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AliExpress LiitokalaVariCoreFlagship Store 280AH LiFePO4 Fraud

Richard295

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May 24, 2021
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I ordered 4 280AH LiFePO4 cells from the above merchant based on Will’s favorable review and it’s associated link to the merchant’s store found at Cheapest LiFePO4 Build on the planet. After top balancing, my set only capacity tested at 242 AH.

At minimum, Will’s vendor recommendation should have a comment added that “some recent shipments received and tested don’t reflect his original finding”.
 

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I had decent luck at Liitokala. Not sure I buy there again. Yes the recommendation should come with a warning on risk.
And while the product can vary, at least they actually send the cells.
 
I believe you will find other negative reports on this forum.

I would request a partial refund.
 
I had decent luck at Liitokala. Not sure I buy there again. Yes the recommendation should come with a warning on risk.
And while the product can vary, at least they actually send the cells.
Meh, it depends on your definition of "luck". My "280 Ah" Liitokala cells had 271Ah CATL QR codes right on them. They tested to 262Ah at 0.01C (2 Amp load), which is 1/100th the rated load. I'm sure if I could test at 1C I'd find these were even less capacity... probably ~240Ah-ish. Given these had CATL QR codes on them I suspect they are used cells as I can't fathom a reason why they'd have the genuine CATL QR codes but not test out at that capacity.

For me the pack is acceptable because my peak load is ~16A and the average load is much less in my RV, but if I was trying to build an electric car I'd be pissed.

Actual discharge graph from a top balanced 14.6V pack per cell (all cells within 0.009V) down to 10.5V (where the cells diverged by almost 0.2V):

1636751735926.png
 
As said mine was decent. No great, not excellent. Not a disaster either. Yours seems to be a bit worse, sorry for that.

Could have been worse. Some suppliers just fend off the settlement with fake shipping and delivery codes to a product never sent.

And of course there are some premium suppliers that actually provide top rated cells.
 
yeah. for my purpose they're ok. I have a RV, and I was using a 100Ah lead battery. So ~250Ah of LiFePO4 is far better capacity at the same weight. And in fairness I bought 280Ah cells instead of 200Ah cells because I was afraid all cells wouldn't test out at the spec rate.

I knew it was a gamble when I bought. I hadn't really considered a DIY pack until ~April this year. I had a 5-6 week trip planned starting July 1. So I took the risk and paid extra for express shipping in order to be able to build everything by early June, which allowed me a test run on a local weekend trip. If I'd bought from one of the trusted vendors I probably would've paid the same with normal (slow) boat shipping. I would've received higher quality, but I would not have had a chance to use them this year. For me the benefit of 7 weeks of use (total) this summer outweighed the lower capacity.

Epilogue: AliExpress did give me a ~$50 credit for the capacity difference, (~8% less capacity = 8% off total amount spent including shipping and tax). So my $/WH didn't change for the cells
 
Semi off topic, I haven't been keeping up since I sourced my cells earlier this year but have the amount of 'false advertised' cells increased vs. last year? Where are people sourcing 280 cells, for example, that are meeting or exceeding 280Ah capacity?

My basen 280s came in at 290Ah and I feel damn lucky after reading all these stories.
 
I ordered some from Luyaun. I'll be writing a post in a few weeks when I get some packs built and tested. I live quite close to an American warehouse here in north Houston. I hope to have an excuse to purchase from them soon. If I build my packs successfully, I have some folks interested in getting me to build some for them.
 
I also got screwed by them with 240ah. And the 105ah cells I also ordered were only 80ah, though I fully expected those to be used given the $148 price with shipping.

They and aliexpress rejected all evidence and refused the claim.

It's not really worth my effort to bother trying to chase after it though. Next time I'll be buying better.
 
Semi off topic, I haven't been keeping up since I sourced my cells earlier this year but have the amount of 'false advertised' cells increased vs. last year? Where are people sourcing 280 cells, for example, that are meeting or exceeding 280Ah capacity?

My basen 280s came in at 290Ah and I feel damn lucky after reading all these stories.

Consistent grade A for me (and I know other vendors have popped up as well):


Really, you get what you pay for. But Amy has a long track record.

I know outright fraud (as in fake tracking numbers) has increased. I suspect (but really have no way of knowing) that due to age, more used cells are showing up for sale as new than previously.
 
I had decent luck at Liitokala. Not sure I buy there again. Yes the recommendation should come with a warning on risk.
And while the product can vary, at least they actually send the cells.
what supplier you choose?
 
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