Battery Testing Instruments - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: MasterBuilder
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2020, 10:01:00 am
content: Let us take a look at battery test equipment. Ive been confusedby the various specifications and claims made by some of the vendors of Battery test equipment. Could someone elaborate on how and what these instruments might be measuring and calculating beyond simple Voltage measurements.The Fluke application note says imporatant health indicators are Internal battery resistance (impedance) and Discharge testinghttps://dam-assets.fluke.com/s3fs-public/6004018_0000_ENG_A_W.PDFThe keysight application note has plenty of good background information.https://www.keysight.com/us/en/assets/7018-06734/application-notes/5952-4191.pdfA few notable products:ACT 612Powered by the battery, Claims to simulate a 20 hour discharge in seconds, how? Is this a discharge test?https://www.actmeters.com/products/battery-testing/act-612-6v12v-lead-acid-intelligent-battery-tester/BK precision 600BPowered by the battery, this displays remaining battery capacity, voltage and internal resistance test presumably.https://www.bkprecision.com/products/electrical-battery-testers/600B-12v-sla-battery-capacity-analyzer-tester.htmlBK precision 603BThis does everything the 600B does, also does a discharge (load) test.https://www.bkprecision.com/products/electrical-battery-testers/603B-6v-12v-sla-battery-capacity-analyzer-recorder.htmlFluke 500 seriesMeasures voltage and resistance this seems to have internal battery resistance and discharge testinghttps://www.fluke.com/en-ie/product/electrical-testing/battery-analyzers/fluke-500BK precision BA6010While significantly more expensive then the handheld BK precision battery testers there is no mention of discharge testing? This also has Kelvin measurement features.https://www.bkprecision.com/products/electrical-battery-testers/BA6011-300-v-battery-analyzer.htmlAmprobe BAT-500The datasheet says it calculates life from battery internal resistance and Voltage, this seems to be clear enough.https://www.amprobe.com/product/bat-500/

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2020, 11:51:34 am
content: Not been impressed by the ACT units I've used. For small lead acids these work well but you have to gather your own data set:https://www.yuasa.co.uk/chargers-and-accesssories/testers-battery-analysers/show/all.htmlFor bigger ones, say 24Ah and up, these are what I prefer:https://www.interparts.uk/durite-discharge-battery-tester---612v-275a-0-524-08-7294-p.aspThesedo get quite warm if you've a few batteries to test...

author: MasterBuilder
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2020, 05:32:56 pm
content: I notice the Yuasa testers you linked are described as Battery analyzers. What do they mean by analyzer, I expect it does a few measurements and then a calculation. So then, is it practical to do this on some test equipment that I might have lying around; I.e. measure Voltage with the multimeter, measure impedance with an LCR meter and do a little calculation fort the capacity/ health/ state of charge?But this leads me to the question, are these battery testers/ analyzers just LCR meters with less features?Regarding the discharge tester, how long would you discharge the battery for? Is it worthwhile discharging at high load for a few seconds and is this much better than the battery impedance test?

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2020, 07:49:42 pm
content: They measure the internal conductivity of the battery. Apparently it's a good measure of its health, at least as far as AGM types anyway.I haven't been doing that job for some months now but iirc they read out in nS.As for the idea you can simulate a 20 hour discharge "in seconds", I don't see how that can be possible.Discharge profiles vary considerably based on load, and the internal heating that larger loads generate.That's why datasheets for batteries show different real capacities based on discharge current, usually with lower discharge rates equating to larger capacity.As far as I know, the only time higher current gives higher capacity is when you've a low ambient temperature and the self heating helps the chemical reaction get closer to optimal.

author: jpyeron
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 22, 2023, 11:10:06 pm
content: Quote from: MasterBuilder on July 06, 2020, 10:01:00 amI will reword this. Why should I spend more than 400$, when I can play, build, and learn. How do these devices work? How would one start to build one?

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 23, 2023, 03:08:35 am
content: Quote from: MasterBuilder on July 06, 2020, 10:01:00 amIt only does it for a very specific chemistry.It probably places three or four different loads on it, measures voltage drop at each load, then extrapolates using tables.