Is there a way to test batteries for matching?

[rallykid]

Just as the title says, is there a way to test 18650's and see if they are "married" or matched closely enough for use in dual/triple mods?

This a is more hypothetical as I have matched pairs and triples for my 3li and RX200 but am curious for testing since I work in electronics. For instance. Someone were to buy 4 18650's and fully charge them, use them in only one device and run them religiously down to 3.7v, switch to the next battery and do the same, etc., etc. would they be considered matched close enough to be "married" for dual battery mod use?

Not that I would, but my inner geek wants to know and am looking for a way to find out because I have that kind of time on my hands.

 

[TXBiker]

No there isn't it's more hypothetical than scientific. A matched battery will be by max voltage, time to discharge, internal resistance. Back in the day my turbo matcher would cycle NiCad cells to get the best voltages, times and lowest resistance. The whole married pairs or triplets is on the premise that you buy two or three at the same time. There's no technical data to be gained by manufacturers claims and no battery tester that I'm aware of anymore.

 

[Mooch]

You can test the capacity using something like the West Mountain Radio CBA IV Pro battery analyzer. Youn can test the internal resistance with something like the Wayne Giles ESR Meter.

But in my opinion it's unnecessary. The low voltage cutoff of the RX200 will prevent just about any mismatch in batteries from causing any problems by letting a battery go below zero volts. As long as the batteries are reasonably well matched, i.e., same model number, approximate age and cycle count, you won't have any problems in any mod.

Yes, in my opinion you could rotate through four equally used, never abused, batteries and any could be used as a married pair or triplet. This assumes that theyare not near the end of their life.

 

[rallykid]

Thanks for jumping in Mooch. If anyone had the answer I knew it would be you. I will have to see if our analyzers at work are capable of handling an 18650 with the proper adapter if it can be had. Might be a fun little project to see how they match up if I can get them to test.