Battery Load Test...What does the reading mean?

Stinky45

Having engineer access I can initiate the "Load Test" in the Battery Menu. What readings would be good to see and what readings would be poor....if the battery voltage isn't truly representative as to the ability of the pack to support the system? The battery pack on my HKC Quantum 70 is the 9.6 volt pack...on a meter it shows it's able to yield 11.2 volts. Varying advice indicates that a 'Load Test' reading is of assistance regards the viability of the battery pack...I've just run a 'Load Test' and the yield from the pack indicates 174Ma. Can anyone advise me as to what the reading should optimally be and is this a Low ...Medium...or High strength reading? All this has transpired as a result of the 3 year timed message kicking in and telling me to replace the pack. The timed instruction may or may not be true...thanks in advance.

KoolKid

If it's on the three year mark and you are getting that voltage and that test is passing its generally going to be OK.

The reading tells you the current the panel is drawing from the panel.
Note the panels battery pack is 2200mAh.

During this test the charge-discharge currents
will be on the display. During this test the system will be powered by the batteryto let you know if you are too close to the limits of the mains power supply. You will be prompted to press
YES to source all the system current from the battery and No to switch back to the mains power supply.

The 3 year warning is a gimmick in my professional opinion. Reset the timer and carry on would be my advice.
Others may have different views but I won't be getting into it.

Stinky45

Thanks Koolkid...a detailed explanation is always valuable.

KoolKid

Your welcome. Hope it helps.

2011

Stinky45 wrote: »

I've just run a 'Load Test' and the yield from the pack indicates 174Ma.

From Koolkid's description below that indicates that attached circuits are drawing a combined current of 0.174 amps. If the battery was new you could expect it to draw a higher current. This is due to Ohm's Law.

Can anyone advise me as to what the reading should optimally be and is this a Low ...Medium...or High strength reading?

I am open to correction but I would think the reading you have obtained is pretty meaningless on its own. Unless you know what it should be with a new battery you have no reference and this will depend on the resistance of the connected load. The size of this load will depend mainly on the number and types of connected devices. Some devices consume more power than others. I would guess that the current drawn would also vary depending on which zones are open.

KoolKid wrote: »

The reading tells you the current the panel is drawing from the panel.

Interesting,
In that case if you have more devices connected to the panel the current will be higher. Therefore it would make sense to record this measurement when the battery is new so that you have a reference current to compare to when the battery performance has decreased.

Note the panels battery pack is 2200mAh.

That means that the battery can supply 2.2 amps for 1 hour (when new).

During this test the charge-discharge currents will be on the display.

I'm not familiar with this feature but from your description I would have thought that this shows the battery discharge current only?

Stinky45

Thank you...
A few points about my query....I asked the Low, Medium and High output question along with the Optimal output question thinking someone probably an Engineer who contributes to the Board might know as they possibly conduct these tests more regularly than the DIY posters? So yes if and when a new battery is acquired take the voltage with a meter and also when installed do the "Load Test" to see what the reading is. However in the absence of a NEW pack which may or may not require replacing the conundrum persists do I or don't I. I fully appreciate what you're saying and thank you for getting back....hopefully you see my point too insofar as I was asking someone to say either it's OK or you really do need to replace. The confusion arises in two ways...1) The equipment timer requests you replace irrespective of the condition of the pack and 2) Other seasoned advisers suggest that this message is a precautionary which may or may not be accurate. Thanks again.

2011

Stinky45 wrote: »

I was asking someone to say either it's OK or you really do need to replace.

My point is nobody can answer this for you with the information provided as there are so many variables.

Batteries trickle charged from mains and used as a backup is not something unique to intruder alarm systems, nor is the assessment of their health. In industry we use them for fire alarms, emergency lighting, generator start up systems, UPS etc....

Over the last year I have been involved in testing battery performance. Although my days of installing domestic intruder alarms are in the distant past but the laws of physics remain the same

Anyway good luck with it.

Stinky45

More complex than I imagined but thanks for taking the time to respond...a Board working well when interested parties (especially valued experts) exchange information.

KoolKid

The way the certification bodies request it calculated is measure the current consumption based on all bells & strobe active & take that as 1 hours back up .
1 activation & 3 rearms means the most the system can activate for during 1 arm/disarm, cycle is 4 times x 15 minutes = 1 hour. The remainder of the battery should be able to keep the system up on standby for the required period of time .
Grade 1 or 2 with rechargeable batteries is 12 hours.
Some good information on it here.

http://www.adt.ie/facilities-management/fm-european-intruder-standard-en50131

So max current consumption x 1 hour & standby current consumption by 11 hours should equal less that the battery capacity .

However to full check battery capacity you would need to fully charge it & then discharge it and measure the current until it is empty and then work out how much current came out of the discharge period.
Really a lot of effort for this sort of application. I have to say that 3 year timer really is of little use other than to generate revenue. Any good system can give you fair warning on a bad battery . If backup is critical put on an external PSU with a much larger battery.

altor

KoolKid wrote: »

Any good system can give you fair warning on a bad battery .

They dont give a fair warning as they are only monitoring the current voltage of the battery.