GCE Research Inc. Announces New Technology That Can Charge a battery in less than a quarter of the Time.
Environmental Testing Laboratory, Inc.
Test Repor
Prepared for:
GCE Research
Test Unit:
One (1) GCE Research Battery Charger
One (1) Milwaukee M18 Fuel Lithium Battery
Tests Performed:
Battery Charge / Discharge Cycle Testing
Test Dates:
October 10, 2018 – November 20, 2018
Report Date:
January 8, 2019 – Rev 1
Approved by:
Brady Richard
President
Environmental Testing Laboratory, Inc.
This Test Certification is applicable only to the test listed in Para. 5.5 and was performed in accordance with the Specification listed in Para. 2.0. All test equipment and instrumentation used for the test was in calibration and is traceable to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Our calibration system complies with ANSI/NCSL Z540-1. The information shown on this certificate applies only to the test identified above and may not be reproduced, except in full, without written consent from Environmental Testing Laboratory.
Environmental Testing Laboratory, Inc.
Table of Contents
Document Revision History……………………………………………………………………………………….. 3
Test Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4
1.0 PURPOSE………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4
2.0 REFERENCE STANDARDS AND SPECIFICATIONS…………………………………………………………… 4
3.0 TEST UNIT DESCRIPTION………………………………………………………………………………… 4
- Test Lab Information…………………………………………………………………………………….. 5
- Contact……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5
- Accreditation………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5
- Test 1……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5
- Test Equipment……………………………………………………………………………………….. 5
- Calibration……………………………………………………………………………………………. 5
- Test Procedure……………………………………………………………………………………….. 6
- Results……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6
- Graphs and Data………………………………………………………………………………………. 7
- Conclusions…………………………………………………………………………………………… 9
List of Tables
Table 1 – Test Unit Information…………………………………………………………………………………… 4
Table 2 - Test Equipment List…………………………………………………………………………………….. 5
Table 3 – Comparison at 22.5 Vdc………………………………………………………………………………… 7
Table 4 – Comparison at 24.7 Vdc………………………………………………………………………………… 7
Table 5 – Battery Charger Power Consumption……………………………………………………………………. 8
Document Revision History
| Date | Revision Letter | Description |
| 12/4/2018 | DRAFT1 | Draft for review |
| 12/28/2018 | Rev 0 | Added additional testing information requested by GCE Research |
| 1/8/2019 | Rev 1 | Added additional information on power consumption of chargers and clarification to results |
Environmental Testing Laboratory, Inc.
Test Summary
The test unit was subjected to battery charge and discharge cycle testing at Environmental Testing Laboratory.
TEST REPORT
1.0 PURPOSE
The purpose of the test type performed using the 20V GCE Research Battery Charger was to test for battery longevity and charging time necessary for a charge cycle.
ETL Dallas was approached by GCE Research to perform an objective 3rd party test of their representative battery charger. The approach to this test includes both longevity testing and a side-by-side comparison test of a typical battery charger vs the rapid charger.
2.0 REFERENCE STANDARDS AND SPECIFICATIONS
- Customer Test Specification
- Environmental Testing Laboratory Quality System Procedure – Control of inspection, measuring, and test equipment, 11-ETL-QS, Rev. T.
3.0 TEST UNIT DESCRIPTION
The GCE Research battery charger was received from customer in good condition with no visible defects. Table
3.0 provides further information about the lithium battery used in testing.
Table 1 – Test Unit Information
| Part Number | Manufacturer | Model |
| 48-11-1820 | Milwaukee | M18 Fuel – 2.0 Ah,
36 Wh Li-ion |
Environmental Testing Laboratory, Inc.
4.0 Test Lab Information
4.1 Contact
Jeremy Lange
Environmental Testing Laboratory, Inc. 11034 Indian Trail
Dallas, TX 75229-3513
(972) 247-9657
(972) 247-9659 (Fax)
4.2 Accreditation
Environmental Testing Laboratory is accredited by the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board/ANAB to ISO 17025. Refer to certificate and scope of accreditation AT-1781.
5.0 Test 1
5.1 Test Equipment
The test equipment used for the test is provided in the following table.
Table 2 - Test Equipment List
| Equipment Name | Description | Model | Calibration Due |
| ETL #1146 | Micristar Controller | 828-D10-403-951-020-00 | 16 March 2019 |
| ETL #1340 | Agilent Data Acquisition System | 34970A | 17 July 2019 |
| ETL #1663 | Fluke AC/DC Current Clamp | i410 | 01 March 2019 |
5.2 Calibration
Test equipment and instrumentation used during the testing was calibrated in accordance with the procedures outlined in ETL Quality System Procedure Section 3.0 of 1.11-ETL-QS, “Control of Inspection, measuring, and test equipment”, Revision T and applicable equipment calibration procedures.
Environmental Testing Laboratory, Inc.
5.3 Test Procedure
- Install control circuit so that the Micristar controller can toggle charge/discharge circuits using contactors on a voltage based Settling time after each charge/discharge cycle set using the Micristar controller.
- Set battery selector to C2 on
- Connect red clip to positive terminal on Milwaukee M18 Lithium
- Connect black clip to negative terminal on Milwaukee M18 Lithium
- Turn on battery charger and adjust knob of charging controller to 5 Volts.
- Allow unit to run until 2600 charge/discharge cycles have been
The purpose of charging and discharging this battery is to show that the battery charger does not decrease longevity of the lithium cells. With the current input from the battery charger, it was noted that throughout the test the battery did not rise above 45 °C.
Test profile programmed to the Micristar is as follows: Discharge – 10 minutes
Hold – 1 minute
Charge – 8 minutes Hold – 1 minute Repeat
5.4 Results
The test unit was subjected to battery charge/discharge cycle testing in accordance with the customer specification. A visual examination of the test unit was performed following testing and no external damage was observed. The test results are to be determined by GCE Research personnel. The test unit was returned to GCE Research for further evaluation.
Milwaukee warrantees lithium batteries for 3 years from purchase date. This is the amount of time deemed by the company to last for approximately 1000 charging cycles. After 2600 charging cycles, the Milwaukee battery used in testing was put back into rotation at the laboratory and only a minimal amount of degradation in lifespan was noticed. The battery still yielded comparable battery life to other batteries with fewer cycles.
During testing, it was noted that under typical ambient conditions that the battery did not exceed 45 °C during all subsequent charging cycles as compared to the OEM Milwaukee charger which did not exceed 37 °C. A temperature of 45 °C is generally accepted as the upper safe limit for Li-ion battery charging in order to maximize lifespan of the lithium cells.
Environmental Testing Laboratory, Inc.
5.5 Graphs and Data
Figure 1 – One Charge/Discharge Cycle Using GCE Rapid Battery Charger
Table 3 – Comparison at 22.5 Vdc
| Charger | Discharge Time – Full Charge | Charge Time |
| GCE Research Rapid Battery Charger
(2 Ah battery) |
00:02:55 | 00:10:00 |
| Milwaukee OEM (2 Ah battery) | 00:03:40 | 00:31:23 |
Table 4 – Comparison at 24.7 Vdc
| Charger | Discharge Time – Full Charge | Charge Time |
| GCE Research Rapid Battery Charger
(2 Ah battery) |
00:03:39 | 00:07:00 |
| Milwaukee OEM (2 Ah battery) | 00:03:40 | 00:31:23 |
| GCE Research Rapid Battery Charger
(5 Ah battery) |
00:09:20 | 00:18:00 |
| Milwaukee OEM (5 Ah battery) | 00:09:17 | 01:23:15 |
Environmental Testing Laboratory, Inc.
Table 5 – Battery Charger Power Consumption
| Charger | Power Consumption at Load |
| GCE Research Rapid Battery Charger
(5 Ah battery) |
Phase to phase 208 VAC, 1.5 amps
312 Watts at load |
| Milwaukee OEM (5 Ah battery) | 110 VAC, 2.1 amps
231 Watts at load |
5.6 Conclusions
In our findings, the GCE Research Rapid Battery Charger did not show any degradation in the longevity of the lithium cells after 2600 cycles. The generally accepted number of charging cycles that lithium batteries can be expected to last is between 1000-1500. Based on preliminary observations, the GCE Research charger has exceeded this number by a sizeable margin. It can be observed that the GCE Research charger does not reduce the lifespan of the cells, however, further testing will be required to determine the exact increase in lifespan.
During comparison testing using the Rapid Battery Charger versus the Milwaukee OEM charger, the results showed that for a charging duration of approximately ¼ time of the OEM, a similar capacity was achieved.
The GCE battery charger was set to 24.7 VDC output. For the 2 Ah battery, a 7-minute charge time was applied to the battery, which yielded a full charge. For the 5 Ah battery, an 18 minute charge was applied to yield a full charge. Both batteries were allowed a 30 minute settle time for both voltage settling and heat dissipation due to charging.
Run times were compared using a blower motor that pulls a constant current in order to provide an accurate assessment. In all cases, the GCE charged batteries ran for almost identical times as the OEM charged batteries while only being charged for ¼ of the time. Temperatures did not exceed 45 °C in any charge cycle.
