BT-168 universal battery tester
(21 reviews)
The classic, unbeatable battery tester: a needle, a colour scale, and in a second you know if a battery is good, low or to be binned. No battery required.
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Characteristics
- Formats: AA/AAA/C/D, 9V, buttons
- Display: Needle, colour scale
- Power: No battery required
- Measure: Under load
- Simple, universal, no battery, very affordable
Detailed overview: BT-168 universal battery tester
The BT-168 is the reference universal battery tester: a compact unit with a needle and a colour scale (green = good, yellow = low, red = replace). It tests under load all common formats (AA, AAA, C, D, 9V, 1.5V cells) as well as button cells, thanks to its sliding contacts. It needs no battery to work: the tested cell powers it. Simple, reliable and very affordable, it avoids throwing away good batteries and quickly sorts a full drawer.
In practice, testing your batteries regularly avoids two pitfalls: throwing away good cells (waste and cost) and being caught out at the wrong moment. A tester also helps spot a weak cell in a set, the one that unbalances and underperforms a device. Keep it handy in a drawer: it quickly pays for itself and cuts your waste.
Comparison
At around £7 to £51, here is how this tester sits against the other popular battery testers in our selection.
| Criterion | BT-168 universel | Ansmann piles boutons | Varta LCD | Ansmann Energy Check LCD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formats tested | AA/AAA/C/D/9V | Button cells | AA to 9V + buttons | AA to D, 9V, buttons |
| Display | Needle (colour scale) | LEDs | LCD screen | Backlit LCD |
| Button cells | Yes | Specialised | Yes | Yes |
| Profile | Simple, no setting | Button-cell focus | Consumer | Versatile / pro |
| Observed price | ≈ £7 | ≈ £10 | ≈ £11 | ≈ £48 |
Our tester's review: Dawid Lojewski
Hard to do simpler or more effective for the price. You slide the cell between the contacts, the needle jumps, and the colour tells you everything: green you keep, red to the bin. We used it to clear a drawer full of batteries of unknown age, and in five minutes everything was sorted, several cells thought dead were actually still good. That it needs no battery to work is a real plus, it is always ready. It is obviously not a precision instrument: no numeric value, just a trend, and you have to hold contact well for button cells. But as a home tester, at this price, it is the smart buy par excellence.
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Published on 10/07/2026, updated on 14/08/2026