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Cuba, Havana
1 Level
701 Review
35 Karma

Review on πŸ”‹ High-performance OTC 3181 Battery Load Tester - 130 Amp Heavy-Duty by Justin Anderson

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Well made diagnostic, testing and measuring tools

Received it today and started using it right away. I was suspicious of the batteries in my truck, one of them turned out to be dead so I will be replacing both. I also checked some other batteries I had. The tool got hot after two tests, so let it cool down between tests. Heat isn't a product fault, it's just the way it works, nothing else, all load testers generate heat. Although it is made in a chain, it is very well made. For size reference, the clamps are full size cable clamps so you have an idea of how big the tool actually is in the picture. The size isn't too bad though, at least you know you're getting a non-Mickey Mouse tester. The box it comes in is heavy enough to be a good storage box for a user who doesn't use it very often. What I found odd was that instead of using a single stranded wire for the cables, they used three conductors. All three conductors are connected to the terminals and don't seem to be heating up, so I think everything is fine. I can only explain that they did this to save money and/or keep the cables flexible. The reason I've found to connect like the instructions say, which is negative first and last, is that if you don't do this the arrow will be bound to zero. Over time this can affect accuracy, but there is a zero setting to fix this if it ever happens.

Pros
  • Glitter
Cons
  • Low repairability