UtahPete
10 W
I was looking for a good battery capacity tester and found this product on Amazon. What do you think, based on the description?
Is this a good product for testing battery packs?
- Thread starter UtahPete
- Start date
I read the description.
This appears to not be a battery capacity tester, but a battery current/voltage measuring device.
You might as well buy a Cycle analyst or Turnigy watt meter. Either one will cost you less money and be a better product.
This appears to not be a battery capacity tester, but a battery current/voltage measuring device.
You might as well buy a Cycle analyst or Turnigy watt meter. Either one will cost you less money and be a better product.
UtahPete
10 W
I think both of those are designed to give a real time readout to an ebike cyclist. What I'm looking for is a device I can use in my shop for testing whether battery packs ive bought are in good shape or not and how much life is left in them. I have at least 12, some used, and I'm acquiring more all the time.
You can use a standalone cycle analyst or watt meter with a load on the end ( 12v light bulbs in series/parallel ) to make these capacity measurements.
You can make these measurements while you are riding the bike too, by riding the bike until it cuts out. That would be the most accurate test since it is exactly the conditions the battery would be used in.
You can make these measurements while you are riding the bike too, by riding the bike until it cuts out. That would be the most accurate test since it is exactly the conditions the battery would be used in.
docw009
1 MW
Not a load tester, but a wattmeter. Probably a good one too. However, the $15 models are reproducible, but not accurate. Quality has gotten horrendous though, The last one I bought, although it was only $12 shipped, didn't store the max current. However, to test the battery, you have to ride the bike til the battery is depleted. If you use these cheap meters. you have to power them off an aux battery, or they lose all the data if the main battery shuts off.
.
Another option is the Atorch DL24 load tester, which you can put on a battery for a fixed current and a Vmin, walk away and come back to see it stopped at Vmin with the total AH used. Tradeoff is it can only handle 160 watts, so this limits you to 3A on a 13S. It's inexpensive though at $35-40 shipped from aliexpress. The glowing circle is just the LEd's from a CPU fan used to keep the device cool. People have installed water cooled CPU fans and dissipate 300 or more watts.
I use both. The second method lets me check AH at low current. The first gives real world capacity, but takes a while.
.Another option is the Atorch DL24 load tester, which you can put on a battery for a fixed current and a Vmin, walk away and come back to see it stopped at Vmin with the total AH used. Tradeoff is it can only handle 160 watts, so this limits you to 3A on a 13S. It's inexpensive though at $35-40 shipped from aliexpress. The glowing circle is just the LEd's from a CPU fan used to keep the device cool. People have installed water cooled CPU fans and dissipate 300 or more watts.
I use both. The second method lets me check AH at low current. The first gives real world capacity, but takes a while.
UtahPete
10 W
Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place, but I think the CA3 is $169CN
UtahPete
10 W
So, given all that, what do you think of the item on Amazon I was asking about?
docw009
1 MW
What do I think about the amazon item? Too expensive. I can buy a $15 RC wattmeter and check its indicated current with an accurate ammeter, which I have. I'll note how far it's off and correct the reading accordingly.
It doesn't help me measure a battery any faster than using a throw-away wattmeter. Requires a bulky shunt to be inserted in front of the load. Might be good for a golf cart, but the little meters work fine for ebikes.
It doesn't help me measure a battery any faster than using a throw-away wattmeter. Requires a bulky shunt to be inserted in front of the load. Might be good for a golf cart, but the little meters work fine for ebikes.
I used to use a turnigy wattmeter to do my testing. $27 on hobbyking.
Inaccuracy VS a much more expensive device was ~1%, no big deal because i don't have to have perfect precision.
I wouldn't buy a cheaper clone of it, but i can recommend the original.
Inaccuracy VS a much more expensive device was ~1%, no big deal because i don't have to have perfect precision.
I wouldn't buy a cheaper clone of it, but i can recommend the original.
