Battery-matrix vendor review

Hi all
I thought I'd share my 2 experiences with buying through battery-matrix.com, as ive seen a few post asking about this vendor and no answers. i was quite concerned about ordering though this company initially because i couldnt find any positive reviews- only one negative rant (cant remeber where).
their web site is a PITA! it works about 50% of the time, but their kits are nice, lots of options and it was what i was looking for. this was my ever first lithium purchase.
free shipping was the cincher!

The first batery pack i bought was a DIY 24v 30ah headway 40152 kit (8s2p) (charger bms and all other stuff incl), the second was a dual order of two DIY 36v 15ah headway 40152 kits(8s1p)- dito
The first order went well, but was slow to arrive ~5wks IIRC and req several prompting emails for comms. it was packaged adequately, all items present, cells (16x15ah 40152) all 3.32-3.33v OA, EMC charger (5A).
this pack has been good over the last year with all cells performing well, i upgraded to a bigger BMS than the 30/60 supplied but while i was using it, the BMS worked. the EMC charger still works and has survived 2-3days/wk back pack commutes for nearly a year.
the second order (oct 13) was a slightly different story...
i ordered two 36v 15ah DIY headway kits (one for a friend as well).
same delay~ 5weeks with numerous emails to find out what was happening, but it arrived.
on inspection:
one charger, missing tabs for sensor wires, 22 good cells @ 3.34v OA and two (i think)1st generation cells (white end caps, 4 vent holes). the 2 suspect cells were unlabled and looked old (rusty ends) and voltages were down 3.15 and 3.17 IIRC
hmmm...
to their credit (initally) after a couple of emails a new charger arrived about 3 weeks later (KP brand).
the tabs i could live with- minor issue but annoying.
i put all the good stuff into my mates pack ( what a friend!)and monitored the two dodgy looking cells in my battery. as expected they were severely lacking in capacity dropping to 2.0v whilst the others were all still good- this was after about 20kms of riding.
after about 2wks use the 2nd (requested) charger (kingpan) has died- ill try to fix it

ive emailed BM to get replacement cells and charger around xmas. initially they were very positive
"thankyou for your support of our company, do not worry we will supply you with two new cells"
then chinese new year
then more positive sounding emails
and more....
but no action :-(
im still hoping that they will come through with their promise.
ill keep you all posted with any updates, but dont hold your breath!

so all up... too small a sample size (P=3), two good packs, one dodgy one, a bit slow, great prices with the free shipping,i love the DIY kit format they have... however QC seems to be a big issue.
customer service has been hit and miss- sometimes reasonable... other times not so sure.

kdog

so my last email efforts fell silent, and now it apears that the website no longer exists.
i guess that's the end of battery-matrix
kdog

I have sent them several mails about stuff I would like to order.
Guess what........no replies at all....

So i think I will pass this vendor.... 8)

headways do self discharge to lower resting voltage when sitting for long times. mine have gone all the way down to .5V on some when sitting for a year or longer.

did you measure the capacity of the cells you said were defective? when you said they discharged to 2V before the others, did you actually fully charge all of the cells to 3.65V initially and balance the pack under the BMS or did you just charge up until the charger light went off?

Now that I've bought quite a few other kits and ebike related things and have a bit of perspective, my opinion of them has dropped even further.
DM yes I did balance the pack ( manually) before putting it together , then did maybe 10 shallow cycles (with BMS) before the problem showed up.
The cells are prob OK, they were obviously older and a previous generation than the newer ones and lacked the same capacity. It's pretty poor to sell a mixed pack like that.
Since then (like a year or so) ive replaced every peice of the kit as they either failed or were of poor quality
Anyway steer clear unless they improve considerably.
Pity really cause I still love their selling format.
Kdog

i have headways of different ages too but most seem to be really robust. they all do drop coming off the charger. but that doesn't seem to affect capacity. they are heavy though.

How can you create a account at their website?
Prices are very nice compare to other vendors

I have made a order at their website.
After four weeks still no goods and no replies at emails.
Paypal claim has been made now.

So take your conclusion.....

hey boomer,
what happened with your order in the end?

As as Paypal claim rules, Paypal will give the seller some time to reply/taking a action to solve the problem. It was very silent at the seller side, so when days has been passed Paypal paid me back.

Big lesson never buy from this seller again!