ZHIYU ZB206+ Tester

Nemo

Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2019
Messages
53
Hi All,

I picked up one of these units to act as a discharge controller to get my tested cells to 3.7V (or your preferred resting voltage) to avoid capacity loss in storage is it will likely be a year or two before I can use my best cells to build anything. These units are cheap and can do a lot more than just manage discharge. I'm creating this threadso that others interested in the unit have a place to ask questions andshare experience and details, and also to post these two reviews/teardowns for everyone's information:

https://syonyk.blogspot.com/2016/01/zb206-battery-tester.html

https://powercartel.com/teardowns/zh-yu-zb206-battery-tester/
 
Could you list full specs? What's the min/max charge/discharge current/voltage? What's the accuracy (not display increments)?
The articles you linked contain copypasted bullshit like this:

Supported Battery Types
These are the types recognized in automatic battery detection and termination voltage setting. It supports 17 battery types in 13 voltage categories.
1.2V nickel-metal hydride nickel-cadmium battery
1.5V alkaline batteries
1.6V nickel-zinc rechargeable battery
1.8V lithium disposable batteries (such as L91)
2.0V lead-acid battery
2.4V Nickel hydride nickel-cadmium battery pack
3.0V lithium battery
3.2V lithium iron phosphate battery
3.6V nickel-metal hydride or nickel-cadmium battery pack
3.6-3.7V lithium (polymer) battery
3.8V lithium battery high voltage (full voltage of 4.35V lithium battery)
4.0V lead-acid battery
5.0V mobile power (USB charging pack)
6.0V lead-acid battery
6.0V nickel-metal hydride or nickel-cadmium battery pack
6.4V double lithium iron phosphate group
7.2-7.4V double series lithium battery pack
I bet there is no?t/[size=medium]?V termination for Ni-MH/Ni-Cd and it of course can't charge 1.5/1.8/3.0V primary cells because they are not rechargeable)))[/size]

[size=medium]P.S. This board costs $9.9 on eBay. The version with acrylic case and fan pops the price to $26.5. Add a quality 12V/2A power supply and it will go above $30. Plus you need a battery holder...[/size]

[size=medium]For $56.5 you can buy ZKEEBC-A05+, which is just a couple of levels higher than this toy.[/size]
[size=medium]It supports[size=medium]?t/?V termination for Ni-MH/Ni-Cd, is PC-connected (cable included), 12V/4A power supply adapter included, is enclosed in solid metal case with anormal LCD display.[/size][/size]
[size=medium][size=medium]Voltage/current with 0.01 step, not 0.1[/size][/size]
[size=medium][size=medium]Discharge current: 0.05-5A[/size][/size]
[size=medium][size=medium]Charge current: 0.05-3A[/size][/size]

[size=medium][size=medium]IMHO for more or less serious testingZB206+ is absolutely not suitable. You just get the capacity and energy, no curves to compare and make conclusions... Accuracy is another question...[/size][/size]
 
I have purchased some of zb206 devices to do my capacity testing.
After reading about heat issues with 4 cell testers, I liked the idea of stand alone testers where the cell is separate from the testing electronics.
I bought some zb2l3/hw586 devices, but was not happy with how inconsistent my test results we while using the same cell repeatedly.
I then read about IR and liked the idea of tree zb206 having 4 wire IR testing along with 1A constant current testing.
Single testers also mean if one dies, you only lose 1 "slot" rather all four slots in a four cell tester.
They were also on sale from banggood, so I bought some.
My testing of a couple of cells seems to show the one that I have in use is fairly consistent (At similar temperatures)
I still want to do some testing to compare each tester to show of they give similar results to each other but I am hopeful that they will.
 
thunderheart said:
[size=medium]P.S. This board costs $9.9 on eBay. The version with acrylic case and fan pops the price to $26.5. Add a quality 12V/2A power supply and it will go above $30. Plus you need a battery holder...[/size]

[size=medium]For $56.5 you can buy ZKEEBC-A05+, which is just a couple of levels higher than this toy.[/size]
[size=medium]It supports[size=medium]?t/?V termination for Ni-MH/Ni-Cd, is PC-connected (cable included), 12V/4A power supply adapter included, is enclosed in solid metal case with anormal LCD display.[/size][/size]
[size=medium][size=medium]Voltage/current with 0.01 step, not 0.1[/size][/size]
[size=medium][size=medium]Discharge current: 0.05-5A[/size][/size]
[size=medium][size=medium]Charge current: 0.05-3A[/size][/size]

[size=medium][size=medium]IMHO for more or less serious testingZB206+ is absolutely not suitable. You just get the capacity and energy, no curves to compare and make conclusions... Accuracy is another question...[/size][/size]
Regarding the price:
Many people (including me) will already have a suitable power supply for 12V so there is no extra cost there and the cell holders are cheap. I believe the power consumption of the devices is low, so I was planning on daisy chaining power between my devices so multiple power supplies are not needed.

Thanks for posting regarding the ZKE EBC-A05+, I did not know about this device. It looks interesting, but seems like it has much greater features (and cost) than the average power wall builder would want for testing a cell.
While your tests are OUTSTANDING (they are so good that I tend to read them despite being unlikely to ever buy any of the cells you review), most people just want a capacity number for putting recovered cells into a pack for use in a powerwall. I think PC connected, curves etc are beyond what is needed for most people.

Having said that, I am interested in a device that could automate many repeated tests of cells for checking degradation in capacity over number of cycles they are used for. Do you have a recommendation for something like that? Would the ZKE EBC-A05+ be good? I am currently doing repeated cycle testing manually so on I only get to do a couple of tests a day.

Regarding accuracy of the zb206, I have an idea for testing of the devices I have to get an idea of how accurate they are. I will post once I try it out, however I am concentrating on harvesting cells while my source of cells is available.
 
Oz18650 said:
most people just want a capacity number for putting recovered cells into a pack for use in a powerwall. I think PC connected, curves etc are beyond what is needed for most people.

Yeah, i think you're right... That's why "testers" like Opus and LiitoKala are so popular though in fact those are not testers but devices which could give only approximated image of capacity.

Oz18650 said:
Having said that, I am interested in a device that could automate many repeated tests of cells for checking degradation in capacity over number of cycles they are used for. Do you have a recommendation for something like that? Would the ZKE EBC-A05+ be good? I am currently doing repeated cycle testing manually so on I only get to do a couple of tests a day.

No, it's not designed for cycle life testing. The device itself is more than ready but not EB Tester Software.

Oz18650 said:
Regarding accuracy of the zb206, I have an idea for testing of the devices I have to get an idea of how accurate they are. I will post once I try it out, however I am concentrating on harvesting cells while my source of cells is available.

It's gonna be interesting!)
 
Oz18650 said:
Having said that, I am interested in a device that could automate many repeated tests of cells for checking degradation in capacity over number of cycles they are used for. Do you have a recommendation for something like that? Would the ZKE EBC-A05+ be good? I am currently doing repeated cycle testing manually so on I only get to do a couple of tests a day.

Regarding accuracy of the zb206, I have an idea for testing of the devices I have to get an idea of how accurate they are. I will post once I try it out, however I am concentrating on harvesting cells while my source of cells is available.

@Oz18650,

The SkyRC MC3000 can do as many tests as you want in a repeating manner.

Programmable for as many cycles as you want and alsodraws a pretty picture for you on the screen.

image_cjusvp.jpg


Wolf
 
In this particular case I am just using this as a discharge controller. For capacity measurements I use an OPUS. There are cheaper discharge options out there that are more DIY, but I opted for something that would work and was cheap because I didn't want to invest the extra time more DIY options require. I was surprised to find that it had additional functionality and after reading a couple reviews that the functions were not total garbage.

Believe it or not the actual information provided with the unit is worse than in the link's I posted, but for anyone interested there is a transcript of the manual on this page, as well as some additional commentary:

http://cholla.mmto.org/electronics/lithium/zb206/

This is not a top of the line piece of equipment, but I think it could be a cheap entry level tester for someone not looking to invest a lot of money while they get a feel for this whole battery thing.
 
barns said:
Is the IR test reliable?

If you set it up with the 4 wire wiring as described it seems to be relatively close.
I will test 10 Batterieswith my YR1030 (which is accurate) and the ZHIYU ZB206+ tonight and post the results either tonight or tomorrow.


image_taudpr.jpg


Wolf
 
Better late than never.

Sorry guys for the delay was busy writing some sketches.

OK here are the results of a bunch of cells tested with the YR1030 and the ZB206+ V1.3
All cells were above 3.5V.
The ZB206+ won't test a VLVC (Very low voltage cell) were the YR1030 will.

It is consistent with the measurement I inserted the cell 3 times and got the same reading every time.
It also is consistently high unless you get down to the very low m? cells.

Wolf


image_pvunca.jpg
 
Wolf said:
It is consistent with the measurement I inserted the cell 3 times and got the same reading every time.
It also is consistently high unless you get down to the very low m? cells.

But it's not consistent on how far off it is :s
Some times it's off by 10, others by 2 or 3, there's even a 13 difference. It may be consistent on reads, but not reliable on accuracy for some reason. :huh:
 
Thanks Wolf, I've been waiting for it. I'm seeing a pattern that as the capacity increases the delta increases. Maybe it'll be more accurate if you test full charged batteries.

image_jplnlw.jpg
 
barns said:
Thanks Wolf, I've been waiting for it. I'm seeing a pattern that as the capacity increases the delta increases. Maybe it'll be more accurate if you test full charged batteries.

I will do that in the next couple of days I hope. And won't keep you waiting this long. :p

:D :D

Wolf
 
OK charged all the cells on my 3 LiitoKala Li500

Here are the results of the test between the ZB206+ and the YR1030.
I have included the Voltages the cells came out of the charger with.

image_yofnlo.jpgimage_tdxldy.jpg



image_hzlzxc.jpg


Wolf
 
thunderheart said:
For more stable results it's better to take a 15min pause after charging (30min recommended)

Oh that I did, at least 30min for sure.
Takes that long to get setup with the spreadsheet anyway. I wasn't planning on repeating this so I didnt save the format.
Foolish me. Well now I have so bring it on. :D :D

Here is the results or the UR18650FM cells.

image_agenkj.jpg

image_unofco.jpg


And these are in the wings 6 INR18650-13Q high drain low IR cells ~26m?
Also 6 ICR18650-20C low drain high IR cells ~75m?


image_awpfkc.jpg


Wolf
 
Wolf said:
thunderheart said:
For more stable results it's better to take a 15min pause after charging (30min recommended)

Oh that I did, at least 30min for sure.

Then your voltmeter must be wrong because after 30 minutes the voltage can't still be 4.199 or 4.203V
 
thunderheart said:
Then your voltmeter must be wrong because after 30 minutes the voltage can't still be 4.199 or 4.203V

Really ?

Voltmeters tested with my reference board.


image_hajxct.jpg

I will check them again.
All of them

image_vqcnso.jpg
 
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