Ampere Time 200ah Lithium??? Any reviews?

[Goodoz]

Thank you for posting this Product Manual.

From page 2:
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I have one that is currently shut down (accidentally shorted it)...was going to rip the top off of it and reclaim the cells. (#2 above) This could be done with a bench power supply, yes? Set it to output...say,13.6V 10A ??? 2A??? Otherwise, I have a lead acid battery that fits the bill and I'm willing to risk it...but not another one of my Lithium batts.

 

[deeuubee]

I just jumped aboard the DIY Solar train and was about to buy these.
Thank you for the information. Especially about the extra 5%.

 

[Repro]

Just an update. The batteries have left the California FedEx depot and are in transit to my home address. Scheduled delivery time is still for this coming Friday, 29th of Feb. If they arrive Friday, the delivery estimate at the time of ordering on Amazon is correct.

I will do an unpackaging, check voltages immediately, and I will attempt to charge them to see if the low temp. charging cut off works. The batteries will more than likely be well below 32 degrees at arrival time. I will make photo's and post them here. After that, the batteries will acclimate at room temperature for at least 24 hours before I do any testing. My planned tests after acclimation are to install a Thornwave 500A smart shunt, I will fully charge and perform a capacity test. My load tester is maxed out at 180W, so it will take over 14 hours each to test if they have full capacity. I will then recharge them fully, and check the data for charging. Will post photo's as I do each test.

I am not an electrician nor do I have a background as one. I worked over 25 years in I.T., so I can only apply what I learned from people like you and Will Prowse. So if anyone can contribute to the testing, let me know. I will however, let it be known, I am not tearing these apart for an internal inspection. These are not cheap and I do not want to nullify my warranty. Let's hope for the best, and I am looking forward to your input. Thanks!

 

[Repro]

The batteries arrived today on time per FedEx. The batteries were packaged well, although one box was open a little on the bottom. No damage, and they look great. I tested for a charge, and they are both at a stand voltage of 13.2V. The battery cases are a very strong ABS plastic, and I actually got up on one and stood on it. It didn't bend or bulge at all. The cases also have two rope handles that slide out of the way when not in use. They make carrying the batteries very easy. The terminals are very strong and have colored epoxy around each terminal for added strength.

I immediately tried charging them at delivery. Our temperatures here have been below 25 for 3 days, and today is around 19 degrees. So I assume that the batteries were below freezing. One battery started charging, then after about 10 seconds the BMS must have shut down as the charging voltage stopped. The second battery continued to charge even after 3 minutes. I then broke off charging, and put the batteries inside to warm up for at least 24 hours. I will see if the BMS resets on the one battery tomorrow. I will update again as I continue my tests.

Ampere Time included a corporate brochure, a letter of thanks to the customer, extra terminal bolts, a very nice user manual that is very professionally printed on high quality paper stock. The printed material is very well written and very professional. It looks like it was written by someone who has control of the English language. I like it so far. See the pics from unpackaging below.

 

[deeuubee]

The batteries arrived today on time per FedEx. The batteries were packaged well, although one box was open a little on the bottom. No damage, and they look great. I tested for a charge, and they are both at a stand voltage of 13.2V. The battery cases are a very strong ABS plastic, and I actually got up on one and stood on it. It didn't bend or bulge at all. The cases also have two rope handles that slide out of the way when not in use. They make carrying the batteries very easy. The terminals are very strong and have colored epoxy around each terminal for added strength.

I immediately tried charging them at delivery. Our temperatures here have been below 25 for 3 days, and today is around 19 degrees. So I assume that the batteries were below freezing. One battery started charging, then after about 10 seconds the BMS must have shut down as the charging voltage stopped. The second battery continued to charge even after 3 minutes. I then broke off charging, and put the batteries inside to warm up for at least 24 hours. I will see if the BMS resets on the one battery tomorrow. I will update again as I continue my tests.

Ampere Time included a corporate brochure, a letter of thanks to the customer, extra terminal bolts, a very nice user manual that is very professionally printed on high quality paper stock. The printed material is very well written and very professional. It looks like it was written by someone who has control of the English language. I like it so far. See the pics from unpackaging below.

Congratulations!
Did it come with warranty papers?
My biggest concern is the cost of shipping if it has to go back for warranty repair.
Did they say who pays?

 

[Repro]

I already contacted Ampere Time about warranty documentation. However, before I purchased the batteries, Ampere Time gave me the contact information for their California offices that deals with U.S. warranty issues. The offices are in Hawthorne and Compton, California. They deal with the customers having issues and send replacement batteries if needed. No word on who pays for returns.

The one battery that shut down for low temp charging is still dead showing 0 volts. I am going to reactivate the BMS tomorrow after climatizing with one of my 12V AGM batteries. I will update on how it goes.

 

[DaleofIN]

The batteries arrived today on time per FedEx. The batteries were packaged well, although one box was open a little on the bottom. No damage, and they look great. I tested for a charge, and they are both at a stand voltage of 13.2V. The battery cases are a very strong ABS plastic, and I actually got up on one and stood on it. It didn't bend or bulge at all. The cases also have two rope handles that slide out of the way when not in use. They make carrying the batteries very easy. The terminals are very strong and have colored epoxy around each terminal for added strength.

I immediately tried charging them at delivery. Our temperatures here have been below 25 for 3 days, and today is around 19 degrees. So I assume that the batteries were below freezing. One battery started charging, then after about 10 seconds the BMS must have shut down as the charging voltage stopped. The second battery continued to charge even after 3 minutes. I then broke off charging, and put the batteries inside to warm up for at least 24 hours. I will see if the BMS resets on the one battery tomorrow. I will update again as I continue my tests.

Ampere Time included a corporate brochure, a letter of thanks to the customer, extra terminal bolts, a very nice user manual that is very professionally printed on high quality paper stock. The printed material is very well written and very professional. It looks like it was written by someone who has control of the English language. I like it so far. See the pics from unpackaging below.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Oggie]

Did you purchase these batteries direct from Ampere Time in California? If so, please give their contact info. I've searched Hawthorne and Compton addresses and do not find them. Thanks

 

[Repro]

I purchased them through Amazon.

 

[Repro]

I fully charged one of the batteries to 14.6V, and it settled to 13.6V. I connected my Thornwave smart shunt and my load tester. The test is now running and I will post the results when done. See picture below.

The second battery did reset itself and it is reading 13.2V. It is now on the charger.

 

[Repro]

The first battery capacity test is complete. The test took 14 hours and 57 minutes. Battery #2 is fully charged and the load tester is now connected to it. I will post the results for it tomorrow. So here are the results for battery #1.

Actual 2625.87Wh - It is rated at 2560Wh
Actual 213.2Ah - It is rated at 200Ah

The BMS shut down at 10.1V. The specifications from Ampere Time are 10.8V for low voltage cut off. Ignore the voltage reading on the load tester. I was going by the voltage reading from the Thornwave smart shunt. Once the voltage hit 10.8V, it started dropping fast.

Loving it so far! Any comments or questions?

 

[deeuubee]

@Repro - following and really appreciate your efforts

 

[Repro]

Battery #2 testing is complete, here are the results:

Actual 2647.76Wh - It is rated at 2560Wh
Actual 214.79Ah - It is rated at 200Ah

Here is something I would like to add. The numbers above are from my load tester that I bought on Amazon. I am not quite sure how accurate it is. I also had my Thornwave PowerMon 5S connected, and calibrated for each battery before the testing. The results that it showed were quite a bit higher than those of the load tester. Thornwave states that it is accurate without calibration to less than 1%, and 0.5% when calibrated. I did not note the values for battery #1, but I did note them for battery #2.

Values from the PowerMon 5S:
2878.13Wh
218.55Ah

You decide which you will trust. I like both numbers, and I am convinced that I have a good set of batteries for the price. I am going to be connecting these in series for a 24V system, and they will be connected to a Growatt SPF 3000TL LVM all in one inverter/charger/solar. If anyone is interested in how that goes, let me know. If anyone has any more questions about these batteries, let me know as well.

 

[Repro]

Well, after testing the batteries, I feel really good about them. I am setting up a system for my home, and wanted to get four of these if they proved to be good batteries. After closely looking at other 200Ah batteries, I came across the CHINS 200Ah LiFePO4 battery om Amazon. It has the identical specifications and parameters as the Ampere Time batteries. Even the cases, terminals and handles are identical not to mention that the warranty terms as well. Everything is identical. Even the fact that they have after hours offices in California to handle customer issues and battery replacement. They are only $899.00 plus a 5% discount at order time. I went ahead and ordered two just now. Is anyone interested in the same type of testing I did with the Ampere Time batteries? Let me know.

 

[Repro]

For those of you wondering about the Ampere Time warranty, here is the warranty card attached as a PDF.

 

[Repro]

The CHINS batteries are already going to be here on Friday. Super fast, I ordered them Sunday. The customer service sent me the user manual in digital form (PDF). I am going to upload here for viewing. The warranty is free replacement or refund with no need for return up to 90 days. They will determine on the phone through a series of tests with the customer if the battery is defective. For 3 years, you will get a free replacement sent to you with no possibility for a refund under the same conditions as the 90 period. After 3 years, they offer free service and maintenance. What ever that means. I guess after 3 years, you are out of luck.

I am going to start a new thread when they arrive, and go through the same testing procedures as the Ampere Time batteries. Maybe this will help someone when deciding to purchase new batteries. Once again, let's hope for the best!

 

[nifty-stuff.com]

@Repro thanks for all your great info and work! Very good to hear / read this data!

I came across the CHINS 200Ah LiFePO4 battery om Amazon

I was thinking the SAME thing after seeing them on Amazon!

The warranty is free replacement or refund with no need for return up to 90 days. They will determine on the phone through a series of tests with the customer if the battery is defective. For 3 years, you will get a free replacement sent to you with no possibility for a refund under the same conditions as the 90 period. After 3 years, they offer free service and maintenance. What ever that means. I guess after 3 years, you are out of luck.

Wow, if they actually stand behind that claim (and can do so for 3 years), that's HUGE!

I am going to start a new thread when they arrive, and go through the same testing procedures as the Ampere Time batteries. Maybe this will help someone when deciding to purchase new batteries. Once again, let's hope for the best!

I'll keep an eye out!

It's one thing to have the batteries prove their capacity / BMS claims for the first handful of charges, but I guess the REAL test will be how they perform after 1k, 2k, or even 3k cycles!!

 

[Repro]

Once my Growatt 3000W inverter shows up Friday, one of my first tasks is to set up a provisional system, get the Growatt configured and test the AC charging, solar charging and naturally try to max out the inverter. That will need about 125A. I also have a 12V Giandel 2200W inverter that will push it close to 185A. If the BMS is actually 200A and it holds at 185A, I will be happy. I will be glad to post the results here if anyone is interested.

Also, when it comes to cycle life, I have four Lion Energy UT-1300's, and one of them is going to need replacing already after maybe 20 cycles, and not even a year old. Hit or miss with batteries. That is why I am trying out the low cost route. The expensive route already has a 25% failure rate for me.

 

[nifty-stuff.com]

I will be glad to post the results here if anyone is interested.

If anyone is interested in how that goes, let me know. If anyone has any more questions about these batteries, let me know as well.

Surely you know by now the answer to this questions in always "YES!"

 

[Vanconversion21]

Can't wait to see your thoughts on the batteries. I'm getting ready to order 4 300ah from them and I'll feel better seeing some hands one reviews.

I'm torn on the Victron vs saving money on the Growatt.

Really looking forward to reading what you have to say.