Anyone tried the cheap knock-off Chinese LI 100a batteries?

[user 37446]

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Just wondering if anyone has purchased and tried out one of the Chinese lithium knock-off batteries that have popped up in the last couple months on Amazon. [/font]

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]They range from $500-$800 all claiming to have the bms for over-temp, low voltage cutoffs. (Don't think they claim low temp charging protection though.)[/font]

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Reviews are generally positive and don't seem to be "boilerplate" type (...these are very good, I recommend...) or somebody at least tried to vary the wording and could spell.[/font]

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Here's the current crop of budget offerings:[/font]

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Amperetime 100a $569[/font]

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Weize 100a $549 [/font]

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]ExpertPower 100a $789[/font]

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Chins 100a $539[/font]

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]FlyPower 100a $486[/font]

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Scremower 100a $486[/font]

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]PowerQueen 100a $539[/font]

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]MightyMax 100a $599[/font]


[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]They range from 3 to 178 reviews... [/font]

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif](Whomever makes up these product/brand names is, well, needing to watch more old westerns or something.  Scrmower and Flypower?)   [/font]

 

[XERTYX]

In not too keen on lithium batteries personally, but if the price comes down any further than that (assuming they're legit of course) I think I'd have little choice other than to go that route. 4 29DC trolling motor batteries would run around $400 for ~400ah (200ah usable) but $400 for 100ah with 90% usable..... could be a game changer. And as I understand it lithiums will charge basically as fast as you can feed them. That could be all the difference in the world.

 

[GntlStone]

I have no personal exper but Will Prowse on YouTube has done some investigations and teardowns. Check his channel. His website and forum have a very active and knowledgeable community @ DIYSolar.com

 

[user 37446]

I have no personal exper but Will Prowse on YouTube has done some investigations and teardowns. Check his channel. His website and forum have a very active and knowledgeable community @ DIYSolar.com

Most if not all of these he hasn't tested (I just looked on his tear down video playlist and only the Amperetime comes up). I'm hoping to find someone with real experience who bought one.

Seems like a person can't hardly ever trust the "ratings"...
"The xyz is great! Shipping was fast and boxed good. Used it and would buy again."

(Use this rating for anything...)

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Seems like a person can't hardly ever trust the "ratings"...
"The xyz is great! Shipping was fast and boxed good. Used it and would buy again."

You forgot: "Got it yesterday"

 

[user 37446]

or "haven't used it yet but give it 5 stars", "as described", "good"

 

[gtinseth]

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Just wondering if anyone has purchased and tried out one of the Chinese lithium knock-off batteries that have popped up in the last couple months on Amazon. [/font]

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]They range from $500-$800 all claiming to have the bms for over-temp, low voltage cutoffs. (Don't think they claim low temp charging protection though.)[/font]

I bought a couple of alibaba 100ah over two years ago, $825 for the pair, shipped to my door in NorCal (Ctechi brand). I have charged them and discharged them many times, running a 50L compressor frig, a chinese diesel heater, lights, USB chargers, tire air compressor for refilling after airing down, exterior lights, phones, laptops, etc. They met their specs when I got them and still do. The price you are seeing on Amazon is the price they have been if you were willing to wait on a slow boat from Hong Kong. 

I am transitioning from those prebuilt batteries to homemade higher capacity (280ah) with a better BMS with low temp protection and bluetooth monitoring. The new batteries will cost around the same ($450) for 2.8 times the capacity. I will use the old still totally fine batteries in a couple of milk crate portable power packs I am building for a friend. 

If you are willing to noodle around with building a battery, you will get LiFePO4 for less than the same usable capacity AGM and the LFP will outlast the AGM by hundreds or thousands of cycles at a fraction of the weight. You will need to make sure your various charging devices will output the right profile for LFP. Many now come with a custom setting and several are preloaded with the LFP profile info. 

I also recommend looking at a few Will Prowse videos. He likes to destroy these premade batteries (well, I guess, dismantle and test destructively?) to see how they do. Fun to watch and informative. Also he shows how to build a battery like I mentioned I am doing above.

 

[user 37446]

The above is exactly what I was hoping to get, a response from someone who has actually purchased and used them. Glad for you that they worked ok.
Anyone else?

 

[[email protected]]

I am not familiar with these particular batteries but I have had a nightmare due to having bought a 100 AH agm rv battery online with payment through Paypal. The price was very low but not unbelievable. I could not get a confirmation from the seller, and then PayPal assured me the battery was shipped by the seller, the next day I received a 3" x 4" padded envelope from the seller with 2 plastic beads. Long story short at this time PayPal has denied my claim for reimbursement because the items shipped were substantially the same. I have contacted Capital One my credit card company and they have credited the funds back to me. If you are considering a purchase online from anyone other than a well known company do your due dilligence, don't rely on PayPal to help you out. If you Google PayPal complaints you will find thousands. I hope this helps you out.

 

[lopicma]

The only 2 batteries I'd look at are the Battle Born Lithium and Renogy Smart Lithium. Your going to pay a lot, but you won't need a battery for many years to come.

Keep in mind Lithium batteries don't like cold temps, but neither do I, so we never have a conflict.

Good luck

Sent from my Moto E (4) Plus using Tapatalk

 

[user 37446]

Ha that's funny about temps...

Maybe in a year or two there will be more/less expensive options. That's the way it goes.

 

[gtinseth]

The only 2 batteries I'd look at are the Battle Born Lithium and Renogy Smart Lithium. Your going to pay a lot, but you won't need a battery for many years to come.

Keep in mind Lithium batteries don't like cold temps, but neither do I, so we never have a conflict.

Good luck

Sent from my Moto E (4) Plus using Tapatalk

You've picked the top and bottom of the barrel with these two. Battleborn buys quality Chinese cylindrical LiFePO4 cells and assembles them with a BMS of their choosing in a case of their choosing in Nevada. Renogy buys buy premade Chinese LiFePO4 batteries and pays to have their label put on them. BB charges $1000 for 100ah. Renogy charges $700. Battleborn 10 year warranty. Renogy 5 year "prorated" warranty. With both you have a US company to call.

The Renogy is not very different from all the other premade Chinese LiFePO4 batteries on Amazon and aliexpress which are quite a bit less expensive. Some of those on Amazon are also US companies you can call with similar warranties. I just didn't want folks to think of BB and Renogy as being in the same ballpark with their batteries. If you can afford BB, great. If not, you have a lot of choices and Renogy is just one of several that are roughly equivalent.

 

[66788]

In not too keen on lithium batteries personally, but if the price comes down any further than that (assuming they're legit of course) I think I'd have little choice other than to go that route. 4 29DC trolling motor batteries would run around $400 for ~400ah (200ah usable) but $400 for 100ah with 90% usable..... could be a game changer. And as I understand it lithiums will charge basically as fast as you can feed them. That could be all the difference in the world.

I still run 2 FLA golf cart batteries that weigh 154 pounds.   One 100 amp LifePo4 will give me almost the same usable amps for 34 pounds, and no adding water, corroded terminals, or equalization cycles needed.