Battery tester/tender

[captpierre]

Hi Gents. 
I’d like to check my 15 yr old Deka boat starter battery and 9 yr old truck battery.  Seem to be working fine.   I have a charger. What should I get?  And does anything come in combo with a battery tender?                  
Thanks, Peter. 

[GBW]

A proper battery tender is about $60 to $75 a unit.  All our motorcycle's, atv and even ridem' lawn tractor has them on them.  A battery tester you can spend big on for digital or little on one and get the job done.  I rather have designated devices, not combo's.  

Edited November 15, 2022 by GBW

[Fisherman]

If you just want to test battery voltage then this will do. https://www.princessauto.com/en/digital-multimeter/product/PA0008347676

If you want a battery load tester, I bought one 2 weeks ago they were 1/2 price at PA, it works from small to large and different batteries and does all except Lithium Ion. https://www.princessauto.com/en/12v-digital-battery-analyzer/product/PA0009067968

[AKRISONER]

1 hour ago, captpierre said:

Hi Gents. 
I’d like to check my 15 yr old Deka boat starter battery and 9 yr old truck battery.  Seem to be working fine.   I have a charger. What should I get?  And does anything come in combo with a battery tender?                  
Thanks, Peter. 

the noco genius line tends batteries and charges them. You can effectively leave your battery plugged into one full time and it will not overcharge your batteries. It monitors voltage and ensures that they are topped up when needed.

[captpierre]

21 hours ago, Fisherman said:

If you just want to test battery voltage then this will do. https://www.princessauto.com/en/digital-multimeter/product/PA0008347676

If you want a battery load tester, I bought one 2 weeks ago they were 1/2 price at PA, it works from small to large and different batteries and does all except Lithium Ion. https://www.princessauto.com/en/12v-digital-battery-analyzer/product/PA0009067968

Ok, thanks. 
I mainly want to find out if the old batteries are still good or should be replaced. So do I want a voltage or load tester?  

[Fisherman]

Load tester.  I've had batteries that when checked with a voltmeter showed between 12.3-12.5 volts, add a small light and they dropped to less than 8.  That's called a surface charge.

[captpierre]

1 minute ago, Fisherman said:

Load tester.  I've had batteries that when checked with a voltmeter showed between 12.3-12.5 volts, add a small light and they dropped to less than 8.  That's called a surface charge.

Thank you !

[Fisherman]

That small load tester will also show the voltage as soon as you connect it.

[HTHM]

Any auto parts store or your mechanic will test your batteries for you. However given their age, you may be looking at replacement. 

[DanD]

17 hours ago, Fisherman said:

That small load tester will also show the voltage as soon as you connect it.

I 've worked with these small battery testers and they do work fairly well. That's as long as you enter all the required information properly/correctly. Information that the tester needs to test that particular type and size of battery. The wrong info and you may as well not bother; the test results will be inaccurate. 

Below is from PA questions and answers section.

Do I need to disconnect the battery from the car terminal in order to use the digital analyzer?

1answer

 

Answer this Question

1. Electrosonic 

   · 19 days ago  

    

   No.
   ehicle Mounted Battery
   1. Before testing the battery the ignition needs to be turned off. Be sure everything is off, all
   accessories and loads. Close all the vehicle doors and the trunk lid.
   2. Determine which post of the battery is ground (-) typically a black cable connected to the
   chassis. This is your negative connection. Now determine which post of the battery is posi
   -
   tive (+) typically a red cable connected to the starter. This is your positive connection.
   3. Connect the POSITIVE (red) clamp from battery tester to POSITIVE (+) post of battery first.
   4. Connect the NEGATIVE (black) clamp away from the battery. Typically a heavy gauge
   metal part of the frame, vehicle chassis, or engine block is a good choice. Do not connect
   clamp to carburetor, fuel lines, or sheet metal body parts.
   NOTE: When disconnecting, remove clamp from vehicle chassis first, then remove the
   POSITIVE (+) clip from the battery post.
   5. Once connected to the vehicle, the screen will display BATTERY TEST. The battery volt
   -
   age will also be displayed with __. __
   V. Press the ENTER button to go to the next step.
   6. The screen will display BATTERY TYPE. Press the ARROW button to select the battery
   type: REGULAR LIQUID, AGM BATTERY or VRLA/GEL BATTERY. Press the ENTER but
   -
   ton to confirm choice.
   7. The screen will show RATING STANDARD. Press the ARROW button to select the bat
   -
   tery standard: SAE DIN IEC EN or CA (MCA) SAE: United States Standard EN: European
   Standard DIN: German Standard IEC: International electrical science and technology as
   -
   sociation CA (MCA): Normal starting current or maritime starting current Press the ENTER
   button to confirm the choice and go to next step.
   8. The screen will show RATING CAPACITY. Press the ARROW button to select the bat
   -
   tery capacity of CCA. With each press of the button, the value will increase or decrease
   Press the ENTER button to confirm the input value and begin the test.
   9. The screen will show the message, TESTING. The test result will display after 2 seconds.
   10. If the display reads BATTERY CHARGED Press the ARROW button to select YES or
   NO. Press the ENTER button to confirm your choice and proceed to the next step. NOTE:
   The Tester will judge the battery status & decide whether to show this Step or not, it doesn’t
   appear every time.
   11. When the test is completed, the display shows the actual available CCA. Press the AR
   -
   ROW button to see the SOH, state of health as a percentage.
   12. If your test results in and TEST ERROR, press ENTER, return to step 4 to continue test
   -
   ing or remove the test clamps from the battery terminal to end test.

    

    

[Rizzo]

wow those are some old batteries! Got your money's worth on those. In addition to a tester I would be proactive and just replace them rather than have a day ruined due to faulty battery