Mass Cap Testing ?

[UncleZeb]

Hi
Just received about 400 various 18650 used cells, and each one needs to undergo a capacity test.
Been using an Xtar VC8, for smaller cell purchases, max 10 cells etc. Problem is, with the Xtar it takes ages as i can only
capacity test 4 cells on the first bay, which takes hours :sleepy:Any faster way, to get through all those 400 cells :huh:
No problem IR testing them, which should take about 20mins, and i suppose probably a third of that lot would be scrapped asap due to high IR.

 

[Korishan]

Get more chargers. However, make sure to get all of the same type of chargers. Don't mix Opus with Xtar with others. Otherwise you won't have consistent results. Even with same type you could have some variance.

You could also build a massive charger/tester using TP4056/5100 (4056's aren't always accurate either), and then discharge with a resistive load. And then use something like an arduino/esp32/8266 to record the numbers.

If you want to go the DIY route, you could get in contact with rev0 as he's been working on a massive charger that does a *lot* of logging and can handle quite a few cells at once.

 

[100kwh-hunter]

https://secondlifestorage.com/showthread.php?tid=7221
I made a mass tester, might give it a look.
This is one of the earliest thread i posted about my tester, as time went by i evolved to even a 100 cell pack tester..
I could do easy fully test a 100 cells a day without thinking.

Maybe its your cup of tea or not, my two cents.

With best regards Igor

 

[UncleZeb]

Thanks alot for the advice ... really appreciate it. I do have a 30 unit TP4056 charging station, just for charging though.
Thought of using 30 x 10ohm power resistors for discharging, but thats as far as i got. Ill definately have alook at your project, Igor. Will have to read up on the Arduino setup. Cheers.

 

[karyltyree]

Cheers mate !

 

[daromer]

Just buy a couple of opuses and you save alot of time. I run 10 of them and can easy do 80 cells per day. Thats more than i even can build

 

[Stefanseiner]

same here just with LiitoKala Lii500 instead of Opus. In combination with some XTar VC8 for 0,x V charging, and some cheap charger for precharging so the LiitoKala can work faster