LiitoKala 3.2V 280Ah LifFePo4 Prismatic cells sell at AliExpress - Be aware of LOW Capacity! DO NOT BUY!

[VincentLe]

I have just received 8 cells LiitoKala 3.2V 280Ah LifFePo4 Prismatic cells.

178.2US $ 46% OFF|Liitokala 3.2v 280ah Lifepo4 Lithium Battery 3.2v Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery For Diy Battery Pack Inverter Vehicle Rv - Rechargeable Batteries - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

It took some time for shipping to Canada. All cells are well packing, brand new, no complains.
I did three tests of full charge and discharge and found that all these 280Ah cells have indeed about 229Ah, which is much below 280Ah the advertised on the AliExpress web site . I know if if all cells are good, one test is enough, but wanted to make sure that my conclusion is statistically correct.
I use Daly 150A 8S BMS, the charge current is around 20A, and discharge current lowest is 4.17A, highest is over 30A.

The seller shipped cells without QR code (see photo attached) instead of cells with QR code on the web site. I strongly believe they intentionally ship low-grade cells to customer for their maximum benefits.

 

[Diysolar123]

hence my post months ago about that liitokala; their real company slogan is...low prices...low quality.. and low capacity.
I had to send in a 12hour long video of my entire test procedure for even aliexpress to support my complaint of "not as advertised"...and I got $50 back. In order to get a full refund they want YOU to pay FULL shipping to return everything hehe

 

[VincentLe]

further technical details: due to cell bad quality, different voltage of cells reach the threshold set in the DALY BMS near the full charge and discharge. See photos attached

 

[VincentLe]

hence my post months ago about that liitokala; their real company slogan is...low prices...low quality.. and low capacity.
I had to send in a 12hour long video of my entire test procedure for even aliexpress to support my complaint of "not as advertised"...and I got $50 back. In order to get a full refund they want YOU to pay FULL shipping to return everything hehe

>>they want YOU to pay FULL shipping to return everything hehe
That is really their dirty trick. They of course can cheat customer ONE time, but not second time. I post this thread to warn other people.

 

[Gazoo]

further technical details: due to cell bad quality, different voltage of cells reach the threshold set in the DALY BMS near the full charge and discharge. See photos attached

The photos on Aliexpress are EVE cells. Not sure who the manufacturer is of the photo you posted. Did you weigh one of the cells to see if it weighs at least 5kg's?

Were the cells advertised as capacity matched cells? Did you parallel top balance? If you parallel top balance your Delta at the top will be lower but your Delta at the bottom might be higher.

A good test is to fully charge the cells and then let them sit with nothing connected for a day to see how much the cells self discharge. Finally does your BMS agree with your capacity tester as far as the ah's? If they are only 229ah's then that sucks. But doing the things I posted above will give you more ammunition for a refund.

 

[time2roll]

My 310 Ah Liitokala came in very close to full capacity. Although one cell was closer to 290 and kinda kills the battery. I had expected 300 so it is just 3% less than expected for me.

Has your BMS or manual calculation confirmed the lower capacity?

 

[VincentLe]

The photos on Aliexpress are EVE cells. Not sure who the manufacturer is of the photo you posted. Did you weigh one of the cells to see if it weighs at least 5kg's?

Were the cells advertised as capacity matched cells? Did you parallel top balance? If you parallel top balance your Delta at the top will be lower but your Delta at the bottom might be higher.

A good test is to fully charge the cells and then let them sit with nothing connected for a day to see how much the cells self discharge. Finally does your BMS agree with your capacity tester as far as the ah's? If they are only 229ah's then that sucks. But doing the things I posted above will give you more ammunition for a refund.

I'm not sure they were EVE cells, because there are no labels at all on them. If you are right, so my assumption is correct: these are EVE bad quality cells, don't meet the QC and EVE discarded them. The seller collects them, put another name on them, which is LiitoKala, and sells them on AliExpress.
The voltage of each cell is well matched for 8 cells, that why I didn't do parallel balance. From my tests, I realized that cells randomly loosing balance at top and bottom during charge and discharge, from range 22% to 95%, the different voltage is about 0.003V, but out of that range that diff voltage is rapidly reaching over my threshold set for cells in BMS, that why maximum capacity measured is lower than 280Va.
Thank you for your advice.

 

[VincentLe]

My 310 Ah Liitokala came in very close to full capacity. Although one cell was closer to 290 and kinda kills the battery. I had expected 300 so it is just 3% less than expected for me.

Has your BMS or manual calculation confirmed the lower capacity?

Do your 310 Ah Liitokala come with QR code on top of each cell?
I think cells passing the QC having QR code. Mine have no QR code.
I configure my DALY 150A with 280Ah

 

[Bud Martin]

Pix #5 shows 26.1V that means each cell is only about 3.262V.
Did you try just charge one battery to 3.55 ~ 3.60V and the perform capacity test?
My batteries take in about 223Ah of charging to bring it up from around 3.28V to 3.55V.

Exliporc 280Ah REPT batteries received 6-24-2021

I just received my four 280Ah batteries ($85 ea $103 shiping charge) I order from Exliporc on April 27, shipped on May 10th, received on June 24th. I sign up with the UPS to get the tracking to see what is going on, Exliporc told me on the June 21st that the shipment has been sitting at the port...

diysolarforum.com

 

[sprint2freedom]

The voltage of each cell is well matched for 8 cells, that why I didn't do parallel balance.

There's your problem.

 

[VincentLe]

Pix #5 shows 26.1V that means each cell is only about 3.262V.
Did you try just charge one battery to 3.55 ~ 3.60V and the perform capacity test?

Pix#5 illustrates for my low load discharge. The time I took that photo was at the middle, you can see passing time on the last line.
I charge ALL cells with BMS. Testing each cell cost too much time, but of course I support your approach. The attached photo when cable is not attached to BMS yet.

 

[VincentLe]

There's your problem.

What's the problem?

 

[sprint2freedom]

What's the problem?

You decided not to top balance because the cell voltages were well matched.

Voltage is a poor indicator of state-of-charge except at the very top (or very bottom). That's the whole reason for top balancing, to get above the flat part of the voltage-soc curve.

Without a balanced pack, your capacity tests will come in low due to one cell reaching the cutoff voltage before the others.

 

[VincentLe]

You decided not to top balance because the cell voltages were well matched.

Voltage is a poor indicator of state-of-charge except at the very top (or very bottom). That's the whole reason for top balancing, to get above the flat part of the voltage-soc curve.

Without a balanced pack, your capacity tests will come in low due to one cell reaching the cutoff voltage before the others.

It makes sense and I understand that, but your comment is valid. That why I decided to do two more tests after the first test with low capacity: total full 3 tests and observed carefully all cells during charge and discharge processes. I saw the diff voltages all over cells from cell 1 to 8, especially at low and top these diff values are big hence cutoff from BMS. Later I did balance cells but the capacity obtained is lower than I had for the 3 first tests (only 224 Ah). This is not my first build.

 

[sprint2freedom]

Later I did balance cells but the capacity obtained is lower than I had for the 3 first tests (only 224 Ah).

Out of curiosity, what method did you use for top balancing?

 

[time2roll]

Do your 310 Ah Liitokala come with QR code on top of each cell?
I think cells passing the QC having QR code. Mine have no QR code.
I configure my DALY 150A with 280Ah

I don't recall specifically if it even had QR stickers. I could tell they were scratched off underneath the black sticker covering the top.

Yes these things seem to be a scavenger hunt in a dumpster fire.

Did you ever assemble your cells in series and get a capacity reading from the BMS? If so how were the cell voltages at the top vs bottom?

 

[VincentLe]

Out of curiosity, what method did you use for top balancing?

dismounted all cells, connect them in parallel leave them for one night, then charge this whole parallel unit until its full (3.68V). I use a Longwei 30V/10A power supply and adjust the voltage charge to reach 3.68V (this value I set on my DALY BMS as well - "cell volt high protect")

 

[VincentLe]

Did you ever assemble your cells in series and get a capacity reading from the BMS? If so how were the cell voltages at the top vs bottom?

I don't really understand what you mean "get a capacity reading from the BMS". The capacity I have is on the DC digital voltmeter 300V/100A tester, see photos on my first post. After the SOC 100% I measured all cells, the whole set but that doesn't provide much valid information about the capacity of battery capacity. I set capacity at 280Ah on BMS.
Besides voltage of each cell, whole set, can be monitored via your phone app of DALY BMS, if you purchase a BMS with bluetooth.

 

[Gazoo]

I'm not sure they were EVE cells, because there are no labels at all on them.

I am saying the photos of the cells on the Aliexpress are definitely EVE cells. The photo you posted are definitely not EVE cells.

I don't really understand what you mean "get a capacity reading from the BMS".

I think what we both are saying is to use something else other than the capacity tester you used to verify the capacity of the cells. 229ah's is low even for a Grade B cell. Also weigh one of the cells. A 280ah cell weighs at least 5kg's.

 

[VincentLe]

I am saying the photos of the cells on the Aliexpress are definitely EVE cells. The photo you posted are definitely not EVE cells.


I think what we both are saying is to use something else other than the capacity tester you used to verify the capacity of the cells. 229ah's is low even for a Grade B cell. Also weigh one of the cells. A 280ah cell weighs at least 5kg's.

Ok. Thanks for clarification. I will weight all cells to see if each cell has > 5 kgs then let everyone knows.