UtahPete
10 W
Are there specific instruments for this? I'm talking about analyzing the characteristics of the cell / battery beyond what a multimeter will tell me.
Thanks.
Thanks.
How to test batteries and cells?
- Thread starter UtahPete
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floydr
100 W
Opus, megacellcharger, tests individual 18650's, An Ir meter i use a Yr1030+, Ichargers in general I have and use X8, X12, all depends on how detailed you want. Professional/ commercial Grade will be much more expensive then the hobby grade testers I metioned
Later floyd
Later floyd
Test Equipment - Ebike Parts - Shop
A variety of equipment used in doing ebike service, analysis and repair.
ebikes.ca
Look into those fancy rc chargers, you might be able to do discharge tests along with graphing but those arent cheap.
UtahPete
10 W
Those all are for testing individual cells, right? Is there a way to test a complete battery pack?
Thanks for the info.
UtahPete
10 W
I didn't see battery testers at the ebike site. Can you provide me a link to the specific instrument you're recommending?I dont know if you can hook up a Cycle Analyst, then how do you get a printout - im sure its been done.Test Equipment - Ebike Parts - Shop
A variety of equipment used in doing ebike service, analysis and repair.
Look into those fancy rc chargers, you might be able to do discharge tests along with graphing but those arent cheap.
floydr
100 W
the Opus and Megacelltesters are for individual cells , The icharger balance come in several different formats from 1s to 12s batteries can be tested.The ichargers duo can i believe can test up to double the series. They can save discharge/charge curves to a micro sd card. Various other info is available on screen
Later floyd
edit: the ichagerline of analyzers can test from 1s up to the max series X6 6s, X8 8s, X12 12s .
Last edited:
docw009
10 MW
This tester is both fragile and limited in its use because it can only pull around 160 watts, which limits me to 3 amps on a 48V battery. It's an Atorch DL24 and sells for around around $35 on aliexpress. It's just a circuit that draws a user programmable constant current, and has a clock and voltmeter to watch voltage. When the voltage hits your programmed LVC, the clock is used to measure how many AH you used. The load is a power MOSFET with a heat sink and CPU fan. Some prople mount water cooled units on the MOSFET and sink higher wattages.
I found it pretty reproducible, When I pull 3 amps, my other (good) meters say it's 3.00 amps. However, I found I have to be quite careful when connecting batteries. The unit has to be idle, and if I change current when it's attached, a glitch can blow the unit up. Aliexpress was pretty good about it when my first one blew up and sent an immediate refund. I replaced it anyway. Been good for 18 months,.
Another method for load testing is a wattmeter. Put it between the controller and battery and run the battery almost flat, It will tell you max current, total AH and WH. However, if you run the battery flat, it powers off and you lose all the data, You can power it with a second battery to save the the data, but the connections are flaky. Another way is to discharge your battery and put the wattmeter between the charger and battery while it's charging,
The units are like $9-14 USD, and are a crapshoot as far as accuracy. You have to check the display current against a known value and readjust your AH/WH. If you get one that's good, then you're OK, but they seem to fall apart after 2 years,
I usually measure the battery while charging, which is a low current situation. The other methid is also a low current situation, so my AH data will always be higher than an ebike situation where the currents are 2x-4X higher, If I put the mter on the bike though, I can ride a certain distance and obtain WH/mile.
For calibration and general troubleshooting, I have a nice Extech clamp-on DC ammeter. It's 25 years old, so I picked up a cheap chinese copy for $50, Used it mainly to check alternators on my cars before I got into ebikes. That's how I know 3 amps is 3 amps.
I found it pretty reproducible, When I pull 3 amps, my other (good) meters say it's 3.00 amps. However, I found I have to be quite careful when connecting batteries. The unit has to be idle, and if I change current when it's attached, a glitch can blow the unit up. Aliexpress was pretty good about it when my first one blew up and sent an immediate refund. I replaced it anyway. Been good for 18 months,.
Another method for load testing is a wattmeter. Put it between the controller and battery and run the battery almost flat, It will tell you max current, total AH and WH. However, if you run the battery flat, it powers off and you lose all the data, You can power it with a second battery to save the the data, but the connections are flaky. Another way is to discharge your battery and put the wattmeter between the charger and battery while it's charging,
The units are like $9-14 USD, and are a crapshoot as far as accuracy. You have to check the display current against a known value and readjust your AH/WH. If you get one that's good, then you're OK, but they seem to fall apart after 2 years,
I usually measure the battery while charging, which is a low current situation. The other methid is also a low current situation, so my AH data will always be higher than an ebike situation where the currents are 2x-4X higher, If I put the mter on the bike though, I can ride a certain distance and obtain WH/mile.
For calibration and general troubleshooting, I have a nice Extech clamp-on DC ammeter. It's 25 years old, so I picked up a cheap chinese copy for $50, Used it mainly to check alternators on my cars before I got into ebikes. That's how I know 3 amps is 3 amps.
