"Pete C" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 14 May 2004 08:53:00 +0100,
(D.M. Procida) wrote:

I've got a bunch of alkaline cells here, and I'm wondering which of them
are going to be any good at all. What should I use as a cut-off voltage
when I'm deciding? I have a multimeter, which also has a battery tester
(I guess it just puts a bit of a load on them).

From one set I get around 1.4V with the battery tester, 1.45 with the
voltmeter. But while that sounds pretty good, I know that in practice
they were useless. How much do 'rested' alkaline cells recover after
use?

Thanks,

Daniele

Hi,

If they're small batteries ( i.e. AA or AAA ) then I find that shorting them
with the multimeter leads when the multimeter is turned to current gives a
good indication of their state. From memory, an AA cell will deliver some
1.5A into a short when newish. Of course, make sure your multimeter can take
this current, and only do it momentarily. I used an old AVO meter, the
result you get may vary with the internal resistance of your ammeter when
set to 'current'.

Andy.