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Poor Man's Battery Tester
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nuckolls.bob(at)aeroelect
Guest

Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2021 7:41 am Post subject: Poor Man's Battery Tester

At 05:25 AM 2/1/2021, you wrote:

  	  Quote: 	
		  --> AeroElectric-List message posted by: C&K <yellowduckduo(at)gmail.com>



 I just use a 12 volt automotive inverter to drive 120 volt lamps as a load.  The cigarette lighter inverters that I have automatically shut down right around 10 volts input.  Close enough for me.

 Ken 	


   Good put. Keep in mind that the precision with which

   this device works is something like drawing with

   a piece of chalk. It is quite precise with respect

   to measuring end-of-life. No mater WHAT reading you

   get on your NEW battery, that time value represents

   100% of as-new capacity. The point at which it falls

   to 80% is readily observed. 



   Fur for our purposes, qualifying against battery

   only endurance goals is quite good too. Knowing the

   exact ah or watt-hours is irrelevant.



 

   Bob . . .



   Un impeachable logic: George Carlin asked, "If black boxes

   survive crashes, why don't they make the whole airplane

   out of that stuff?"

nuckolls.bob(at)aeroelect
Guest

Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2021 7:42 am Post subject: Poor Man's Battery Tester

At 12:27 AM 2/1/2021, you wrote:

  	  Quote: 	
		  and do you need the second 470 ohm resistor between the transistor base & the LM431? 	


   Yes. Pulling down on that base is a 'hard'

   conduction path. Maximum rated current for

   the LM431 would be exceeded.



 

 

   Bob . . .



   Un impeachable logic: George Carlin asked, "If black boxes

   survive crashes, why don't they make the whole airplane

   out of that stuff?"

nuckolls.bob(at)aeroelect
Guest

Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2021 7:44 am Post subject: Poor Man's Battery Tester

At 12:18 AM 2/1/2021, you wrote:

  	  Quote: 	
		  Bob,



 Is that the correct symbol for the 1N4001?  Is it a zener? 	


   Good catch. no it's a plain vanilla rectifier.

   Got it marked up on the original.



   Anyone else fine a 'toe stubber'?



 

 

   Bob . . .



   Un impeachable logic: George Carlin asked, "If black boxes

   survive crashes, why don't they make the whole airplane

   out of that stuff?"

nuckolls.bob(at)aeroelect
Guest

Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2021 7:57 am Post subject: Poor Man's Battery Tester

At 08:49 AM 2/1/2021, you wrote:

  	  Quote: 	
		  I wonder if something like this would be useful?



  https://www.mpja.com/02-01-21.asp?r=326752&s=39 	


   Absolutely. Good eye!



   OOPS! Need to control the clock too. I'm

   leaving for Wichita in a few minutes. I'll

   do some 'asphalt engineering' on it to

   see if there's a way to integrate this

   product into the project. It could save

   a lot of fuss and bother even when burdened

   with shipping costs.



 

 

   Bob . . .



   Un impeachable logic: George Carlin asked, "If black boxes

   survive crashes, why don't they make the whole airplane

   out of that stuff?"

user9253

Joined: 28 Mar 2008
Posts: 1927
Location: Riley TWP Michigan

Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2021 8:31 am Post subject: Re: Poor Man's Battery Tester

 	  Quote: 	
		  How do you start/stop the thing without it going brain dead? 	


You must be thinking of a digital clock.  Quartz clock movements come with 

hands and are powered by a AA battery.

_________________
Joe Gores

user9253

Joined: 28 Mar 2008
Posts: 1927
Location: Riley TWP Michigan

Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2021 8:38 am Post subject: Re: Poor Man's Battery Tester

 	  Quote: 	
		  OOPS! Need to control the clock too. I'm leaving for Wichita in a few 

minutes. I'll do some 'asphalt engineering' on it to see if there's a way to 

integrate this product into the project. 	


Just power the quartz clock (it has hands) in parallel with the load.

Of course drop the voltage to 1.5 for the clock motor.

_________________
Joe Gores

Last edited by user9253 on Mon Feb 01, 2021 8:50 am; edited 1 time in total

user9253

Joined: 28 Mar 2008
Posts: 1927
Location: Riley TWP Michigan

Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2021 8:43 am Post subject: Re: Poor Man's Battery Tester

 	  Quote: 	
		  Joe,

A mere 50 years, we all had one of these clocks on our bedside night stand. Walmart still sells them. Roger 	


You must be old like me.    When I wired my house back in the 1970s, I put a clock outlet on the kitchen wall.

_________________
Joe Gores

endspeed(at)yahoo.com
Guest

Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2021 9:10 am Post subject: Poor Man's Battery Tester

To make matters worse Joe, I would bet it was an analogue clock at that! The young kids who grew up with digital sometimes cannot read analogue clocks! They also cannot read cursive but that’s a story for another day! Bob

 	  Quote: 	
		   On Feb 1, 2021, at 12:02, user9253 <fransew(at)gmail.com> wrote:

> Joe,

> A mere 50 years, we all had one of these clocks on our bedside night stand. Walmart still sells them. Roger

 You must be old like me.    When I wired my house back in the 1970s, I put a clock outlet on the kitchen wall.

 --------

 Joe Gores

 Read this topic online here:

 http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=500506#500506

rv8iator

Joined: 11 Apr 2006
Posts: 144
Location: Newberg, OR

Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2021 9:12 am Post subject: Poor Man's Battery Tester

You must be old like me.    When I wired my house back in the 1970s, I put a clock outlet on the kitchen wall.

I wired my kitchen in the 1990's and put in a recessed wall receptacle above the Kelvinator...

Old habits die hard...  which is why recurrent flight training is so important!

...CHristopher Stone  

Do Not Archive

On Mon, Feb 1, 2021 at 8:52 AM user9253 <fransew(at)gmail.com (fransew(at)gmail.com)> wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		  --> AeroElectric-List message posted by: "user9253" <fransew(at)gmail.com (fransew(at)gmail.com)>

 

 

 > Joe,

 > A mere 50 years, we all had one of these clocks on our bedside night stand. Walmart still sells them. Roger

 

 You must be old like me.    When I wired my house back in the 1970s, I put a clock outlet on the kitchen wall.

 

 --------

 Joe Gores

 

 

 

 

 Read this topic online here:

 

 http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=500506#500506

 

 

 

 

 

 

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_________________
C. Stone (RV8iator)

revenson3(at)gmail.com
Guest

Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2021 7:13 pm Post subject: Poor Man's Battery Tester

The problem I had is solved to my satisfaction.  For now, I'm sticking with the original schematic, except I've substituted a lower value zener diode.  I'm now using a 8.2V, 1/4 watt, 5% zener in place of the 10V.

I've tested it 3 times total on 2 different batteries.  On my circuit I'm getting the 'kickout' at 10V.  Scary how close it is (9.95V, 9.97V, and 10V).

Thanks for all the help.  This is a great forum.

Roger, Tucson, AZ

nuckolls.bob(at)aeroelect
Guest

Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2021 7:21 pm Post subject: Poor Man's Battery Tester

At 10:31 AM 2/1/2021, you wrote:

  	  Quote: 	
		  --> AeroElectric-List message posted by: "user9253" <fransew(at)gmail.com>



 

 > How do you start/stop the thing without it going brain dead?



 You must be thinking of a digital clock.  Quartz clock movements come with 

 hands and are powered by a AA battery. 	


    Aha! I had one of those once. Yeah,

    that's an option.



 

   Bob . . .



   Un impeachable logic: George Carlin asked, "If black boxes

   survive crashes, why don't they make the whole airplane

   out of that stuff?"

cjfortin

Joined: 05 Jan 2013
Posts: 5

Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2021 7:49 am Post subject: Re: Poor Man's Battery Tester

On the updated file shouldn't the one wall power lead go the first set of normally open contacts on the relay?

nuckolls.bob(at)aeroelect
Guest

Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2021 8:27 am Post subject: Poor Man's Battery Tester

At 09:49 AM 2/2/2021, you wrote:

  	  Quote: 	
		  --> AeroElectric-List message posted by: "cjfortin" <cjfortin(at)juno.com>



 On the updated file shouldn't the one wall power lead go the first set of normally open contacts on the relay?



 	


   Good eye . . . yes. Thank you. I've posted

   the corrected drawing at:

 

  https://tinyurl.com/y5urfyrr



   I took a closer look at the COTS battery

   LV shut-off controller. It has a lot of

   promise. I note that they do not bring the

   normally closed contact of the relay

   out to a terminal. Depending on their

   board layout, we have a 50-50 chance that

   the after-test-charging mode can be

   achieved by tacking the charger(+) feeder

   to the bottom of the board.



   I've ordered some samples of this product.

   I'll publish a page 2 to the Poor Man's

   Battery Tester when I've had a chance to

   evaluate the critter more closely.



 



 

   Bob . . .



   Un impeachable logic: George Carlin asked, "If black boxes

   survive crashes, why don't they make the whole airplane

   out of that stuff?"

user9253

Joined: 28 Mar 2008
Posts: 1927
Location: Riley TWP Michigan

Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2021 1:41 pm Post subject: Re: Poor Man's Battery Tester

XH-M609 Battery Low Voltage Disconnect Module is available on eBay for as little as $5.

Let me know if there is an error in my circuit.

Battery Load Tester.png

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_________________
Joe Gores

nuckolls.bob(at)aeroelect
Guest

Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2021 9:32 am Post subject: Poor Man's Battery Tester

At 03:41 PM 2/3/2021, you wrote:

  	  Quote: 	
		  --> AeroElectric-List message posted by: "user9253" <fransew(at)gmail.com>



 XH-M609 Battery Low Voltage Disconnect Module is available on eBay for as little as $5.

 Let me know if there is an error in my circuit.



 --------

 Joe Gores 	


   Looks good to me Joe. You could also use

   two FORWARD biased diodes to get your ~1.5

   Volt supply for the clock. Let us know how

   this shakes out . . .



 

 

   Bob . . .



   Un impeachable logic: George Carlin asked, "If black boxes

   survive crashes, why don't they make the whole airplane

   out of that stuff?"

user9253

Joined: 28 Mar 2008
Posts: 1927
Location: Riley TWP Michigan

Posted: Fri Apr 02, 2021 1:32 pm Post subject: Re: Poor Man's Battery Tester

XH-M609 Low voltage shut off

I purchased this module for about $5 on eBay from a seller in China.  The relay is SPST.  

The digital display is not steady but flickers or oscillates between a higher and lower digit.  That is annoying.

The displayed voltage is 0.5 volts lower than the actual voltage.

The module did not come with any instructions.  I learned how to use it via trial and error.

There are two things that need to be set, hysteresis and low voltage shut off.



Press and release the button on the right to see the hysteresis set-point.

To change the set-point, push the right button twice while the set-point is displayed.

The decimal point will flash, indicating that it is in set mode.

Press the buttons labeled + and – to raise or lower the hysteresis set-point.

I set mine at 1.5 volts.  If set too high, the relay will not energize.



Don’t dawdle because the display will revert back to battery voltage after a few seconds.



Press and release the button on the left to see the low voltage shutoff set-point.  To change the set-point,

push the left button twice while the set-point is displayed.  The decimal point will flash, indicating it is in set mode.

Press the buttons labeled + and – to raise or lower the low voltage set-point.

I set mine at 10.5 volts which is actually 11 volts because the display is a half volt lower than the actual voltage.



As suggested by Bob, I used two series diodes (1N4148) in parallel with the clock to limit the clock

voltage to 1.5 volts.  A 2K ohm series resistor limits diode and battery current to 50ma.

I did not want to damage the clock by soldering.  So I cut a wooden dowel

to the same length as an AA battery.  I installed this “wooden” battery into 

the clock along with the clock power wires pinched between the wood and battery contacts.



Do not make the mistake that I did and use too small wires between the battery and XH-M609.

The relay chattered because too much voltage was dropped across the battery wires.

The XH-M609 saw low voltage and shut off the relay.  With the load shut off, the voltage increased, the relay energized.

This repeated over and over.  The relay sounded like a buzzer.  I then used 14AWG wires and all was well.



The load that I used is an old automotive incandescent fog light.

With a battery connected to the test circuit, the clock ran for 70 minutes before it shut off.



Although the XH-M609 has its faults, it worked as intended to shut off the load when battery voltage dropped to 11 volts.

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_________________
Joe Gores

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