Lidl battery condition tester/analyser - Might be a bargain?

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

We've just done our weekly shop at Lidl, we do shop elsewhere too! and they are advertising a "battery tester" on sale next week for £22.99 in their weekly sheet - I'm slightly unsure whether it's from Thursday 25th or Sunday 29th I think it's from the Sunday though. The ad in their weekly sheet is quite small and very brief so I searched for it online and found this: https://www.lidl.co.uk/p/ultimate-speed-car-battery-tester/p10036323 Now, to me, that's not just a battery tester but a full blown battery condition analyser? So started looking for more detail and eventually found this: I find this chap's presentation very difficult to follow but I've looked at a lot of reviews for these over the last few months so I turned the sound off and concentrated on the video and yes, it does seem to be a full blown analyser. What's more it has a very nice colour screen whereas most of the cheaper ones I've seen have just a black and white screen.

Now I'm really getting excited as I've been looking at these tools for some time now. After quite a lot of searching I came up with this: The screen display is almost exactly the same and, although the buttons are differently placed, their functions are the same. I've not come across another with this screen presentation or button function so I think it likely the Lidl is a budget version of the Leagand? I found the Leagand on Gendan's website for a lot more money: https://www.gendan.co.uk/product_LGDBA4000.html and I'm now wondering, as I get on quite well with Grant at Gendan, whether I should risk "souring" the relationship by asking him if he knows anything about this. It seems too good to be true and, in the first video it is mentioned that the result he got on an AGM battery was "strange". However I've seen other reviews for other brands which seem to be similar with regard to AGM batteries. However I'm not very likely to be dealing with an AGM battery anytime soon. All our vehicles are either good old Flooded batteries or EFB on a couple of the newer ones - including my Scala.

At £22.99 I think I may just take a chance on this. Going to do a lot more searching for reviews and info before it's on the shelf next Sunday though. It's not as if It's going to get a lot of use and if it fails after a few years it'll just go in the bin. If I buy it I'll take it along to Kenny's Garage and check it out alongside his professional tool. If he lets me do that I'll come back on here and report.

Edit. Maybe should say I have one of their "Ultimate Speed" branded smart chargers and it works very well. My older boy has had it for a couple of years, he was using it to charge the Punto - 2012 1.4 - when the blue and me started robbing the battery of charge overnight. He connected it every night for a good few months so it would start in the morning, didn't disconnect the battery terminals and had no problems with anything electronic being damaged - The Blue and Me had already failed. I'd forgotten he has it, must ask him for it back!

 

[AnthonyH]

Looks good to me. I remember a while ago recommending to you the one I have, it does all of the same as the gendan one except the loaded test and was an excellent buy. I use mine more frequently than i imagined i would. Mine is black and white only, no colour.

I can't say whether the one at lidl is the same as the gendan one, but its going to be very close in functionality. If i didn't already have one of these i'd get the lidl one. There is just no point in buying the expensive gendan one.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Looks good to me. I remember a while ago recommending to you the one I have, it does all of the same as the gendan one except the loaded test and was an excellent buy. I use mine more frequently than i imagined i would. Mine is black and white only, no colour.

I can't say whether the one at lidl is the same as the gendan one, but its going to be very close in functionality. If i didn't already have one of these i'd get the lidl one. There is just no point in buying the expensive gendan one.

Thanks Anthony. That's what I'm feeling. I just worry slightly about how accurate a cheap one may be. Is it going to wrongly fail a battery which may yet have some life in it? On the other hand these have been around for a while now so likely they're all using the same, probably Chinese made? electronics. So, unless you splash out on a really expensive professional one I recon they are likely to be as good as the next one?

 

[AnthonyH]

Thanks Anthony. That's what I'm feeling. I just worry slightly about how accurate a cheap one may be. Is it going to wrongly fail a battery which may yet have some life in it?

I found that my machine was so much more accurate than i am - i wished i'd bought one a lot sooner! It makes repairing batteries so much easier. If you have a repair function on your battery charger, you can see the percentage repaired increase from say 60% to 90 %. Its quite satisfying knowing that many batteries can be brought back to life.

On the other hand these have been around for a while now so likely they're all using the same, probably Chinese made? electronics. So, unless you splash out on a really expensive professional one I recon they are likely to be as good as the next one?

Thats it, these gendan ones are Chinese made like the rest.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

I found that my machine was so much more accurate than i am - i wished i'd bought one a lot sooner! It makes repairing batteries so much easier. If you have a repair function on your battery charger, you can see the percentage repaired increase from say 60% to 90 %. Its quite satisfying knowing that many batteries can be brought back to life.



Thats it, these gendan ones are Chinese made like the rest.

Right, that's it, I'm getting one for sure! Want to bet there's non in store when I go looking?

 

[AnthonyH]

Right, that's it, I'm getting one for sure! Want to bet there's non in store when I go looking?

Not so long ago I went looking for a torque wrench and had to go to two different lidl stores. It was worth it though, I saved some money and got a nice piece of kit. As long as you're there on the day they're released i think there will be one there for you. No gurantees though, i almost had to buy my lidl torque wrench off ebay because someone snaffled them up to re-sell.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Not so long ago I went looking for a torque wrench and had to go to two different lidl stores. It was worth it though, I saved some money and got a nice piece of kit. As long as you're there on the day they're released i think there will be one there for you. No gurantees though, i almost had to buy my lidl torque wrench off ebay because someone snaffled them up to re-sell.

Gona be an early start for me next Sunday then!

 

[AnthonyH]

Gona be an early start for me next Sunday then!

I have to admit i do enjoy my piece of kit. Its nice to put a % number of healthy to a battery. There's at least a half hours worth of fun to be had next Sunday if you have several batteries lol

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

I have to admit i do enjoy my piece of kit. Its nice to put a % number of healthy to a battery. There's at least a half hours worth of fun to be had next Sunday if you have several batteries lol

Right here at the house I have two workshop batteries which I use for jumping and when ever I need a power source and it's going to be particularly useful for keeping an eye on them. But it's just going to be nice to be able to check our two vehicles which often sit for days between runs. Of course I'm going to have a lovely time checking out the other 4 vehicles in the "family fleet".

 

[AnthonyH]

Right here at the house I have two workshop batteries which I use for jumping and when ever I need a power source and it's going to be particularly useful for keeping an eye on them. But it's just going to be nice to be able to check our two vehicles which often sit for days between runs. Of course I'm going to have a lovely time checking out the other 4 vehicles in the "family fleet".

This is one of the nice jobs for sure! LOL. Enjoy!

I just had a look on the lidl website and it says they're available from Sunday 28th September, in some shops they may be a day or two later depending on when staff put them on the shelves.

I've just found this extendable ratchet wrench that I want...

Parkside Extendable Ratchet

Parkside Extendable Ratchet - With quick release and ball lock 1/2" ratchet with quick release – can be set into 5 positions Square drive

www.lidl.co.uk

Looks like i'm going to Lidl on the 28th as well

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

This is one of the nice jobs for sure! LOL. Enjoy!

I just had a look on the lidl website and it says they're available from Sunday 28th September, in some shops they may be a day or two later depending on when staff put them on the shelves.

I've just found this extendable ratchet wrench that I want...

Parkside Extendable Ratchet

Parkside Extendable Ratchet - With quick release and ball lock 1/2" ratchet with quick release – can be set into 5 positions Square drive

www.lidl.co.uk

Looks like i'm going to Lidl on the 28th as well

I've had bad experiences trying to apply large forces through ratchets in the past, so, personally, it's not a tool that would appeal to me. I'd rather use a breaker bar, with length of pipe if needed, to break a nut/bolt free and then a ratchet to wind it off if it's tight on the thread.

Anyway, I've enjoyed our exchange here Anthony. I'm off to bed now. Hope you have a good night. I'm sure we'll talk again soon.

 

[AnthonyH]

Good night, i've enjoyed chatting too.

I also found this cordless electric ratchett wrench going on sale at Lidl at the same time. I have a big cordless wrench which has more torque than this one, but its too big to get into some places. I'll need to compare prices and specs with those on Amazon though.

Parkside 12V Cordless Ratchet

Parkside 12V Cordless Ratchet - With battery and charger DC motor: Compact design - ideal for hard-to-reach places Powerful 12V Li-Ion battery (2Ah) 3

www.lidl.co.uk

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Not so long ago I went looking for a torque wrench and had to go to two different lidl stores. It was worth it though, I saved some money and got a nice piece of kit. As long as you're there on the day they're released i think there will be one there for you. No gurantees though, i almost had to buy my lidl torque wrench off ebay because someone snaffled them up to re-sell.

Thought long and hard before I decided to reply here. Please don't take this personally Anthony, it's not meant to be a criticism of you.

So, Torque wrenches? and especially cheap torque wrenches. The consequences of using a torque wrench which is not very accurate can be pretty dramatic, ranging from stuff like head gaskets blowing prematurely due to under tightening (or maybe overtightening) which is very annoying, to failure of safety related components, like brakes and suspension parts, which I prefer not to have to worry about. For me, I need the reassurance of a "big name" being behind the wrench I buy, consequently if you look in my tool chest you'll find Norbar, Halfords, but made by Norbar, and a couple of old Britools. When it comes to the more budget tools, I know many come with calibration certificates - I wouldn't even go near one without a certificate - and I'm sure they comply when new but, I would be worried how long they hold their accuracy - which, with "click" type wrenches, is very much down to the quality of the spring and moving parts. Any relaxation in the spring or even slight wear in moving parts can have a considerable effect on accuracy. I also wonder about accuracy over full range. It's comparatively easy to make one which is accurate for any one setting but very much more difficult to make it accurate over a range of settings. Preset "click" type wrenches are known to be most accurate at mid range settings and less so at the extremes of range. I suspect that "cheap" tools will suffer this effect to a greater degree than an "expensive" brand. So, for me, I'd be saving up until I could afford a "big name" tool in this particular application.

Lastly can I just remind you torque wrenches require checking and recalibrating periodically to remain accurate. This isn't cheap if recalibration adjustments are necessary. Our workshop wrenches went away yearly for checking. Also, just in case you didn't know, ALWAYS back the adjustment back to zero when you've finished using the tool. If you leave it with the spring under compression the spring will weaken prematurely and accuracy will be affected.

Good night, i've enjoyed chatting too.

I also found this cordless electric ratchett wrench going on sale at Lidl at the same time. I have a big cordless wrench which has more torque than this one, but its too big to get into some places. I'll need to compare prices and specs with those on Amazon though.

Parkside 12V Cordless Ratchet

Parkside 12V Cordless Ratchet - With battery and charger DC motor: Compact design - ideal for hard-to-reach places Powerful 12V Li-Ion battery (2Ah) 3

www.lidl.co.uk

Oh, I'd love an electric wrench like that, but I'm now doing so little "wrenching" - ageing muscles and body in general, aaargh! - that it would be an absolute luxury. I'd have no hesitation considering a Lidl/Aldi tool for this.

 

[AnthonyH]

Thought long and hard before I decided to reply here. Please don't take this personally Anthony, it's not meant to be a criticism of you.

So, Torque wrenches? and especially cheap torque wrenches. The consequences of using a torque wrench which is not very accurate can be pretty dramatic, ranging from stuff like head gaskets blowing prematurely due to under tightening (or maybe overtightening) which is very annoying, to failure of safety related components, like brakes and suspension parts, which I prefer not to have to worry about. For me, I need the reassurance of a "big name" being behind the wrench I buy, consequently if you look in my tool chest you'll find Norbar, Halfords, but made by Norbar, and a couple of old Britools. When it comes to the more budget tools, I know many come with calibration certificates - I wouldn't even go near one without a certificate - and I'm sure they comply when new but, I would be worried how long they hold their accuracy - which, with "click" type wrenches, is very much down to the quality of the spring and moving parts. Any relaxation in the spring or even slight wear in moving parts can have a considerable effect on accuracy. I also wonder about accuracy over full range. It's comparatively easy to make one which is accurate for any one setting but very much more difficult to make it accurate over a range of settings. Preset "click" type wrenches are known to be most accurate at mid range settings and less so at the extremes of range. I suspect that "cheap" tools will suffer this effect to a greater degree than an "expensive" brand. So, for me, I'd be saving up until I could afford a "big name" tool in this particular application.

Lastly can I just remind you torque wrenches require checking and recalibrating periodically to remain accurate. This isn't cheap if recalibration adjustments are necessary. Our workshop wrenches went away yearly for checking. Also, just in case you didn't know, ALWAYS back the adjustment back to zero when you've finished using the tool. If you leave it with the spring under compression the spring will weaken prematurely and accuracy will be affected.

I have no issue with your comment, i remember you saying something similar in the past. I'm currently fighting with a sump plug that has been tightened to within an inch of its life, not by me either lol. I've decided against buying the lidl extendable ratchett wrench, i just need a 300 mm breaker bar.

Oh, I'd love an electric wrench like that, but I'm now doing so little "wrenching" - ageing muscles and body in general, aaargh! - that it would be an absolute luxury. I'd have no hesitation considering a Lidl/Aldi tool for this.

I found a more expensive and powerful one on Amazon i'm possibly going to buy!

 

[AnthonyH]

Oh, I'd love an electric wrench like that, but I'm now doing so little "wrenching" - ageing muscles and body in general, aaargh! - that it would be an absolute luxury. I'd have no hesitation considering a Lidl/Aldi tool for this.

I bought the one below.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CRL27QDZ

Post a review of your new bit of kit when you have it!

 

[The Panda Nut]

Right, that's it, I'm getting one for sure! Want to bet there's non in store when I go looking?

me too if I can get one.

 

[theoneandonly]

@Pugglt Auld Jock at the same time as the battery device a leaflet tells me there is also a compressor / powerbank/ starter. And ratchet.
Any chance of a quick look/ review. My internet time is restri ted ( on holiday ) i wont invoke SWMBO is watching me
Pump to 80psi?
Start a Ducato?
Thanks gents

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

@Pugglt Auld Jock at the same time as the battery device a leaflet tells me there is also a compressor / powerbank/ starter. And ratchet.
Any chance of a quick look/ review. My internet time is restri ted ( on holiday ) i wont invoke SWMBO is watching me
Pump to 80psi?
Start a Ducato?
Thanks gents

This is still not in the shop yet. The pamphlet states it's a 14Ah/44.8watt hour battery which isn't a lot of help to my simple little mind. I found a couple of videos showing it starting stuff like petrol Fiestas etc and they stated in one video that it should work on engines up to 2 litre. One video also showed it stripped down and the battery pack only occupies about 1 third of the inside of the case - the rest being taken up with the compressor and electronic board. Like most of these relatively cheap small jump packs, my guess would be that, as long as the vehicle's battery was only just below a voltage capable of turning over the engine, then there's a good chance of it working. try it with a larger engine and a well depleted battery and my guess would be it will struggle. Useful as a power bank though and if you have a smaller car.

I've been thinking hard about the battery condition analyser too. My "sensible" brain is saying to me "This is a pretty cheap tester when compared to others. Unfortunately, I suppose because it's new to the market, there's very little on line about it. However the one slightly more in depth review I saw did say it didn't seem to produce a realistic result on AGM. So what's bothering me is that pretty much all the reviews I've seen for others around this price come to the conclusion that they don't produce repeatable reliable results and you need to get up into the realms of the Foxwells and Topdons around the £50/£60/£70 and greater price range to get something you can trust to give meaningful results. The problem of course, if you buy one, is there's nothing to cross reference with so you're going to be asking yourself "Do I trust this result enough to replace this expensive battery?" and the conclusion I've reached is "No, I probably wouldn't"

So my decision is I'm not going to buy one and save up my "pocket money" until I can afford/justify buying a better quality and proven device. In the mean time I'm giving serious thought to buying an old style load tester: https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/13210-cl-test-cvt3-battery/ to use with the shop batteries. I don't think I'd use it on a still connected battery in a modern vehicle because of the slight risk to electronic components, but, if I really need to know about one of the vehicle batteries I'll just pop down to my local Halfords, in the vehicle, and get them to check it for free using their official Yuassa battery tester. They seem to be very happy to do this at no cost, only takes about five to ten minutes of someone's time including getting the meter from the shelf and doing the test. Only downside is having to take maybe an hour out of my day to drive there and back and get the test done. Maybe that would be the best bet anyway as I'd probably buy the battery there as, with your trade card, the prices are pretty much as cheap as from Tayna and no shipping to pay. Might then have to get the dealer or make specific workshop - like AVW for VAG up here - to code it, almost certainly cheaper still than paying a main dealer to supply, fit and code a battery?

Edit. For general info. If you want to get Halfords to test a battery for you then don't ring their workshop. Instead just turn up at one of their retail stores and ask them to test it. That way it's a shop person, not a mechanic who does it (the tool is super simple to use so no worries with "inexperienced" shop floor/sales staff getting it wrong) That way you don't have to book an appointment and I've never had to wait more than a few minutes for someone to do it. I've also never felt pressured into buying either.

 

[The Panda Nut]

This is still not in the shop yet. The pamphlet states it's a 14Ah/44.8watt hour battery which isn't a lot of help to my simple little mind. I found a couple of videos showing it starting stuff like petrol Fiestas etc and they stated in one video that it should work on engines up to 2 litre. One video also showed it stripped down and the battery pack only occupies about 1 third of the inside of the case - the rest being taken up with the compressor and electronic board. Like most of these relatively cheap small jump packs, my guess would be that, as long as the vehicle's battery was only just below a voltage capable of turning over the engine, then there's a good chance of it working. try it with a larger engine and a well depleted battery and my guess would be it will struggle. Useful as a power bank though and if you have a smaller car.

I've been thinking hard about the battery condition analyser too. My "sensible" brain is saying to me "This is a pretty cheap tester when compared to others. Unfortunately, I suppose because it's new to the market, there's very little on line about it. However the one slightly more in depth review I saw did say it didn't seem to produce a realistic result on AGM. So what's bothering me is that pretty much all the reviews I've seen for others around this price come to the conclusion that they don't produce repeatable reliable results and you need to get up into the realms of the Foxwells and Topdons around the £50/£60/£70 and greater price range to get something you can trust to give meaningful results. The problem of course, if you buy one, is there's nothing to cross reference with so you're going to be asking yourself "Do I trust this result enough to replace this expensive battery?" and the conclusion I've reached is "No, I probably wouldn't"

So my decision is I'm not going to buy one and save up my "pocket money" until I can afford/justify buying a better quality and proven device. In the mean time I'm giving serious thought to buying an old style load tester: https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/13210-cl-test-cvt3-battery/ to use with the shop batteries. I don't think I'd use it on a still connected battery in a modern vehicle because of the slight risk to electronic components, but, if I really need to know about one of the vehicle batteries I'll just pop down to my local Halfords, in the vehicle, and get them to check it for free using their official Yuassa battery tester. They seem to be very happy to do this at no cost, only takes about five to ten minutes of someone's time including getting the meter from the shelf and doing the test. Only downside is having to take maybe an hour out of my day to drive there and back and get the test done. Maybe that would be the best bet anyway as I'd probably buy the battery there as, with your trade card, the prices are pretty much as cheap as from Tayna and no shipping to pay. Might then have to get the dealer or make specific workshop - like AVW for VAG up here - to code it, almost certainly cheaper still than paying a main dealer to supply, fit and code a battery?

Edit. For general info. If you want to get Halfords to test a battery for you then don't ring their workshop. Instead just turn up at one of their retail stores and ask them to test it. That way it's a shop person, not a mechanic who does it (the tool is super simple to use so no worries with "inexperienced" shop floor/sales staff getting it wrong) That way you don't have to book an appointment and I've never had to wait more than a few minutes for someone to do it. I've also never felt pressured into buying either.

Thanks. Im following your lead!

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Thanks. Im following your lead!

Blind leading the blind I so hope not.