Low Current DC Load (battery)Tester?

[clanderson]

I need to test around 500 12v batteries for a large UPS power bank. According to the datasheet these batteries should be tested under a 3x load and confirmed voltage exceeds 9V. Being 6Ah batteries this would mean I need an ~18A load.

I have a car battery tester, but it only goes down to 100A. Do you guys know of a relatively inexpensive tool which could test at such a low current? Considering how many batteries I have to process, I would greatly appreciate some direction!

[bdunham7]

All you need is 2 1-ohm 100 watt power resistors bolted to a heat sink--a chunk of aluminum will do.  Connect them in parallel and put a voltmeter across them.  When you connect to the battery, if it shows over 9 volts after whatever time period, it has passed the test.  Use big wires.

[HKJ]

Something like KEL103 looks like a good fit for that. If you want data on a computer you can use https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/program-that-can-log-from-many-multimeters to log the testing.

[Hydron]

Newark has the KEL103 under their own brand name:

https://www.newark.com/multicomp-pro/mp710259-us/dc-electronic-load-300w-120v-30a/dp/52AH6649

Unless you absolutely must save another $50 by buying a banggood special (at the cost of having something a lot less trustworthy) it would be my suggestion as well - $255 is a great price for a proper electronic load.