Is my Valence LiFePO4 DOA?

[BowerBoy]

First of all, I am new to this forum and it looks great. I look forward to learning a lot and making some friends.
A few months ago I bought a used Valence U1-12RT LiFePO4 battery on eBay from what seemed to be a reputable dealer, although 'no returns' was stipulated. I got very busy but I finally got around to opening the carton and checking it out (one month after receiving?) There were no terminals but threaded sockets with a "10" on there and a #10 threaded bolt went in nicely. I believe I used stainless steel. There was no status light then or now. I connected my Schumacher Speed Charge that I use frequently on lead-acid batteries and waited . . . and waited. Nothing. Being new to Li, I am wondering if this was bad when I got it, I killed it through neglect or if I am not charging it correctly.
Any insight and/or suggestions appreciated.

 

[john61ct]

OK, first off, unless an eBay vendor classifies an auction as "for parts only", as long as they state "used" that means they gaurantee it is in good working condition.

No matter if they try to intimidate you with "no returns", you just tell them the magic phrase "Not As Described" and if they don't offer you a make-good you're happy with, they have to refund and even pay the return shipping.

PayPal will enforce that, if eBay doesn't, and if you're smart you used your quality credit card from a US Bank as a third line of defense.

Assuming it was shipped with a paper trail, not Local Pickup.

However, must fall within the eBay guarantee period (dunno, 90 days?) but of course sooner the better.

Vendors CANNOT operate with bad feedback, so always give it a try even if past the date.

So most important, have your skillz and testing gear in order, so as soon as a product like this arrives you're ready to determine if you want to accept it or not.

And "don't be evil" and use these facts to scam sellers, or nice things will be taken away.

 

[BowerBoy]

Thanks for the good advice.

 

[john61ct]

Hope it was under $200.

Find the documentation for this battery, minimum a datasheet, ideally their in-house service manual, but a user manual would be OK.

Buy an ammeter and maybe also a DMM, so you can track both V & A concurrently, never trust the meters on a charge source.

Do you have access to the cell-level balancing leads? To at least measure voltages?

If not,

Get a charge source with adjustable voltage in the 13.8V range up to 14.2-4V, down to 12.8-13V

and at least 20A current,

Does not need to be "a charger", a PSU lab-type or server/telecom surplus will do,

but **must** be current limiting, ideally adjustable, that last essential if over 40A.

If yes to the balance leads, invest in a quality RC type "hobby charger", at least 300W 500W up would be better.

Of course all this assumes you are committed to caring for a LFP bank regardless of this particular battery.

 

[fechter]

There may be a BMS board inside the case that cut off. If the cells were allowed to sit too long without charging they can discharge to the point where the BMS cuts off and you can no longer charge. You would need to open the case to measure directly on the cells to find out. The case is probably glued together, so it may be hard to open without damaging it.

I think it's a safety rule that they ship lithium batteries with less than 30% state of charge, so they can't last too long on the shelf at that level. Battery may have been sitting around the seller's place for a long time before shipping too.

 

[john61ct]

There are several different sellers of these, been coming on line about a month now.

The one sounded better to me was taking them off OTR trucks' eAPUs.

Full monitoring gear counting cycles, min/max etc, general impression is IMO under 20% of lifecycles used up. Valence is top notch kit to start with too.

But I still wouldn't pat more than $150-200 for a 100Ah unit, and test the heck out of it upon arrival.

They're going for a lot more than that though, just goes to show how thin on the ground USA distribution channels are for good LFP brand new CALB, Sinopoly, GBS, Winston should be going for $6-700 max for 4x 100Ah cells, brand new from a US-based distributor with decent warranty handling.

They could actually sell the cells at low margins, and make huge profits off consulting, service contracts and accessories.

 

[john61ct]

Is this your seller?
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=102490

 

[PaulD]

There was no status light then or now.

In my experience, no status light means either a cell or two below minimum voltage or a bad BMS board. Did you measure a voltage on the terminals?
Return shipping will be an issue since a battery that size needs to ship fully regulated dangerous goods. They should just refund you.