Do you know of a good battery tester?

Batteries and Chargers Rechargeable Batteries
1

As much as I try to keep track of charged/discharged/new batteries I still find loose batteries in an unknown state. My Ni-MHs can be tossed in a charger, so I guess my bigger need is for the AA/AAA/C/D alkalines that I still use for select purposes. (I think my wife is the culprit who throws them in the drawer in an unknown state :expressionless: ).

I bought a small one from Radio Shack but it pretty much says everything is good. It is a POS. I have a multimeter but it is kept out in the garage. Is there a reliable, budget-minded battery tester?

Those with a decent charge I consider good. Those that are low go into a pile for uses like remotes, cordless mouse, etc until they are truly drained.

2

i am *very* satisfied with the generic cheapo :)

3

awww, man, that’s the exact one that I hate. Maybe yours works better than mine.

4

Have that one as well, the world is invaded with those (and nobody warned !).

Actually it works for me too, I do not just look at the reading, but also at the speed of the movement of the hand.

5

I just use a DMM.

6

Here is the one to get:

7

I use a ZTS battery tester.

8

is this cheap enough?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Universal-Cell-BT168-button-Battery-volt-AKKU-Tester-AA-AAA-C-D-9V-Checker-Test-/261112057730?pt=US_Battery_Testers&hash=item3ccb7dcf82

9

A ZTS tester.I find though it registers replace when indeed there is a fair amount of juice left.

10

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?\_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&\_nkw=battery+tester+digital&\_sacat=0&\_from=R40

this one tests with load so should give you better reading with depleted primaries

11

I use the Tenergy T-333 Universal Battery Checker. It has an LCD power meter and has worked very well. Inexpensive too!

12

Just putting a DMM on a battery tells you very little (unless the cell is as dead as Elvis). You need some kind of load on the cell to sort the wheat from the chaff…

13

The ZTS measures under load.

14

I have exactly the same as yours. I purchased it in Hong Kong years ago at US$3.90.

15

Many years ago at work , we had a simple method of testing alkaline cells … We just used an Avo Model 8 on the 10A range as the load … If it still read at the top end of the range after a few seconds then the cell was OK … A bad cell drops very rapidly … Simple !

I have a cheap tester at home and I look for how fast the meter needle moves … If it clicks loudly as it hits the full-scale-deflection , then the battery is OK … So I do it by ear … Simple !
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16

I found this stuff on youtube some kind of steps how to check your battery if it’s working or not: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NjIRxcmsOw