Great 2 part video, never thought I’d enjoy watching battery videos but for now can’t get enough. I know you like Big Battery Co. but I’ll never do business with them again.
It would be interesting to see if after a few cycles this battery evens out a bit or if the capacity is permanently lost. I have had mixed results with LiFePO4 cells where some subjected to deep discharge, even flat sometimes came back to near full capacity after 4-5 cycles but I have had others, even some from the same batch of cells that were permanently degraded in some cases to less than 30% of original capacity. Then again 83% isn't bad for recovery on an otherwise dead pack. It may be a good idea to test one of the good cell groups with a full discharge cycle to see how much capacity difference it has as the other cells may also be less than the 300Ah stated capacity.
The new BMS is working well . That bad cell is the reason for not getting full capacity from the battery . Great test . When you get a chance , check out my solar videos , hit like & make a comment .May the solar be with you .
Thanks very much for this review. These batteries are a very good price, so I have been looking at them. This video has put a stop to that. Without knowing the state of the cells originally, its not really possible to say if they are the main cause of the problem. It's certainly true that the BMS was really junk and didn't appear to be balancing the cells and allowed overdischarge. The charger didn't look very good either. I noticed you used a different charger to do the job properly. I will look elsewhere for a better battery.
Yeah, it's really too bad because it's a super-strong enclosure too. I wish more would adopt this type of enclosure rather than the standard plasticy kinds. They just need to improve overall choice of components here...
I've had two of the SHUNBIN BMS units fail. Pulling the cells out and hooking up Overkill BMS 16s. When I purchased the SHUNBIN's in 2019, there wasn't anything even close to the price point. Using them for off grid house in Cabo San Lucas and electricity was a must.
I normally double over stranded wire where it enters a crimp connector, so it cinches tighter into the connector instead of pulling out. This will also help a lot when the lug is bigger than the wire!
Performing a wire wrap with something about as thick as stripped Cat6 Ethernet cable works quite well too. Those thick open barrel lugs and the big crimper look a good option and with a few tweaks will be pretty close to perfect in the mix and match stakes. Also good to see you applying a little Aluminox paste. I would have also used it on the aluminium busbar connections as it cuts through the oxides and prevents them reforming which is why aluminium lugs are filled with Aluminox and capped. All in all you have done as good as you can making strawberry jam from pig shit.
You can screw the bms into place. If you look close, the aluminium plates are connected to eachother by small screws. On 1 side is the screw, on the other side you can see the remaining thread. I used m3 screws which go into this available thread I would go for the 120a version of the bms, since that has 3 wires instead of 2. Also, get the version with bluetooth, only a few $$ more. Overkillsolar has them, or source them directly from cn (but thats going to take a lot longer) OverkillSolar also has a very comprehensive manual regarding this bms on its site
try charging pairs of balance leads with a PSU... I found many of the "balance chargers" etc don't really do a good job when the batteries are far out of sync.
070121/0208h PST 🇺🇸 further to the note below, please note the JBD BMS can be mounted on any metal surface by unscrewing all the M2X12mm flat head screws and replacing with M2X15mm screws and Mount the BMS on the existing Al (Aluminium) board, safely. No need to use double sided tape. FYI. Thanks and 73s…
You need the bluetooth module that connects to the bms and u can monitor all what is happening on the batteries and most important, u need to check the parameters of the bms.
I am struggling getting stated capacity of my battery, your teat rig looks interesting, can I use my victron shunt to do a similar test? Any advice on how to? Thx!
I have the Shunbin 24V 400Ah battery, or rather the 348Ah battery. The cells are actually 3.2V 174Ah x 16 (2P8S). Gotta love rounded-up marketing, ha ha. Was expecting a 10kWh battery, can only get about 8.9kWh capacity. Oh, and used unmatched cells to boot. My BMS bit the dust after about a year. Had to replace it. So, yes I agree, there's better choices out there these days. Was there any writing on each of the cells, 3.2V 100Ah (3P4S)? Or a lower Ah rating? If they're 90Ah cells, for instance, your capacity test might be better than you think, despite the presumably degraded cells. Might just need a bottom balance.
Good Video, Thanks. The SAD part in this whole "ShunBin" mess, they use good cases, properly line everything, take the time to laser weld busbars onto the cells, BUT they use a craptastic BMS and then more often than not use dubious grade/quality cells, even used one. The Irony is, with a respectable BMS (even a dumb one) it would be so much better. IF they made them with Used Cells but Tested/Matched and advertised it as such that would be fine. IF they used even New Bulk-Commodity cells that would be more acceptable for most AND they could even make Higher Quality packs using new Grade-A Matched LFP cells. They are like 75% of the way to something really good and DROP the Ball big time while Self-Harming the company brand/name... Pretty stupid IMO.
What Bluetooth BMS can I use for my ampere Time 200 ah plus I already opened the lid now I wanna put a better BMS with Bluetooth what one do I get and is my ampere Time a 4s2p configuration ?
HI, really thanks for your job, GREAT ! Now a 1M usd question....in a case like this, do you believe is it possible to change the "wrong" cell? I mean, i'm a solar off grid installer, thinking to buy quite 60-100 pcs new cells and arm my own battery pack. In teh case i discover a bad cell after one- two three years working, anyone knows if there is the chance to change it for a new one? If anyone works with lead acid, you know (like me) that it is impossible and a customer have only a chance, wait for the whole bank getting worse...and buy new complete battery bank.... let me hope in dreamfully fantasy...
@@mark_osborne 54kWh is worth a lot of coin and it would be ludicrous to use a cheap $10 BMS. Running such batteries without a safety is pretty risky on the investment. I'm running 5 LFP Packs, 1190AH/30.4kWh and each has a 300A BMS & QNBBM-8S Active Balancer because it is an investment worth protecting.
Sorry, 7 months late, but that BMS is just a JBD/Overkill, you can buy the Bluetooth module for about $7 and allow monitoring. I see it has the connector for that installed.
I only seen a few good reviews on these batteries after i ran across them, the price is right but the quality of the cells are terrible and what everyone griped about.
Another case of a battery "killed" by a cheap bms. Where possible I would always like to see an external display of individual cell voltages for peace of mind.
Believe it or not a crimp can be a superior connection to solder. If done properly you can get a cold weld, at atomic level. This is why a lot of old telecommunications equipment use wire wrap over solder. It’s superior both mechanically and electrically.
If you have already achieved a perfect crimp, a dab of solder (or sodder on the other side of the ditch) provides a nice environmental seal if you iron is hot enough and big enough so the solder doesn't wick into the cable. A good crimp and sticky heatshrink is a better option though. Soldering before crimping is a complete No No as the solder will creep, heat and burn. While we are talking about crimping, think about pre-insulated lugs, please never purchase or use " vinyl grip" lugs, track down and pay the premium for "Copper grip" lugs. Only Copper grip lugs are certified, critical applications like BMS cell sense leads can fail causing destruction if the cheap lugs are utilised.
Some will suggest soldering even with a crimp. BMS Battery sense leads also read Internal Resistance of the cells they are monitoring, not just cell voltage. If soldering is done and it is not a High Quality good solid connection it can & WILL introduce resistance which will throw off readings. ALWAYS verify BMS Harness Leads once the Ring Terminal is attached for connection & resistance. Make sure it is well connected to the Battery Cells PRIOR to connecting a BMS. One tiny mistake & the BMS is cooked instantly.
The truth is bigbattery aren't doing any better. I let it 2 more days of slow charging/discharging cycles to let the cells equalize before the capacity test.
@@LithiumSolar I saw the video from WP were it was leaking acid and the company send him replacement quickly for him to remove the video. Other sailing Hakuna had problems with his battery too, wires were loose inside.
@@neliosamch3195 I've seen Will's video and have been following the comments. The video is still up on his channel. From what I heard, he had a pre-production model and it was a QA issue with the batteries themselves. I took mine apart and closely inspected everything. I did not see any problems with mine.
@@LithiumSolar That is good. Keep an eye in the cells voltages. This chemistry tends to spikes the cells voltages after 3.4v. I won't charge them above 3.4v.
@@neliosamch3195 big battery never said to remove the video when they sent him new cells nor did they do it so he would remove the video. BB even told him that they examined all the cells they had in stock and found 11 out of like 10,000 that were also showing signs of leaking. Not sure where you got that from.
I can understand that perspective. Fact of the matter is you can polish a turd but it's still a turd. The core problem was the BMS, which is now fixed (replaced). I have no idea the original state of the batteries. I would bet money on them not testing anywhere near 100% when it was new. Another commenter told me he had a battery with 90Ah cells where they should have been 100Ah... The whole thing is just junk to be honest (except for the steel case...).
Great job. Thanks for the follow up. I enjoy watching your videos.
Interesting i watch both of you 😅
Met my expectation perfectly. LFP cells are showing abuse by capacity degradation! Easy identifiable with a multimeter. Good job!
Great 2 part video, never thought I’d enjoy watching battery videos but for now can’t get enough.
I know you like Big Battery Co. but I’ll never do business with them again.
Love to see real-life investigation / recovery (as practical) with
It would be interesting to see if after a few cycles this battery evens out a bit or if the capacity is permanently lost. I have had mixed results with LiFePO4 cells where some subjected to deep discharge, even flat sometimes came back to near full capacity after 4-5 cycles but I have had others, even some from the same batch of cells that were permanently degraded in some cases to less than 30% of original capacity. Then again 83% isn't bad for recovery on an otherwise dead pack. It may be a good idea to test one of the good cell groups with a full discharge cycle to see how much capacity difference it has as the other cells may also be less than the 300Ah stated capacity.
O U T S T A N D I N G ! ! I have learned so much from subscribing and watching your channel ! Thank You for providing a great learning experience.
The new BMS is working well . That bad cell is the reason for not getting full capacity from the battery . Great test . When you get a chance , check out my solar videos , hit like & make a comment .May the solar be with you .
Thanks very much for this review. These batteries are a very good price, so I have been looking at them. This video has put a stop to that. Without knowing the state of the cells originally, its not really possible to say if they are the main cause of the problem. It's certainly true that the BMS was really junk and didn't appear to be balancing the cells and allowed overdischarge. The charger didn't look very good either. I noticed you used a different charger to do the job properly. I will look elsewhere for a better battery.
Yeah, it's really too bad because it's a super-strong enclosure too. I wish more would adopt this type of enclosure rather than the standard plasticy kinds. They just need to improve overall choice of components here...
I've had two of the SHUNBIN BMS units fail. Pulling the cells out and hooking up Overkill BMS 16s. When I purchased the SHUNBIN's in 2019, there wasn't anything even close to the price point. Using them for off grid house in Cabo San Lucas and electricity was a must.
I normally double over stranded wire where it enters a crimp connector, so it cinches tighter into the connector instead of pulling out. This will also help a lot when the lug is bigger than the wire!
I wish I would have thought of that... Great tip, thanks!
Performing a wire wrap with something about as thick as stripped Cat6 Ethernet cable works quite well too. Those thick open barrel lugs and the big crimper look a good option and with a few tweaks will be pretty close to perfect in the mix and match stakes.
Also good to see you applying a little Aluminox paste. I would have also used it on the aluminium busbar connections as it cuts through the oxides and prevents them reforming which is why aluminium lugs are filled with Aluminox and capped.
All in all you have done as good as you can making strawberry jam from pig shit.
Another great repair and video.
@ 8:25 that's always a good idea.. 😂🤣😂
You can screw the bms into place. If you look close, the aluminium plates are connected to eachother by small screws. On 1 side is the screw, on the other side you can see the remaining thread. I used m3 screws which go into this available thread
I would go for the 120a version of the bms, since that has 3 wires instead of 2.
Also, get the version with bluetooth, only a few $$ more.
Overkillsolar has them, or source them directly from cn (but thats going to take a lot longer)
OverkillSolar also has a very comprehensive manual regarding this bms on its site
great video, thanks for keeping it simple
Just as good as most used batteries it is a win.
I Have Welded Aluminum For Many years
Mig Welder 30%
Co2 and 70% Helium and Could Tack Very well
Nice video! What is the brand and model of the larger screen that shows the statistics during the discharge test?
try charging pairs of balance leads with a PSU... I found many of the "balance chargers" etc don't really do a good job when the batteries are far out of sync.
"If something shorts out to this plug we /are less likely/ to die" ;) Fate assuaged. Good job
070121/0208h PST 🇺🇸 further to the note below, please note the JBD BMS can be mounted on any metal surface by unscrewing all the M2X12mm flat head screws and replacing with M2X15mm screws and Mount the BMS on the existing Al (Aluminium) board, safely. No need to use double sided tape. FYI. Thanks and 73s…
You need the bluetooth module that connects to the bms and u can monitor all what is happening on the batteries and most important, u need to check the parameters of the bms.
Brilliant, can I use the 8s batgo meter on a 4s battery?
Yes. This is a 4s battery I used on. You just leave the remaining pins unconnected.
I am struggling getting stated capacity of my battery, your teat rig looks interesting, can I use my victron shunt to do a similar test? Any advice on how to? Thx!
Nice, but have you tried installing an active balancer coupled with that BMS?
I have the Shunbin 24V 400Ah battery, or rather the 348Ah battery. The cells are actually 3.2V 174Ah x 16 (2P8S). Gotta love rounded-up marketing, ha ha. Was expecting a 10kWh battery, can only get about 8.9kWh capacity. Oh, and used unmatched cells to boot. My BMS bit the dust after about a year. Had to replace it. So, yes I agree, there's better choices out there these days.
Was there any writing on each of the cells, 3.2V 100Ah (3P4S)? Or a lower Ah rating? If they're 90Ah cells, for instance, your capacity test might be better than you think, despite the presumably degraded cells. Might just need a bottom balance.
Good Video, Thanks.
The SAD part in this whole "ShunBin" mess, they use good cases, properly line everything, take the time to laser weld busbars onto the cells, BUT they use a craptastic BMS and then more often than not use dubious grade/quality cells, even used one.
The Irony is, with a respectable BMS (even a dumb one) it would be so much better.
IF they made them with Used Cells but Tested/Matched and advertised it as such that would be fine.
IF they used even New Bulk-Commodity cells that would be more acceptable for most AND they could even make Higher Quality packs using new Grade-A Matched LFP cells.
They are like 75% of the way to something really good and DROP the Ball big time while Self-Harming the company brand/name... Pretty stupid IMO.
What Bluetooth BMS can I use for my ampere Time 200 ah plus I already opened the lid now I wanna put a better BMS with Bluetooth what one do I get and is my ampere Time a 4s2p configuration ?
Use an eye revet they make them in copper or brass tin I’ve also seen some in aluminum
HI, really thanks for your job, GREAT ! Now a 1M usd question....in a case like this, do you believe is it possible to change the "wrong" cell? I mean, i'm a solar off grid installer, thinking to buy quite 60-100 pcs new cells and arm my own battery pack. In teh case i discover a bad cell after one- two three years working, anyone knows if there is the chance to change it for a new one? If anyone works with lead acid, you know (like me) that it is impossible and a customer have only a chance, wait for the whole bank getting worse...and buy new complete battery bank.... let me hope in dreamfully fantasy...
cheap fix for a cheap battery, good job I would have done the same!
Another fantastic video
Hey where did you find the battery box
It came built like this. I looked and haven't been able to find an empty box for sale. I'd love to find one myself, it's not a bad design at all.
I wonder what will happen if you add an active balancer?
What is a non-polarized breaker? Thanks
A non-polarized breaker means current can flow in both directions. A polarized breaker can only interrupt current flow one way.
@@LithiumSolar A DC breaker also needs arc suppression.
Yes.👍
Original screw or nut?
I installed the same bms on my diy cells the same way but either bms is doa, or can it be woken up somehow?
You used the same BMS that BatteryHookup sells and it was DOA?
@@LithiumSolar yes the black wires show no voltage at the p-
Exactly why I'm BMS free (so far..LOL)
Ooooh, living on the edge I see! Haha. Seriously though, would definitely recommend adding one for safety... :)
@@LithiumSolar Living on the edge for sure. Then I ask myself if I'm ready to subject my 56 KWH battery bank to a $10 Chinese BMS module
@@mark_osborne 54kWh is worth a lot of coin and it would be ludicrous to use a cheap $10 BMS. Running such batteries without a safety is pretty risky on the investment. I'm running 5 LFP Packs, 1190AH/30.4kWh and each has a 300A BMS & QNBBM-8S Active Balancer because it is an investment worth protecting.
@@mark_osborne on the topic of BMS what is a good bms wud u recommend .... thanks for sharing the video
@@raybacchus1026 A brain, a calendar, and a volt meter ...lol
Sorry, 7 months late, but that BMS is just a JBD/Overkill, you can buy the Bluetooth module for about $7 and allow monitoring. I see it has the connector for that installed.
Yes, it's a JBD BMS.
I only seen a few good reviews on these batteries after i ran across them, the price is right but the quality of the cells are terrible and what everyone griped about.
Yeah, the BMS is complete garbage. It's unfortunate because it's actually a very nice steel battery enclosure.
Another case of a battery "killed" by a cheap bms. Where possible I would always like to see an external display of individual cell voltages for peace of mind.
Yeah, that was by far one of the worst BMS I've ever seen in the many many batteries I've taken apart :(
After crimping i solder the connectors. I do not and never will rely only on a crimp.
Believe it or not a crimp can be a superior connection to solder. If done properly you can get a cold weld, at atomic level. This is why a lot of old telecommunications equipment use wire wrap over solder. It’s superior both mechanically and electrically.
If you have already achieved a perfect crimp, a dab of solder (or sodder on the other side of the ditch) provides a nice environmental seal if you iron is hot enough and big enough so the solder doesn't wick into the cable.
A good crimp and sticky heatshrink is a better option though.
Soldering before crimping is a complete No No as the solder will creep, heat and burn.
While we are talking about crimping, think about pre-insulated lugs, please never purchase or use " vinyl grip" lugs, track down and pay the premium for "Copper grip" lugs.
Only Copper grip lugs are certified, critical applications like BMS cell sense leads can fail causing destruction if the cheap lugs are utilised.
Some will suggest soldering even with a crimp. BMS Battery sense leads also read Internal Resistance of the cells they are monitoring, not just cell voltage. If soldering is done and it is not a High Quality good solid connection it can & WILL introduce resistance which will throw off readings.
ALWAYS verify BMS Harness Leads once the Ring Terminal is attached for connection & resistance. Make sure it is well connected to the Battery Cells PRIOR to connecting a BMS. One tiny mistake & the BMS is cooked instantly.
The truth is bigbattery aren't doing any better.
I let it 2 more days of slow charging/discharging cycles to let the cells equalize before the capacity test.
Why would you say that? The build quality of my 170Ah power block is outstanding.
@@LithiumSolar I saw the video from WP were it was leaking acid and the company send him replacement quickly for him to remove the video. Other sailing Hakuna had problems with his battery too, wires were loose inside.
@@neliosamch3195 I've seen Will's video and have been following the comments. The video is still up on his channel. From what I heard, he had a pre-production model and it was a QA issue with the batteries themselves. I took mine apart and closely inspected everything. I did not see any problems with mine.
@@LithiumSolar That is good. Keep an eye in the cells voltages. This chemistry tends to spikes the cells voltages after 3.4v. I won't charge them above 3.4v.
@@neliosamch3195 big battery never said to remove the video when they sent him new cells nor did they do it so he would remove the video. BB even told him that they examined all the cells they had in stock and found 11 out of like 10,000 that were also showing signs of leaking. Not sure where you got that from.
19.4A current-ly
"we wont die"
Well you didn't really fix it, just patched it up! instead of a battery you can rely on it's just a half ass rated ! With a faulty cell!
I can understand that perspective. Fact of the matter is you can polish a turd but it's still a turd. The core problem was the BMS, which is now fixed (replaced). I have no idea the original state of the batteries. I would bet money on them not testing anywhere near 100% when it was new. Another commenter told me he had a battery with 90Ah cells where they should have been 100Ah... The whole thing is just junk to be honest (except for the steel case...).
😁👍👌✌🖖😎
GOOD VIDEOS.. BUT HE JUST TALK WAY TOO MUCH..
Sorry lol. I try to give as much detail as I can.