Looking for QUALITY AA / AAA battery tester

From what I'm reading those cheap AA/AAA/9V battery testers are simply not accurate. But after a LOT of searching I'm still not sure what to buy to test these piles of batteries we have here.

I know some are "almost new" as we tend to change batteries more often than we really need to for mission critical type applications. Still lots of hours left on many of them I'm sure for things like flashlights and such so I'd like to sort through them.

Anyone have/use or know of a good, accurate tester?

I would use a good digital test meter. You should have one on board anyway.

I agree, any good digital multi-meter will work to test battery voltages, and you should have one onboard for trouble shooting anyway.

I use a Fluke 87 V or a 117, but those are both a bit of over kill for just basic battery testing and trouble shooting, though the 117 is a really handy mid range meter for all around trouble shooting as it has a built in AC voltage proximity meter.

Radio shack used to sell a tester that actually put a LOAD on the battery (Best way to test) alas. Hard to find them any more.. Let me look.  Alas I could not find it in the online catalog. It had an Analog meter and slots for AA/C batteries D batteries and two pins for 9 Volt retangular.. My best tester

That and a good volt meter (I have a few).

John From Detroit said:

Radio shack used to sell a tester that actually put a LOAD on the battery (Best way to test) alas. Hard to find them any more.. Let me look.  Alas I could not find it in the online catalog. It had an Analog meter and slots for AA/C batteries D batteries and two pins for 9 Volt retangular.. My best tester

That and a good volt meter (I have a few).

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Putting a load on them is necessary.  I've pulled a couple 9 volt batteries out of smoke detectors because they were chirping saying the battery was bad.

Checked the two batteries with three different digital voltmeters and found they were all reading 9.9 volts DC.  Some batteries won't show true voltage unless they are under a load.

I've been experimenting with various rechargeable 9 volt and AA rechargeable Li-on batteries. Have about $100 into the project and I'm not too impressed. 

You can recharge regular AA batteries but you have to be careful to not let them stay in the charger too long.

Go to the popular auction site and search for: Vintage Micronta Battery Tester

The only way to properly test batteries is under a load. I used test equipment from ZTS Inc in my business since the '80's and it has always been cutting edge. Their products started with test equipment for the camera repair industry. When lithium batteries started appearing in photographic equipment Phil Zimmerman designed a tester that properly loaded these batteries for testing. He expanded the design to include other batteries.

Now the ZTS line is only battery testers. I highly recommend them.

https://www.ztsinc.com/index.html

Isaac-1 said:

I agree, any good digital multi-meter will work to test battery voltages, and you should have one onboard for trouble shooting anyway.

I use a Fluke 87 V or a 117, but those are both a bit of over kill for just basic battery testing and trouble shooting, though the 117 is a really handy mid range meter for all around trouble shooting as it has a built in AC voltage proximity meter.

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Totally forgot that we actually bought a multimeter (AstroAI clamp type) some months ago-- as I remember after reading about their usefulness here. Put it aside then and never actually got around to learning how to use it! I just unearthed it and knowing nothing about how to use the thing, did some testing. I fear I may have mucked something up in the process as the digital display jumps all over the place. I have a friend who is an electrician who hopefully will be able to clue me in.

It did come with a circuit tester which we do use and has been very handy to have.

How good a tester do you need for AA or AAA?  We are talking batteries that cost about $0.75 each in packs of 12 or 16.  A voltage test will be accurate enough for most purposes, so is a $45+ load tester really justified?  Even if you occasionally throw away a AA that could have some life left?  If you are embarking  on a situation where you absolutely must have good batteries, put in new ones (don't even bother with a voltage test) and carry spares.

I do own a simple tester for 1.5V cells, but I find it just as easy and accurate to use my VOM.  Mostly, though, I just try a new battery to see if that's the problem or not.

Heli_av8tor said:

The only way to properly test batteries is under a load. I used test equipment from ZTS Inc in my business since the '80's and it has always been cutting edge. Their products started with test equipment for the camera repair industry. When lithium batteries started appearing in photographic equipment Phil Zimmerman designed a tester that properly loaded these batteries for testing. He expanded the design to include other batteries.

Now the ZTS line is only battery testers. I highly recommend them.

https://www.ztsinc.com/index.html

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As you and others point out-- and I now understand-- a load test is the only valid test. I have seen the ZTS line you recommended and after doing some more research I think I'm going to go ahead and buy their "mini" version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2xkRgbviOM

Other than piles of little used Alkaline batteries we have dozens of NiMH type eneloop batteries that we use for the photo biz. Manufacturers claim these can be recharged hundreds of times but one bad battery in a pack can muck things up so I want to check them all to make sure none of those are bad.

I also see it recommended that ideally you should discharge these NiMH batteries then charge them back up to capacity for maximum efficiency. We bought a charge that supposedly does that-- discharge then recharge-- but had an issue with overheating. Will have to look into this more I guess.

An interesting look at AA batteries.

Gary RV_Wizard said:

If you are embarking  on a situation where you absolutely must have good batteries, put in new ones (don't even bother with a voltage test) and carry spares.

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Exactly what we do. For example, in a portable GPS for navigation to a target on a photo flight, or multiple Speedlite flashes when setting up for a remote photo shoot etc. But as a result we now have dozens of these batteries in boxes all mixed together that range in capacity from probably 10% to 90%. The better of these would be fine for most any other application of course.

As just one example I've got a whole bunch of little flashlights spread all around the coach as well as our home (https://tinyurl.com/y7pgfq5t). Each takes 3 AAA batteries and it's something of a pain to keep changing out batteries to come up with 3 good ones. Is spending >$40 for a tester overkill? Yep, no argument there, however I figure in a few short years I'll more than make my money back and avoid a lot of frustration along the way. 

jymbee said:

Exactly what we do. For example, in a portable GPS for navigation to a target on a photo flight, or multiple Speedlite flashes when setting up for a remote photo shoot etc. But as a result we now have dozens of these batteries in boxes all mixed together that range in capacity from probably 10% to 90%. The better of these would be fine for most any other application of course.

As just one example I've got a whole bunch of little flashlights spread all around the coach as well as our home (https://tinyurl.com/y7pgfq5t). Each takes 3 AAA batteries and it's something of a pain to keep changing out batteries to come up with 3 good ones. Is spending >$40 for a tester overkill? Yep, no argument there, however I figure in a few short years I'll more than make my money back and avoid a lot of frustration along the way. 

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The only problem I see with this plan....Well within a few short years I won't remember where I put the thing ;D

I go with just changing the battery when in doubt. And, since I do, I've found that buying batteries from Amazon seems to be a good way to go. I haven't noticed any difference in how long they last compared to major brands, but even if they don't last quite as long, the price is about 1/2 that of the major brands.

Molaker said:

I go with just changing the battery when in doubt. And, since I do, I've found that buying batteries from Amazon seems to be a good way to go. I haven't noticed any difference in how long they last compared to major brands, but even if they don't last quite as long, the price is about 1/2 that of the major brands.

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My experience with Amazon and other "generic" AA/AAA batteries hasn't been very positive. Perhaps I just got a bad batch at one point but I can recall a few failures which turned out to involve these off-brand batteries. I say "off-brand" but for all I know they're made by Duracell & Everready and simply repackaged. (?)

If it was just Alkaline batteries I might be more inclined to just toss all the lightly used batteries given the relatively low price. However as we have dozens of NiMH batteries which are considerably more expensive that leads me believe I'll get my $$$ worth out of a decent, albeit expensive tester that's accurate.

DW is a big believer in batteries from the dollar store.  I've also ordered some of those "amazon" generic batteries before too.
My opinion just based on intuition and experience...not any sort of scientific analysis....is that for the money these types are just fine for some/most applications.  Might replace them a bit more often than a high dollar battery...but they are still money savers.
but in high use and high energy demand applications such as my son's wireless xbox controllers...they pretty much stink.

as for the tester
we have been using this one for just over 3 years now
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005G7SBY4/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
it's ok I suppose.  Gives a relative indication.

I liked the one we had that this replaced when it broke better...but I don't recall what it was.
My biggest beef is that the red part that slides to clamp the battery between the contacts is not spring loaded and the battery isn't nested in so it's just a bit awkward...but for the price...