CHINS 200Ah LiFePO4 battery test/review

NOLA_Castle said:

nope, can you send the link, please?

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Will Prowse said:

Yeah, you can buy them. They are shipping out pretty quick these days.

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Repro said:

I ordered two CHINS 200Ah LiFePO4 batteries through Amazon, and they arrived today. I did the unpacking, took some pictures and will post my testing and review progress over the coming days. The batteries are warming up to room temperature today. Once they warm up, I will start.

The unpacking pictures are below. One battery had two scuffs on the corners. That had to have happened prior to shipping as the corners were protected with very thick foam, and the foam had no damage. Other than that, they look identical to the Ampere Time 200Ah batteries I purchased to include the specs. Both batteries had a stand voltage of 13.2V at the time of unpacking. These batteries do not have low temperature cut-off. They cost $899 each, and CHINS offers and additional 5% off at purchase.

The documentation is a small printed manual in color with all of the information you need (specs and parameters) for charging, use, care and warranty. CHINS offers a 90 day refund, 3 years free replacement, and a free 5 year support/maintenance. Not sure what you get for the 5 year support/maintenance. I guess a line of communication to tell you they are broke and to buy new ones if they are defective???????? You decide.

The batteries are encased in a very strong ABS plastic enclosure with rope carriers and plastic handles. They are very easy to grab, lift and move. The handles slide down to the sides out of the way if not needed. The terminals are very strong and surrounded with red and black epoxy making polarity easily identifiable. The bolts are stainless steel with a washer and lock washer. After looking them over, the externals of the batteries are identical to the Ampere Time batteries right down to the bolts.. They seem to be well built. That's it for now, I will post again maybe tomorrow. If anyone has any questions about these batteries, please let me know.

Oh, one more thing before I forget. These batteries were on stock at their California warehouse and arrived in a week. The Ampere Time batteries arrived from China and took several weeks.

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JMMGarza said:

I am considering these batteries too. Just o

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RandR said:

Been trying to get more education, just read this entire post, and the Amazon reviews. Anymore feed back in the last month? Thanks.

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NewbeeMaryland said:

Hi I have a CHINS 200ah battery and it did not shut off and I did not catch it in time. Does anyone know how to reset the battery so I can recharge it?

Thansk,
Jeff

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stinkyCheeze said:

@Will Prowse had a decent review of the Chins 100Ah battery. Did that video come out AFTER @Repro had these issues? I guess I'm just trying to figure out if Chins corrected the problem based on what was discovered here.

On a related note, Chins price of the 300Ah battery has been dropping. When I first looked at them they were $1,199. I checked a few days ago and it was $1,069 and as I am writing this right now, they are $1,039. Meanwhile, the Ampertime battery price remains the same, $1,199. Since Will found both batteries to be identical and probably owned by the same company, could they be trying to switch over to the Ampertime brand and give up on the Chins brand? This could be a problem if someone is relying on the Chins warranty 5 years down the road.

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NOLA_Castle said:

Do you believe these Chinese companies will be around for another 5 years?

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NOLA_Castle said:

Do you believe these Chinese companies will be around for another 5 years?

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stinkyCheeze said:

@Will Prowse had a decent review of the Chins 100Ah battery. Did that video come out AFTER @Repro had these issues? I guess I'm just trying to figure out if Chins corrected the problem based on what was discovered here.

On a related note, Chins price of the 300Ah battery has been dropping. When I first looked at them they were $1,199. I checked a few days ago and it was $1,069 and as I am writing this right now, they are $1,039. Meanwhile, the Ampertime battery price remains the same, $1,199. Since Will found both batteries to be identical and probably owned by the same company, could they be trying to switch over to the Ampertime brand and give up on the Chins brand? This could be a problem if someone is relying on the Chins warranty 5 years down the road.

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cedricko said:

The Chins line of batteries recently added smart options with bluetooth. I don't think the Ampere Time line includes that (yet). Plus, it looks like the Ampere Time batteries are currently unavailable. Could this mean that the company is consolidating on the Chins line?

I just ordered and received a 300 Ah battery from Chins via Amazon (not the smart or temperature protected one). Shipped from a California warehouse to me in Hawaii via UPS and took less than a week. So far so good. Based on the comments here though, I think I need to test the BMS to make sure the high and low voltage cut-offs work before installing it in my system? Input would be appreciated.

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kevolones said:

What did they charge you for shipping? Im seeing around $200 shipping for each battery to Puerto Rico. LifePo4s are hard to find here so Im actually considering getting them from amazon. Looking at 2 of their 24v batteries to make a 48v bank

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cedricko said:

Shipping to Hawaii was $161. I ordered through Amazon and they shipped from a California warehouse.

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