Best RC style "Battery Monitor"

Crimp Daddy

Crimp Daddy

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Feb 21, 2018
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I have used my iChargerin the past as a battery monitor which works great, but is very inconvenient... both in size and because it ties up a charger.

I see a plethora of different mini lipo monitors... it seems like the CellLog 8 is pretty popular, but it is also on the higher side of price, and appears to create an imbalance in packs when used with greater than 6s

Is there anything else worth considering that might cost a bit less, or not have issues? I understand I might have to give up some accuracy, which is important to me, but as long as its in the ballpark and has an alarm...

I used my CellLog 8 for the first time yesterday and it does seem pretty nice, and agrees with my multimeter.

Looking for recommendations... thanks!
 
why don't you build the one i posted? :D
it's easy, it works , super cheap and isn't hard to extend..
 
That was is pretty cool... but to be honest, I just want to throw some money at the problem haha.

I got too much other stuff on my plate and a lab full of cell to test. As much as I want to fight with the Arduino IDE only to find my project didn't work, spending $20 or less and being done with it is a bit temping to me.

Just trying to gather more affordable options, aside from the Cell Log 8
 
I like the "Tenergy Intelligent Cell Meter LiPO Alarm Digital Battery Checker for Quads Heli" but its only 6s. Cost is 10 dollars. I like that it has an alarm in the low-end when dischargingand will alarm also at the high endif a cell goes above 4.20 volts while charging. Most monitors only alarm during discharging.


image_nhmsov.jpg
 
Search for "lipo buzzer" at Aliexpress, Gearbest, Banggood, eBay...
You will find THE device, bar none, used in RC for many years. It's usually around 2-3 USD in China. It has a 1-8S input, a 3-digit seven segment display and two very loud buzzers. So loud that you might want to cover their outlets with hot glue to make it bearable for home use. It warns on low voltage only (threshold can be configured), there is no overvoltage warning.

It looks like this:

image_pnymze.jpg
 
I use this one and love it. It have been working last decade i used and worked with LiPo



image_qysina.jpg
 
daromer said:
I use this one and love it. It have been working last decade i used and worked with LiPo



image_qysina.jpg
Click to expand...

I picked up one of these the other day and was doing some testing and when in balance mode mine was puling 200mA I was shocked and then screen started to change a darker colour due to the heat so I put a fan on it but when the fan stopped it burnt up.
 
Gotcha, maybe ill skip the balance mode haha... Ive been seeing those and I order the one daromer posted last night from Ali... How about accuracy of these units? I am guessing that it wont be as good as a CellLog?

Ill give them a shot, but I guess for the price, its not that much of a savings from the CellLog....

I guess in these really inexpensive testers, its probably hit/miss depending on the day it was made and who calibrated it.
 
Accuracy is "ok" on the lipo buzzers.

Examples against a Fluke 115
8S LiFePO, Fluke 26.68V, Buzzer 26.6V
Single cell, Fluke 3.333V, Buzzer 3.32V
 
Gotcha, good info, thank you!

So good to about the tenth of a volt. CellLog seems to be good to hundredth of a volt with the mV figure that generally disagrees with my meter.

Not bad, but being a bit OCD, I like everyone to agree haha. Buying a 22,000 count meter has only made my life that much more complicated.
 
Well, since the buzzer only has a 3-digit display you don't really know how accurate it is. 26.6V could be 26.68V, we don't know. And 3.32V could be 3.329V and that would be accurate to 4mV. And if it rounds, I don't know if it actually does, it could be 3.324V (assuming 3.325 would be displayed as 3.33) which is still only 9mV. I'd call that a very decent result for a 2 EUR buzzer compared to a 120 EUR multimeter. And for that job we are looking at it is more than good enough as it doesn't really matter if the alarm goes off at 3.00V or 2.99V.
 
They are pretty decent. I have had and used tons of them. I never use the balance function though since I balance charge all my batteries and on the rest they have active bms systems :)
 
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