Basen EVE 280 Dead as a Doornail in 3 years.

[Alkaline]

Well in the back of my mind I knew it was only a matter of time, and now in less than 3 years the basen 280 EVE "Grade A" is dead. Checked the voltage and its 0 volts (or 0.012 v). Purchased from Alex Chen in Feb 2021...

This was in a 8s battery back with an overkill solar BMS, the other cells were at 3.34 volts so this one just died. Its also swollen beyond recognition. I made 3 of these 8s packs 1 with xuba cells, with 1 basen, and the other with Luyuan. The luyuan is the only one that is performing properly. All 3 battery packs were sold to a local guy who uses it in his camp and has maybe 100 or so cycles on them. I told him upfront they were probably grade b except for the Luyuan and he said he understood.

So now... anyone have an old 280DK cell they need to get rid off?

JUNK.

 

[G00SE]

I have a spare envision grade B I could probably let go of if you can’t find a better replacement. I like having spares but if you need it more than me, lemme know

 

[Zwy]

Did it just die or did it slowly lose capacity?

I have one cell out of 64 that is a runner during charging.(Batrium BMS) It will drop in voltage quickly below the other 63 cells and will settle about 0.06V below the other cells. I have observed at the bottom of SOC it holds up better than other cells.

I've always wondered if it does die, how will it go? Quickly or just die slowly?

 

[Alkaline]

Guy called me up and said hey the battery is not working and when I got it to it it said cell undervolt, I'm thinking ok the balancing wire probably got loose.

NOPE, it was on there snug, so I pulled the cell and measured it, damn 0 volts! I"m thinking some internal fault and the cell just self discharged to nothing.

No signs of leaking or anything, but if you thump it with your hand it has a hollow sound do it so definitely gas build up.

Dead for sure. If I had to guess it was gradual decline.

When I had these packs I was using an active balancer the other cells probably helped it keep in balance, but the new owner disconnected it and it died in less than a year.

All other cells seem to be ok.

I also checked the Xuba cells and I'm pretty sure 1 of them is going to do the same thing as on a full charge 1 of them reads 3.298v vs the 3.341 of the others. so its probably not going to last much longer either.

I told him to put the active balancer back on, and only leave it off the luyuan cells.

Attaching the qr code scanner app screenshot.

 

[Brucey]

Any compression used on the pack?

 

[Steve_S]

You'll be hard pressed to find any 280H cells with tapped M6 holes now. 280K's with Weelded studs are avail;able from Amy @ Luyuan, while most are B-cells she may have access to A cells with posts (maybe but not likely). You CAN mix those in 2 ways.
1) Using a Copper Mesh Busbar with single hole (simplest way to deal with the offset)
2) Make a 4mm step in a plated busbar I used a vice & an extra busbar as the spacer to make the step. The bars bend easy as they are copper.

I've 2 Cells (sourced from Xuba way back in the day) that failed.
#1 Went to low voltage below 1.0V when charge applied it would climb really fast but wouldn't stay as soon as charge was removed it just lost energy. No bloat or anything, look fine all around. Was taking about a day to discharge from 3V to <1V...
#2 was odd fail... took 2 years, it worked peachy up to 3.240V but no way on the planet would it go over that, no way, no how.
I pulled it and bench charged it at 40A and it stalled at 3.300 and just started getting warm to hot... Something bad inside. This one was also misshapen with ripples in the casing (tight waves).
NB: When assembled & installed after full Top Charge, they were "perfect" clean, no bulges or anything.

BTW: I just got a small batch of 280K B-Cells (with welded posts) from Luyuan for another project, They are testing out around 282-285AH (working range 3.000-3.400) their IR is also good at 17mOhm... best part they are quite a good price too.

A suggestion: Now with the new generation of InverterBMS from JK, their older models price has dropped quite nicely. It may be more practical to swap all the BMS' for identical models with active balancing etc so they can all be matched & tweaked up nicely.

Ironically, I will have 6 Previously enjoyed 200A JK's and have 2 or more New in box that I have to sort out... Gosh I am gonna have a heap'o surplus as I finish my home system and shut down the business. (kids didn't want the battery business - too much work ! shiver up spine Oiii).

 

[hwy17]

There's a lot of community confidence about pack lifespan. But I bet lifepo4 won't be an exception to the batteries die prematurely rule.

The lifespan is stretched out further so we don't see it yet. Lead acids can last 10 as a starter, but can die in 5. Can last 5 years as a solar cycler, but can die in 3.

So if lifepo4 can last 10, 20 years, I think were gonna get more stories popping up as people hit 3-5 years.

I make my battery investments with a 5 year expected service life, so I will be prepared for and not overly disappointed if that comes true.

 

[Zwy]

You'll be hard pressed to find any 280H cells with tapped M6 holes now. 280K's with Weelded studs are avail;able from Amy @ Luyuan, while most are B-cells she may have access to A cells with posts (maybe but not likely). You CAN mix those in 2 ways.
1) Using a Copper Mesh Busbar with single hole (simplest way to deal with the offset)
2) Make a 4mm step in a plated busbar I used a vice & an extra busbar as the spacer to make the step. The bars bend easy as they are copper.

I mixed some 280N I already had with some 280K single post. I went to Menards flooring section and took home some of the free flooring samples, many are 4 mm thick. Trimmed them up with the tablesaw and used thin VHB tape to attach the shim to the bottom. Way easier than bending the busbars for a flat fit (been there, done that). Busbars will reach (due to no bends) but will sit at an angle as the 280K posts are wider apart.

 

[Steve_S]

When I bent mine, I made sure the step was right on (I used to restore show cars, so metal work = no thought required). Either way works because that step needs to be negotiated. As I update my packs to new cases etc, I am using new dual terminal cells w/ flexible laminated copper bars but all of my previous cells either have Tapped M6 or Welded Studs so I elected to use the Copper Mesh busbars for simplicity & ease. I can only speak to the ones Amy (Luyuan) supplies which are quite beefy compared to others I ordered previously from elsewhere (which I never used).

 

[Zwy]

When I bent mine, I made sure the step was right on (I used to restore show cars, so metal work = no thought required).

I did that for 16 years and fabrication for about 50 years now. I guess I'm qualified.

Either way works because that step needs to be negotiated. As I update my packs to new cases etc, I am using new dual terminal cells w/ flexible laminated copper bars

Yes, I ordered cells from Amy that are on the boat right now. Flexible laminated busbars for the 2 hole terminal cells. I drilled and tapped all the solid busbars for the balance wire on my previous battery bank build for my house.

I guess on this build I will be using one of the 2 holes for the balance lead attachment. Long term, I do wonder about the laminated busbars, these don't come plated according to the photos?

 

[Alkaline]

They were held fairly well held in place, not compression but certainly no way to expand. I did not notice any breakage of the case, but when I removed the cell it definitely plumped up so the box was keeping the expansion in check.

meh...

 

[Steve_S]

I did that for 16 years and fabrication for about 50 years now. I guess I'm qualified.

COOL, nothing like making cool stuff starting with a sheet.

Yes, I ordered cells from Amy that are on the boat right now. Flexible laminated busbars for the 2 hole terminal cells. I drilled and tapped all the solid busbars for the balance wire on my previous battery bank build for my house.


I guess on this build I will be using one of the 2 holes for the balance lead attachment. Long term, I do wonder about the laminated busbars, these don't come plated according to the photos?

My dual-hole laminated bars are tinned with heat shrink as well.
The copper mesh single-hole, are tinned in the ends but not the mesh itself.
My Sense/Balance leads are going on the screw hole as before. A dry crimped with folded over sense wire & heat-shrink over the crimp. I'm really fussy about my crimps, makes a big difference in getting thing. Made too many wiring harnesses etc over the years I guess.

 

[740GLE]

I can see the problem, it was the fake QR codes!

Jk, quite a bummer it will be interesting to see how these all age out.

Imagine all the prefab server rack units that might face the same fate. Gonna be a goldmine if you can save those.

 

[Loadtoad]

They were held fairly well held in place, not compression but certainly no way to expand. I did not notice any breakage of the case, but when I removed the cell it definitely plumped up so the box was keeping the expansion in check.

meh...

Why the goop on the terminals?