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CHINS 200Ah LiFePO4 battery test/review

Repro

Solar Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 28, 2020
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338
Location
Southwestern PA
I ordered two CHINS 200Ah LiFePO4 batteries through Amazon, and they arrived today. I did the unpacking, took some pictures and will post my testing and review progress over the coming days. The batteries are warming up to room temperature today. Once they warm up, I will start.

The unpacking pictures are below. One battery had two scuffs on the corners. That had to have happened prior to shipping as the corners were protected with very thick foam, and the foam had no damage. Other than that, they look identical to the Ampere Time 200Ah batteries I purchased to include the specs. Both batteries had a stand voltage of 13.2V at the time of unpacking. These batteries do not have low temperature cut-off. They cost $899 each, and CHINS offers and additional 5% off at purchase.

The documentation is a small printed manual in color with all of the information you need (specs and parameters) for charging, use, care and warranty. CHINS offers a 90 day refund, 3 years free replacement, and a free 5 year support/maintenance. Not sure what you get for the 5 year support/maintenance. I guess a line of communication to tell you they are broke and to buy new ones if they are defective???????? You decide.

The batteries are encased in a very strong ABS plastic enclosure with rope carriers and plastic handles. They are very easy to grab, lift and move. The handles slide down to the sides out of the way if not needed. The terminals are very strong and surrounded with red and black epoxy making polarity easily identifiable. The bolts are stainless steel with a washer and lock washer. After looking them over, the externals of the batteries are identical to the Ampere Time batteries right down to the bolts.. They seem to be well built. That's it for now, I will post again maybe tomorrow. If anyone has any questions about these batteries, please let me know.

Oh, one more thing before I forget. These batteries were on stock at their California warehouse and arrived in a week. The Ampere Time batteries arrived from China and took several weeks.
 

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I charged one the batteries late yesterday evening, and it was fully charged by 1AM. 3 hours charge time with IOTA DLS-45 and LiFePO4 module. I hooked up my load tester and let it run overnight. The second battery charged overnight and settled to 13.6V. The load test is almost complete, and I will post the results for the first battery in a couple of hours.
 
So, for some bad news. The first battery did not meet the capacity. I cut the test at 2420Wh, and 9.49V. The battery BMS did not shut down. It just kept running. I was afraid to damage the battery, so I pulled the plug and stopped the discharge. I checked the smart shunt data logger, it also fell short on the capacity, and it reflected the exact same voltage as my multi-tester. The battery is charging again with the data logger connected. I want to verify the BMS charge cut-off voltage and the charging amp hours and watt hours. When it is done charging, I will connect my DC power supply and see if the BMS cuts off at 15V like advertised. I will then repeat the load test to ensure I didn't do anything wrong. I will post the results here when done.

The second battery is load testing now. I will post the results when it is done. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
 

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Repro, your review here is incredibly helpful!!

That's very unfortunate it didn't meet your test criteria for your capacity test, and also continued to run at 9.49V. My understanding is 10V is industry standard absolute minimum cutoff voltage, which correlates to 100% DoD on this chemistry, and that the BMS should stop discharge at or before this voltage.

Here's the questions I have asked their support:
1) Do these have a low voltage discharge shutoff in the BMS?
2) Do these have a low temperature cutoff?
3) What number of cells in the 200Ah and 300Ah?
4) What is the cell type/wiring for the 200Ahand 300Ah? IE: 300Ah = 8s 280Ah 3.2V in 4s2p
5) What cell balancing features does this battery include?
 
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Before I jump the gun, I am recharging the battery, then I am going to attempt to over charge it and see if the BMS cuts off at 15v per CHINS parameters. I will then calibrate my smart shunt, and perform the load test again and note the results from the load tester and the shunts data logger. If my results are the same or similar, I am going to notify CHINS for a replacement, or a refund. I still have another battery testing. Let’s see how it comes out. I have my fingers crossers.

CHINS 12v.200Ah LiFePO4 battery
4 cells in 4S configuration
 
15v for a LiFePO4 chemistry seems a tad bit high. My DIY cells are set to charge no higher than 14.4v from my solar charge controller.
 
The BMS is supposed to protect the battery from overcharging and shut down at 15 V.

CHINS advertises their battery to have protections built to the BMS. One is the 15 V overcharge protection, the next is to protect the battery from being over discharged and shut down at 10 V.

There are more protections that the BMS provides, I will upload the parameters sent to me by CHINS.
 
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Here are the parameters for the CHINS 200Ah battery:

Rated Capacity (0.2C): 200Ah / 2560Wh
Cycle life: > 2000 cycles at 100% Depth of Discharge (DoD), up to 5000 cycles at 80% DoD
Rated voltage: 12.8V
Charge voltage: 14.4 - 14.6V
Cut-off voltage: 10V
Depth of Discharge (DoD): 100%
Standard charge current: 40A
Charging time: Approximately 6 hours
Max continuous charge current: 100A
Max continuous discharge current: 200A
Peak discharge current: 400A (Duration: less than 5 seconds)
Operating temperatures: Charge 0°C~50°C,
Discharge -20°C~60°C, Storage -20°C~50°C
Impedance: ≤ 15mΩ
 
Looks like specifications that are common for most LiFePO4 batteries.
thumb_up.gif
 
I agree. They are identical with the Ampere Time Plus 200Ah battery. I have two of them, and decided to try these as a lower cost alternative. Not looking so go so far. I am hoping for the best.
 
Interesting first test. Maybe a bad BMS. Shorted 11.6 Ah as well. Can't wait to see what the second one comes in at and what their response will be.
 
More bad news. The second battery has no low voltage cut-off either. I let it drop to 9.29V before pulling the plug. Strange numbers on this test for battery 2. At the time pulled the plug I had 210Ah, but 2428Wh. It is now charging for a second test.

The first battery is fully charged, but the BMS cut the charging voltage at 14.3V. I put a load on it for 10 minutes, then I connected the charger again and verified that the BMS cut the charging voltage at 14.3V. The over voltage cut-off on all batteries that I own is 15V. The first battery also fell short on the capacity. It charged with 4264Wh, 197Ah. I have it connected to the load tester again, then am going to load test it one more time as well to verify my numbers. Keep you posted. Looks like a refund is coming.
 
OK, I am done with the testing and have contacted CHINS for a refund. Let's see how this goes. I charged the batteries partially, then put under a load to see if the low voltage cut-off worked. I let it drop to 8.37v and gave up. The BMS's just do not work, they provide no protection whatsoever, and the risk of damaging the cells inside are just way too high. I do not want to speculate on what I would find inside if I were to open them. If CHINS refunds my money, and doesn't want the batteries back, I will cut these paper weights open and see. DONE!
 
Thanks, just cancelled my order made in haste. After Amazon cancelled SOK order.
 
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