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Consider myself a rookie every day

Featured Replies

Hi, 

Although I've been playing with alternative energy for about 6 years now, I'm still much a rookie. My energy curiosity started when I went living in the bush in Malawi and its still going strong. Also doing courses every now and then. 

 

I have a million questions but this one is the most urgent. I'm about to go pick up some "new" lithium batteries from a dubious source and was hoping that there's some way of testing their battery life before I take them. 

Hope someone has an answer that I can understand and perform. 

10 hours ago, Zak said:

some way of testing their battery life before I take them.

Wow, that's not really the easiest. With lead acids you can get one of those garage load testers and see that it can supply a nice strong current, but with Lithiums I don't know. If it's a standard CAN.bus battery and you have the equipment you could read the SOH (state of health) from there, assuming that has not been tampered with of course... but I really don't know of any capacity test that does not involve a discharge cycle.

9 hours ago, Zak said:

I'm about to go pick up some "new" lithium batteries from a dubious source

Welcome 🙂...

but... 

as that statement reads it could also get you referred to the following for assistance

Vodacom 082 241 9952

MTN Fraud Line – Call 083 123 7867

Bidvest Protea Coin Hotline – Call 086 101 1721

Telkom 0800 124 000

Cell C 084 135

SAPS 10111

Or e-mail

 

have a look through here for context... 🤔

  • Author

Thanks plonkster. From everything I've seen it's quite easy to test any 12v-24v battery with the garage testers but any tester that'll go higher than that is more than R100k. Guess I'll have to check the battery itself for any signs, and maybe the lcd also have something to say. 

Zak, my best advice is also to read state of health info via a comms port.  But that will have challenges of its own, as you surely understand...

BTW: If you're the Zak I think you are, how's the Patrol going?

  • Author

Thanks Christo, will keep that in mind. I understand, will have to setup the full system and have my comms device ready...and obviously have to understand what the output shows me. 

You've got the correct Zak and that Safari is going to outlive me the way it's going. Can't seem to break anything on it and I love the additional tech and lighting I'm adding to it. 

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