If you use a fair number of batteries, especially rechargeable, a good battery tester will save you a lot of time and some money, too! This one is excellent! I have a few minor gripes, one is that sometimes it takes a few tries to get the contact with the positive terminal correct. I also wish it had two probes for different battery types that you can't get to fit on the box. I would suggest looking at the smaller models unless you specifically need the batteries that only this tester will do, as others have mentioned it is big. . Overall, I am very happy with this very practical, solid, US built product.
ZTS Multi Battery Tester - ZTS MBT-1This product works as advertized on more batteries than any other I have found. I just went through over 100 batteries I had in the recycle box and found more than two dozen that tested 80% or better, so I can keep them for clocks, etc. that do not need a strong battery. WOrks on every battery I have tested. It is way overpriced, but considering its wide scope, its professional design, and accuracy, I think it is probabily worth it.
OK, ok... It says the dimensions right up in the specs, but I didn't take notice of them. This thing is as big as a hardcover novel. It's awesome, though. Tests all your batteries under load, which is the most accurate way. But, you better have a whole drawer set aside to store this thing.
The ZTS multi-tester arrived and was larger than I expected. The tester is 8" long x 4-1/2" wide by 1-3/8" thick. I had not looked at the specifications for size.
So far I have tested only AA Alkaline batteries. The tester helped me sort through a dozen batteries to decid which were truly "dead" and which were only slightly used. I like the way the tester cycles the pulse load and then settles on a specific LED to show the rating as either 10%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% or 100%. The batteries I considered 'dead' were reported as 20%. This explained to me why they would no longer work in some devices that seems to take only a small current to operate (namely an indoor-outdoor thermometer). On the other hand, some batteries that would not work reliably in my optical mouse, had fallen to only an 80% rating. Even though the optical mouse would not work well at this level, these batteries are now being used in my indoor/outdoor thermometer and working great. This saved me from buying some new batteries. My plan is to evaluate batteries that check at 40% or higher and see if they can be used in some items that will not require a battery at 80% or higher.
The cord is somewhat self storing, by pushing in into a groove on the tester's soft rubber side. I am interested to see if this feature is durable.
The look of the testing contacts can be misleading. The place on the tester where one contacts the battery "looks" like a positive top of an ordinary battery, is the place where the top of the battery is set. This means the small button (positive terminal) of your battery must be pressed onto the small diameter contact (1/8" diameter) on the tester. Then the wire prbe is placed against the negative or bottom of the battery and the test begines. It seemed a little awkward at first but it is not too difficult to do this if the tester is setting on a table or desktop. It might be difficult to hold everything (tester, battery and probe) if the tester is in your hands. A test seems to take only 3-4 seconds for a AA battery.
There are lots of battery varieties which can be tested. The only one I have encountered which is not listed on the tester is a AA rechargeable, Nickel-Cadmium, 1.2V battery. The tester reports nothing when tested on the NiMH contact (1.2 volts). Not sure if it means the battery is completely discharged or if the tester cannot test this type of battery.
The tester does not come with the case, it must be ordered separately. It seems like if I am spending close to $70 for the tester, it should come with the case, because I want this tester to last many years. I did by the case separatley.
I first bought a ZTS Mini Multi-Battery Tester (MINI-MBT), but later decided that it would be useful to have the larger and more expensive ZTS Multi-Battery Tester (MBT-1). This review might help if you're trying to decide which one to get.
Both testers are excellent at performing their jobs. The reason that I eventually found the mini-tester inadequate is that I have quite a few devices whose batteries can't be tested by this device (but can be tested by the larger MBT-1):
- 3v lithium coin (2016, 2032, etc.)
- 1.5v button cell (S76, A76, 357, LR44, etc.)
The mini-tester works on four classes of batteries, while the full-size tester works on ten classes (several of which I've never seen). The full-size version handles every battery-operated device I have except for a few devices that use oddball tiny button cells (392=SR41, 386=SR43, 389=SR54) -- for instance, a meat thermometer and a fever thermometer.
Other than the set of batteries that can be handled, there are a few small differences between the two testers. The mini-tester has an "on" switch and auto-off; the large tester has no switch at all. Both testers have a row of LEDs that indicate the battery state -- five on the mini and six on the full-size (with an additional LED for 10% battery life). The mini-tester uses four AAA batteries, while the full-size tester uses four AA batteries; both units have a self-tester to let you know when these batteries need to be replaced.
The most obvious difference between the two is sheer size -- the mini-tester similar to a pack of cards, the full-size tester more like a hefty book with narrow pages.
I've read the other reviews and don't disagree with the large size, size of contacts, etc. But I don't find any of those really bothersome.
Something that hasn't been mentioned much though is the quality of technical support. I use a variety of battery types and have several ZTS testers. I've written to ZTS multiple times with various questions and I always get answers back from Dave within 1-2 days. On this particular tester, I asked if it would be OK to use NiMH batteries IN the tester. His answer was no, because those batteries run at a somewhat lower voltage than alkalines and would give you a low battery warning much sooner. Also, many NiMH cells are not the low self discharge type and would lose capacity just sitting on the shelf.
I will probably still use the NiMH but with the proviso that I would only put freshly charged LSD ones in there while I was doing testing. I try to avoid storing ANY electronic gear with alkaline batteries, knowing that leakage and corrosion is likely.
I do like that the ZTS testers put a significant load on the batteries under test for a very brief time. That means you are really working the batteries but only draining a minuscule amount.
I've used the various ZTS testers on everything from car batteries to button cells. I've never had a tester malfunction and the tech support is great. Definitely worth five stars! - Electronics And Gadgets - 9v - Battery Checker - Battery Testers'
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