ZTS – Mini Multi-Battery Load Tester Mini-MBT

Great battery tester in a small package. This does a load test on the battery you want to evaluate, which takes maybe two seconds to run (so it's not instant). This gives you a much clearer picture of battery health, and the readout is simple to understand. Yes, it does require batteries to work. Since it needs to run a load to test your battery, it needs power from somewhere. That load test is critical, however--instant battery testers only measure voltage, which is not a true measure of battery health. Ever have one show as good, and then watch it wilt under the first load you put on it? This tester will tell you the truth about those batteries the first time you test one. Who is this for: someone who uses a lot of batteries, has a drawer full of 'em in fact, and is tired of instant readers giving overly optimistic readings on batteries ESPECIALLY RECHARGEABLES! This unit isn't cheap, but is worth it to these kinds of folks. Who this is not for: someone who owns maybe five batteries. You really aren't going to get your money's worth, and this tester will probably annoy you anyway. I will say that the mini one is great. You may want to spend the bucks on the bigger one if the batteries you want to test are outside this unit's capabilities, but this one will do for most people.

I LOVE this tool. I use it weekly sometimes more. I would usually use a multimeter, knowing it doesnt have a load, just to "get a sense" of remaining life. This tool is infinitely better. I toyed between buying this Mini version or its bigger brother, but the Mini is such a capable tool (and such a great form factor) I really didn't feel the need to spend more. This is always such a WILD step ahead of what most people have. It also does 18650 3.6Vs, so your Surefire lights or any 18650 cell.... VERY nice touch. I would buy again in a second. great tool.

I have the big brother (ZTS-1) which is an awesome battery tester but its big. I wanted to get a second one so I could carry it with me in my bag to test my equipment's battery level on the go but I wanted one that was smaller, the ZTS mini is about the size of a deck of cards. I only really need to test AA/AAA and 9v batteries but this has the additional 3.6v 18650s or similar, rechargeable 1.2v NiMH and 3v CR123/CR2 batteries. You can save yourself money by testing batteries before recycling them. I've already sorted through a small bag of unknown batteries and found about 10 good ones in the bunch (most at 80% or higher). Sometimes you when your device doesn't work, you change the batteries out and assume they're dead. Same type of interface as the ZTS-1, touch the positive end of the battery to the tester and use the probe (wrapped around the side of the body) to touch the negative and wait for the results (9v you just touch the two leads to the tester) . Its best to check it two or three times because sometimes if you move the battery or probe while its testing it could give you a false reading. Powered by 4x AAA batteries I gave it 4 stars because on this mini you have a little power button on the side of the unit. Its easily turned on (even with the optional soft case) especially if you put it in a backpack or bag that gets bumped or moved around. The unit will auto shut off after a short period of idleness but probably wastes battery life and last thing I need is to check batteries on the tester if it goes dead, especially when I need to use it but don't have spare batteries. the ZTS-1 has no switch you just test it and turns on/off automatically, not sure why they couldn't do that with this one.

First impressions: hallelujah, an easily opened clamshell container. In fact I'll plan to store the device in the plastic container as it recloses well and should protect it from drawer battles. The device feels reasonably sturdy in the hand. The back door covering the 4 AAA batteries (not included) opens easily but closes securely. The case seems to be made of a durable plastic but I wouldn't want to test it with a concrete floor drop. I had purposely saved a few batteries of reasonably known usage. A new AAA, a fully spent CR2, and a partially spent CR2. I tested all three and it took it about 5 seconds each, the leds raced back and forth then stopped on a charge level. All batteries tested as expected. Testing is a two handed operation as you have to hold the positive pole of the battery on the appropriate pole on the tester, then press the attached probe against the negative side of the battery (except the 9V for obvious reasons). There are no adjustments for testing, just press the battery to the appropriate point and it tests. One added observation is the device I received has an additional point for measuring 3.6 V Li-Ion batteries. I'm including a pic of the tester in it's container. I couldn't find anything reasonable without spending substantially more money. Given the number of batteries I go through and indiscriminately toss out I think this is a good investment. Overall this is a very nice device and would highly recommend to a friend.

My sister let me borrow hers to try. Liked it and bought my own to manage all my batteries. No longer tossing batteries that I can use in a clock or in my cordless mouse.

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.

If you are the type of person who wants to see a numerical value to two decimal places, than a ZTS meter is not for your. But if want an ACCURATE evaluation of the current capacity of a cell, this is the way to go. What you get is a reading that tells one where the cell is at in it's lifespan, whether that is 20% left or 100%. I have used this meter for over ten years (I lost mine, hence this purchase) and find it is eminently suitable to evaluate the available power in a cell, and much more accurate than a simple voltmeter. I have found that if I get a reading that does not make sense in light of what I think the cell should read, if I wait a minute or two and retest the second reading is much more accurate. I believe the load testing the ZTS does reawakens the cell so that the second reading is much more accurate. Yes, it is not cheap, but I think the extra cost is covered by the improved accuracy the ZTS delivers.

I do a lot of battery testing and I wanted to figure out which my 5 battery testers was the best. So I used them all to test several dozen AA NiMh batteries and then organized the data on a spreadsheet. My conclusion was that the ZTS – Mini-MBT was the most reliable and easiest to use. The rest of my battery testers turned out to be pretty useless, so the second most reliable way I found to test the batteries was a Fluke 115 DVM and a 1 Ohm power resistor (but that was inconvenient).

It's easy to use and accurate. We have used this for a few years in one of our locations and we're getting a second one for a another location.

Ist OK Preis etwas zu teuer

Fa il suo lavoro ed è molto carino come oggetto

Great service and was just as advertised

Easy to understand and use. Tells you exactly what you need to know about the battery being tested without lots of fuss -- good enough to use? Or time to trash it! This version checks the common battery types (as listed). I think I should have splurged a bit more for the MBT-1....