LiTime 12V 100Ah LiFePO4 Battery BCI Group 31 Lithium Battery Built-in… › Customer reviews

Top positive review

Positive reviews›

5.0 out of 5 starsExceptionally Good for It’s Price Point

Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2021

I bought two of these batteries (12V 100ah). First ordered one to test, satisfied I ordered a second. Both Received On-Time, Good Packaging. Extra terminal bolts provided each. Documentation is good, clear values for User programmed chargers.
These are setup in series now to form a 24V 100ah battery pack. I opted to pay more by having two batteries rather than one 24V battery for a few reasons. As stated above, I was concerned with the quality and wanted to test one battery before doubling down for twice the expense. Second, these batteries have a battery management system which is internal to the battery. If it goes bad, chances are the battery will be useless. Having two go bad is unlikely. So I can always reconfigure my system to run from the good 12V battery. Finally, I have a lot of 12V stuff and having a pair of very good 12V batteries gives me more options.
These batteries are well built, case seems generic but sturdy. Especially happy with the Terminals, they seem very firmly mounted to the case and hold connections tight.
I’ve run several capacity checks on this, but the only full capacity test I made would be characterized as a .1C test. That is a constant discharge of 100watts, but in my case it was a refrigerator with defrost so when it did run it was about 110watts and about 330watts during the defrost cycle.
I was expecting it to run about 39hours but it only made 32 hours. However, then I worked in the inverter efficiency (90%) and the vampire power used by the inverter even when it is not generating wattage. I did several different discharge tests and always got above 95% of the rated watt/hours. That is excellent considering the price point on these batteries in comparison to other similar batteries.
I DO NOT recommend any PWM charger with these. I tried charging the battery with a Renogy Voyager and the pulses exceeded the max voltage causing the Battery’s Management System to disconnect. Even though this Renogy charger has a LifePO4 setting. I contacted Renogy they were no help, I also contacted AmperTime and the good news is they actually responded. But I knew what the problem was and it simply was not a battery or Battery Management System issue. Needless to say I bought an MPPT charger, EPEVER Triron and it works great. But that is for another review.
Couple more notes. I am shocked at how lightweight this battery is, they weigh about a third of what a typical flooded battery would. Every time I pick them up I am surprised by their lightweight. I am sure RV people will appreciate this.
The max voltage I got on these batteries is 13.5V after it settles, I was expecting 14.4V. Without making this longer, don’t worry about it. It is a weird charge curve and 13.5V is basically 99% charge. My discharge test confirm these batteries will perform to there approximate 100ah rating.
In Summary, very happy, highly recommended and I did buy two, perhaps get more in the future.

Top critical review

Critical reviews›

3.0 out of 5 starsLithium batteries for solar power

Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2024

Lighter then most batteries but come with a handle to carry them. Size is like traditional batteries. Great power source and very versatile.
My major issue, is one battery does not work and hold a charge as well as the other. This has cause me issues. I tried to get a replacement for the battery, but they want the battery back first. Which I could not do or I would have no solar power then (I live offgrid). So I have had to keep the defective battery. Now it seems they do not require the battery back anymore?? Nonetheless, I have ordered 2 more batteries for my solar power system to make running my AC easier. These were recommended by my solar power place to replace their very expensive batteries, as another customer used them. If they replaced the one defective battery, I would give them 5 stars.