In the event of power failure in a power plant or transformer substation, batteries are there to provide backup power. However, the battery capacity can drop significantly long before its calculated life expectancy is reached, and the battery can have weak cells that can cause costly service interruptions. Regular capacity and impedance testing is essential for predictive maintenance and protection of assets, and it need not be time-consuming or expensive.
To find out more about battery testing, read our Battery Testing Guide
Selecting right test equipment for the specific application will reduce your battery maintenance and testing costs. With both capacity and impedance testers available, Megger can provide a battery tester tuned to your specific need.
Take a look at all our products in our Battery brochure
Capacity test equipment
The only reliable way of measuring battery capacity is to conduct a discharge test and our TORKEL series of test instruments enables you to perform discharge tests at constant current, constant power or constant resistance. You can even test the batteries on-line and get extra load units if you need a higher load current.
Megger’s BVM is a battery voltage measurement device that’s used for the capacity testing of large battery banks. It can also be used in conjunction with the TORKEL to perform a completely automated battery bank capacity test.
Click here to read more about the TORKEL
Click here to read more about the BVM
Impedance test equipment
The battery impedance test helps to identify weak cells before they cause problems, however taking the battery off-line for testing is time-consuming and risky. You don’t need to do this with the on-line testing capabilities of Megger’s battery test equipment.
For example, the BITE line of battery testers will perform on-line testing that will determine the health of lead-acid batteries up to 7000 Ah. The BITE of battery testers measures cell impedance, cell float voltage, inter-cell connection resistance, terminal resistance, string continuity as well as ripple current and float current.
Click here to find out more about the BITE5
Click here to find out more about the BITE3
Click here to find out more about the BITE2
Whether you are testing flooded lead-acid, VRLA or Ni-Cd cells, Megger have the right impedance testers for you.
Ground fault tracing equipment
A battery ground fault is a safety hazard that can cause damage to equipment and battery strings. Ground fault tracing is therefore essential to prevent this from occurring.
Thankfully, Megger also provide solutions for tracing ground faults around batteries. We have the Geolux GL 660-1 earth fault locator, which is ideal for control, signal and supply systems and the Battery Ground Fault Tracer (BGFT), which is designed for use in ungrounded DC systems. The BGFT allows you to locate ground faults up to 399 Kohms. The BGFT can locate ground faults on systems with high leakage current and high noise.
Click here to find out more about the BGFT