diy solar

diy solar

Battery capacity tester with data logging

J

jk2017

New Member
Joined
May 30, 2020
Messages
20
I'm looking for a battery capacity tester with data logging functionality. I did some research and found these. Does anyone have experience with them or have other suggestions? Atorch is much cheaper than CBA IV. But apparently, the app is really bad and not usable according to feedbacks.

West Mountain Radio CBA IV

CBA IV - Computerized Battery Analyzer - West Mountain Radio

True constant current battery capacity test with results graphically displayed, constant power testing supported with Extended software upgrade. Discharge current is software and electronically regulated using a solid state switch and fan cooled electronic load. Test any type of battery; coin...
www.westmountainradio.com

Atorch DL24/P (150 W/180 W)
www.aliexpress.com

33.04US $ 20% OFF|DL24/P Color 2.4" DC USB tester electronic load lithium battery capacity monitor discharge charge power meter supply checker APP|Battery Testers| - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
www.aliexpress.com www.aliexpress.com
 
I used the CBA IV for years until I somehow broke it. I am now using a PowerLab 6 which is great because it can do both cells in a Nissan Leaf module.

The power resistors i used on single cells got hot and burned up at 24 volts. Therefore I ordered something similar to the Atorch just to get a variable load that I can use for testing. Don't expect much logging and don't care for that price.
 
CBA is bit outside my Ramen budget,
Dataq is around $60,
Can Dataq be used for logging voltage/amps over time?
 
While this is not a tester, the Bluetooth capable Thornwave PowerMon 5 is a great smart shunt with data logger, and the measurements are very accurate. It can also be easily calibrated using your existing equipment. It can log up to 3 years of data. I use it in conjunction with my load tester to verify testing results. Not only can I verify load tests, but when fully charging after load tests, I can verify the charge and bounce the measurements off of the load tests and compare them. It costs around $160.
 
Repro said:
While this is not a tester, the Bluetooth capable Thornwave PowerMon 5 is a great smart shunt with data logger, and the measurements are very accurate. It can also be easily calibrated using your existing equipment. It can log up to 3 years of data. I use it in conjunction with my load tester to verify testing results. Not only can I verify load tests, but when fully charging after load tests, I can verify the charge and bounce the measurements off of the load tests and compare them. It costs around $160.
Click to expand...
Cool, thanks. It looks like better than Victron smart shunt.
 
jk2017 said:
I'm looking for a battery capacity tester with data logging functionality. I did some research and found these. Does anyone have experience with them or have other suggestions? Atorch is much cheaper than CBA IV. But apparently, the app is really bad and not usable according to feedbacks.

West Mountain Radio CBA IV

CBA IV - Computerized Battery Analyzer - West Mountain Radio

True constant current battery capacity test with results graphically displayed, constant power testing supported with Extended software upgrade. Discharge current is software and electronically regulated using a solid state switch and fan cooled electronic load. Test any type of battery; coin...
www.westmountainradio.com

Atorch DL24/P (150 W/180 W)
www.aliexpress.com

33.04US $ 20% OFF|DL24/P Color 2.4" DC USB tester electronic load lithium battery capacity monitor discharge charge power meter supply checker APP|Battery Testers| - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
www.aliexpress.com www.aliexpress.com
Click to expand...
You can find ones like the atorch on Amazon for ~$40. I have one, haven’t put it to use, yet, though. Got it from Will’s recommendation in one of his videos.
 
DerpsyDoodler said:
You can find ones like the atorch on Amazon for ~$40. I have one, haven’t put it to use, yet, though. Got it from Will’s recommendation in one of his videos.
Click to expand...
I should have reported this sooner, but I bought an Atorch DL24P. It has been working great.
 
jk2017 said:
I should have reported this sooner, but I bought an Atorch DL24P. It has been working great.
Click to expand...
I saw it and I have one, I downloaded the app and it is supposed to be able to download the csv file, have not tried yet.
I need to hook up external power to keep the memory
 
sshibly said:
I saw it and I have one, I downloaded the app and it is supposed to be able to download the csv file, have not tried yet.
I need to hook up external power to keep the memory
Click to expand...
Correct, you need an external power. The device has no memory of readings. It's not CSV but a text file.
 
jk2017 said:
I should have reported this sooner, but I bought an Atorch DL24P. It has been working great.
Click to expand...
I have one and did some testing of it, specifically component temperature at specific loads. Using it to test individual cells, I recommend below 15 amps, 10 amps is safe. For a 12v battery pack, 8 amps is safe.
The diode on the board (not the mosfet) will get around 100 degrees Celsius measured through the PCB when run at 20 amps for a single cell. It won't last long at that temperature, and can burn your finger!
If you are interested, I actually have photos of the temperature and how I measured.
I think I will post a separate thread, but they are actually fairly accurate if you recognize their limitations.
 
I just bought a DL24 but how to use has me a little baffled, can anyone help me?
 
So what's the verdict on these? Is there a particular one on Amazon that is a known good? Recomendations?
 
The DL24P is quite good and very accurate, when you use it correctly. Please note you should connect two sets of wires for accurate results. One set for voltage detection of the source (battery or charger/power-supply, they can be fairly thin as no current is drawn through them. The other set should be thicker (depending of course how much current you want to draw).
For battery capacity test use CC (Constant Current) drain and the defined safe minimum cut-off voltage for the battery type you are testing.
Be sure to have recharged the battery full (also only to safe maximum voltage for the battery type you want to test.
Be sure that current (Amps) X Battery voltage (V) doesn't exceed the maximum power the DL24P can handle (max 180W)
Also don't select more than 20Amp even at low voltages, as the diode will get too warm, also the transistor has a limit not much over 20Amps anyway.
I bought mine on AliExpress, and came within 3 weeks here in Denmark.

Best regards
 
I verified both current and voltage measurements with two other instruments, to be sure of my results.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20210702_102925.jpg
    Screenshot_20210702_102925.jpg
    142 KB · Views: 11
  • IMG_20210624_093537_345.JPG
    IMG_20210624_093537_345.JPG
    329.5 KB · Views: 11
  • IMG_20210624_093316_349.JPG
    IMG_20210624_093316_349.JPG
    155.8 KB · Views: 10
jk2017 said:
I'm looking for a battery capacity tester with data logging functionality. I did some research and found these. Does anyone have experience with them or have other suggestions? Atorch is much cheaper than CBA IV. But apparently, the app is really bad and not usable according to feedbacks.

West Mountain Radio CBA IV

CBA IV - Computerized Battery Analyzer - West Mountain Radio

True constant current battery capacity test with results graphically displayed, constant power testing supported with Extended software upgrade. Discharge current is software and electronically regulated using a solid state switch and fan cooled electronic load. Test any type of battery; coin...
www.westmountainradio.com

Atorch DL24/P (150 W/180 W)
www.aliexpress.com

33.04US $ 20% OFF|DL24/P Color 2.4" DC USB tester electronic load lithium battery capacity monitor discharge charge power meter supply checker APP|Battery Testers| - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
www.aliexpress.com www.aliexpress.com
Click to expand...
 
The DL24P, it's actually quite accurate.
You however may wish to see some temperature measurements I did on one while it was running (it very kindly includes a temp probe with the kit).

diysolarforum.com

Battery cell capacity testing.

I have started trying out a new tester, the ET5410 (about $185 including air freight). At 35 amps it takes about 8 hours to test a cell, but I'm going to test lower amps due to my fuse holder heating up. It's much better than the $30 tester from ATorch. This $30 tester has a tendency to burn out...
diysolarforum.com diysolarforum.com

Not that all the cheap fan testers have similar problems. Just try not to run the at max current.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
"Best" battery capacity tester with data logging
Replies
16
Views
5K
Just John
J
M
Good Battery Capacity Tester
2
Replies
29
Views
4K
nosys70
nosys70
J
Battery cell capacity testing.
2
Replies
28
Views
3K
Just John
J
O
DL24P Battery Capacity Tester - Voltage not agreeing with Multitester
Replies
8
Views
851
OnTheRoadAgain
O
Back
Top