LiFePO4 Batteries: Discussion Thread

[pnwkayaker]

[shagginwagon83]

I bought mine for Aliexpress. 310aH CATLs from Shenzhen Basin.

Not sure on my 150aH but they came from Aliexpress also. Ironically same price 6 months apart.

I will be installing my 310aH cell where the fridge used to go (fridge delete). I LOVE my bench seat storage and am so glad to have that back!
_________________
Brandon
"Jo Ann" - '83.5 Westfalia EJ22e w/Peloquin
Instagram @joannthevan

[Butcher]

The rumor is there are no 310ah Lifepo4 batteries, they are all 304ah. If the seller is advertising them as 310/320ah, then that would be the first lie and it would be time to look for a different seller.

The honest sellers will tell you that and tell you that if you measure the capacity, they will pull over 304ah, but that is only when they are brand new. The capacity drops a lot on the first few cycles, then drops slower as they age.

Don't be tricked by the inflated ah rating. Do your research. I've had really good luck with http://www.efestpower.com/ I can PM anyone that needs a reliable contact and fair pricing. No, I do not get any commission. I just hate seeing people get ripped off and Aliexpress is a full of sharks. There are some good sellers, but it's really hard to find them. Seriously steep learning curve.

[shagginwagon83]

I tested each cell at 295ah. Asked seller for a partial refund and they came through. I’m still super happy with price and capacity.
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Brandon
"Jo Ann" - '83.5 Westfalia EJ22e w/Peloquin
Instagram @joannthevan

[Butcher]

Just sharing that if anyone is selling 320ah batteries they are lying. If you want to purchase from a shady seller good for you.

I will spend my money with someone who is selling 304ah batteries, not someone who is selling your 310/320ah batteries that are really 295ah [which means they are grade B batteries]. If they advertised the batteries properly, they would be substantially less. When I was shopping for batteries, 2 of the 4 sellers informed me that there is no such thing as a 320ah. That right there means they are honest. I eventually narrowed it down to one. Mostly because they had a warehouse in Houston. That is Houston Texas, not Houston, China.

All that matters is that you are happy. But, you could share that you have 295ah batteries not 310ah that you posted. Sharing that you purchased 310ah from Shenzhen Basin on AliExpress [and are really 295ah] seems weird to me too. Why would you share their name if they sold you batteries that are grade B? I would feel bad if someone took my experience and got screwed. And that's coming from a mechanic that had my feelings taken away from me the first year I grabbed a wrench.

[shagginwagon83]

I have done my research. I bet 90% of the cells that have been purchased from Aliexpress are grade B anyway! The only guaranteed "grade A" cells were double the price of the ones from Shenzhen.

I mean how many people here even capacity test anyway?

Okay yeah maybe grade A cells last 3000-5000 cycles.

Even if my B grade cells last 1000 cycles....I will be happy. I used my van pretty hardcore for a year and only cycled the battery 30 times. So 10 years from now - 300 cycles??

I will be happy if I get 5 years. I expect in 5 years we will have better battery technology anyway.

I shared the name of the seller because someone asked. Also the seller worked with me to refund me properly given the differences in capacity. I was also very active in DIYSolar forum where there were many people who were getting ABOVE 300ah capacity. I might have received a bad batch. No way I would pay shipping back to China over 5% capacity

https://basen.en.alibaba.com/product/1600202387432...6b6dDF9HBf


When I was trying to purchase my cells the Eve cells were over double - but now they were not. Eve have the best rep IMO

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Eve-Lifepo4-Lifepo4eve-4pcs-EVE-280AH_1600191395276.html
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Brandon
"Jo Ann" - '83.5 Westfalia EJ22e w/Peloquin
Instagram @joannthevan

[gtinseth]

Everyone building LiFePO4 batteries from cells should test capacity. You got ripped off, and you got paid back. If you didn't test, you wouldn't have known that Basen sold you cells that didn't match their advertised capacity. Basen has been doing some sneaky stuff lately, including slapping new blue covers on used cells and selling CATL cells as Eve and Lishen. All the cells I've purchased from Xuba have tested higher than stated capacity. I hear the same for Luyuan. Both are on alibaba. Aliexpress is a crapshoot these days.

[Butcher]

Which is the only reason why I was pointing it out. Many advertise batteries that are a much lower rating than what you get. So, if you have a seller that is advertising 310/320ah, keep going. They are lying. If you have a seller that is much lower than the rest, they is probably a good reason for that. If they are selling grade A batteries for a lot less, there is a reason for that. There is a reason why Grade A batteries cost more.

Just sharing my research and hope that others can benefit. If your happy with buying batteries that are less than what you paid for, good for you. It's your money. I certainly would not be. There are people in both camps.

I just purchased New Grade A 304ah batteries [date code on battery] for just around $625 shipped. Bought a second set for a higher price at $648 shipped. Lithium is going up. From my understanding Tesla is leaning that direction. You know, it's a supply/demand thing.

[shagginwagon83]

[Butcher]

Date code on the label, capacity of 309-310ah, no marks, and looks. Yeah, looks can be deceiving but with the other data, it's icing on the cake.

I have not received my second set. Debating if I will go for third. It's for a solar RV set up.

I'm not expert on these batteries, but I have researched for several months before I took the plunge. I read about all the scams, was part of a scam [got my money back], read about the 320ah batteries and that there were none, read about B batteries sold as A. Most importantly that the warranty is pretty much junk. The cost to ship the battery to China is cost preventative. Even if you did, the odds that they received them will be zero. The odds of you going there to wring their neck is not going to happen. All lead up to there is no warranty. No matter what they say.

Read about other peoples issues, read about the success stories, then make a decision. Most importantly, if the price is too cheap, there is a reason for that. When I was narrowing down to 4 sellers, they were all similar in cost and they were all more than AliExpress. Two of them pointed out there are no 320ah batteries, so that excluded two of the sellers. The winner indicated they were going to have them in the Houston warehouse in a few weeks.

In less than two weeks, they were at my door. Under promised, over delivered and real A batteries. Will they last? Heck, I do not know but I mentioned, whatever warranty I was told, my expectations are that I have none. I hope not to cross that bridge.

[gtinseth]

I am waiting for 40 cells for my most recent order. I was given the spreadsheet with the specs on the entire 7008 cell order, capacity, three different internal resistances, storage voltage, case number, pallet number, etc. I will cross reference what I get with that spreadsheet to make sure I batch the cells with similar capacities. For Eve 280K cells, the spreadsheet capacities are mostly in the low 290s. The new 280K version of these Eve cells is rated at 6000 cycles. We will see, but I am happy that they provided the spreadsheet which I have never been able to get before. For these, most likely Grade A or high Grade B (due to the time passing since manufacturing), I paid $119.07/cell shipped from China around the end of Sept. I worked with a rep I had worked with before (Pina Long) from Shenzhen Xuba Electronic Trading Co. She knows I am a member of the diysolarforum and that I ask a lot of questions and that I will post a review after receiving and testing the cells.

I will be making 2 - 48V batteries (a total of for my home and 2 - 12V for the van. I sold the 240AH batteries and 100AH batteries I had before for more than I paid.

[dobryan]

For the Western syncro, soon to be fun with LiFePO4 batteries. 272Ah. Look to be new Eve cells. The second set will go in our ‘87 Westy 3NTROPY late next year.

_________________
Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646

Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371

The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794

[climber2377]

1984 westy with 2.5 Subaru - My goal is to set up a truck fridge, run it on two 100 amp/hr LiFePo4 batteries in the bottom cubby of the rear cabinet and charge them with a DC to DC charger and two 80 watt panels with either an MPPT or PWM. Still learning...

I currently have an AGM battery under the seat with an 1100 watt inverter using the Gowesty solenoid as a separator, a lead acid start battery and am happy with the performance of said system albiet I would like to have a low voltage cut off and am not sure what I need to install in this system to achieve the desired effect. I see these little circuit breakers but am unsure how to figure out what size breaker will work or if there is another option.

If I do NOT charge the AGM with the 30amp Victron DC to DC charger and leave that system be, can I power TF49 or 65 with the LiFeP4? Wiring would be power to the victron 30 amp from the alternator post (a 110amp from a 2005 Subaru) and the solar will connect to the 2 LiFePo4. I see these two systems as different battery banks but am not sure if the dctodc acts as a separator. If the DC to DC charger gets key on engine on power to start it then it won't charge unless the van is on so it won't draw down my start battery. I will install the fridge as the only draw on the LiFePo4 system.

I hope these questions make sense. Ask questions if more clarification is needed. I may also get a different combiner/separator for the gowesty system up front.

Thanks for your guidance.
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[email protected] 84 Westy 1.9 waterboxer > 2001 Legacy 2.5L sohc w/ subarugears 5MT Ty754

[bobbyblack]

I've been sad to see that my #4 cell is not holding up. I see this on my way to work, after the charger (5 amp) has been on overnight to bring the system back up from running for ~9 hours while out of the garage. I run a CDH pulling around 3.5 Amps for most of that day, so it gets to roughly 65% used regularly.

I am now looking over some discussion that it is not correct that I only go to just over half capacity before I completely charge it back to full. Do any of you think I should do some charging of #4 separately with my bench charger to see if I can get it up to 3.6v? Or, have I just done myself in by never letting the pack get to ~20% before charging back up?

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'87 Westy 'Flossie','86 Westy 'R1','86 tintop GL - Subi2.2 'J2','83.5 stock tintop L 'ZoomBus','74 Karmann Ghia, '63 Notch

[kguarnotta]

Sorry I can't help you - but quick question as your screen capture looks different than mine - what type of phone do you have?

It looks like you can manually turn on/off the charging and discharging? I don't seem to have that option on my android phone.
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-Kevin
Lincoln, MA

'86 Triple Knob Syncro w/EJ22
'78 Westy
'69 Single Cab
'65 Kombi - EZ-Camper

[DeLvxe]

[kguarnotta]

I've got the android version - but mine looks like this

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-Kevin
Lincoln, MA

'86 Triple Knob Syncro w/EJ22
'78 Westy
'69 Single Cab
'65 Kombi - EZ-Camper

[shagginwagon83]

[bobbyblack]

[kguarnotta]

OK -- I can't recall when I downloaded their app. I just checked their website - for some reason can't get to it with Google Chrome, but can with Edge browser.

I was running v 3.1.104, latest version appears to be 3.1.1026. I just uninstalled old version, and installed new version.
_________________
-Kevin
Lincoln, MA

'86 Triple Knob Syncro w/EJ22
'78 Westy
'69 Single Cab
'65 Kombi - EZ-Camper