Car Battery tester

[472Scout]

What should I look for? Min amperage, etc. I'm looking for best value not top of the line as I'll only use it a couple of times a year at most.

Here's a couple I found to get the discussion going:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=91129

http://www.amazon.com/Argus-AA200-Cranking-Battery-Tester/dp/B000ICPYO2/ref=pd_bbs_sr_6?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1216806727&sr=8-6

[Ed ke6bnl]

I have the first one. and it is a life savior. A starter can draw 200 and more amps if the batter doesn't test good at 200 amps not likely to start most v8's. but will still show 12 volts. The other looks new a modern and I also have a smaller 200 amp tester that will give me some good results and is much smaller and handier to get and bring to the battery. I don't think you could go wrong with either, hope to hear from others. Ed

[olchev4x4]

My wife bought my load tester from sears as a Xmas present. Works good. Don't know how much it cost her though.

[actionpaintball]

The HF models are decent for the price...nothing beats being able to apply a pratical load on a battery to see if its holding. It basically is a controlled ground short-heating up a loop inside. Its a nice tool to eliminate the potential for a bad battery out of the trouble shooting process. I believe mine is just the 100 amp model and is just fine for all the stuff I test (600 to 1000 Cold cranking amp batteries).