In order to get the most out of your batteries, you have to properly maintain them. This is especially true if you have rechargeable batteries that cost a decent sum of money. One of the main battery maintenance operations is battery capacity testing. Battery capacity testing is performed using a special kind of tool, known as capacity tester.
This tool is used to ensure your batteries are at full-charge, so that they can power your appliances in case of a power outage. The ratings listed on the battery will almost always be higher than the actual capacity of the battery, and testing them frequently with a battery capacity tester is one way to find out their real capacity.
Simply put, the battery capacity is the battery’s ability to provide a specific amount of current at a constant rate to a specified end voltage for a particular amount of time. It’s determined by filling the battery with power and seeing how long it takes to empty that power. The main benefits of battery testing are: knowing when to replace the battery, locating faulty intercell connectors and weak cells, and determining where the battery is in its life curve.
Batteries should be tested every once in a while. The best way to figure out when they should be tested is by monitoring its internal resistance measurements. In other words, it’s much better to tailor a condition-based plan, rather than a calendar-based. That way, you won’t have to do unnecessary testing, and you won’t risk missing a test when you should have made one.
Internal resistance measuring is another important part of the battery maintenance cycle, and it will show you whether there’s a potential weakness in the battery. Performing internal resistance measurements will help you reduce the amount of capacity tests you have to run on the battery, which is extremely beneficial, as capacity tests reduce the life span of the battery.
When testing the battery, you put it under a specific amount of load. The ideal amount of load should be close to the amount of load a real application puts on it, and more importantly, the load should be constant. In order to save battery life, you can use a higher discharge rate for a shorter test time.
You can buy a battery capacity tester online at affordable prices, and use it to properly optimise all of your batteries. With these tools, you can rest assured that you won’t be left with a half-full battery on an important trip, or ensure your back up batteries are always up to the task in case of a power outage.
