Battery Health Testing:
Why Load Testers Beat Standard Diagnostics Every Time
Dead Batteries and False Diagnoses
Few things are more frustrating than turning the key on a cold winter morning and hearing nothing. You jump-start the car, head to a dealer, and the high-end diagnostic tool gives your battery a clean bill of health. A week later, you’re back at square one.
This happens because most modern testers only measure internal resistance—a proxy for battery health. But lead-acid batteries can fail in sneaky ways. A battery might read fine at rest, but under real cranking conditions, one weak cell can collapse. The result? A dead car, missed appointments, and a cycle of misdiagnosis.
Why Load Testers Are Different
As explained in the video with John Cadogan and Durst’s lead engineer, Frank Luksic, the carbon pile load tester—often called a battery load tester—is the only way to get a true reading.
Instead of guessing, a load tester applies a heavy resistive load to simulate real-world cranking conditions. In seconds, it reveals whether a battery can actually deliver the amps it claims. Surface charge tricks, resistance anomalies, or false positives vanish the moment real current is drawn.
Hidden Failures Only Found Under Load
Frank Luksic demonstrated this in the video: a brand-new battery, fresh out of the box, showed “healthy” voltage and resistance. But under load, it collapsed to just 60% of its rated capacity. Without a load test, that battery could have been sold, installed, and failed within days.
This is why serious workshops and fleet managers don’t rely on LED indicators or digital shortcuts. They load test.
Stop wasting time on false diagnostics — test batteries under load !
Standard testers = estimation
Carbon pile load testers = reality check
Why Professionals Use Durst
Durst isn’t a chain store brand. Their tools are designed and built in Australia for people who can’t afford downtime—truck fleets, bus depots, mining operations, and workshops where reputation matters.
Trusted by mechanics, engineers, and fleets alike
When you call Durst, you don’t get a casual retail clerk. You get advice from a team of experts—senior electrical engineers, experienced auto mechanics, and technicians who understand the chemistry and physics of battery health. That knowledge means the right advice, the right tools, and long-term savings.
Durst’s range doesn’t stop at carbon pile testers. They also produce:
- Jump starters capable of reviving everything from cars to 250-tonne Caterpillar mining trucks.
- Chargers that maintain and condition batteries for optimal life.
- Diagnostic tools trusted by professionals who value accuracy over convenience.
