Warehouse Calibration
Process and Procedure Guide
Warehouse Calibration Procedure Handbook
Table of Contents
Page 3: List of devices requiring calibration
Page 4: Testing ‘Daily Use’ Hydrometers
Page 5-6: Testing Carbon Pile Load Tester’s Amps (with adjustable
ammeter) using Independent Clamp-on Inductive Ammeter
Page 7-8: Testing Carbon Pile Load Tester’s Amps (with adjustable
ammeter) using ED-182 Accessory Clamp-on Inductive Ammeter
Page 9: Testing Carbon-Pile Load Tester’s Voltmeter Accuracy
Page 10-11: Testing ‘Daily Use’ Voltmeter Accuracy
Page 12: Testing Series Charger’s Amps
Page 13: Testing Parallel Charger’s Amps
Page 14: Battery weight scales
Page 15: Appendix
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Warehouse Devices Requiring Calibration
 Daily Use Hydrometer
 Daily Use Digital Voltmeter
 Carbon-Pile Load Tester (Amps)
 Carbon-Pile Load Tester (Volts)
 Charger (Series)
 Charger (Parallel)
 Battery Scales
Authorized Calibration Devices
Test Verification for:
Daily Use Digital Voltmeter: TPI -190 DMM or equivalent
Daily Use Hydrometer: Upright Freas Hydrometer
Load Tester Amps: Digital Clamp-on Inductive ammeter
Load Tester Volts: TPI -190 DMM or equivalent
Charger Amps: Digital Clamp-on Inductive ammeter
These calibration devices should be stored in a temperature of (70˚For 21˚C) to (80˚F
or 27˚C).
3
‘Daily Use’ Hydrometer
≥ 50 battery test per day – Test Monthly
≤ 50 battery test per day – Test Bi-Monthly
(Maximum recommended life of ‘daily use’ hydrometers is 6-months)
Figure 1. Freas Hydrometer
Approximate Testing time – 2 minutes
1. Select fully charged battery.
2. Test one battery cell with ‘Daily Use’ Hydrometer
3. Record Results
4. Test same battery cell with Freas Upright hydrometer. (See figure 1)
5. Record results
6. Compare Results: If ‘Daily Use’ hydrometer varies more than 10 points, on reading,
from the Upright Freas (or equal) hydrometer; replace ‘Daily Use’ hydrometer with new
unit.
Notes: Flush Calibrated Freas Hydrometer thoroughly with water several times
immediately after testing and prior to storage.
4
Testing Carbon Pile Load Tester DC Amps (with adjustable
ammeter) using Independent Clamp-on Inductive Ammeter
Figure 3. DC Amp Scale w/Adjustable Ammeter
Figure 2. Variable Carbon Pile
Calibration Adjustment
load Tester
Figure 4. Independent Clamp-on inductive ammeter
≥ 50 battery tests (per load tester) daily - Monthly
≤ 50 battery tests (per load tester) daily – Bi-Monthly
Testing time: 2 -3 minutes per load tester
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1. Select ‘Good’ fully-charged battery (550 CCA or above)
2. Connect Load Tester to Negative and Positive battery terminals
3. Power up Clamp-on Ammeter.
4. Adjust Clamp-on Ammeter to select ‘DC Amps’.
5. Zero test clamp-on ammeter (if applicable)
6. Clamp ammeter loop around load tester’s positive or negative cable.
7. Adjust the load tester’s amp load as close to 200 amps as possible.
8. If load tester has not been previously used that day, conduct two repetitive load tests (15
second discharges) @ 200 amps within one minute prior to calibration testing. If load tester
has been used, proceed directly to step 9
9. Apply and maintain 200 amps (3rd test) to battery. Once 200 amp load level has been
achieved, proceed to step 10
10. Compare and note clamp-on ammeter reading to the load amps being produced by load
tester. See Note
Note: If the digital clamp-on ammeter and load tester are both displaying approximately 200
amps or (190 amps- 210 amps), the load tester is within calibration. However; if the load
tester is illustrating 200 amps and the digital ammeter is displaying either low or high by
more than + or – 10 amps (190amps to 210amps), adjust the small plastic adjustment
screw located on amps scale clockwise or counterclockwise to within calibration while
load test is in progress.
11. Turn load tester off
12. Remove Clamp-on Ammeter
13. Turn off ammeter and store for future testing
If the load tester cannot be properly adjusted to within above noted calibration, contact the
load tester’s manufacturer or Interstate’s Technical Services Dept. @ Home Office.
6
Testing Carbon Pile Load Tester (with adjustable ammeter)
using ED-18 V2 Accessory Clamp-on Inductive Ammeter
Clamp-on Inductive Ammeter
Figure 5: ED-182 w/Inductive ammeter
≥ 50 battery tests per load tester daily - Monthly
≤ 50 battery tests per load tester daily – Bi-Monthly
Approximate Testing Time: 3 minutes per load tester
1. Use ‘Good’ fully charged battery for testing (550 CCA or above)
2. Connect Load Tester to Negative and Positive battery terminals
3. Connect ED-182’s primary leads to battery terminals. ED-182 should power up.
4. Plug in Accessory Clamp-on Ammeter into ED-182’s accessory port.
5. On ED-182 main menu (8 Icons), select DMM and Press Enter
6. Select DC Amp/Volt Icon then Press Enter
7. Choose 700 amp level, Press Enter
8. Zero test clamp-on ammeter as prompted, press Enter
9. Clamp ED-182’s ammeter loop around load tester’s positive or negative cable.
10. Adjust load tester’s current draw as close to 200 amps as possible.
11. If load tester has not been used previously that day, Conduct two repetitive load tests (15
second discharges @ 200 amps) within one minute prior to calibration test verification. If load
tester has been used within last 4 hours, proceed directly to step 12
7
12. Apply a 200 amp load to battery
13. Compare and note the inductive clamp-on ammeter’s reading to load amps displayed on load
tester’s amp scale. See Note
Note: If the digital clamp-on ammeter and load tester are both displaying approximately 200
amps (190 amps- 210 amps), the load tester is within calibration. However; if the load
tester is on 200 amps and the digital ammeter is displaying either low or high by more
than + or – 10 amps (190amps to 210amps), adjust the small plastic adjustment screw
located on amps scale clockwise or counterclockwise to within calibration while load test
is in progress.
If the load tester cannot be properly adjusted to within above noted calibration, contact the
load tester’s manufacturer or Interstate’s Technical Services dept. @ Home Office.
8
Testing Carbon-Pile Load Tester’s Voltmeter Accuracy
Monthly
Note: This test can be completed in conjunction with Load Tester Ammeter Verification Test
Calibration Adjustment
Figure 6. Carbon Pile Load
Figure 7. TPI-190 (calibrated voltmeter)
Tester Voltmeter scale
Approximate Testing Time: 2 minutes
1. Choose ‘Good’ fully charged battery of 550 CCA rating or higher.
2. Power Up DC ‘Calibrated’ Voltmeter (TPI 190)
3. Select DC Volts (20 volt scale) and connect to battery terminals
4. Connect Carbon Pile Load tester to same battery.
5. Observe and compare ‘Calibrated’ Voltmeter’s voltage to Load Tester’s voltage
6. Note but Do Not adjust at this time.
7. Apply 200 amps to the battery for 15 seconds.
8. Compare load tester’s voltage to the ‘Calibrated’ voltmeter under 200-amp load.
9. Adjust load tester’s voltage reading, if necessary, to compare with calibrated voltmeter while
load is applied.
Note: If the load tester’s voltmeter will not adjust to reflect the ‘Calibrated’ voltmeter’s
voltage to + or - .1 volt, (1) send load tester to manufacturer for repairs or (2) use a
recalibrated ‘Daily Use’ digital voltmeter in conjunction with load tester anytime load
testing batteries. See front cover illustration.
If the load tester cannot be properly adjusted to within above noted calibration, contact the
load tester’s manufacturer or Tech Services @ Interstate’s Home Office.
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Testing ‘Daily Use’ Voltmeter Accuracy
Monthly
Approximate Testing Time: 2 minutes
Figure 8. Example of ‘Daily Use’ Voltmeter with Calibration Adjustment
Figure 9. Example of ‘Daily Use’ Voltmeter without Calibration Adjustment
1.
Select ‘Good’ fully charged battery (12.70 volts or above)
2.
Power Up DC ‘Calibrated’ Voltmeter (TPI 190) See Figure 7.
3.
Select DC Volts 20 volt scale
4.
Connect ‘Calibrated’ voltmeter to pos. and neg. battery terminals
5.
Power up ‘ Daily Use’ voltmeter and select 20-volt scale (where applicable)
6.
Connect ‘Daily Use’ voltmeter to same battery terminals as ‘Calibrated’ voltmeter.
7.
Record any voltage difference in ‘Daily Use’ voltmeter to ‘Calibrated’ voltmeter.
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8.
Adjust ‘Daily Use’ voltage calibration setting (if applicable) or apply removable sticker to
‘Daily Use’ voltmeter with voltage difference. See example below.
9.
Number your warehouse ‘Daily Use’ voltmeters and maintain records of voltage variation or
calibration required.
Note: If the ‘working’ voltmeter has calibration accessibility, always follow voltmeter
manufacturer’s recommended calibration procedures. If the ‘daily use’ voltmeter does not have
accessibility to calibrate, apply removable sticker to voltmeter with date and voltage variation.
Example: Calibrated Voltmeter displays 12.76 volts and ‘Daily Use’ voltmeter displays 12.74
volts. Adjust (when applicable) or attach sticker to working voltmeter with + .02 volts. Add .02 to
every voltmeter test reading when using that ‘Daily Use’ voltmeter.
10-06
+ .02 volts
#4
Example of sticker with date tested and variance
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Testing Series charger to verify amp reading (analog ammeter
gauges only)
Figure 10. Example of Series Charger
Annually
1. Connect ‘Series’ charger to good batteries.
2. Turn on charger
3. Adjust charger to 5 amps or highest amp level available.
4. Connect clamp-on inductive ammeter (see figure 4 or 5) around one of the series charger
leads.
5. Power up amp clamp
6. Compare amp adjustment of charger to clamp-on digital ammeter reading.
7. Place removable sticker on charger noting amp difference. Example: If charger is displaying
5-amps and digital ammeter displays 4-amps, place sticker on charger faceplate indicating
charger is -1amp. If the charger is displaying 4 amps and digital displays 5 amps, place a + 1
amp sticker on charger. See Example below
10-06
- 1 amp
Example of sticker with date and variance.
If charger’s amp reading varies more than ±1-amp, contact charger manufacturer or Interstate
Batteries Technical Services Dept. at Home Office.
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Testing Parallel charger to verify Amp reading (analog ammeter)
Figure 11: Example of Multiple battery ‘Parallel’ charger
Time: Annually
Note: Some parallel chargers will not allow any adjustment process.
1. Connect Parallel charger to good/discharged batteries (12.00 volts – 12.45 volts)
2. Turn on charger
3. Adjust charger to 5 amp or 10 amp range.
4. Connect clamp-on inductive ammeter around charger lead.
5. Turn on inductive ammeter
6. Compare amp adjustment of charger to clamp-on digital ammeter reading.
7. Place Sticker on charger noting amp difference. Example: If charger is displaying 4-amps and
digital ammeter displays 5-amps, place sticker on charger faceplate indicating charger is + 1
amp. If the charger is displaying 6 amps and digital displays 5 amps, place a – 1 amp sticker
on charger.
10-06
- 1 amp
Example of sticker with date and variance.
If charger’s amp reading varies more than ±1 amp, contact charger manufacturer or Interstate
Batteries Technical Services Dept. at Home Office.
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Battery Scales
Annually
“Weigh-Tronix WI125 Indicator w/5000 lb Prodec Floor Scale”.
1. Contact Weigh-Tronix WI 125 (see Interstate memo dated Jan. 2006)
2. Maintain a record in your files that the calibration was done.
If you have any questions about the program, please call Gale Kimbrough @
469.221.4657. or ext. 4657
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Appendix
Item
IBS Part #
TPI -190 DMM
384909
Upright Freas Hydrometer
381100
TPI -296 Digital Clamp-on Inductive ammeter
384912
ED-18 Clamp-on inductive meter
426170
Note: For pricing information, contact Supply Chain Management at Interstate
Batteries
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