Bargain lithium battery.

MERL

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I like to keep my eye on battery developments particularly regarding budget lithium. I found this 100Ah battery which seems a very nice item.
It's damn cheap, £86.18
It ships from Temu in a couple of days so must be from a UK warehouse so no danger of import duty.
Unusually the lid is removable by several screws around the edge, I've only seen a removable lid on one other battery previously, normally the lids are glued on so the only way to see what's under the hood so to speak is to cut the case and void the warranty. What's significant about a removable lid??? Well manufacturers/sellers are known for being sneaky and if they supply a battery to a you tube reviewer they sometimes supply one that's built to a different spec so when it's torn apart the product appears to be better quality than what you'll get when you actually buy it, you'll never know of course because to check you'll need to break the case open and void the warranty. The fact that SJY are willing to build this battery with a screw on lid shows an unusual level of honesty IMO.
There's a teardown and comprehensive test here
The build isn't to exceptional standards but it's very good for a budget battery, I've seen a lot worse from bigger brands, the BMS balancing circuit worked well, a lot of cheaper batteries fail this test.
The cells were very well matched and delivered over their 100Ah rating.
It's a budget battery so even though it delivered over 200A in the test don't go higher than 75A for long periods and fit an appropriate fuse on the output +ve lead.
The low temp charge cut of sensor appeared slow to react or inoperative, hardly a deal breaker IMO, I personally wouldn't bother with low temp charge cut off anyway as it's largely nonsense.
 
Temu were doing 2 for a while back at around £125 , no idea how good they are.
 
Temu were doing 2 for a while back at around £125 , no idea how good they are.
I've watched a lot of teardowns on YouTube Trev and most of the cheap budget lithiums have issues, usually with the actual capacity which often falls short and also with poor quality BMSs that don't balance. This one seems an exception and is really very good quality considering the price.
 
There's a teardown and comprehensive test here
It may be a good buy, but always beware. One of our clients sells LED lights.

They started importing from China. They'd get a few hundred as samples, then if the quality was as claimed, order loads more to sell.

All too often, the ones in the main order were nothing like the samples. Vastly inferior quality, not fit for them to sell.

Now they have far closer ties to the makers and they visit the factories, write the detailed specifications of the products.

It could be that these batteries use the latter setup, but beware that they may use the former.
 
I tried to buy liths in 2 of our big battery trade shops over here, they had not one clue what i was asking for, just showed me lead acid les batteries.
So here all must be bought online and take a chance.
 
It may be a good buy, but always beware. One of our clients sells LED lights.

They started importing from China. They'd get a few hundred as samples, then if the quality was as claimed, order loads more to sell.

All too often, the ones in the main order were nothing like the samples. Vastly inferior quality, not fit for them to sell.

Now they have far closer ties to the makers and they visit the factories, write the detailed specifications of the products.

It could be that these batteries use the latter setup, but beware that they may use the former.
I know a hifi manufacturer who has his stuff made in China and his biggest problem is keeping tabs on them not short cutting to save a few pence and ensuring consistency. Cutting corners almost seems cultural and normal.
I could be getting the wrong idea of course but the removable lid is big a departure and would give ME personally a great deal of confidence because I could pop the lid off when it arrived and check the build quality and send it back for free if I wasn't happy.
 
I like to keep my eye on battery developments particularly regarding budget lithium. I found this 100Ah battery which seems a very nice item.
It's damn cheap, £86.18
It ships from Temu in a couple of days so must be from a UK warehouse so no danger of import duty.
Unusually the lid is removable by several screws around the edge, I've only seen a removable lid on one other battery previously, normally the lids are glued on so the only way to see what's under the hood so to speak is to cut the case and void the warranty. What's significant about a removable lid??? Well manufacturers/sellers are known for being sneaky and if they supply a battery to a you tube reviewer they sometimes supply one that's built to a different spec so when it's torn apart the product appears to be better quality than what you'll get when you actually buy it, you'll never know of course because to check you'll need to break the case open and void the warranty. The fact that SJY are willing to build this battery with a screw on lid shows an unusual level of honesty IMO.
There's a teardown and comprehensive test here
The build isn't to exceptional standards but it's very good for a budget battery, I've seen a lot worse from bigger brands, the BMS balancing circuit worked well, a lot of cheaper batteries fail this test.
The cells were very well matched and delivered over their 100Ah rating.
It's a budget battery so even though it delivered over 200A in the test don't go higher than 75A for long periods and fit an appropriate fuse on the output +ve lead.
The low temp charge cut of sensor appeared slow to react or inoperative, hardly a deal breaker IMO, I personally wouldn't bother with low temp charge cut off anyway as it's largely nonsense.
I thought that I would give these a try even though I am happy with my current battery's, I should have moved a bit quicker because they are now up to £130😵‍💫
Still a good price but I will hold on for a little while longer
 
Have you seen on Will Prowse website Merl, he is saying the EcoWorthy 280Ah is the best 12v 'smart' battery he has tested. I would be getting one if I were in the market, liked them for a while. Not the price of the ones in this thread though but cheaper than supposedly better brands
 
Have you seen on Will Prowse website Merl, he is saying the EcoWorthy 280Ah is the best 12v 'smart' battery he has tested. I would be getting one if I were in the market, liked them for a while. Not the price of the ones in this thread though but cheaper than supposedly better brands
I think the Eco worthy stuff generally seems good value for money. I bought one of their MPPTs years back when they were Eco Sources and I'm still using it 3 vans later.
 
I checked Temu again this morning and the battery above is still £130. I noticed that other cheap brands like Werchaty and Databous often dip below £80. I personally wouldn't bother with either of these but I know there are alert apps that you can set up that'll tell you if/when the SJY battery falls in price again. May be an option for anyone interested but missed the offer?
 
Ask yourself why escooters are banned on public transport?

Would you carry a cheap escooter in your motorhome?

Same applies to batteries.
 
The reason for lithium hbatteries catching fire is nothing to do with cheapness, it's to do with battery chemistry, damage and incorrect charging. There are many types of lithium chemistry.
Lithium manganese cobalt oxide
Lithium cobalt oxide
Lithium manganese oxide
Etc etc.
The problem with these batteries to varying extents is that when they get damaged or over charged they burn and they produce their own oxygen and quickly they go into what's known as thermal runaway.
We use Lithium iron Phosphate (LFP). It's extremely safe and doesn't go into the thermal runaway stage easily at all. You can overcharge with relative impunity and put a drill through one with little to no ill effect.
It's the cells themselves that's the issue and there are a relatively small number if factories mainly in China that produce the bare cells, therefore those cells in the cheap battery will be used in multiple brands of battery world wide and not just cheap batteries either.
There's a thread on here involving the poor construction methods and relative safety issues with Battleborn batteries, the issue is now known worldwide and they are certainly not a budget battery but again it's NOT an issue with cells, it's construction that's making them unsafe.
I have cheap lithium batteries in my camper, I sleep in the van with my two grandchildren with no concerns whatsoever.
Comparing lifepo4 leisure batteries and E bike or E scooter batteries is like comparing Oranges and Apples.
Dont take my word for it, do a little research on the subject and you'll see what I mean.
 
Would not touch a lithium with a barge pole. Seen an expensive brand of car burnt out and it set the house on fire, very near to where I live. Also saw a Motorhome burn out last summer whilst camping. When a lithium catches fire it can’t be extinguished so one has little choice but to stand and watch it. Although the performance is far superior to a traditional lead acid I dont trust them.
 
Seen an expensive brand of car burnt out
Again.... different chemistry I'm afraid. Extremely unlikely that the car would have LFP cells.

Also saw a Motorhome burn out last summer whilst camping.
And you're absolutely 100% certain that was a lithium battery fire and not the tea towel catching fire from the gas ring? Or a fault on the gas fridge? I guess you checked that out in the interests of fairness and accuracy and didn't simply assume it was lithium battery fire because that suited your narrative?

Gas will cause more fires and deaths in MHs than LFP batteries ever will but I guess you'll keep on using gas in your van?

Sometimes it's best check facts rather than fear and certainly best to check facts before fear mongering. Just like people who fear getting on a plane in case it crashes after they've just driven 2 hours to get to the airport.....the car trip was in fact much much riskier but was conducted without a second thought.

Lead acid batteries release hydrogen gas when overcharged, this is extremely explosive, for that reason fires in motorhomes resulting from hydrogen gas is far more prevalent than fire due to LFP leisure batteries.(Probably only 2 worldwide) There are many lithium battery fires in motorhomes as well as domestic but they almost always result from phones, laptops, tablets, ebikes and e scooters. Again because of the different battery chemistry.

Do some full and proper research into the subject please.
 
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