How To Use A Refractometer To Measure Battery Charge And Chemistry
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 พ.ค. 2017
- Want to measure your battery's health accurately? Stop measuring voltage and use a refractometer!
In this video, I will show you how to use a refractometer and show you a really high quality Robinair instrument. These devices measure the specific gravity of the acid, which will more accurately tell you the state of charge and health of each battery cell.
To purchase a Robinair 75240 Refractometer:
amzn.to/2p6eekt
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👍👍👍👍!!! this is an excellent tool to own. easy to use. no temperature compensation needed. a quality laboratory instrument, yet rugged. can also be used to monitor antifreeze. so two instruments in one package. i found that you only need to dip the pipette and not suck up fluid to get your test droplet. i clean mine using a cotton rag. i dont use paper towels...they can scratch. that's the old photographer in me. this tool can be passed down to the next generation...etc. Jason, thx for the shout out! help support this channel...outstanding videos!
A paper towel can scratch glass? Really?
for sure, micro scratches. Which is why using microfiber cloth to clean glasses is a standard
I thought only diamond could etch glass? I learn something every day.
Mimerneos....👍
LDSreliance ...yes. plus, can easily scratch plastic. the refrac slide cover is plastic. remember...paper is made from wood. scratchy scratchy. i said to use a cotton cloth. idealy microfiber would be the best choice.
Thumbs up. ENJOY... THE SIMPLE LIFE
Thanks!
the little bottle is test fluid to calibrate the tool. there's a screw under the little cover on the top center to ajust it to 0 or freezing point. you only need to put in the tip to get a drop of liquid save a mess.
Good to know, thanks! I assumed it was to clean it.
The instructions say to calibrate the tool with distilled water. So I guess you can use the bottle fluid or distilled water?
Yes
I thought it was an excellent video. My only humble advice is to put the extra or reserve fluid back in the cell you extracted or from... otherwise you can possiblly distort the specific gravity you're testing for.
Excellent. Any chance of acid dissolving the Lid or Refractometer itself?
No, the acid isn't strong enough for that.
@@LDSreliance After watching your video I used mine and found helpful. Thanks.
You are welcome. Be sure to leave a thumbs up on the video. Thanks for watching!
This would be a good tool for those ppl that have time on their hands or for getting gravity readings in hard to access batteries. From a technician standpoint. There are too many steps involved to get a reading IMHO. Especially when a customer is paying hourly labour fees and wants you in and out ASAP. I mean you have the vent caps off why not just dunk your hydrometer in...get a reading and BOOM!!! off to the next cell. Instead of drawing from a pipette, opening the little cover., looking in the scope, cleaning off the glass..etc etc. Being off by 10 points really isn't a big deal. Especially if the battery is 3-4 yrs old. Electrolyte clarity is also important. Be aware battery voltage can be very deceptive as to the real state of the battery.
Hydrometers aren't as accurate, like you stated. But they have their place for sure. They are faster and probably accurate enough for most work. I wouldn't use a refractometer every time I was checking on the batteries but once or twice a year or so would be a good thing to do.
This is also a tool to check how much water there is in honey for example. Diddent know they also works for battery testing. Thanks :)
Haha I didn't know that. Very interesting.
A honey refractometer is different than this battery refractometer. The honey refractometer measures water content. There is a different scale with the acid/glycol refractometer. The refractometers look the same and operate the same, but they are different from each other and will only properly function with what they are designed to measure. There are many types of refractometers, used in many different industries. Getting the right one for the right job is imperative.
any link to buy that tool?
I bought mine on Ebay a few years back.I use mine to find out the glycol percentage in my boiler system.
Should be in the description.
If you can't find it: amzn.to/2p40rKl
well as usual - I can but at double the price :( www.amazon.ca/Robinair-75240-Coolant-Battery-Refractometer/dp/B000HTNODE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493784348&sr=8-1&keywords=Robinair+75240+Coolant+and+Battery+Refractometer
That sucks! Try this Ebay link. The seller says they ship to most countries:
www.ebay.com/itm/Robinair-75240-Coolant-And-Battery-Refractometer-/391598593884?hash=item5b2d18575c:g:-QMAAOSwP~tW5e~t
Nice but what about lithium batteries or sealed lead acid batteries
You can't use a refractometer with those.
how do you check the amp hours with those?
Checking the voltage or using impedance spectroscopy are your only choices that I know of.
Oh ok thx
Do you know you took the fluid from one cell and put it in another? I get you’re filming and assume you know that can skew your results but wanted to mention fwiw. Not a troll.
Yes, I was demonstrating. I would probably clean it between cells with distilled water if I wanted absolute precision.
LDSreliance I wasn’t trying to be that guy on TH-cam that nitpicks youtubers to death, I just saw that and thought that you may potentially have a battery you’re using who’s low in one cell and therefore giving you less than ideal performance, capacity etc, so figured it was worth mentioning in case you hadn’t noticed
LDSreliance is there a big difference in performance on the budget variants? I am currently looking at/for a multimeter, (clamp type by necessity) that is similar to the Klein 900 (the new Klein 2000), solely for the ability to measure DC current at up to 2000 Amps. The Klein brand has nowhere near the Recognition or prestige among professionals as the fluke meters and fluke brand in general but it is a quality unit and kind of the middle ground between fluke and cheaper consumer brands or knock off Chinese stuff. Having said that, Despite the client 900 having a very reasonable and $150 price tag as compared to what it would be around $600 from fluke or a similar brand name with industry pro cachet, but Given how rarely I will use it and that it’s just for use around the house I am looking for basically their best SPECT Chinese meter I can find that does DC current Up to 2000 A, 1000 A, or possibly settling for 600 A if there’s a considerable price difference but since I’m seeing $40 units that can measure up to 2000 A DC, I’m not sure that a $20 unit for half the price that only goes up to 600 A is as much of a bargain.
Finding meters they can measure AC current is easy but do you see current on the other hand not so much only clamp type meters are capable of high DC current measurements and once you get into Hi amperage I’m not sure there’s even any meters that can measure AC current without relying on the clamps there may well be about a 20 amp or 60 amp maximum that you can safely measure with probes on even the highest in meters
Anyway this all started because in my ignorance I bought a meter hoping to measure the voltage of my car battery and the amperage of the charger and ideally the amperage That it was actually putting out when turning over the engine instead of estimating it’s CCA/CA With a load tester or a more modern digital device with a load tester or a more modern digital device
Sorry for the rant point being I was glad to see that I could at least get a Chinese cheapo model that I was capable of giving accurate readings at those high current levels even if it’s not as durable or Going to have as long of a lifetime or warranty etc. so my asking you about the performance of budget models in this case is to blame for my going on a tangent/rant That probably needs to be broken up into chapters.
Sorry about that