Say, “How do you check the battery is working?”

Surely, if you have a measuring device, you measure its voltage. In most cases, this is sufficient.

A fully charged battery has a voltage of about 1.6 V. Of course, if you recorded a lower voltage, then the battery life is either completely exhausted, or just about ...

Well ... This method is certainly good, but it does not show us the whole picture.

And how can you choose a battery that has the highest capacity, and therefore will last longer? A voltmeter is not enough here! For example, 4 brand new batteries from different manufacturers show 1.6 V each.

Which of them will show itself better during operation? Probably the one that costs more. And if we compare one price category? I would like to have the highest quality product for less money. Do you agree?

And this is where the topic of our conversation today is actually revealed.

To compare the capabilities of batteries, you need to switch the measuring device to the current measurement mode, setting the measurement limit to 5-10 A. You can use both a digital and pointer device. The type of current is constant.

As you probably already understood, we will measure the short-circuit current of the battery.

Surely, some electronics engineers will be against this method. Like: “With our actions, we will only drain the battery!”

To prevent this from happening, the connection of the ammeter to the battery contacts should not exceed 1 second (so that you can notice the steady value).

Prolonged connection will indeed contribute to the discharge. Therefore, we touch only for 1 second.

This method is good when you need to choose from several new batteries those that will last longer.

As an example, check out the battery test of several well-known brands:

A brand new AA battery can show short circuit current. up to 5-6A

A cheaper brand has slightly worse readings, however, it is no longer new ...

Size AAA, of course, we have a smaller capacity.

Using this method, you can make your choice in favor of one of the brands located in the same price category.  

You can learn more about the method from this video: