases. To prevent that arc you need to dial the carbon pile load to 'zero' or 'off' so that no current flows through the load tester....

[@mike-yp1uk]

You have to work the jaws of the clamps into the post a little to ensure a good connection before testing. You can't just clip them on.

[@BrewCityRider]

Just picked up one of these load testers. The 15 second timer actually starts as soon as you start placing a load on it, not once you reach your target amp rating. You're usually only on your target load for 3 or 4 seconds because of how much you have to turn the knob to get there.

[@capiberra4118]

Great video, thanks! I just bought a carbon pile load tester just like this one. Now I know how to use it. Cheers!

[@404notfound.....]

As you know voltage only tells half the story when you started the car with the multimeter attached it dropped down into 7 volts, that means the battery is no longer any good and can no longer hold a charge. Good video 👍

[@Fee.1]

What’s a healthy level for it to drop to?

[@404notfound.....]

@@Fee.1 12.4 V! U really don't want it lower than that.

[@Fee.1]

@@404notfound..... I don’t have a load tester so I’m trying to sus out the heath of my battery with a multimeter on one of my motorcycles it drops pretty low when just turning on accessory mode. Like as low as 12.13-12.24….and hangs out around there in accessory mode, this is when it’s at a resting voltage of 12.6. When it’s at like 12.8-12.85 it doesn’t drop as low but relatively speaking it still drops. I don’t recall how low it drops during starting. I was worried I damaged it because I put it on the charger and left it in 10amp boost mode for like 12-18 hours. So it was charging at like 14 volts and as high as 10 amps. Obviously it started drawing very little amperage at all eventually but I’m not sure if that would damage the battery or not. It sat around 13 volts with a surface charge and after putting a small load on it it recovers to between 12.8 and 12.9, but not sure if the actual capacity has been lowered because as we know voltage alone means nothing

[@DarxusC]

6:25 It really like you just didn't turn the load up enough on your old battery. That DC amps needle did just start to move, just as you said "nothing happening". And you did need to turn that knob a lot on your successful tests.

[@joecox9958]

you did four tests, 1st for "bad" battery that you failed at add the load - not the battery problem as the volt meter doesn't show drop down, it is your contact problem. The second test is good your wait for 15sec to get >=600CCA. The third test you repeat test2 but I didn't hear click and time seems to be 5second only? I don't know fourth test - is it just another duplication of same good battery. Note knob just change load resistor, left meter is current and right is volt. For bad battery you could still change load resistance, but before your reached the current you want, voltage already down below 9.6V.

[@1slow370]

Next add distilled water to it, re charge it and test again

[@Fee.1]

I’m wondering if there’s a better modern alternative like a digital load tester or variable load tester that can be used at a range of voltages or something. I think I’ve seen things like that usually with fans or something

[@padraiggalvin2807]

Good testing and video. Im gonna buy one of these.. I hear the new fancy digital testers are not so accurate

[@pcrb141]

I paid about $50 for mine but I would advise paying a little more. Mine does not bottom out when removing the load for the battery. The dial would just twist out of the machine.

[@dutch1589]

I have the same tester and yours and my understanding of the instructions are different

[@michaelgayford2439]

I had to take mine apart and tighten screws.

[@dricklorenz9340]

nice, detailed video on using a carbon pile load tester. were those your dentures that fell at the 0:57 mark?

[@pcrb141]

Drick Lorenz lol that was my led ring lamp

[@Fee.1]

What’s the difference between a 500amp and a 100amp load tester

[@pcrb141]

the amperage rating of the load tester tells you how much current it can draw from the battery. the higher the amperage drawn, the greater the demand you place on the battery. the battery's voltage will fall as the load goes up since you are pulling stored charge from one side and distributing it to the other side until they even out and thus there will be OV difference in potential energy between the two sides. Such a battery has no energy to power anything. It is also useless if there is a measurable voltage difference, but that difference isn't sufficient to meet the demands of the device it is supposed to power. As an example, Autozone uses a 100amp tester. It draws 100A from the battery for xSeconds. If the battery can maintain 12V or higher for that time, Autozone says the battery is good. The problem with that is that your vehicle's manufacturer may actually have a higher standard set than that to rate a battery as good because the vehicle may need to draw more than 100A to get started. Get your vehicle's repair manual to find out what that specification is for your vehicle, and make sure that your battery can maintain it. This thing I have learned though as a DIY mechanic is that you don't even need a load tester. If you think your battery is weak, then charge it on an external charger, or pull the battery and connect it to a good running vehicle. Your battery should be able to be charged in a few minutes with the vehicle-charging method. It may even take up to 30min if it was deeply discharged. Either way, once the battery has reached 12.6V, it should be able to start it's own vehicle. if it can't start the vehicle, go buy a new battery. If the battery can only start the car properly once on a 5min car ride, then the battery is weak. Replace it. If your routine is 5min car rides, an occasional trip, maybe once a week of double that time should be fine to maintain your battery. If you account for idle time spent running, you probably never even need to go out of your way to allow the car to run just to maintain the battery.

[@Roudter]

Batteries are just not that mysterious. No need for the second test, or to crank for 15 seconds...Doesn't matter what 'they' say. If the current stayed steady at 300A for 5 seconds without significant volt drop, that's really good. All that extra wear you inflicted beyond that was pretty much abuse. Thanks! - By the way, I break things sometimes, so I know....

[@pcrb141]

I have wondered about that kind of thing myself however the manufacturer instructions state 15 seconds. I read this out of my own tester purchased from Amazon and it states the same thing in the instructions for the model sold by Harbor Freight. I think that only a brand new battery can really stand up to that load for that length of time.

[@dougunfortunatefoxfarm4992]

These are designed to used horizontally, this videographer is completely unprepared to conduct tests, does not caution about safety gear, who cares if it starts the car, defective is defective, what abuse does the current battery undergo? Does not indicate the scale used, what a waste of time.

[@pcrb141]

You have a point about the lack of safety discussion in the video. As such I have updated the video description to cover that. As far as the orientation of the battery tester goes, I did not notice anyone making a point of using the tester horizontally, and upon spot-checking other videos just now, haven't seen anyone else state anything like that either. Everyone stands the tester upright. No such discussion of laying it flat exists in my tester's instructions or the instructions from the harbor freight model.

[@waynebehm7853]

@@pcrb141 It does not matter if tester is vertical or horizontal.