Tool Review: Cen-Tech Battery Analyzer

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JHZR2

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Quick review on a Cen-Tech battery analyzer. Part 66892. It pains me to buy HF, but this one really is the best of the handheld units that I saw. Solar and oother companies make them, but they are either similarly priced with less info, or a LOT more $ with possibly a bit more info but not necessarily...

What I really wanted was battery resistance. Calling companies like Solar, they essentially said that CCA was all that techs understood, so that is what they provided. I may not just use this with starter batteries, so that value is useful to me.

The unit was on sale for $69.99, but used an HF coupon.

The unit's box:

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On an old group 49 battery I keep on float for backup:

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Here you can see what you get out, voltage (test doesnt need to be dont on a fully charged battery), impedance, total capacity and CCA versus the OE amount (which is programmed in before the start of the test). This is on the group 49 AGM battery in my 91 BMW, this car seemingly not fully charging my battery even after long drives (this car was just driven 150 miles last night and showed 12.5V today):

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Overall: the unit feels good, solid, like a piece of modern electronics. Clamps work good, they are wired with a supplimental lead wire to each half of the clamp, likely to serveas a referense measurement or something. The clamps dont open quite as wide as I'd like, but as you can see in the far lead (the black + wire) on the BMW, which is 4/0, it can cover that. I do wish the leads were longer, as it would be nice to be able to access another solid ground to determine differences in the grounding and its potential issues on the electrical system.

I called HF and they confirmed that the unit is good for use on AGM batteries, not just flooded batteries as is stated on the unit. I was concerned with this, but HF stated that it had been tested to properly operate.

My primary complaint, being technically-minded, is that they dont use the algorithm built in to provide an Ah capacity, but rather the bar shown across the top (0-100%) is percentage capacity of the battery. Interesting that the claimed capacity is so high. Not sure if it is correct. My batteries should be fully desulfidated and well maintained besides the low voltage on the one in the BMW.

Like the machine, recommend it.
 
Is it calculating the CCA based upon the impedance or really measuring it? After the test, battery needs to be charged again to recover from it? Essentially, I am asking if it is doing a real stress test or not. The wires seem big but are they big enough for 500A ?

- Vikas
 
This isnt a 500A carbon pile tester. This is a capacitance-based tester unit, which uses a 1kHz AC signal to determine impedance. AC impedance is a well-established method of determining characteristics of electrochemical systems.
 
That looks like a really nice tool. I think I'm going to get one too. I already have an expensive OTC battery tester and darn if that HF one looks like it does the same for probably $300 less!
 
Originally Posted By: GMBoy
That looks like a really nice tool. I think I'm going to get one too. I already have an expensive OTC battery tester and darn if that HF one looks like it does the same for probably $300 less!


Does your OTC give battery impedance (milliohm value) or just CCA/state of health?
 
Does anyone have information about what the results of readings of that kind of meter means with respect to the size of the battery, and the temperature of the battery at the time the test was taken?
 
Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
Does anyone have information about what the results of readings of that kind of meter means with respect to the size of the battery, and the temperature of the battery at the time the test was taken?


Size of the battery (which is put in because it is proportional to CCA) is kind of put in because CCA is entered.

Impedance will decrease with cell size, and with temperature. These are known characteristics.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: GMBoy
That looks like a really nice tool. I think I'm going to get one too. I already have an expensive OTC battery tester and darn if that HF one looks like it does the same for probably $300 less!


Does your OTC give battery impedance (milliohm value) or just CCA/state of health?


Just CCA/state of health, if there is bad cell, etc. You also enter the CCA manually. It puts 2 loads on and then reports the results. Takes about 30 seconds. It will also test your chargins system. But, honestly - that HF unit rocks! It looks better than my hi-dollar OTC...I would venture to say it is better too. The display alone is larger and has more info.

You did good.
 
Looks fancy compared to my old Snap-On battery tester.
Clamp it on, load test for 10 seconds (it get hot fast), then see where the analog meter rest at that point against a color coded meter scale.
 
Originally Posted By: Errtt
Looks fancy compared to my old Snap-On battery tester.
Clamp it on, load test for 10 seconds (it get hot fast), then see where the analog meter rest at that point against a color coded meter scale.


Yeah, a carbon pile tester. Nothing wrong with that, and it definitely still has its place for testing the charging system.

This is just a newer scheme to probe the chemistry without requiring a fully charged battery or moving so much current that you stress the battery and run it down hard.

You could calculate battery impedance from the carbon pile since Vt=Voc-IR, and since we know open circuit voltage, terminal voltage under load and resistance, the rest is easy.

But this is easier, and I prefer to be able to do simple in situ tests without a lot of heat and need to recharge the battery (spot checks on various cars in other words).

I also bought a carbon pile from HF, but it looks just like any other carbon pile, so if I can find a US made version, I might return that one.
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
So at the end of the day is this or a carbon pile tester a better way of testing a marginal battery?



Originally Posted By: JHZR2
This isnt a 500A carbon pile tester. This is a capacitance-based tester unit, which uses a 1kHz AC signal to determine impedance. AC impedance is a well-established method of determining characteristics of electrochemical systems.


I havent personally tested (but will do so on various high resistance AGM batteries at some point) verified how good it is for marginal batteries. I do know that it can be used on batteries with low states of charge, which is nice (can get a good idea of what is going on, whereas putting a high resistive load on a battery with low SOC may not do much), and also that it spits out a resistance value and calculates a capacity percentage as well as retained CCA, so you can see easily if the battery is marginal or not.
 
I almost bought one of these the other day when I had the new years day coupon but I had to work overtime..

where did you get your coupon?
 
Coupons are also in lots of magazines like Popular Mechanics, Car and Driver etc.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: Donald
So at the end of the day is this or a carbon pile tester a better way of testing a marginal battery?



Originally Posted By: JHZR2
This isnt a 500A carbon pile tester. This is a capacitance-based tester unit, which uses a 1kHz AC signal to determine impedance. AC impedance is a well-established method of determining characteristics of electrochemical systems.


I havent personally tested (but will do so on various high resistance AGM batteries at some point) verified how good it is for marginal batteries. I do know that it can be used on batteries with low states of charge, which is nice (can get a good idea of what is going on, whereas putting a high resistive load on a battery with low SOC may not do much), and also that it spits out a resistance value and calculates a capacity percentage as well as retained CCA, so you can see easily if the battery is marginal or not.


I am not all that interested in the charge state of a battery if it just needs charging. If I think a battery is going bad I will charge it with AC charger and then test it. I just want the best way to determine is a battery needs to be replaced.
 
Originally Posted By: Donald

I am not all that interested in the charge state of a battery if it just needs charging. If I think a battery is going bad I will charge it with AC charger and then test it. I just want the best way to determine is a battery needs to be replaced.


I agree with you and hate when a battery reads 12.25 Volts and your average Midtronics style tester says "charge it up".

I have a battery still under warranty that shorted a cell. I know because I saw 10.5 volts personally and felt it barely crank over, and had all my lights dim at idle. Well, d'oh, that cell came back to life, and midtronics "passed" the thing, while the parts store nitwit said charge it (stupid). I had to leave sheepishly.

FWIW these meters are on ebay if you can't get to a HF store.
 
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