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Another purchase from Dongguan lightning new energy technology co

DerpsyDoodler

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Jan 10, 2021
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Hello all,

I am new to this forum; however, after scouring several of @Will Prowse videos and reviewing the information held on this site, I just purchased 16 pieces, Lishen 3.2v 272AH battery packs from dongguan lightning new energy technology on alibaba. My total price was just under $1700 and includes door to door shipping. The rep I dealt with went by the name of Hayley. She was very nice, quite helpful, and eager to answer any of my questions. I will chronicle the rest of my experience for anyone interested. The end goal will be combining these cells into 24v battery packs as energy storage for a rv bus conversion electrical system powered by solar, generator, or grid at any given time. Happy to answer any questions and thank you to the people of this community for sharing their knowledge!
 
Been a bit since I updated. I will try to be more timely on this. Since I posted the thread, Hayley has provided video of voltage resistance measurements and packing, and the order has been confirmed as shipped. WOOHOOOO!

Since placing this order I have also purchased 5x 4s 12v 120a jibaida BMS with Bluetooth from Dongguan Jibaida (1 extra as a spare). I expect these to arrive before the cells.

When the cells arrive I will document the unboxing, inspection, testing, and verification process of the cells and BMS. I will be using the same methods Will has described in his videos.
 
Just got the notification from fedex. My batteries have been picked up from the port and are en route. Scheduled delivery for the first. *doing a happy dance*
 
Well-packaged. Corners of the boxes were reinforced by plastic guards on the outside, and very thick cardboard inserts on the inside. Cells were sandwiched between (polystyrene?) protective foam packaging material. At initial glance they all seem in good condition.
 

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Everything is unboxed. Received bus bars and m6 bolts (I’d asked for studs, but this is ok). I will get black oxide grub screws locally. Now to begin visual inspection and weighing.
 

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Definitely worth mentioning that these cells were billed and sold to me as 272AH cells, but the mfg stickers on the side are labeled as 280AH. QR stickers are in tact. I will decipher and log the identifiers on my spreadsheet. Measurements as reported below:

Cell ID Cell IR Cell voltage Weight Physical Condition
1 5mOhm 3.28 5094g A
2 6mOhm 3.28 5118g A
3 6mOhm 3.28 5108g A
4 6mOhm 3.28 5105g A
5 6mOhm 3.28 5102g A
6 7mOhm 3.28 5102g A
7 4mOhm 3.28 5094g A
8 7mOhm 3.28 5119g A
9 8mOhm 3.28 5105g A
10 8mOhm 3.28 5104g A
11 9mOhm 3.28 5111g A
12 8mOhm 3.28 5121g A
13 6mOhm 3.28 5105g A
14 8mOhm 3.28 5118g A
15 6mOhm 3.28 5112g A
16 3mOhm 3.28 5102g A


Oh...and an awesome bonus keychain from my rep, Hayley! ?? it’s like getting a bag of skittles in your electronics purchase box. Lol. I have to say that Hayley has been very responsive throughout the entire process. Any time I had a question she was on top of seeking the answer. Thank you very much Hayley!

So far I feel very confident about the purchase. Next steps are top balancing and capacity testing.
 
Update:

Bolts included do not appear to be sized for the terminals. I carefully attempted to thread one in and it barely starts, then sticks. I tried several cells with the same result. I will size the grub screws I purchase appropriately smaller. That said, further testing is on hold until I get the grub screws tomorrow. This process seems to have been highly straight forward, thus far. I haven’t experienced any of the nightmare situations that I have read about. Perhaps those cases are fewer and farther in between, in the grand scheme of things. Based on my experience to this point, I would order through new lightning energy tech again.
 
I reached out to my rep about the terminals not accepting the bolts. She suggested I use an m6-1 bottoming tap on the terminals. At her suggestion, I have begun doing so with good results. 1/2 my shipment is done. Careful word about doing this:

these terminals are made of very soft aluminum and they are easy to manipulate. When I used the tap, I very carefully, with the most minimal force I could use, slowly started it into the hole. Once the threads were grabbing, I could gently swivel my fingers to easily run the tap down. The minute I felt any resistance, I stopped, and just as carefully as I started, I backed the tap out, wiped the aluminum pieces off the tap thread, blew out the terminal, and tested with a set screw/stud. It took once in and out for every terminal.

I will be using jbweld to hold the studs into the terminals. The idea is to make these connections as secure and resilient to light or medium momentary stresses as reasonably possible.
 
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A slow start, but a start, nonetheless. As i become more confident, i will connect more in series for charging. i will take this first one to 3.60 in 2 stages. first is voltage set to 3.4 and max current set to 8amps (in CC mode). then i will top it off with a voltage setting of 3.6 until amps drop to .1. While this cell is charging i will start the jbweld process of the other prepared terminals.

after i complete this first one, i will start charging of a pair in series, as well as start the capacity test of the first charged cell. lots to do!
 

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After about 20 minutes, all connections cool to the touch. Voltage reading at terminals is 3.33.
 
first studs in place. now i wait for the rest of my studs and nuts from amazon. super stoked about the progress.

connections still cool to the touch.
 

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thank you for the updates, looking good

stud install looks great. nice patience on the tap install.

interesting keychain....?

staying tuned
 
Sure! Glad to try and help. Some of the conversations seen on the forum make the process seem more convoluted or nightmarish than it has to be. I think with a little due diligence, the process can go this smoothly for most. Also quick update, I boosted the amp output to about 9.5. All connections still cool to the touch. This PS has plenty of ventilation flowing through it, and I used 10awg wire and ring terminals for the connections. I think it should push 10a fine, but why push it? I’ll be happy when I ramp the voltage up for several cells in series.
 
no longer in CC mode. Current beginning to taper down. everything going as expected.
 

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since all is going well, i shut down the ps, disconnected, reconfigured the voltage to 3.6 (as measured by my dmm on the ps leads), reconnected, and powered back up. current cranked back up to 9.5 ish. all connections are cool to the touch, power supply is cool to the touch, as well. milestone complete.
 
The quickness is real, folks.

from 3.4 to 3.6 in a snap. amps tapered to 3.87 as of this typing.

edit: 3.57v dmm measured at the battery. .01v difference between battery and lead connection to PS
 

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