mini spring tester

has anyone used those mini spring testers that use a vice to compress the spring.good or bad?

I've used one, works good just have to have a big jaw vise, maybe 4-6 inches, mine is 6"

I use it a lot.. I like it.. its simple.. I use
a set of calipers along with it.. set it at the
install height and crank it up

The first one I bought (Proform 0-300# or something comparable?) was a piece of junk. I also have a claibration spring and it was nowhere near accurate. IIRC, it started off OK, then started getting more "off" after using it only a few times.

The second one I bought was a 0-600# from a board member (vendor) whose name I cannot recall at the moment, unfortunately. That one has worked fine. Maybe he'll see this thread and pipe in.

That brings up a good question,i was looking at a proform 0-700 unit.witch one are you guys usin?

I have the 300and the 700.. they are both the same
but a different gauge on it... I also have a 1000
psi gauge that I screwed on to one for testing the
open pressure on my W-9 heads.. 900# springs

I've had the 0-700 Proform for a couple years now and has worked good for my needs. I tested it when I first got it and found it was reasonably accurate($72 bucks worth of accurate anyways) I loaned it to a buddy a few weeks ago and he liked it so much that he bought one too. He said he compared the two testers with same spring and said they repeated the same but, he still hasn't returned mine

I think I have the same buddy!

A small arbor press works good with them.