conductance battery testers

[Donald]

I know several months ago there was a thread on this topic and some people had bought the HF tester and others have the more expensive Midtronics. So now that people have used the HF one for many months, what are pros/cons. My local HF store does not carry it.

I am thinking the Solar brand for $50 - $60 might be a better deal if you do not want to spend the money on a Midtronics.

Question: Do they all handle temp compensation? I would think that is a definite requirement if its very cold out. I know my load tester has a temp. compensate scale.

 

[JHZR2]

The most important metric to me is impedance. I dont need anything else really. There are strandard tables that exist that tell us what the full SOC voltage is for a battery at different temperatures. I dont need a good and bad, or even a CCA value, as I can calculate that. Load testing does not give me Ah capacity anyway, so it does not help in these regards, it just gives a real voltage drop value under load, which again is indicative of impedance.

So again, impedance is the value you want. Something like the Solar just gives CCA, which has added error because it extrapolates values at other conditions. Just give me the impedance and let me see if the battery can source the power I need or not. Sure, Impedance is temperature-dependent, but that's why something like the Solar propagates error potentially, and why I just want the raw value.

The Cen-Tech meter is the only compact, handheld unit Ive found that has this capability. While I am generally anti-HF, just like some other things in our life, some things can only be had from a less than optimal source (i.e. China). At that point you either buy it or do without. Unfortunately even the Solar is sourced from China.

Ive used it to test many batteries and like it. Some instances may not be properly serviced by this type of meter for diagnostics, but Ive yet to have an issue.

 

[The_Jeff]

I have the same cen-tech and while the gadget is great the test leads and wires are cheezy and hard to work right. The alligator clips are undersized, don't stretch around some terminals like the big fat lead ones, and the insulation in the wires is stiff third world plasticy rubberish stuff. It's so bad if I put the tester down under the hood the stiff wires rip the alligator clips off the battery, if they were holding on tenuously like to a GM side terminal.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
The most important metric to me is impedance. I dont need anything else really. There are strandard tables that exist that tell us what the full SOC voltage is for a battery at different temperatures. I dont need a good and bad, or even a CCA value, as I can calculate that. Load testing does not give me Ah capacity anyway, so it does not help in these regards, it just gives a real voltage drop value under load, which again is indicative of impedance.

So again, impedance is the value you want. Something like the Solar just gives CCA, which has added error because it extrapolates values at other conditions. Just give me the impedance and let me see if the battery can source the power I need or not. Sure, Impedance is temperature-dependent, but that's why something like the Solar propagates error potentially, and why I just want the raw value.

The Cen-Tech meter is the only compact, handheld unit Ive found that has this capability. While I am generally anti-HF, just like some other things in our life, some things can only be had from a less than optimal source (i.e. China). At that point you either buy it or do without. Unfortunately even the Solar is sourced from China.

Ive used it to test many batteries and like it. Some instances may not be properly serviced by this type of meter for diagnostics, but Ive yet to have an issue.


I assume some or all of the Midtronic testers give impedence?

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Donald
I assume some or all of the Midtronic testers give impedence?


My assumption is no...

Quote:
Q: I used to test batteries with an impedance or
resistance tester. Can I convert those reference
numbers to conductance reference numbers?
A: No, they cannot be directly calculated to each other.
Midtronics testers measure the conductance as an
AC function. Impedance meters use a pulsed load and
calculate the resistance based on the step change in
the current when the load is pulsed. Conductance is
also an AC test. However, conductance testers look at
the “real” part of the complex admittance, called
conductance or sometimes acceptance.
These techniques are interrelated, but they are not
identical. Additionally, different manufacturers take
measurements using different frequencies

 

[Donald]

I thought the Midtronics testers were the "benchmark" to compare against?

 

[JHZR2]

Perhaps they are, especially if youre a wal mart or parts store or shop that wants a one button test to tell you something.

I want to know impedance as it means something to me. Short of buying a spectrometer which is neither portable or cheap, this at least gets me a value...

 

[Donald]

I was watching a YouTube on Argus battery analyzers, but looks like they were driven out of business after patent suits from Midtronics.