ZTS CR123 Test Results vs Discharge Test Results

Yesterday I received with much excitement a ZTS Mini_MBT tester. I immediately tested my new Surefire, Duracell, and Battery Station CR123 batteries.

Here are the ZTS test results:

Surefire:
11 tested 100%

Duracell:
3 tested 100%

Battery Station:
Lot 0505
4 tested 20%
4 tested 40%
2 tested 60%
Lot 0306
9 tested 100%
1 tested 20%

My test method with the ZTS tester was to repeatedly test a battery until I got the same results 3 times in a row.

I was curious to know what the capacity was of a battery that tested 20% with the ZTS tester, so I discharged a battery with my Hyperion EOS 7i RC battery charger/discharger.

Test Setup:
Temp: 73 deg F
Discharge current: 1A
Low voltage cutoff: 1.8V

Battery 1:
Battery Station Lot 0505
ZTS capacity before test: 20%
ZTS capacity after tests: alternated between 20% and no light
Discharge Capacity = 4 mAh (test lasted 18 seconds)
Further tests of battery 1:
.9A discharge: 20 mAh
.8A discharge: 12 mAh
.7A discharge: 16 mAh
.6A discharge: 34 mAh
.5A discharge: 44 mAh

Battery 2:
Battery Station Lot 0505
ZTS capacity before test: 60%
ZTS capacity after test: 20%
Discharge Capacity = 746 mAh

Battery 3:
Battery Station Lot 0505
ZTS capacity before test: 20%
ZTS capacity after test: no light
Discharge Capacity = 25 mAh
Further test of battery 3:
.7A discharge: 573 mAh

Battery 4:
Battery Station Lot 0505
ZTS capacity before test: 20%
ZTS capacity after test: 20%
Discharge Capacity = 498 mAh

Battery 5:
Battery Station Lot 0505
ZTS capacity before test: 20%
ZTS capacity after test: 20%
Discharge Capacity = 48 mAh
Further test of battery 5:
.7A discharge: 352 mAh

Battery 6:
Duracell Lot MAR2015
ZTS capacity before test: 100%
ZTS capacity after test: 20%
Discharge Capacity = 1149 mAh

Battery 7:
Surefire Lot 01-2013
ZTS capacity before test: 100%
ZTS capacity after test: 20%
Discharge Capacity = 1065 mAh

Battery 8:
Battery Station Lot 0505
ZTS capacity before test: 60% (ZTS had a hard time deciding)
ZTS capacity after test: 20%
Discharge Capacity = 587 mAh

Battery 9:
Battery Station Lot 0306
ZTS capacity before test: 20%
ZTS capacity after test: no light
Discharge Capacity = 731 mAh

Battery 10:
Battery Station Lot 0306
ZTS capacity before test: 100%
ZTS capacity after test: 20%
Discharge Capacity = 884 mAh

Battery 11:
Battery Station Lot 0306
ZTS capacity before test: 100%
ZTS capacity after test: 20%
Discharge Capacity = 881 mAh

Battery 12:
Battery Station Lot 0306
ZTS capacity before test: 100%
ZTS capacity after test: 20%
Discharge Capacity = 853 mAh

Battery 13:
GE/Sanyo (not dated, made in China)
ZTS capacity before test: 100%
ZTS capacity after test: 40%
Discharge Capacity = 1064 mAh

Battery 14:
GE/Sanyo (not dated, made in China)
ZTS capacity before test: 100%
ZTS capacity after test: 40%
Discharge Capacity = 1071 mAh

Conclusions:
Per SilverFox's 1A testing of CR123 cells, a Battery Station 123 should deliver around 1000 mAh's of capacity to 1.8V. This makes for some easy math:
100% capacity = 1000 mAh
80% capacity = 800 mAh
60% capacity = 600 mAh
40% capacity = 400 mAh
20% capacity = 200 mAh

Per ZTS, their tester draws around .8A's during a CR123 test, so discharging these cells at 1A probably had a negative effect on the results. I tested at 1A because I wanted to simulate the current draw from a 2 cell incandescent light.

From the above tests, 5 cells tested 20% on the ZTS. Their discharged capacities were:
4 mAh
25 mAh
498 mAh
48 mAh
731 mAh

This isn't enough of a sample to establish a solid trend, but this makes me confident in the test results of the ZTS.

The cell that tested 60% on the ZTS, discharged 746 mAh's. This is close enough for me from a $30 tester that's fast, simple, and doesn't drain your battery.

Based on these test results it looks like I had a good chance of an "event". 3 of 10 new cells had less than 10% of their capacity. I'm very glad I did this test, and hope the information above contributes to the prevention of any more accidents and injuries.

Ben

Re: ZTS Test Results vs Discharge Test Results

Re: ZTS Test Results vs Discharge Test Results

My testing is finished for now. I'd love to hear your comments.

Ben

Re: ZTS Test Results vs Discharge Test Results

Hello Ben,

You should run a Duracell and Surefire through your system to see how they do, and those results would serve as a comparison.

The BatteryStation cells sometimes start off with a drop in voltage, then the voltage will rise up as the chemistry heats up. Your 1.8 volt cut off may be causing some of the tests to terminate early. I don't think I have any BatteryStation 20% cells left, or I would see what I come up with.

Tom

Hi Tom,

Running a Duracell & Surefire is good idea. I'll do that tonight and see what I get.

Ben

I tested a Duracell and added it to the list above. It tested 1149 mAh....right on target.

I tested a Surefire and added it to the list above. It tested 1065 mAh...right on target.

Kevin from Battery Station is replacing the bad batteries. Thanks Kevin!

I'm sure the replacements will test 100% on the ZTS and I'll discharge one of them to see what I get.

I'm happy with the correlation I'm getting between the ZTS tested capacity and the actual discharge capacity. I looks like it's close enough to prevent dangerous cell mismatches.

I tested another Battery Station and added it to the list above. It tested 587 mAh....on target. This 0505 lot has not aged well. The best performer had 70% of the capacity of the Surefire. I wonder if the chemistry has changed. I'lll have to ask Kevin.

This is really interesting Data Ben :goodjob: I think I must invest in a ZTS to help safe usage in 2 cell+ applications, great work

Ian

This site and everybody has nailed me again.
Got ZTS tester in route to make sure 123's are about same energy amount.

ianb, I'm glad you found the data useful. The ZTS Mini-MBT is a good investment. Ansmann also make a tester that's supposed to be similar to the ZTS.

As you can see from the tests above, my ZTS has already done its job by identifying bad 123 cells that I had.

Yeah, they sound like a worthwhile investment, I've just ordered an Ansmann as I can get it easily here(UK) rather than shipping a ZTS from the US. I have some batteries I have had for a year plus and I am eager to test them.

thanks, Ian

Hello Ian,

Keep in mind that the loads and the look up voltage tables used on the Ansmann tester are different from the ZTS tester. It still should work fine for identifying weaker cells, but you may not get exactly the same results that the ZTS tester gives.

You do get a voltage read out with the Ansmann, so you have the ability to match on voltage and can ignore the % values.

For example, I have found that a CR123 cell that tests 20% on the ZTS tester will come in at 30-40% on the Ansmann tester.

Tom

...okay then , maybe I'll just end up following CPF rule #1, 'Just buy both'

Thanks for the information Tom, so, the load an Ansmann places on the cell is different? So is there somewhere I could look up figures for it?

thanks, Ian

Hello Ian,

Nothing is published...

Tom

I don't know about loads Ansmann puts on the batteries. I emailed ZTS and they gave me the loads for the MiniMBT.

Li - 800mA
Nimh - 380mA
Alkaline - 150mA
9V - 40mA

Maybe Ansmann will tell you the loads of their tester.

benh, great information!

ZTS may not be exact on, but does give accurate enough results to allow us to match up cells.

interesting that this batch of batt station 0505 also had defective cells...

10 replacement CR123's from Battery Station (Thanks Kevin!) were waiting for me when I got home from work today. First thing I did was tested them with the ZTS. Nine tested 100%, and one tested 20%. I discharge the 20% cell and also a 100% to see how the new cells performed. The info is added to the first post.

Thanks cy.

I agree that the ZTS is accurate enough. The most recent Battery Station cell tested 20% on the ZTS but actually discharged 731 mAh, so it should have tested 60-80% on the ZTS. The Battery Station cell that tested 100% on the ZTS discharged 884 mAh. That's a 20% actual capacity difference, but an 80% difference with the ZTS. I guess it all comes down to the voltage under load that the ZTS tester sees. I'm curious to see if Newbie will be able to get a pair of mismatched cells per the ZTS to vent/explode.

I tested two more Battery Station cells that test 100% on the ZTS. The results are added to the first post above.