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CHINS 200Ah LiFePO4 battery test/review

I seem to have gotten lucky, generally speaking. I've just completed my testing of all 3 of my 300ah CHINS batteries and they, generally speaking, are performing as advertised. To note, there is -no- low temp protection on the bms for the non self heating batteries. There is a high-temp protection that does function. Discharging to 10v, I was able to achieve a full 900ah discharge when using the batteries in parallel, and after a few rounds of charging/discharging, the cells remained top-balanced within .03v of one another (my multimeter isn't great so there's some drift there that could be due to my tools). Low voltage protection kicked in for all 3 batteries at 9.4v.

The construction on these units is NOT great. I don't think I'd recommend buying them over SOK which are within a couple hundred dollars of the price range, however the cells seem to be perfectly adequate. Given that I received a free battery as a result of shipping damage, I could purchase 3 new BMS's for them and still be ahead on pricing, and because the cases are only sealed with silicone gasket material, I don't have to destroy them to get inside and make modifications. With that in mind, I'm going to keep them.
Red hat, did you replace the BMS in these CHINS? If so, can you provide me with some info. I have 2 300 amp units and am thinking it would be best to replace the BMS. You're thoughts? Thanks...
 
How does the Amp-Hour or Watt-Hour capacity of a CHINS 100Ah LiFePO4 (or 200Ah)
compare to a regular mid-range car battery like an agm-lead-acid Bosch H8-900B .
For a car sedan which is driven infrequently, which battery type would drain more quickly
and more quickly be unable to start the car ?
 
A starting battery and a deep cycle/LiFePO4 battery are two different things.

The lead acid battery used in a car is not designed for deep draws. Doing so will lessen the life of the battery.

A LiFePO4 battery usually doesn't have the ability to provide the short term cranking amps required by an engine.
 
Right, the ability of the Lithium battery to be totally charged down and
then be recharged, without sustaining damage, is a desirable feature for
a rarely used car.
However, if Lithium lacks the cranking amps power to start a car engine,
that would be a major drawback.
Lithiums do not seem to list the CCA.
 
Right, the ability of the Lithium battery to be totally charged down and
then be recharged, without sustaining damage, is a desirable feature for
a rarely used car.
However, if Lithium lacks the cranking amps power to start a car engine,
that would be a major drawback.
Lithiums do not seem to list the CCA.
The major major drawback is the high cost like $950?
This company claims to have a 800 CCA LFP battery.
https://diysolarforum.com/threads/d...-engerine-starting-storage.22061/#post-260088

I threw a $100 Walmart Max battery in my Subaru.
The gfs Subaru got a $150 AGM.
How many lead acid starting batteries would you have to go through to justify a $950? LFP starting battery?

Also there are lead batteries that you can discharge 50% or more but not designed to start motors.
You just need a basic battery education.
 
The major major drawback is the high cost like $950?
This company claims to have a 800 CCA LFP battery.
https://diysolarforum.com/threads/d...-engerine-starting-storage.22061/#post-260088

I threw a $100 Walmart Max battery in my Subaru.
The gfs Subaru got a $150 AGM.
How many lead acid starting batteries would you have to go through to justify a $950? LFP starting battery?

Also there are lead batteries that you can discharge 50% or more but not designed to start motors.
You just need a basic battery education.
$500 for the 100AH . Again, how do these battery types compare on
measured AH or WH capacity ?
 
I escalated it to Amazon immediately. After negotiations between Amazon and CHINS, they paid the return and sent me Parcel labels. I shipped them today. As for the refund, I saw to it that they did an immediate refund, and once I had the funds, they sent me the labels. In exchange, I had to change my Amazon review. Amazon is aware of the deal for my case.
id just change your review back in like a week. #_(% that noise
 
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.
Question on your capacity test, what method did you use to test?
 
Yikes, that is horrible.

Yeah if you want the world to know about your experience, send one my way and I will ensure no one gets ripped off again. I was really curious what those chins batteries would be like. What a bummer.
Not all CHINS batteries are bad. I have CHINS 12V-200Ah and 24-200Ah batteries. They all meet their factory specs both self discharge rate and 0.1c capacity tests. I tested their BMS as well. I have my details test results at the amazon.com. Feel free to read them.
 
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.

I have a Chins 200 ah battery without heat protection and have tried charging and discharging a couple times. Per your comments, it seems to charge up to 14.6 V but then drop down to 13.6 after charge is complete. It discharges below 10 V - I have gone as low as 9.6 V before stopping. I don't have a discharge tester, but I calculate that I am getting about 190 ah of output. When I requested a return, Chins customer service responded with the following comment. Do you think they are correct in their statement that 13.6 V resting after charge is normal? I am tempted to keep them because I like the 200 amp discharge rate, but not if they are going to wear out fast. Thanks for your comments.

From Chins:
When you charge our lithium iron phosphate battery, the voltage display is 14.6V. When the charging is completed, the voltage is 13.6V when it is left standing for one hour, which means that the battery is fully charged.
The BMS of our battery is between 9.2V and 9.7V. When your discharge voltage is lower than 9.2V, the battery's BMS will turn on the protection function.
Our battery supports a continuous discharge current of 200A, and the battery capacity can also reach 200AH. You need to use a professional instrument to test.
Just FYI....to obtain >5000 cycles, the battery should not be discharged over 80% of its capacity. Else you will have only about 2000 cycles. You need to invest Wattmeter to get more accurate power consumption reading. Its only $20 for shunt wattmeter up to 20A load. For those, who are utilizing an inverter, please to add fuse (@positive side) in between battery and an inverter. Lifepo4 battery is expensive . Power inverter low voltage cut off is lower than your battery BMS low voltage protection. Can't trust them.
 
Not all CHINS batteries are bad. I have CHINS 12V-200Ah and 24-200Ah batteries. They all meet their factory specs both self discharge rate and 0.1c capacity tests. I tested their BMS as well. I have my details test results at the amazon.com. Feel free to read them.
Question on your capacity test, what method did you use to test?

East Tester ET5410 single-channel DC load tester. The test parameters were 12V with around a 30A load . Look at the test in this post for details.
 
I am glad you have a good set. The batteries did not perform to the specs set by CHINS, let alone the horrific BMS results. I sent mine back and got two more Ampere Time batteries that operate above capacity and the BMS functions too.
 
I am glad you have a good set. The batteries did not perform to the specs set by CHINS, let alone the horrific BMS results. I sent mine back and got two more Ampere Time batteries that operate above capacity and the BMS functions too.
Well, that is the problem with Chinese manufacturers. The quality control is not consistent.
It reminds me of Japanese automobile back in 1970s.
 
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