Best 18650 Battery Tester Introduction

A standard 18650 battery carries a certain amount of electric charge but only for a limited amount of time. It is, however, difficult to tell how much of the battery’s capacity or charge remains whenever you feel like you may have used it for quite some time. A piece of electronic equipment that helps determine the amount of charge left in the cell is thus called a battery tester.

Without such a tester, the only remaining option would be to fix the 18650 batteries into a suitable electronic device and try turning it on. This process would not give you the amount of charge remaining and is also time-consuming. The battery tester is, therefore, a quicker and accurate solution.

Why do we need 18650 battery testers?

There are many viable reasons as to why we need a battery tester for our 18650 batteries. You may be camping and need to find out the remaining charge for your flashlight before it dies off in the middle of the night. A battery tester comes in handy in such situations. The reasons why you might need one vary and are quite a number. Some of them include:

· To know the best battery suitable for your device

· To know the remaining charge in your battery before another charge cycle

· To avoid fully discharging your battery by knowing its status

· To help you monitor the functionality of your battery

· To help you conserve your battery in emergencies where there may be no outlet

How do we choose the best 18650 battery tester?

Choosing an 18650 battery tester for your battery is as essential as buying the battery pack itself. When purchasing the battery tester, one should ensure that it is reliable and accurate in its services. The tester should consist of a broad capacity range that can accommodate the measurements from the battery readings.

No one would appreciate spending money to acquire a battery tester only to find out that it’s either faulty or inaccurate. Before you commit to getting a 18650 battery tester, consider the following factors to make a perfect choice:

1. Accuracy in the readings

A battery tester must be accurate in its readings. One can measure the accuracy of a tester by using it on new batteries and comparing the readings with other testers. You can even measure a brand-new battery and compare the findings to the information on its sticker.

It can be very annoying to use a faulty or inaccurate battery tester unknowingly. A poor-quality battery tester might tell you that your battery contains half its charge when, in reality, it has none. Others might even give you an extremely higher or lower reading than the actual capacity of a new cell. This frustrating trend can ultimately lead one to choose a lousy battery, as well.

2. Check the manufacturer

One needs to consider the manufacturer of the battery tester before purchasing it. A little research on them wouldn’t hurt to be on the safe side. Find out if the manufacturer has a broad range of experience in the field and whether or not their products are well known as well as used by many. Get to know the reputation of the manufacturer to figure out whether their products are viable for your money or not.

Many a time, you may buy testers from manufacturers with a bad reputation for their products just because of ignorance. Other times, the manufacturer might also be new in the field; hence, their products might not be well entrusted by the masses.

3. Read the customer reviews

Testing the batteries and considering the manufacturer may not be enough, as one may also be required to read the reviews given on the testers. Browse through social media and other online platforms to find people who have already tried out the battery tester you have in mind. You can catch a thing or two from their experience with the product when you go through their reviews.

The one thing that you should note is that no product in the market ever gets 100% positive feedback. There will always be those few users who felt that the product was not suitable for them or may not have lived up to their expectations. Stay away from any tester that may have 100% positive feedback as it may be a suspicious scam to get everyone to buy something faulty. Such are major red flags. Negative feedback should also be very minimal for any tester to be considered the right choice.

How to use 18650 battery testers properly?

For one to use the 18650 battery tester appropriately, they have to understand how the gadget functions in the first place. Most battery testers are referred to as analog testers meaning they measure the cells under load. They look like jumper cables used to kickstart a car’s dead battery.

The fundamental purpose of the battery tester is to complete the circuit on the battery and therefore facilitating the flow of electricity through it. This, in turn, gives rise to electromagnetic waves by creating both voltage and current. The wires are usually color-coded to guide you on their appropriate terminals. In most cases, red and black colored wires are used. The red color symbolizes a positive terminal, while the black represents a negative one.

All you have to do is connect the wires to their respective terminals and look at the readout to see the condition of your battery at the time. With the right 18650 battery tester, an accurate reading should be given off, indicating the voltage, current, or even the amount of charge left in your battery.

Final thoughts

A battery tester should never be treated like a toy; however, much it may resemble jumper cables, and connecting them gives one a sense of delight. Each time you test the battery, a small bit of its charge tends to get consumed in the process. This may not be enough to affect its performance, but constant testing will reduce battery life.

When choosing the best battery tester for your 18650 cells, you don’t have to go for the most expensive solution, neither do you have to settle for the cheapest one. A good battery tester should be capable of determining the amount of charge left in a battery, and that’s all to it.

So next time you plan for a trip, be sure to get yourself a battery tester for the road. The information it gives will help you be aware of the time left before it requires another charge cycle. This prevents you from fully draining the battery and thus enabling faster degradation of your 18650 cells.