Vintage battery tester

[Back2Volts]

I think it is very cool.   It was at a local antiques store   

EDIT:  I have changed the title.    I apologize, I should not have made it a silly question.    This thing called the attention of this retired oldie and I though I would share it.   I just took the picture; did not purchase it, nor I will use it with my 600A LIPO...   

[ataradov]

Of course, not. 600 A scale should have tipped you off.

This appears to be some sort of automotive battery tester. I doubt it is very useful for anyting at all.

[edpalmer42]

Well, maybe really BIG Lipos.  Looks like a carbon pile rheostat.

Ed

[ataradov]

Well, maybe really BIG Lipos.

I assumed that anyone working with 600 A lipos knows what works for measuring them.

I've got one of those car starters, it promises 900 A and is just a bunch of LiPo cells attached to terminals via diodes against reverse voltage. I guess you could test those things. But it still will not be the smarterst idea.

[Cyberdragon]

Well, maybe really BIG Lipos.  Looks like a carbon pile rheostat.

Ed

What rheostat? All I see are two rotary switches.

This appears to be some sort of automotive battery tester. I doubt it is very useful for anyting at all.

That statement is an oxymoron. Of course it has a use, it's one intended purpose of car ignition testing. People like Mustie1 would probably love to have this.

[ataradov]

That statement is an oxymoron. Of course it has a use, it's one intended purpose of car ignition testing. People like Mustie1 would probably love to have this.

If it has use in a modern world, there is a modern equivalent. But if you want to haul antique cast iron, it is up to you.

I like how people get all fussy about HRC fuses in a multimeter, yet have no problem using 70 year old equipment handling 600 A.

It is probably better saved as a museum piece.

[drussell]

If it has use in a modern world, there is a modern equivalent. But if you want to haul antique cast iron, it is up to you.

I like how people get all fussy about HRC fuses in a multimeter, yet have no problem using 70 year old equipment handling 600 A.

It is probably better saved as a museum piece.

Of course it has a use in a "modern world".  Various companies still make the same kind of instrument today, for example, this cheap one available at places like PA/HF:

https://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/500a-battery-load-tester/A-p8494007e
https://www.harborfreight.com/500-amp-carbon-pile-load-tester-91129.html

They are generally flimsy and poorly built, though.  I would much rather have that old Sun in his photo than that modern Chinese one!  It almost certainly works absolutely fine unless someone horribly overloaded it at some point.

If it was a reasonable price, I would have bought it, for sure and wouldn't hesitate to use it!  It even has the voltmeter completely separate and the range is adjustable to 50V, which makes it a more versatile instrument.

What rheostat? All I see are two rotary switches.

It's not a rheostat per se, rather an adjustable carbon pile.  That big knob in the middle of the front adjusts the load.

When I bought my load tester, I decided to opt for one of the quick-testing digital ones with a fixed load and a microcontroller that samples the sense wire and does some calculations.  In hindsignt, I wish I'd bought a standard analog-metered adjustable carbon pile.  Much more versatile and still on my "buy one someday" wishlist. 

[TMM]

I like how people get all fussy about HRC fuses in a multimeter, yet have no problem using 70 year old equipment handling 600 A.

600A through a handheld multimeter is one thing, 600A through that big old beast with appropriate cables should be no problem at all. No one seems to worry much about supplying their starter motor several hundred amperes to start their car.

HRC fuses are about limiting peak power: Higher peak power dissipated before isolating/breaking the circuit = bigger boom! An industrial switchboard has a lot more power available than a 12 or 24V lead acid battery does and is a lot harder to isolate quickly. Fusing a car battery is easy and blowing a several hundred ampere fuse isn't very exciting - the fuse just glows red hot briefly, opens and you lose power.

[edpalmer42]

Well, maybe really BIG Lipos.  Looks like a carbon pile rheostat.

Ed

What rheostat? All I see are two rotary switches.

You might be right.  I thought the center knob was for the carbon pile.  I didn't notice the labeling.  It seems odd for a tester like this to be a fixed value.

Ed

[drussell]

You might be right.  I thought the center knob was for the carbon pile.  I didn't notice the labeling.  It seems odd for a tester like this to be a fixed value.

It isn't fixed, the pile is adjustable.  Though I've never used this particular unit, the old professional-type ones I have seen before generally had a knob like that where when turned one way you tightened in the pile adjuster and therefore increased the load current while the other way was for connecting just the ammeter shunt without engaging the carbon pile load for things like testing starter motor current draw.

The new ones don't usually have that feature.

[Benta]

It's actually extremely useful also today.
It's for testing lead-acid batteries (which still, incidentally, are in almost every car), and will tell you the battery voltage drop during cranking amps, which can easiliy run into 100s of amps.
If it was near me, I'd buy it. Much higher quality than other "battery tester" cr*p you see around.