Become a Patron!

Amp Load Testing

Joshua Parnell

Member For 4 Years
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
Member For 5 Years
So I just bought some batteries from eBay. I'm always wary about that because of the risk of getting fakes. Anyway, how do I go about testing for advertised amps? I was able to find load testers, but only for 9v and 12v batteries, not 3.7v's.

Any advice? I'd like a way to see actual results of tests, opposed to "Hurr durr, this says 35A, lets get a 0.12Ω build on it!" and see my face go poof.
 

BoomStick

Gold Contributor
Member For 5 Years
You would need thermal imaging to monitor cell temp while drawing specific amounts of current from the cell as well as a specialized rig for applying an adjustable load. It's not as simple as buying a single piece of test equipment. Simple answer is don't buy batteries that will be used in high drain devices off eBay or amazon. Use a trusted, known vendor.
 

Jon@LiionWholesale

Silver Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Unlisted Vendor
The simple answer is you would need to spend a bare minimum of a few hundred to a thousand dollars just for very basic hobby grade equipment to be able to do the testing. That's really why our company exists, we test them so you don't have to.
 

battery bro

Member For 4 Years
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
You can get arduino battery dischargers with custom 18650 adapter for less than $50 that can also input into USB and read-out on the PC. I don't think anyone sells them in the US at the moment but that's what we all use here in Asia.

However, like others say you need really expensive equipment to test higher than 3A draws, for example you might want to take 30amps to really check authenticity and for that you need your own power source and a few other things.

Here, let me show you a few pics:

discharge_1024x1024.jpg


And regarding thermo imaging, it's not too difficult but I don't have this equipment it does run a couple hundred dollars.

But you can get a cheaper IR gun, like this for maybe $30

temperature_1024x1024.jpg


If you are really serious about getting a system set up you can PM me and I'll help you with an equipment list.

Take a look at Lygte-info's setup it's very nice:

http://lygte-info.dk/info/myLabSetup UK.html

I especially respect his portable lab:

DSC_4699.jpg
 

Jon@LiionWholesale

Silver Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Unlisted Vendor
We also don't use IR imaging, I'm not aware of anyone that does that. It's actually a really interesting idea and I think I'll put that on the list of investments for our company soon.

But basically we just use a combination of a point IR gun and we log a thermistor taped to the exterior of the cell. That's really all you need for the temperature stuff.
 

VU Sponsors

Top