18650 Tester

markr6 · Jul 2, 2014

I'm surprised there isn't a small product that can easily test 18650 (or other Li-Ions) capacity. Simply noticing your battery seems like it's wearing may not be so obvious for light-duty users like myself. Hobby chargers, even a cheap setup, seems like overkill to test capacity. ZTS is nice but doesn't measure capacity.

This sounds like something up Xtar's alley. Just a simple discharge/charge unit that can report capacity. Maybe it's more complex than I make it sound?

leaftye · Jul 2, 2014

Opus BT-C3100. There's another smart charger that tests capacity that some of us will be reviewing soon too.

markr6 · Jul 2, 2014

leaftye said:
Opus BT-C3100. There's another smart charger that tests capacity that some of us will be reviewing soon too.

Forgot about that one, thanks! Will keep an eye out...

Overclocker · Jul 2, 2014

markr6 said:
I'm surprised there isn't a small product that can easily test 18650 (or other Li-Ions) capacity. Simply noticing your battery seems like it's wearing may not be so obvious for light-duty users like myself. Hobby chargers, even a cheap setup, seems like overkill to test capacity. ZTS is nice but doesn't measure capacity.

This sounds like something up Xtar's alley. Just a simple discharge/charge unit that can report capacity. Maybe it's more complex than I make it sound?

there's nothing overkill about a $16 imax b6 clone from hobbyking

markr6 · Jul 2, 2014

Overclocker said:
there's nothing overkill about a $16 imax b6 clone from hobbyking

Yeah but then a power supply. And a cell holder, magnets, wires, etc. I know we're still talking relatively low cost, but seems like a mess just to measure capacity.

But, not saying I won't consider one. Thanks for the info about the b6 and hobbyking!

HKJ · Jul 2, 2014

markr6 said:
I'm surprised there isn't a small product that can easily test 18650 (or other Li-Ions) capacity. Simply noticing your battery seems like it's wearing may not be so obvious for light-duty users like myself. Hobby chargers, even a cheap setup, seems like overkill to test capacity. ZTS is nice but doesn't measure capacity.

This sounds like something up Xtar's alley. Just a simple discharge/charge unit that can report capacity. Maybe it's more complex than I make it sound?

Capacity is the best way to test LiIon batteries, but you can also check internal resistance or impedance with a simple meter:

For capacity measurements you can use:
Hobby charger
BT-C3100
LiitoKala
CBA
Electronic load
And I expect at least two more analyzing chargers this year.

EPiKvape · Jul 2, 2014

HKJ said:
Capacity is the best way to test LiIon batteries, but you can also check internal resistance or impedance with a simple meter:

For capacity measurements you can use:
Hobby charger
BT-C3100
LiitoKala
CBA
Electronic load
And I expect at least two more analyzing chargers this year.

Can you point me to a link that gives me step by step direction on how to safely do this? I'm guessing this meter will spit out numbers that I won't understand.

HKJ · Jul 2, 2014

EPiKvape said:
Can you point me to a link that gives me step by step direction on how to safely do this?

Nothing more than the link in the above post.
Note: The cell has to be fully charged when checking it.

EPiKvape said:
I'm guessing this meter will spit out numbers that I won't understand.

That is about correct. Basically when the numbers for a cell get larger, it shows the cell is older. This means you can take a pile of cells and sort them according to wear. The number is related to the cell type, i.e. do not expect same values from a Panasonic 3400mAh cells and a Sony 2600mAh high current cell or a 16340 cell.

18650 Tester

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