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CHINS 200Ah LiFePO4 battery test/review

If you don't feel up to building your own battery, an off-the-shelf battery is what you're left with. But it's going to cost more money for less Ah than you can get if you build one yourself.

My two 4s 280Ah batteries cost ~$940 (including shipping from China), plus $240 for two Overkill Solar BMS. I now have 560 Ah, with 240 amps of throughput for $1180. More than twice the capacity and well over four times the charge current.

A Battleborn battery comparable to the CHINS would cost about $2,000 (reg price, but they're on sale now for $899). In that case you would have a full 200Ah capacity. But you would still have less Ah capacity than a DIY equivalent.
 
What a crock of $%#! in point 1.

1. The battery pack has a discharge low-voltage protection function. Generally, it will protect the board at 9.2-9.7V. We recommend that the inverter end over-discharge protection cut-off voltage is 10V.
I am never going to rely on my inverter to protect my battery, That is what the BMS is for. It is there to protect the battery cells. The inverter adding the protection is also added safety. The BMS in this battery is just terrible. The low voltage cut-off didn't even work at all. The last test I did allowed me to apply a load even at 8.37V, and they still didn't shut down, on both batteries. Not just a coincidence.

2. When the battery pack is discharged below -20 degrees, the discharge low temperature protection is triggered, and when the battery pack is charged below 0 degrees, the charge protection is triggered. (The ordinary lithium iron phosphate battery does not have the low temperature protection function of charging.
The batteries I purchased have no low temperature cut off for charging. That is only available on their model with internal heating. I also do not need the low temp charging cut-off for these batteries as they will be installed in my utility room which is climatized.

3 and 4 are clear.

5. The battery pack has the function of passive charging balance.
This is one point that allows them to sell this for $899.

As for capacity, the advertising on Amazon states:

"Each battery Can Support 2560W Power Output"​

Not very confident wording.

I wash my hands of these things.
 
Repro said:
OK, I am done with the testing and have contacted CHINS for a refund. Let's see how this goes. I charged the batteries partially, then put under a load to see if the low voltage cut-off worked. I let it drop to 8.37v and gave up. The BMS's just do not work, they provide no protection whatsoever, and the risk of damaging the cells inside are just way too high. I do not want to speculate on what I would find inside if I were to open them. If CHINS refunds my money, and doesn't want the batteries back, I will cut these paper weights open and see. DONE!
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hmm this is unfortunate. I have 2 of them on the way and no way to cancel it at this stage, i purchased based on some supposition using the reviews and questions as a litmus test (several people complained about the batteries turning off when the voltage dropped below the cut off point not understanding the low voltage cut off so i assumed that would function). let me know how the refund goes.
 
I ended up going with 3 24v 200Ah batteries through a different no name company scream power. I noticed a number of these companies have new stock coming in March and I'm avoiding anyone with stock right now as I'm worried they are recycling returns for current demand.

I'll post my experience when mine come in sometime in late March.

I don't have a bunch of gear lying around and figured if I went with 24v batteries I can test them better with my 24v equipment without needing a bunch of extra crap just for the test. I was also looking to avoid 4 12 in 2 sets of series in parallel so that made my decision for me. If these don't live to to the advertising I'll return via Amazon a-z

Not going to lie, I've got a little bit of pucker factor in the backside as I wait to see if these things are crap or not.
 
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I escalated it to Amazon immediately. After negotiations between Amazon and CHINS, they paid the return and sent me Parcel labels. I shipped them today. As for the refund, I saw to it that they did an immediate refund, and once I had the funds, they sent me the labels. In exchange, I had to change my Amazon review. Amazon is aware of the deal for my case.
 
Repro said:
I escalated it to Amazon immediately. After negotiations between Amazon and CHINS, they paid the return and sent me Parcel labels. I shipped them today. As for the refund, I saw to it that they did an immediate refund, and once I had the funds, they sent me the labels. In exchange, I had to change my Amazon review. Amazon is aware of the deal for my case.
Click to expand...
I was thinking of recommending my brother look into these for his boat, but you’ve saved me the trouble...

Thanks for sharing.
 
HRTKD said:
If you don't feel up to building your own battery, an off-the-shelf battery is what you're left with. But it's going to cost more money for less Ah than you can get if you build one yourself.

My two 4s 280Ah batteries cost ~$940 (including shipping from China), plus $240 for two Overkill Solar BMS. I now have 560 Ah, with 240 amps of throughput for $1180. More than twice the capacity and well over four times the charge current.

A Battleborn battery comparable to the CHINS would cost about $2,000 (reg price, but they're on sale now for $899). In that case you would have a full 200Ah capacity. But you would still have less Ah capacity than a DIY equivalent.
Click to expand...
Where did you find 200AH battleborns on sale for $899? That is a good price!
 
No it did not. There was no access to the BMS. The only way to get to it was cutting the case open. The warranty is then gone.
 
Someone from this forum mentioned "DIYSOLARFORUM" in their Amazon review, and the fact that they cancelled their order has caused CHINS to get in an uproar. I guess they checked it out, and they are slamming me for not changing my negative review on Amazon, which was part of the agreement for them paying return shipment. I did change my review and Amazon OK'd it. But I find it awesome that this forum has found a way to help people. Thanks Will!
 
I considered writing a "be careful" review. But it sounds like someone beat me to it. Poor products need reviews that see the light of day.
 
Repro said:
Someone from this forum mentioned "DIYSOLARFORUM" in their Amazon review, and the fact that they cancelled their order has caused CHINS to get in an uproar. I guess they checked it out, and they are slamming me for not changing my negative review on Amazon, which was part of the agreement for them paying return shipment. I did change my review and Amazon OK'd it. But I find it awesome that this forum has found a way to help people. Thanks Will!
Click to expand...
I'm actually not even seeing your negative review on amazon at all. I do see the DIYSOLAR one.
 
Repro said:
Someone from this forum mentioned "DIYSOLARFORUM" in their Amazon review, and the fact that they cancelled their order has caused CHINS to get in an uproar. I guess they checked it out, and they are slamming me for not changing my negative review on Amazon, which was part of the agreement for them paying return shipment. I did change my review and Amazon OK'd it. But I find it awesome that this forum has found a way to help people. Thanks Will!
Click to expand...
That was me ;), thank you again for the review.
IMH Guess: The BMS voltage references are untrimmed and to the low side. Charging cuts out at 14.3, discharging 9.3.
 
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Wow! Nothing with CHINS surprises me. Was there apparent damage on the box to indicate this kind of damage? I had bad scuff marks on one of mine, but no damage to the boxes. The damage happened before it was packaged. Hope you get a replacement quickly.
 
Repro said:
Wow! Nothing with CHINS surprises me. Was there apparent damage on the box to indicate this kind of damage? I had bad scuff marks on one of mine, but no damage to the boxes. The damage happened before it was packaged. Hope you get a replacement quickly.
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Yeah the shipping boxes were in pretty rough shape. If they'll take the return and pay for shipping I'm just gonna order 3 of the SOK 200ah's and wait it out.
 
So CHINS has offered me two options:

1) They will refund me, pay for return shipping, and I can wash my hands of them
2) They will send me a free replacement battery, and I can keep the damaged one

I've decided to go the free replacement route because that basically brings the cost per AH down to DIY pricing so even if I need to buy my own BMS and rebuild them, I'm still doing well on price. I can still pull voltage off the battery so it's still got basic function, and now I can pull this one apart and have a look at the components without feeling bad about it.
 
They offered me the same thing. I went with the refund as I am unsure of the quality of the internal cells. The two batteries I received didn't even meet the rated capacity. If you go with option two, I hope you at least get good cells. The BMS is absolute garbage. Good luck!
 
Repro said:
They offered me the same thing. I went with the refund as I am unsure of the quality of the internal cells. The two batteries I received didn't even meet the rated capacity. If you go with option two, I hope you at least get good cells. The BMS is absolute garbage. Good luck!
Click to expand...
Yeah the only reason I'm taking them up on it is, because the casing is damaged anyway, I'm not worried about popping it open and digging around without them giving me too much trouble if I have to return all 3 of them. Luckily it's pretty easy to get access to. The top appears to be a recycled vented battery top and it's just caulked in place so a little prying and it came free relatively easily. Gonna finish tearing it down tonight, I'll let you know what we find.
 
redhatengineer said:
Yeah the only reason I'm taking them up on it is, because the casing is damaged anyway, I'm not worried about popping it open and digging around without them giving me too much trouble if I have to return all 3 of them. Luckily it's pretty easy to get access to. The top appears to be a recycled vented battery top and it's just caulked in place so a little prying and it came free relatively easily. Gonna finish tearing it down tonight, I'll let you know what we find.
Click to expand...
Jesus H... sounds like these are something a grade-schooler might throw together.

If/when you get around to capacity-testing those cells, I’ll be surprised if you don’t find that they were purchased in a back-alley from a guy with No Name (no QR code’s, no traceability...).
 
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