Schumacher Electric Battery Load Tester and Voltmeter, BT-100, 100 Amps, 6 Volt, 12 Volt, for Testing Batteries Up to 1000 Cranking Amps

I just received it today. I used it to check 2 batteries, 1 I know is bad and 1 I know is good. This tester works great. Very Satisfied with my purchase.

Accurate and would recommend it to anyone that doesn't want to spend an arm and a leg to buy on. We have small engine shop and have to check batteries all the time for customers. This works so well that a 5 year old could diagnose a battery.

This tool does 3 things. You must read and follow instructions carefully for proper interpretation.1: Measure battery voltage on scale and verify "OK" or "Not OK" on graph.2: Measure battery reserve "Ok or Not Ok" on graph. First uses will produce smoke from resistive coil which is normal.3: Measure alternator charging ability on graph while idle slightly increased and headlights on and blower fan on high.I have found it useful and reasonably priced.

My reason for purchasing this load tester was to diagnose a battery that had died a few times in my mother-in-law‘s car. For some reason I did not have one of these in my toolbox and figured this was a cheap way to add one. I have read other reviewer‘s who talked about the accuracy of the gauge on this unit and the build quality. Just to give you an idea exactly what this load tester is. This is a metal box with a heating element inside. The idea behind this is that you take a voltage measurement of the battery, then attach this and press the button for between 5 and 10 seconds and check the battery voltage again. The voltage should not drop more then a half a volt or so. If you’re starting voltage is less than 12.5 you cannot trust the results you would get. I would suggest you charge the battery until the voltage is 12.5 or higher. The heating element in this tester mimics a heavy load from your vehicle. This will help you determine if your battery can hold enough charge to start your car. I use a digital multimeter for all of my voltage measurements. At this price point I would not rely on the gauge on any tool to do that for me. My main purpose for purchasing this tool was to be able to apply a heavy load to a battery. I do not expect this tool to give me accurate measurements of a battery’s health. This review has gone on a lot longer than what I originally anticipated. Before I end this I want to mention the smell that comes from this unit. As I mentioned above there is a heating element inside of this metal box, any dust or other contaminants that end up on the heating element will burn off when you apply a load. That is expected. Any electrical heating element reacts this way and should not be cause for alarm.

I bought a cheaper one the first time around, over half the cost of the Schumacher. It was a piece of junk, did not give correct readings. Returned it instantly. Decided to buy this name brand Schumacher load tester, even though I did not want to spend that much on a load tester. Have had and do have other Schumacher products and never any issues. The battery load tester worked exactly as supposed to! As the saying goes, you get what you pay for !!! Great product ! Would order again.

This is the right way to test a battery to see if it's got any life left in it.The new computerized testers are GARBAGE compared to this!I already used it 2x the first week I got it, and it did exactly what it's supposed to do.Saves time and effort on diagnosing a battery problem.

Remember, this unit is a carbon pile tester- in other words, uses a thick carbon resistor to apply a heavy load across the battery terminals to load test the battery. Works flawlessly from the first, and I use this unit daily in my lawnmower shop - it is a huge time-saver over "test by elimination" methods, and has successfully tested several dozen batteries and going strong. As long as unit is maintained (keep it clean and in a toolbox where dust won't settle on the carbon resistors) you'll be happy to have this unit in your shop. If you leave it out or splatter oil on it, obviously it will smoke as the debris burns off from the hot carbon pile resistor.It does not test a discharged battery (but if a 12V battery does not have 12 volts, even after charging, it's obviously bad) - but a quick charge from a charger and a quick, very brief load test to burn off surface charge easily lets me know whether to continue charging the battery or condemn it right away.For a small shop that does not need the advanced features of a resistance circuit computerized battery tester, this unit is well worth the investment. (we use different procedures for charging system testing, depending on the equipment being serviced, so it is not always possible to test these charging systems we work with with an advanced computerized unit, so.. )Only complaint I have with this unit is the cables are maybe a little short, and quite stiff. It'd be nicer if the cables at least had more flexibility to them, or were about 6 to 10 inches longer - some places it is a little clumsy to hook it on to the battery, while holding up the tractor seat at the same time, and other places the battery is slightly recessed. smaller clamps to fit in tight spots, and more flexible cables, and this unit would be *perfection*

I had a 10 year old marine battery where the voltage tester showed the battery was just fine. With this load tester it showed that it was weak. I purchased a new battery today. Didn't want to take a chance getting stuck on the lake.Simple to use and good value for the money and it works.