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Assessing the Capacity of 18650 Cells for Power Bank Using XTAR VC2 Plus Charger

marcinek19992 13044 12
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  • #1 16508602
    marcinek19992
    Level 12  
    Hello
    I have a housing for a power bank and generally want to make a PB-power bank like a colleague in the subject:
    https://www.elektroda.pl/rtvforum/topic3345177.html

    I have already dismantled the cells and charged with the XTAR VC2 plus charger. Now the only question is: How to check their capacity?
    All cells have the same V, but I don't know their capacity, i.e. how much energy they have.
    And now I would like to ask you if it could be checked at a low cost?
    I would like to divide them into such better ones, e.g. for the flashlight I have, i.e. convoy.
    To powerbank, so average
    and those that have less than 1000 mAh, i.e. to discard or to some ledowe.
    I already have 26 pieces of 18650 batteries available, now I just need to measure their capacity.
    I found something like this:
    aliexpress

    I would ask for advice.
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  • #2 16508626
    Xantix
    Level 41  
    marcinek19992 wrote:
    I found something like this:
    aliexpress

    Well, such a measure has sufficient accuracy for your application. It can be done.
  • #3 16510076
    marcinek19992
    Level 12  
    From what I read on the internet, resistance is also important. How to measure it?
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  • #4 16510086
    Xantix
    Level 41  
    You can by technical method. You measure the voltage on an unloaded cell, then connect the load and measure the voltage again. The cell resistance can be calculated from the formula: R = Uo-Ur / Ir where Uo - voltage without load, Ur - voltage under load, Ir - load current.
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  • #6 16510201
    marcinek19992
    Level 12  
    Xantix wrote:

    Well, such a measure has sufficient accuracy for your application. It can be done.


    Since you wrote that it might be so I bought it today, I will have it in a month's time.
    I will measure the capacity and check which ones are the best. And this resistance is the smaller the better or the larger the better?
  • #7 16510209
    Xantix
    Level 41  
    marcinek19992 wrote:
    And this resistance is the smaller the better or the larger the better?

    The smaller the better.
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  • #8 16540199
    marcinek19992
    Level 12  
    Yesterday a package from Aliexpress came to me and I already checked 2 cells. One is 1876 mAh and the other is 1920 mAh. Now I would only have to measure the resistance.
    It takes some time to test these links. On average, you need to count about 2-3 hours per link. Could it be accelerated?
  • #9 16540227
    PiotrPitucha
    Level 34  
    Hello
    I can see that almost world record during delivery with ali .....
    Do not mix with the measurement time, after all, you do not do it every day, generally, shortening the measurement time requires reducing the load resistance, I do not know the design of the meter, you can probably shorten it, but note that now you have a discharge current of just under 1A.
    In the advertisement on ali ... there is a link to resistors, so a change of current is probably possible.
    18650 can be treated with higher currents, but by testing other cells you can overdo it and destroy it.
    By the way, an excellent price for a system for such measurement :)
    best regards
  • #10 16541342
    marcinek19992
    Level 12  
    I was so surprised that they were able to send me this meter so quickly.
    However, I wonder if instead of a 5W7om ceramic resistor, it is better not to give there a led or something useful.
    PiotrPitucha wrote:
    Do not mix with the measurement time, after all, you do not do it every day

    Well, so far this measure comes 24 hours / h at night I wake up, I change batteries and go to sleep.
  • #11 16541512
    PiotrPitucha
    Level 34  
    Hello
    I think the load must be resistive and relatively stable, the procedure for counting capacity is based on sequential measurement of current and voltage, if we give some impulse load, the measurement could fall at the peak of current consumption and disturb the average capacity displayed on the display.
    That's how simple systems work, I don't have a schematic but I think aloud ....
    best regards
  • #12 18094404
    marcinek19992
    Level 12  
    Welcome back
    I bought a 18650 cell tester but there is a problem ... Because it measures one cell. And the charger that I have has been testing the cells for a very long time (about 10 hours)
    And now I think maybe it is better not to do some tester yourself. Would something like that be appropriate?
    https://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Arduino-Battery-Capacity-Tester-V10-/

    It is also only for one link :(
  • #13 18094797
    PiotrPitucha
    Level 34  
    Hello
    The picture from Arduino has 8 analogue inputs, two are occupied by the display, i.e. you can supervise 3 cells at once :)
    If the display can be connected in software configuration, it will be possible to monitor 4 cells.
    As little as I suggest an external 16-channel ADC and 8 cells for each ADC :)
    I don't think you need more, but you can always connect several ADCs :)

Topic summary

The discussion revolves around assessing the capacity of 18650 lithium-ion cells for use in a power bank, utilizing the XTAR VC2 Plus charger. The user seeks low-cost methods to measure the capacity of 26 available cells, aiming to categorize them based on their energy storage capabilities. Responses suggest measuring voltage under load to determine internal resistance, with lower resistance being preferable. The user has already tested two cells, yielding capacities of 1876 mAh and 1920 mAh, and is exploring ways to expedite the testing process. Suggestions include using resistive loads for accurate measurements and considering DIY solutions for testing multiple cells simultaneously.
Summary generated by the language model.
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