• Have you tried out dark mode?! Scroll to the bottom of any page to find a sun or moon icon to turn dark mode on or off!

diy solar

diy solar

Anyone tried Graphene lithium iron phosphate 3.2v cells?

Fish Freak

I fish frequently
Joined
Apr 2, 2020
Messages
127
Location
Folsom Lake, CA
Haven't seen a lot written on Graphene lithium iron phosphate cells, but I've seen them on the market, and they boast higher energy capacity, extremely high cycle life and lighter weight than regular LifePO4. Anyone tried them? Are these old or new news? Are they worth a shot? The price is so good it's almost tempting to experiment with em.


Looking to DIY a few 12v lead replacement batteries with some type of lithium cells, just trying to pick a safe type, and couple it with a better bms than most cheap pre-made lithium batteries and see where that goes....? Looked at ternary lithium ion (recommended by a 'engineer' in china for application that includes IC engine starting. Also considered LTO but strange voltage keeping me away from those. Must use 12v cells for modular power, 24v and 36v applications with 12v marine charging systems.
 
Last edited:
Brand new Graphene Lithium Iron cells

That price! It just leaves me scratching my head.... Should I bite it? Is it just a big fat worm hiding a sharp steel HOOK ----<')))><

I agree.... something that looks too good to be true is usually not very good. Having said that, now that I look, there seems to be several different vendors selling in that same price range.
 
That indeed seems fantastic... I would love to know the cycle life, and charging parameters for these... ther e has to be a reason they are priced so cheap...
 
Those look very interesting. The price seems amazing.

It looks like a lot of them are not drilled & Tapped. But some of them are:

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/New-stone-end-lithium-iron-phosphate_62382127833.html

@Will Prowse: These Graphine LiFePO4 might be a good candidate for a video review.

I don't know FOR SURE but one listing that looked like they were not drilled and tapped, I asked and was told by the seller they were post production but not fully ready for sale and they'd be drilled for bolts. Wish they could drill them with larger threads!

According to limited documentation Graphene LifePO have little to no voltage drop over time and a crazy high cycle life, like 10,000 cycles! I'd like to know if they're more energy dense, and if they work at lower or higher temps than LifePO4. @Will Prowse
 
I agree.... something that looks too good to be true is usually not very good. Having said that, now that I look, there seems to be several different vendors selling in that same price range.

Agree, if it looks like a fish, smells like a fish, it must be a fish - too good to be true, or maybe they're claiming to be selling something they don't really have, a scam possibly? I've inquired about them but all I hear is crickets, but maybe I'm being impatient...
 
I don't know FOR SURE but one listing that looked like they were not drilled and tapped, I asked and was told by the seller they were post production but not fully ready for sale and they'd be drilled for bolts. Wish they could drill them with larger threads!

Interesting. The one I linked to above has permanent threaded posts. The vender says they are 6MM and ~10mm tall. (I was hoping they would be 8mm)

According to limited documentation Graphene LifePO have little to no voltage drop over time and a crazy high cycle life, like 10,000 cycles! I'd like to know if they're more energy dense, and if they work at lower or higher temps than LifePO4.

Some of the science articles claim the addition of the Graphine can improve cycle life, energy density, Discharge C-rate, charge C-rate and higher temp tolerance. (I have not seen any info on low temp performance) I want to believe.... but it seems too good. Its kinda weird, but If they were more expensive it would be easier for me to believe!
 
Interesting. The one I linked to above has permanent threaded posts. The vender says they are 6MM and ~10mm tall. (I was hoping they would be 8mm)



Some of the science articles claim the addition of the Graphine can improve cycle life, energy density, Discharge C-rate, charge C-rate and higher temp tolerance. (I have not seen any info on low temp performance) I want to believe.... but it seems too good. Its kinda weird, but If they were more expensive it would be easier for me to believe!

FilterGuy, can we just call you Al Jaffe ;) ? Yea isn't that amazing, that if such a fantastic battery were more expensive we'd believe it?

So many of these dirt cheap cells have this little crappy 6 mm thread hole. You'd think by now we'd have found a quick and dirty way to drill it for 8mm or 10mm threads (bottoming drill) and tap it with a bottoming (flat end) tap and sink some steel helicoil threads in them. I know it'd be a pita, but for the price, and magic Graphene alien lifetime cell technology it may be worth it??
 
FilterGuy, can we just call you Al Jaffe ;) ?
I wonder how many folks (particularly yung'ns) recognize that reference without looking it up?;)

Yea isn't that amazing, that if such a fantastic battery were more expensive we'd believe it?
I keep thinking there is a catch but I have not found it yet. I hope Will does a video review on them.

So many of these dirt cheap cells have this little crappy 6 mm thread hole. You'd think by now we'd have found a quick and dirty way to drill it for 8mm or 10mm threads (bottoming drill) and tap it with a bottoming (flat end) tap and sink some steel helicoil threads in them. I know it'd be a pita, but for the price, and magic Graphene alien lifetime cell technology it may be worth it??
Funny you say that, I have a few 8MM bottoming taps on order to try to do just that on some 'regular' LiFePO4. ( I had a 6mm post strip out.:() I am probably going to have to grind most of the taper off one of them in order to get enough threads into the hole. I am less and less enamored with the cheap aluminum cells... but I guess if they had better terminals we would call them Fortune cells and pay twice as much for them.
 
I wonder how many folks (particularly yung'ns) recognize that reference without looking it up?;)


I keep thinking there is a catch but I have not found it yet. I hope Will does a video review on them.


Funny you say that, I have a few 8MM bottoming taps on order to try to do just that on some 'regular' LiFePO4. ( I had a 6mm post strip out.:() I am probably going to have to grind most of the taper off one of them in order to get enough threads into the hole. I am less and less enamored with the cheap aluminum cells... but I guess if they had better terminals we would call them Fortune cells and pay twice as much for them.

Haha! I was a big Mad magazine fan when I was a wee young lad, didn't need to look that up at all! 54 yrs young right now though, feels old!

I did finally get a reply from the seller. She said they've been selling that cell for 2 years, and I'm thinking, 'no friggin' WAY'. My question is, how can I prove what this cell really is pre-purchase? Probably voltage drop comparison after a few dozen cycles is the only test? I haven't got the wherewithal to cut one open and examine it with an electron microscope...

If you pull off that 8mm threading work, you may want to put in a stainless threaded stud (red loctite it stationary) and use a nut rather than a bolt, because even if you helicoil it, repeated R&R will wear that aluminum out again, just a thought....? Even if they come tapped for 6mm I'm gonna glue a stud in mine because I KNOW I'll be taking them off often. I think I'll get a little more torque on a stud, especially with varying bms lead thicknesses, and a bolt won't always be at the bottom of the threads like a stud, and that may be why yours stripped, right?
 
I've since been in contact with the seller, and I cannot get a straight answer out of her for anything, cannot confirm stock, cannot confirm terminal configuration. Asked for a data sheet and she sent me a .pdf file in Chinese, and said she didn't have anything in English. She directly avoided serveral repeated questions and has gone dark. I'm sure she's getting pummelled by questions from lurkers from this site, so she may have her hands full right now. It feels a lot like fish bait to me...
 
I've since been in contact with the seller, and I cannot get a straight answer out of her for anything, cannot confirm stock, cannot confirm terminal configuration. Asked for a data sheet and she sent me a .pdf file in Chinese, and said she didn't have anything in English. She directly avoided serveral repeated questions and has gone dark. I'm sure she's getting pummelled by questions from lurkers from this site, so she may have her hands full right now. It feels a lot like fish bait to me...
Sounds like a pretty bad vendor..... but like you say she may be getting pummeled.

I still would like to know more about the cells. A clueless vendor does not necessarily mean the cells are bad.
 
Sounds like a pretty bad vendor..... but like you say she may be getting pummeled.

I still would like to know more about the cells. A clueless vendor does not necessarily mean the cells are bad.

Yes, the vendor has a not-so-good rating. I asked a well known Chinese vendor who is a very good communicator, and she told it to me like this:

"Are you asking me if those are genuine? In lithium iron phosphate batteries, graphene is one of the constituent materials, and its proportion is very small."

I guess it's just a marketing method. They're not lying, but they're not really telling the truth when they say "10,000 cycles normal use". What is normal use?
 
Sounds like a pretty bad vendor..... but like you say she may be getting pummeled.

I still would like to know more about the cells. A clueless vendor does not necessarily mean the cells are bad.

So yesterday I sent out that link to a few other Alibaba vendors, some of which say they are actually major manufacturers like Eve and RJ Energy. Obviously there are some superconductor graphene tech cells out there, and they're very expensive, but all of them said it's not happening at this level yet. Most expressed that the description and 10,000 cycles was way overly optimistic. In concluding, and closing this thread ;) , one put it to me this way; 'That seller is selling 'new graphene LifePO4' cells for less than my new std LifePO4 cells? Those aren't graphene, those aren't even A grade cells, those are B cells.'

Going forward, you're right @FilterGuy we do need to know more about graphene cells, they are amazing, smaller, even tiny, can handle higher current, cooler, lighter, and almost no voltage drop, 10,000 cycles, so no question they will be the future of LifePO technology, but we're not there yet. Lol, if @Will Prowse wants to test these, he can, it would make a good vid to set the score straight if these guys are fakers, but I'm satisfied that these are NOT the real deal.
 
My 2 cents if detective work:

Graphene lifepo4 cells are more energy dense then regular lifepo4. Quite a lot more, like 20% or so.
That naturally have effect on the size and weight of the cells.

Normal 90Ah cells are about 1.85 kgs
Screenshot_20200503_082611_com.alibaba.intl.android.apps.poseidon.jpg

The magic new cells are 2.0 kgs!!!
(With same lightweight casing)
Only based on the weight, they are selling NOT graphene lifepo4 cells!!!

Screenshot_20200503_082625_com.alibaba.intl.android.apps.poseidon.jpg

Even for normal lifepo4 cells, they are not expensive for 20 USD.
You so need to solder or clamp the busbar on them
 

diy solar

diy solar
Back
Top