Epoch Batteries

[Magrathea]

Has anyone successfully reached them? I've sent 2 emails(one two weeks ago, and one 4 days ago) that have gone unanswered, I've called their number, nothing. If you read the fine print of their "11 year warranty" it actually only applies if you register the product within 60 days, but the product registration page seems broken, it offers 0 confirmation, I registered mine but have absolutely 0 idea if it actually went through....

"Buyer must register buyer’s Battery at https://www.epochbatteries.com/pages/product-registration in order to receive full warranty coverage. Any Battery not registered within 60 days from date of purchase shall be covered by the conditions of this warranty policy for a period of one (1) year from date of purchase....

All registered Batteries shall be covered by a free replacement for a period of thirty six (36) months from date of purchase. After the thirty six (36) months, all registered Batteries shall be covered on a prorated basis beginning from the date of purchase."

I had to actually dig for this information, a little shady imo, their own "11 year warranty" page doesn't mention it here https://www.epochbatteries.com/pages/11-year-warranty:, but the shopify page here does: https://epochbatteries.myshopify.com/pages/11-year-warranty

The whole thing just gives me an impression of being a Chinese drop shipper, I know these things are all made in china but they really push their "veteran owned" status... veterans of which countries military?, lol

I bought this battery almost entirely based on Will's recommendation and the warranty, but I'm starting to regret it. It's not really an 11 year warranty, even if you do jump through the hoops they present, and if you can't reach them at all it's no warranty whatsoever.

Furthermore, if you read their privacy policy they explicitly state that they sell data to anyone who wants it, which is disappointing, I wish I read that before buying, my bad. Their privacy policy seems slapped together/copy pasted from somewhere else:

"Our Site sells Personal Information, as defined by the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”).

[Insert:

• categories of information sold;
• information about your use of the Site, your purchases, and the email address associated with your purchase
• instructions on how to opt-out of sale;
• whether your business sells information of minors (under 16) and whether you obtain affirmative authorization;
• if you provide a financial incentive to sell information, provide information about what that incentive is.]"

Privacy Policy - Epoch Batteries

This Privacy Policy describes how www.epochbatteries.com (the “Site” or “we”) collects, uses, and discloses your Personal Information when you visit or make a purchase from the Site.

www.epochbatteries.com

 

[Magrathea]

I just read a bit more into their warranty policy, and the only way to submit a warranty claim is here: https://www.epochbatteries.com/pages/warranty-claim

but that just returns a 404, again this company seems shady...

"To submit a warranty claim, please contact the original place of purchase, or visit
https://www.epochbatteries.com/pages/warranty-claim. The Battery may be required to be shipped back to the Epoch Batteries for further inspection."

 

[Sam Cho TX]

warranties on batteries is a myth IMO and epoch is run by 18650 who have really bad warranties and customer support so good luck to you. The epoch batteries are actually made by a company called RoyPow and they are owned by the EVE Cell Manufacturer so I would be surprised that you would need any service.

According to the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act it is illegal to require registration to get warranty:

16 CFR § 700.7 - Use of warranty registration cards.

www.law.cornell.edu

(b) A requirement that the consumer return a warranty registration card or a similar notice as a condition of performance under a full warranty is an unreasonable duty. Thus, a provision such as, “This warranty is void unless the warranty registration card is returned to the warrantor” is not permissible in a full warranty, nor is it permissible to imply such a condition in a full warranty.

ask me how I know all this? Well I had to go through this with BattleBorn and then also with Surret Rolls.

Its one of the reasons I will never buy retail batteries and rely on warranties that they will NEVER cover. Also its why I prefer the sfk kits this way I rather save the money and then go chase them for a warranty which I'm sure they will like other battery manufactures figure out why they can't cover.

So good luck to you, but I lost against battle born but won against surret rolls.

 

[JeromeS13]

Reach out to them on Facebook. That's how I've got all of my responses and in a timely manner.

 

[abeness]

Reach out to them on Facebook. That's how I've got all of my responses and in a timely manner.

Glad I saw this thread. I was briefly considering Epoch 12V 105Ah - Group 24 (12105A-H). Epoch 12V 105Ah spec sheet and data sheet have different numbers: e.g. "charge voltage: 14.2" on data sheet, "charge voltage range: 14.0-14.6" on spec sheet, with recommended charge 14.4 there on page 2; max discharge 100A on data sheet, but 105A on spec sheet, and recommended discharge per data sheet is 80A, not noted on spec sheet. Sloppy.

I've read reports that the build is solid, so maybe best of breed as far as it goes among the current offerings, for those that don't want to DIY. Epoch's "11-year warranty" formula after initial three-year free repair or replacement is:
(original purchase price) x (months since purchase / 132) = payment for repair or replacement

For the sake of discussion, let's say your Epoch 105Ah fails at year 3.5 (as my RELiON RB100 has, down to 70% capacity). That's 42 months since purchase, so $400 * (42/132) = $127.27 would be the charge for repair or replacement, and you also have to factor in the cost of shipping a 22-lb battery with packaging to them (about $35 right now via UPS Ground), plus, if you didn't save the box, $25 plus shipping for them to send you a suitable box. Let's say around $200 all told. $200 is better than $400, yes. I'd probably repair it myself or replace outright, if I wasn't inclined to repair. (For comparison, replacing my failing battery would cost about $720 under RELiON's terms, not including shipping back the failing unit. That's based on 26650 cylindrical cells, however, so repair would require some work.)

I'm skeptical of support through FB. Not on FB, and certainly not gonna sign up to get mfr support. Buyers, do your due diligence.

OP, what's your issue prompting warranty support? I may go with an Epoch: hard to beat a good build with heat around EVE prismatic cells for $400. I'll just remember that it's got a three-year warranty. Still, an upgrade of my current DIY portable build to a more robust 230Ah EVE prismatic core with separate BMS is more attractive--but more expensive.

 

[Magrathea]

Glad I saw this thread. I was briefly considering Epoch 12V 105Ah - Group 24 (12105A-H). Epoch 12V 105Ah spec sheet and data sheet have different numbers: e.g. "charge voltage: 14.2" on data sheet, "charge voltage range: 14.0-14.6" on spec sheet, with recommended charge 14.4 there on page 2; max discharge 100A on data sheet, but 105A on spec sheet, and recommended discharge per data sheet is 80A, not noted on spec sheet. Sloppy.

I've read reports that the build is solid, so maybe best of breed as far as it goes among the current offerings, for those that don't want to DIY. Epoch's "11-year warranty" formula after initial three-year free repair or replacement is:
(original purchase price) x (months since purchase / 132) = payment for repair or replacement

For the sake of discussion, let's say your Epoch 105Ah fails at year 3.5 (as my RELiON RB100 has, down to 70% capacity). That's 42 months since purchase, so $400 * (42/132) = $127.27 would be the charge for repair or replacement, and you also have to factor in the cost of shipping a 22-lb battery with packaging to them (about $35 right now via UPS Ground), plus, if you didn't save the box, $25 plus shipping for them to send you a suitable box. Let's say around $200 all told. $200 is better than $400, yes. I'd probably repair it myself or replace outright, if I wasn't inclined to repair. (For comparison, replacing my failing battery would cost about $720 under RELiON's terms, not including shipping back the failing unit. That's based on 26650 cylindrical cells, however, so repair would require some work.)

I'm skeptical of support through FB. Not on FB, and certainly not gonna sign up to get mfr support. Buyers, do your due diligence.

OP, what's your issue prompting warranty support? I may go with an Epoch: hard to beat a good build with heat around EVE prismatic cells for $400. I'll just remember that it's got a three-year warranty. Still, an upgrade of my current DIY portable build to a more robust 230Ah EVE prismatic core with separate BMS is more attractive--but more expensive.

So to be clear there is no issue with the battery, the battery has been solid in my few days of testing, the issue is entirely with the warranty registration process and a realization that if something were to go wrong down the line then I'm on my own.

My biggest piece of advice is that if you do buy the battery(And they do seem like good batteries, rebaged Roypow's) then buy it from a good/reputable distributor, rather than Epoch themselves.

I'm not even remotely a fan of them running their support through facebook, I don't use facebook, and it's annoying that I'll have to spin up an account just to get support, but I already have the battery so it is what it is.

A lesson I'm learning quickly is that this industry is the wild wild west, and that due diligence has to be done with everyone you give your money to, moreso than any other industry I have experience with. Hopefully this thread serves as information for someone else down the line.

 

[abeness]

A lesson I'm learning quickly is that this industry is the wild wild west

Truer words...

If support will ultimately be provided by Epoch, why would purchasing from a reputable distributer be better? Do distributers actually facilitate support in this wild west environment? And, can you recommend any such?

Glad to hear the batteries are working out so far.

 

[Magrathea]

Truer words...

If support will ultimately be provided by Epoch, why would purchasing from a reputable distributer be better? Do distributers actually facilitate support in this wild west environment? And, can you recommend any such?

Glad to hear the batteries are working out so far.

So another thing I've learned about this stuff is that a lot of these companies provide warranty support through the distributors, for instance Victron, if you need help they just send you to whoever you bought it from. Not really an Epoch issue, as you said, just something you have to look out for.

I've had a positive experience with Current Connected, and Van Life Outfitters.

 

[abeness]

OK, thanks!

 

[TRUG]

I already regret my purchase. They seem like a SHADY American company.

 

[JeromeS13]

I already regret my purchase. They seem like a SHADY American company.

What issues are you having?

 

[Digital DIY]

I find the discussion about warranty interesting. I just replaced by GC8 batteries with an EPOCH kit. The attached is what it looked like before I locked it all down. The batteries came 49% charged and everything seems to work correctly. My GC8 batteries ($1200 cost) never lasted beyond 3 years, therefore my ROI on this setup ($1699) is 4.2 years. If it goes longer, it is a bonus. Who knows if the company will be in business in 11 years. In 5 years there may be another alternative even better, but for now I am satisfied.