Review on Maximize Battery Performance with Auto Meter SB-300 Intelligent Handheld Battery Tester by Steve Chomos

This is the same tool many professional garages use to test battery capacity under load. The battery can still hold a good charge, but what matters is how it behaves under load. For example, I have an old battery in my garage that my brother likes to keep charged so he can connect 12V peripherals to it. Testing of this battery showed a 99% charge, but it also showed as Bad Battery Replace Now. As a previously licensed Registered Mechanic, it is important to be able to show a customer that their battery needs replacing and to convince them that you are not just trying to sell them a new battery. With this device, you can perform a test that only takes about 10 seconds and then print out the results on a dedicated printer or even connect this device to a PC. So you have a printout and even with a really unhappy customer you can do a quick test on a good battery and then do a test on the customer's battery to see if it needs to be replaced. Another advantage of this device is that it automatically stores up to 100 tests in its memory. The menu is very intuitive. In a few minutes you will master it. The on/off switch is on top of the face, as is the snap button. A triangle with four buttons in the middle for Y Enter, N Escape and then you have a + or - button for Up and Down. This device also has a voltmeter. When the car is running and the terminals are attached to the battery, high ripple (greater than 50 mV) indicates defective diodes in the alternator. The back and sides are surrounded by thick rubber plastic that protects them from the inevitable fall of frequent use. Cables to the battery poles are also designed for high loads. All this smells of industrial quality. I'd like to say this is for a pro, but I could see someone with multiple cars, or maybe a boat, garden tractor, etc. using one of them. When I was 16, I learned the hard way that taking care of a dead battery is a recipe for serious headaches when you have to jump out of a car or start it at the worst possible moment. After 6 months of this hassle, I decided I would never play battery nanny again. With this device you can get a good idea, or I would say a perfectly accurate idea, of the condition of your battery. If there's any life left in him, he'll tell you. If everything is really bad he will tell you, and if everything is fine then of course you know that something else is wrong. Are your battery cables clean? If I get my boat out and run forward at a good pace, warm up the engine and then slow down and shut it down if for some reason it doesn't want to start hot. The metal is quite stretched and ties the motor together. If the battery I'm using is in its third season, I have to sit and wait for the engine to cool before I can start it. This is an 18ft classic Donzi with a 350 Magnum 270. With this tester I know if I need a new battery early in the season without having to hotstall test it to find out. This tester loads it and tells you how well it handles the load. Highly recommended.