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Source for litium batteries.

BLS (China) BLS-lithium iron phosphate LiFePO4 battery ,LTO Battery and systems – BLS...

I consider this outfit reliable, and is where I bought our LiFePo4 cells from.

16Pcs/Lot Deep Cycle 200AH lifepo4 battery.
$2498.00 delivered. Payment with PayPal.
Ordered on 8-22, received on 9-13
14 cells within 5mV as delivered. One cell .016V over, one cell .014V under average of 3.298V. Parallel connected those 2 cells for 3 hours and all are within 6mV.
Excellent packaging.
Good pre-sale communication. Fair after sale.
I asked for 19 pc buss bar, they sent 20. I'm not going to use them. See below.*

Possible caveats:
Tracking number was of no use. Supposedly was to receive a different number after U.S. Customs, but never did. Batteries arrived, unannounced, Friday while we were away. (NOT a caveat...delighted to get them, but I did have some question about the legitimacy of the seller, prior to delivery)
Good size battery terminals, *but only 6M tapped holes for clamping conductors. They came with studs and nuts, so that's far better than using only screws. Probably not an issue for 1 or 2P packs. I have some concerns about passing the current of a 4P pack through multiple bus bars with limited clamping. I'll be making my own nickel plated copper 4P buss bars that will eliminate all of the cell interconnects, and provide a solid connection point for cables, and convenient point for BMS connections.

Overall, a good buying experience and would buy from BLS again.

Greg
Greg & Cathy
2000 U320 4010 DGFE Build #5650
Had: 1999 Tradewinds 7370

Re: Source for litium batteries.

Reply #2 –
Greg and David,

Your batteries look terrific. Pretty good price, low weight, etc. David, with your set, you could put 1300 watts on the roof, buy a controller, wiring, etc and have it up and running for less than $3000. That's pretty inexpensive.

I've purchased hundreds of items from China and never gotten a reliable tracking number. I bought a Russian 300mm sniper camera lens off ebay. Shipped from Russia to Japan and then to Los Angeles in less than 24 hours. U.S. Customs held on to it for almost a month before I received it. I had a good Japanese tracking number so I could see exactly when it had arrived in LA.

Are both of your battery sets installed and how do they work so far?

Pierce
Pierce and Gaylie Stewart
'93 U300/36 WTBI
Detroit 6V-92TA Jake
1140 watts on the roof
SBFD (ret)

Re: Source for litium batteries.

Reply #3 –
Quote from: Pierce & Gaylie Stewart –
Greg and David,

Your batteries look terrific. Pretty good price, low weight, etc. David, with your set, you could put 1300 watts on the roof, buy a controller, wiring, etc and have it up and running for less than $3000. That's pretty inexpensive.

I've purchased hundreds of items from China and never gotten a reliable tracking number. I bought a Russian 300mm sniper camera lens off ebay. Shipped from Russia to Japan and then to Los Angeles in less than 24 hours. U.S. Customs held on to it for almost a month before I received it. I had a good Japanese tracking number so I could see exactly when it had arrived in LA.

Are both of your battery sets installed and how do they work so far?

Pierce

Mine work great... Can run the AC with the solar all day pretty much.. I have 1200w solar up top now.. thinking of adding another panel or 2.. we will see.. I have them separated into 2 panels in series and 2 panels in parallel

Re: Source for litium batteries.

Reply #4 –
I am wondering about charging these LiFePO4 batteries.

Some battery companies originally suggested special chargers that sample each cell in a pack to be sure the voltages stay balanced.

What does the Chinese seller suggest and what special charger, if any, are you using? Jim
Jim Frerichs
2002 U320 42'

Re: Source for litium batteries.

Reply #5 –
You need a good BMS system for these batteries from China.  And a smart charger for them as well.  Solar will work well when there is sun.  Charging while driving has several options. I chose a Sterling Battery to Battery charger.

Do these have any warranty!
Roger Engdahl and Susan Green
2001 U320 3610 #5879 (Home2) - 2014 Jeep Cherokee or 2018 F150
Hastings, MN

Re: Source for litium batteries.

Reply #6 –
Quote from: DavidS –
Mine work great... Can run the AC with the solar all day pretty much.. I have 1200w solar up top now.. thinking of adding another panel or 2.. we will see.. I have them separated into 2 panels in series and 2 panels in parallel
Smart arrangement. That is exactly what I did. Still managed to shock myself during the wiring installation behind the controller. 72 volts is a lot better than 144 volts. Still only brought 4 wires down from the roof. Since our controller is rated at 150 volts and and the series wiring brings 144 volts down at rated output, you would think that is fine, but before and as the sun is coming up on very cold morning, the panel voltage goes well above the rating on the back side label. Solar panel rating is at 25 C/77F. On the other hand, temps above 90 will see a 10 to 25 percent loss. This is why I chose a series/parallel wiring arrangement.

Pierce
Pierce and Gaylie Stewart
'93 U300/36 WTBI
Detroit 6V-92TA Jake
1140 watts on the roof
SBFD (ret)

Re: Source for litium batteries.

Reply #7 –
Is this a 200 amp total system or higher?
Having built a 1000 amp system using 4 1000 amphour Winston cells a few years ago, which is still being used by a friend in his Newell, I'd also highly suggest to get a BMS for your system.  It could be an expensive mistake to overcharge or under discharge these cells, which the BMS should prevent.
You'll definitely enjoy getting the lead out!  My 300 amphour system has worked great on our Alaska trip.
Forest & Cindy Olivier
1987 log cabin
2011 Roadtrek C210P
no longer 1999 36' U320 build #5522
2013 Rzr 570 & 2018 Ranger XP1000
2006 Lexus GX470
2011 Tahoe LT 4x4
Previous 1998 45' 2 slide Newell, 1993 39' Newell

Re: Source for litium batteries.

Reply #8 –
LiFePO4 batteries from Battle Born of Reno, NE, who was selling at Minot FMCA recently, has the BMS built into each 100 Ah battery. Recently I installed 6 of their batteries, complimented by my existing 1000 watts of solar. Their batteries are more expensive though it might be a financial wash because you do not need an external BMS and I am using my existing inverter/charger. The coach weight savings was about 500 pounds over the previous 4 gels (naturally that allowed me to load more tools. Ha!)

Home - Battle Born Batteries preciously

Jim

2002 U320 42'
Jim Frerichs
2002 U320 42'

Re: Source for litium batteries.

Reply #9 –
Quote from: Jim Frerichs –
I am wondering about charging these LiFePO4 batteries.

Some battery companies originally suggested special chargers that sample each cell in a pack to be sure the voltages stay balanced.

What does the Chinese seller suggest and what special charger, if any, are you using? Jim
Victron inverter/charger will work.. also they have charge controllers for the solar

I have all victron

Re: Source for litium batteries.

Reply #10 –
Any Lithium battery setup will have to have a bms to be sure you don't ruin them. To spend that much cash and not protect your investment would not be wise.
I like  Victron. They cost more, but they are a reputable company.
I too have all Victron. Only 600 amp hours though would like to double that one day.
Bob
'99 U320 40 WTFE
Build #5462,
1500 Watts Solar 600 amp Victron lithium
2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland Hemi
Instagram bobfnbw
Retired
 

Re: Source for litium batteries.

Reply #11 –
@ Pierce

Ours are still in the cartons. I plan to install them, and the entire system including 2kW of PV, in a few weeks. I've been working on our coach almost every day since Memorial Day and it's getting close to crunch time... 6 weeks from today will be our first outing with the partial refurb/upgrades. Due to the condition of the original fridge (nasty) and recent postings of fridge fires on various sites,  I placed the residential upgrade near the top of my looong list. IMO, that made the PV install a must have before any real dry camping. The 3 8D gel batteries that came with the coach were junk. I installed a 100AH AGM as a temporary house batt to hold us over for the one short trip we took over Mem. Day weekend. I decided to install the LiFePo4 and PV before we bought this coach. I put 220W of PV on our last coach about 10 years ago, so PV on our "new" coach was a given.

 I did my first PV/battery backup install in the early 90's. We've been off the grid in our stationary home since 2004. The LiFePo4 is a first for me. With all of the information available here, and elsewhere, this DIY install is a no-brainer. ^.^d

Greg
Greg & Cathy
2000 U320 4010 DGFE Build #5650
Had: 1999 Tradewinds 7370