ZTS – Mini Multi-Battery Load Tester Mini-MBT

THIS is what a battery testor should be. It places the battery under a pulsed load for a short time, and accurately gives the result in one of five levels: 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100%. Unlike most cheap battery testers, it uses a metering curve that more accurately rates the battery's actual charge state. It is designed for alkaline 1.5V cells and NiMH 1.2v cells in the following sizes: AA, AAA, C, D and N. It also tests alkaline 9V batteries, lithium CR123, CR2 and lithium-Ion rechargeable 18500, 17650, 18650, and RCR123A cells. The unit runs on four AAA alkaline batteries - but you'll have to test them on another battery tester...

Here's the deal. This is an active battery tester. It puts a small load on the battery and doesn't just check open circuit voltage. It is small and compact, and very intuitive to use. It tests all of the common batteries, AA, AAA, C, D, 9V, and even the 3V lithium photo battery. I am disappointed that it does not check the NiMH 9V battery type, or the button cell batteries, as I use the rechargeable 9V in my guitars and driveway monitor. I also use a lot of CR2032 buttons in key fobs and remotes.That being said, the device is so compact that it might be difficult to use if you have big ole meat hooks for hands. The positive terminal of the battery touches the tester and the lead is touched to the negative of the battery. Although this lead is made of significant wire gauge size, I'm still timid with it... I think it is more mental than anything.When testing an alkaline battery and then immediately retesting, I have found that the second reading matches the initial reading. Repeatability is highly desirable with any testing device.That being said, when testing NiMH batteries that are in a degraded condition (have been through many charging cycles and have lost their ability to hold complete charge) you need to test the batteries consecutively a few times (3 or 4) to see where your charge state lies with the battery. The manual does instruct you of this, and I suspect that this is a function of the internal characteristics of the battery rather than the tester since it tests known good NiMH batteries consistently and repeatable on just two consecutive tests.I have found that when this device tells you that your rechargeable batteries are at 20% or less, it means that they have lost their ability to become fully charged. I don't think you'll find these batteries good for moderate draw devices such as cameras, flashes, games, remotes, etc. However, these batteries can be used for long periods in those cheapie flashlights you get for free with a coupon, or the other 3.6 volt flashlight applications, etc. I wouldn't depend on these batteries, but for everyday use, why throw them away when they do have some lasting capabilities. The key here is to know when you have batteries you can depend on vs. when you have batteries you expect to depend on, but really don't know the true status of the battery.This device tells you what batteries can be depended on and which ones are destined to your everyday flashlights, and so much more.If purchasing this again, I'd go for the bigger model for the button cells and 9V rechargeables.

The ability to specifically test both 1.5V Alkaline and 1.2V NiCd/NiMH (as well as 9V button and 3/3.6V Lithium) makes this a very handy unit to use. Granted, other general-purpose testers can usually do 1.2V batters the same as 1.5V Alkaline, however, they normally just provide a slightly lower reading. I would not bother using any battery tester unless it tests under load, like this one does, unless you just need a few AA's for a remote or something very light.Both the above reasons- testing over 15 battery types and under loading conditions, are why I gave a 5-star rating.I use 4 NiMH cells to power this tester, and seem to get the same results as if Alkaline ones were used. I have enough rechargeable that I can swap out all four with freshly charged ones, and test the set that was in it, to make sure my readings stay accurate.Given that it has a testing lead, I would have liked to see a continuity test or bulb/fuse checking function. I have a multimeter I use for this, so it is not that big of a deal. Also, I do not like the power auto-off alone: I think pressing the button on the unit should also turn it off immediately.The only difficulty I have had and a related trick I would suggest is this: Try putting the test lead on the center of the negative end of a battery, and if the result is abnormally low, try placing it more toward the outer edge to get a truer results. I think sometimes through lots of use and maybe due to the internal chemistry of some batteries, the conduction is not always consistent across the entire negative side.I own one I have used for a few years, and just purchased one as a holiday gift for a loved one- Highly rated, and a better value that those <$5 testers where the terminals tarnish and no load testing is performed.