Battery capacity tester with data logging

[jk2017]

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)

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

 

[Ampster]

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.

 

[jk2017]

Thanks for reply. Your reply made me realize that I can separate data logging part and variable load part.

 

[sshibly]

CBA is bit outside my Ramen budget,
Dataq is around $60,
Can Dataq be used for logging voltage/amps over time?

 

[Repro]

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.

 

[jk2017]

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.

Cool, thanks. It looks like better than Victron smart shunt.

 

[DerpsyDoodler]

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)

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

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.

 

[jk2017]

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.

I should have reported this sooner, but I bought an Atorch DL24P. It has been working great.

 

[sshibly]

I should have reported this sooner, but I bought an Atorch DL24P. It has been working great.

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

 

[jk2017]

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

Correct, you need an external power. The device has no memory of readings. It's not CSV but a text file.

 

[DerpsyDoodler]

csv stands for comma separated values and is itself a “text” file.

 

[jk2017]

csv stands for comma separated values and is itself a “text” file.

I know. Values are not separated by commas in the data file.

 

[Just John]

I should have reported this sooner, but I bought an Atorch DL24P. It has been working great.

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.

 

[Charmz]

I just bought a DL24 but how to use has me a little baffled, can anyone help me?

 

[curt95658]

I just bought a DL24 but how to use has me a little baffled, can anyone help me?

 

[Boondock Saint]

So what's the verdict on these? Is there a particular one on Amazon that is a known good? Recomendations?

 

[Watchout]

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

 

[Watchout]

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

 

[houseofancients]

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)

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

https://m.nl.aliexpress.com/item/4000465060713.html?trace=wwwdetail2mobilesitedetail&aff_fcid=192c729b48be46e18fe4abf893553276-1625344151855-01512-_9QrPfd&aff_fsk=_9QrPfd&aff_platform=shareComponent-detail&sk=_9QrPfd&aff_trace_key=192c729b48be46e18fe4abf893553276-1625344151855-01512-_9QrPfd&terminal_id=25b20965d7cb4296a3e93ecd6929ccf6&tmLog=new_Detail

 

[Just John]

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).

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

Not that all the cheap fan testers have similar problems. Just try not to run the at max current.

 

[riker1]

Hi, how did you calibrate the current?

 

[RCinFLA]

The DL24P is pretty good. The PC app is pretty poor. There are several third party PC programs that are better. When testing and data logging you want data file to have three decimal places on cell voltage and several of the PC apps only show two decimal places in dump file. The unit's ADC is 24bit sigma delta converter so it is pretty accurate.

I suggest soldering a 20-30 amp auto fuse across the STPS41H100CG dual diode on center left side of PCB topside. The diode gets very hot at high current and does not have much heat sinking. The diode is only for reverse polarity protection and with the auto fuse the load MOSFET body diode will conduct for an accidental reverse battery hookup so fuse blows.

Also make sure you use the four wire remote cell voltage sensing to eliminate effects of voltage drop on high load current cables to battery.

One thing that is very important. You must connect 12v power supply BEFORE plugging in USB cord to computer. If you plug in computer USB before connecting the tester's 12vdc power supply it usually blows out the serial to USB converter chip CH340G and you will no longer have USB communications. I have had to replace a couple of these CH340G SOIC's on the board because of this issue.

 

[Watchout]

Hi' everybody,

Atorch make several different variants of testers. The DL-24P is a good tester, but only suitable really for cell capacities below 80Ah, because it isn't able to sustain a discharge current above 16Amp (=0.2C) which is the standardized test discharge current.
You can still use it of course, but your resulting capacity will then show a higher Ah capacity, than what the cell would be able to provide at the proper test current.

I also tried their tester with multiple MOSFETs to obtain higher discharge current, but I had to completely give up on that path, the MOSFETs start producing some very noisy quiescent currents, and I never managed to run them stable with currents above 25Amp, and they end up self-destructive instead. I tried to get proper support from Atorch, but although they did try to help, it was fruitless, and just a complete waiste of time and money.

I now use and have several quite professional testers capable of up to 50Amp both charging and discharging, they work really smooth and have plentifully settings for good analysis of your battery, and they weren't even overly expensive.

If you are using cells up to 230Ah I would highly recommend such tester, and even cells of 280 and 320 you could test, but then with slightly insufficient discharge current (64Amp CC on 320Ah).

I also use it to analyse selfdischarge on a cell. Bad cells can easily draw over 1 amp continuously to maintain 3.65V, whereas good cells drop below 100mA without difficulty after a completed full charge.

The discharge curve itself also reveals such problem, as the voltage on the cell shows a constantly dropping voltage, where good cells does not drop much in voltage untill the very end of the discharge cycle.

The discharge curves shown here are both for 161Ah cells fully charged, rested and recharged before starting the discharge test, and you can clearly see the difference.

It also turned out that seller had scratched out the QR codes on the two worst performing cells, as if that would make any sense ?.

Hope you can use this information in your quest to stop fraudulent or aged cell offerings presented as grad-A and brand new.

Wath-Out.

 

[Just John]

The DL24P is pretty good. The PC app is pretty poor.

Very accurate description.

The diode gets very hot at high current and does not have much heat sinking. The diode is only for reverse polarity protection and with the auto fuse the load MOSFET body diode will conduct for an accidental reverse battery hookup so fuse blows.

Good suggestion. For anyone interested I did some measurements of the diode temperature (measured through the PCB).

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

Also make sure you use the four wire remote cell voltage sensing to eliminate effects of voltage drop on high load current cables to battery.

That is the primary advantage of this tester, the sense leads certainly help with accuracy. Still cheap enough and accurate enough.

One thing that is very important. You must connect 12v power supply BEFORE plugging in USB cord to computer. If you plug in computer USB before connecting the tester's 12vdc power supply it usually blows out the serial to USB converter chip CH340G and you will no longer have USB communications. I have had to replace a couple of these CH340G SOIC's on the board because of this issue.

This I didn't know, sounds logical though. Thanks for the tip.

 

[matt2006]

I use icharger 4010Duo
To test hundreds of 12v and 24v lifepo4 recycled batteries and the discharge is regenerative back to my 24V battery as the source power.

This is for my business in reselling pre owned lithium batteries.

They have an SD card slot for data logging.