Hillhater said:Unless you want to start a career testing and analysing cells, you dont need to invest in the full lab quality/pro kit.LanM said:Test data it is then, looks like I'm dancing around that need before any of these projects will get off the ground. I wish that other thread John started would populate with info. It looks like I'll need equipment that can handle 4s and 7s setups for both projects. I'd like to do it affordably. .
You can check, sort, calibrate, and record individual cells for,.. capacity, voltage profiles, DCIR, even thermal stability, ...fairly accurately with simple , cheap kit such as,....a Mmeter, RC lipo logging charger (Imax, Turnigy, etc), maybe a wattmeter. A laptop/tablet/PC with some free data analysis software is also useful, especially if you are doing many cells. Important that the charger has data logging capability.
Assuming you have a laptop, the rest could cost under $100. !
If you chose correctly, the logging charger can serve duty as your 4s pack charger.
That's great, because the info I've been reading is pointing towards $3-400, which is pricey but acceptable long term. Problem is I don't know if I have several hundred duds or not so I'd like to limit my up front expenditures until I know what I have.