Thinking of buying a carbon pile battery tester. Any thoughts on harbor freight units? I'm assuming 500 amp should be enough. Miss my old Sun unit from automotive days.
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Thinking of buying a carbon pile battery tester. Any thoughts on harbor freight units? I'm assuming 500 amp should be enough. Miss my old Sun unit from automotive days.
Those should work just fine for once in a while use. If I was running a repair shop I would get a much better brand. Like Sun. They made some great equipment over the years.
Have a love/hate with most of the stuff that HF sells. Just enough to get by, not enough to really work with
What batteries are you wanting to test? The Harbor Freight is an okay unit for what it does, but there may be better choices depending on what you really need. This one Digital Automotive Battery Analyzer is pretty slick and will probably hold up better than the HF carbon pile tester
I'm have my first boat and want to be able to test batteries on boat and vehicles like I did in my old automotive days. Used to test with a Sun carbon pile load tester and hydrometer. Just curious about the HF unit. Open to any recommendations for testing lead acid batteries.Quote:
Originally Posted by CatFan
The batteries in my boat are 2 years old now and started seeing a low voltage warning on my fish finders when cracking big motor. Warnings are set at 9 volts on FF units. I just added a Helix 12 to system. Between Helix, 898 and recirc pump, pulling over 5 amps all the time. The cranking battery is a size 24. Think that is my problem and needs to be replaced with 27 or 31. I have Continental batteries. Reviews on Continental have been so so.
CatFan, Read in other post you used to be in battery industry. Any battery recommendations? AGM is a little too expensive for me. Thought about going with the AutoZone marine batteries as I replace.
Thoughts on idea of moving trolling motor batteries to front storage area? Specifically safety concerns. I have a weight distribution problem with all my batteries and gas tank in rear. Curious how well they would hold up in front with rougher ride up front.
What outboard do you have? Some are very particular about CCA of the cranking battery. Autozone batteries are the same as Everstart/Delco/Motorcraft/Interstate and a host of others. The Everstarts are my choice because they are cheap and readily available.Quote:
Originally Posted by fishfried
I have a 2013 Merc 115 hp 4 stoke. Although I have what I believe is a too small starting battery and low voltage alarms. Motor has never given a hint of any kind of starting problem. Has always fired right up.
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Often the boat wiring providing power to the accessories is inadequate and allows so much voltage drop that the electronics alarms or reboots during engine starting. Dedicated wiring to a dedicated fuse block for the electronics usually solves the problem.Quote:
Originally Posted by fishfried
In a group 24, the Interstate 24M-XHD is an acceptable battery. Check your owner's manual for battery CCA requirements and select a battery that at least meets that CCA minimum (more is better) and has as much RC as will fit in your space and budget. Ignore MCA.