364Wh 36V A123 LiFePO4 packs w/ case $47@BCH

https://www.batteryclearinghouse.com/products/lot-of-144-cells-used-a123-anr26659m1b-lifep04-3-3v-2500mah-in-3-emc-packs
Edit: Sale is over, so price is now $140 ($47/ea) for three 364Wh 12s4p A123 ANR26659M1B LiFePO4 packs. There were coupon-code sales for $112 on Black Friday and $105 in early March, so maybe there will be more sales later in the year...

Let's share info in this thread. Here's what I've figured out:

* ANR26659M1B specs: https://www.batteryspace.com/prod-specs/6610.pdf

* These are grade-A cells (has stripes around the negative pole, and has more numbers than just "ANR26659M1B" printed on the wrapper).
https://www.thunderheartreviews.com/2018/08/lifepo4-a123-systems-anr26650m1b-grade.html

* The full plastic case is included, and it's perfectly-sized for a bicycle rear rack. (photo below)

* To open the case, you need a Torx T10 with a narrow 2-inch-log shaft (so Torx screwdriver/key will work, but not a Torx bit).

* The pack is from a Dell EMC, so these are probably backup batteries used in data centers, meaning they've probably had near-zero charge-discharge cycles so far.

* I bought three of these packs back in December, and have been using the first pack. It's working fine on my ebike. I rode 15 miles at full throttle (350W controller), including a couple big hills, only pedaling on the hills, and one of the P-groups hit 2.7V just a couple hundred yards before arriving back home.

* It comes with a BMS. Is it possible to reuse the BMS? I just removed mine, without attempting to charge through it, bypass it for bulk charging, or otherwise figure it out. The battery works fine without a BMS (photo below, just has beepers to prevent overdischarge, and a $4 CCCV buck converter for very slow charging from a laptop power supply), although I would like to add a BMS and a 42V charger.

* Daly 20A 12S 36V separate port LiFePO4 BMS is $14.45 (free shipping); common port is $16.91; 15A is $13.60.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32924207294.html
The 20A common port version is $9.90/ea (5pc minimum).
https://dalyelec.en.alibaba.com/product/62442139979-815280659/LiFepo4_bms_36V_12S_20A_60A_PCM_PCB_common_port_for_3_2V_LiNCM_battery_pack_18650_Lithion_Ion_Battery_Pack_protection_board.html
Is there a Daly BMS manual somewhere?

* So far, I haven't seen any need to disassemble the pack. I'm thinking it would only make sense to dissassemble a few below-par P-groups (not the whole pack), and only after identifying them by measuring each P-group's capacity.

*YouTube videos about this pack:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3-jM2bi-kY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jPYyGjWqck

A123 are such fantastic cells

that any mention of poor performing instances in a used pack

would make me very wary of the whole lot.

Atomizing each pack and individually testing each cell capacity would be my reco.

Why would you not have the BMS installed inside the battery, similar to this image?

InfamousFruitHunter said:

Why would you not have the BMS installed inside the battery, similar to this image?

Click to expand...

That's what I'm going to do. I ordered a 20A separate-port Daly BMS (is that what's in your photo?), so my pack will look like yours within a month or so.

bancars said:

Is there a Daly BMS manual somewhere?

Click to expand...

Not that I have been able to find and I have searched on-line high and low. The only thing that I have been able to are the notes as in the add for the ones you listed. I have one coming in Friday (common port) and hope that it comes with documentation. If it does then I will publish it somewhere.

Frankly, I think that the notes/pictures in the first listing is the best you are going to get.

I ordered some from the same source but I purchased the ones that came as 10 packs with 8 cells in each pack.

My intentions is to build some 12 Volt (4S1P and 4S2P) modules for use with UPS's and a mini PCB cell spot welder. I figure with tax and shipping these cost me about $1.25 per cell. Cheap enough to experiment with.

What is intriguing about the ABC123 ANR26659M1B cells is that they are rated for 120 Amps burst for 10 seconds.
I saw a video on Youtube where someone actually used a 4S1P pack to start a car.
https://youtu.be/X8HoW-qmxnU

The cell tabs have to be unsoldered from the circuit board to 'salvage' the cells. That leaves one with cells that already have short tab welded in place. I am NOT removing the tabs because I saw where someone did that with these cells and tore holes in the positive end of the battery. With the tabs in place, I may just solder 14 AWG cables between the battery tabs as needed.



The packs I received were dated January 2016 so the cells are at least five years old. My little OPUS charger will only let me test two at a time (4-1/2 hours)***. I am going to hack together a 8 cell holder so I can use my ISDN Q8 to charge and test the cells. Thus far the few cells that I have tested have come out around 2500 mAh. They may old but apparently they were not used very often. That makes sense as one person reported that these packs came from Dell disks arrays used for the purpose of backup when power failed.


*** The OPUS has internal hidden switch that has to be set to 3.7 volts for LiFePO4 cells.