Improved Battery Testing: 18650 Cell Processing for Homemade Batteries

Have your battery cells taken too long to process one at a time when testing used 18650 cells? I spent months preparing cells for a battery last year. Then sadly I bricked the battery and all cells were lost as damaged cells. So, as I looked to start my battery testing over again, I concluded I needed to find a better way.
The charger in this video is the XTAR VC8 Plus. I don't do a full review of all it's pro and cons. I just am happy it does what I need it to do, and much faster then my previous setup. The XTAR can be found at amazon:
www.amazon.com/dp/B09KN4RJ3F?...
All Music in this video is by Andy Leech:
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Music provided by HearWeGo
Artist: Andy Leech x 4lienetic
Title: Nightfall
Listen on KZbin: • Andy Leech x 4lienetic...
Music provided by HearWeGo
Artist: Andy Leech
Title: I Love You
Listen on KZbin: • Andy Leech - I Love You
Thank you Andy for letting me continue to use your amazing music!
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And as always,
Please Like and Subscribe. This hobby is not free for me. Propane, crucibles, rigidizer and other consumable resources are going to cost me a bit each month. Please help me out so I can keep providing videos.

[@Yahgiggle]

just what i was looking for too, cheers

[@ragairboy]

Thank you, perfect example

[@georgeemanson]

Thanks for this great video.... I went out & bought one.... also liked the silicon box you used to store batteries.. where did you buy them?

[@badideametals]

The prices for the black clips were better on eBay, so I got the individual cell wraps and the entire battery wrap there too.

[@CadeBrazil]

Just so you know... I did 3 different tests with the same battery, because the first one had given a very low value and the 3 were different results in the storage capacity. I think that before having the final value you need to cycle the battery for it to be better activated... imo.

[@badideametals]

Hey thanks :)

[@CadeBrazil]

@@badideametals I mean, do at least 3 discharge tests to get a better accuracy on your battery's mAh.

[@prawny12009]

Run capacity test then take averages

[@aldeybrutus4109]

@@CadeBrazil that cant be efficient 😭😭

[@bobforte9343]

Where did you get those containers/bins?

[@badideametals]

The light blue rubber ones are walmart brand. www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-Set-of-3-Flexible-Drawer-Storage-Organizers-10-4-x-3-2-x-2-9-Green/509555735 The dark blue ridged tray I have had for over 30 years. You can find this same plastic tray on ULine.com or other hardware supply sites. They are expensive now ... the mainstay (walmart) was like $5 for 3 trays ... and the 18650s fit in the really well.

[@19mati67]

I'm trying to build one myself, but I'm a novice. What range of capacity can be put together into one battery? They have to be very closely matched, or they can be between 1400 to 2300? What exactly happened to the battery build?

[@badideametals]

Too much difference in mAh will drain the life of the better cells faster. I have come to the conclusion that you want each cell to be pretty close to each other in the pack. Make a few smaller batteries and have one be a lower capacity with your 1400 to 1599, 1600 to 1799 … etc. the battery will work putting them all in, but your better batteries will die out faster that way. In short, be patient and try to collect more batteries of the same general mAh max. Good luck :)

[@bobforte9343]

It can do LiFePo4 but it requires you to select store mode and be ok with a max voltage of 3.7 or a touch higher. Charge rate is set based upon internal resistance. Cells starting the discharge cycle of “grad” at 4.01 is a touch low but keep in mind when a load is applied the voltage will sag.

[@7eis]

Pretty neat devices. I've recently gotten basically unlimited access to 18650 cells from discarded garden equipment batteries. Have you come across something that would scale better and/or do the charging and discharging (cycle) and get some more meaningful data?

[@badideametals]

This is still my favorite charger. I have not looked to see if something better is out there. At times I do wish that all 8 sockets functioned like the four left side sockets and could do the discharge test, but I get by :).

[@DryUrEyesMate]

I heard it is very important to match them by voltage is well?

[@badideametals]

Yes. I do that in a previous video. I match them by voltage in general. As they are all from laptops, and they are 18650 cells, I check their max and min voltage and determine their nominal voltage to be the median. It is not exact… but I figure it helps me weed out dying cells. Also, I let them sit in a bin and check their voltage after a week or two to find the quick discharging cells and pull them out. But yes, you are correct. The cells work best if matched in capacity and voltage.

[@NeTak1]

Used 18650 batteries end charging at 4.2V (by XTAR display) but my multimeter show anything from 4.18 to 4.23... I am puzzled on why it is happening. Perhaps different batteries conditions... but why the voltage goes above 4.2? Other than that I absolutely love the device.

[@badideametals]

I am not sure to be honest. The batteries could read differently based on age, number of recharge cycles and possibly their internal resistance. Sorry, I don’t have an answer to this question.

[@prawny12009]

Multi meter must have a good battery to get an accurate reading.

[@digitalbilly]

I’m caught between this charger and the SKYRC MC3000

[@badideametals]

I have never used the SKYRC MC3000. It looks decent. I really like my setup. Sadly, as an 8 bay charger, you really need to have a use for 8 slots to fully utilize it. It looks like the 3000 you mentioned is a 4 bay. I have a 4 bay (the model is not coming to mind and I don't want to dig it out) and it felt like I was "always charging" batteries since I had so many and there were only 4 bays I could run at a time. If you need more then 4 ... this 8 bay really does the trick. My opinion though. Best of luck :)

[@digitalbilly]

@@badideametals thankyou for the video and the awesome reply. I am going to go with the MC3000 because of all the different battery chemistry and also the PC hookup and phone app. makes it super convenient and total control for my batters both testing analyzing and charging. the only downside its its expensive compared to the one you have.

[@xxbambamxx7261]

Idk... but it really enoys me when people ask me to subscribe, makes me not want to do exactly just that.. It's just up to me if I want to or not 🤷

[@badideametals]

You are right. My reminder is a bit of a request for those on the fence or don't think about it. I am such a small channel that subscribers were needed to get more youtube algorithm attention. I am sorry my request was bothersome. Thank you for checking out the video though. I hope you enjoyed it.

[@koleuslybra]

Hi all! How to preserve a 18650 for a long time without using it? 80% charge once every 6 months, and store it in dry and room temperature, or fully charge it and leave it for a 1 year? Thank you!

[@badideametals]

Thank you :) It is generally a good practice to store the batteries at less then a full charge. That is very true. Thank you for your comment :)

[@koleuslybra]

@@badideametals Thank you! But how often should I recharge them?

[@badideametals]

@@koleuslybra now that is a tough question. I never drain mine too far… and I try not to leave them charging past 95% unattended. As for the batteries I don’t manage, I leave them plugged in. Many modern charge controllers are built with battery health in mind. They cut off at safe highs and lows, so that is taken care of… and those I leave plugged in often kick on (such as battery powered lights) when they are needed and I can’t take them out easily to monitor. So I guess to be honest, I trust in the chargers to have been engineered well enough to optimize charging. I only worry about the “too full” or “too empty” if I plan to put a battery in away for months at a time. It helps keep the battery healthy while it rests :)

[@pilotforever6645]

so you cant do capacity test on all 8 at the same time??

[@badideametals]

Only 4 at a time. The left 4 are setup to be able to do the capacity scan. The right 4 can charge and discharge only.

[@jsa4864]

That really makes no difference...