CHINS LiFePO4 Battery 12V 20AH Lithium Battery - Built-in 20A BMS, 2000~5000 Cycles, Perfect for Replacing Most of Backup Power, Fish Finder, Fans, Toys, LED Light, Security Camera, Camping etc.

You MUST understand the following when designing your solar power system. Power is measured in watts. Volts times amps equals watts. 12 volts times 10 amps equals 120 watts. 120 volts times 10 amps equals 1,200 watts. I thought amps were amps, so I designed my system thinking I could run my 10 amp (1,200 watt) microwave for 40 hours with 400 amp hours of battery storage. Wrong. 1,200 watts at 120 volts is 10 amps, but 1,200 watts at 12 volts is 100 amps of continuous power draw from the battery. My system turned out have 1/10th as much power as I thought it would have, but I didn't know that. I have been dealing with power issues since I started living in my van 4 months ago. Every time I ran the microwave for for more than two minutes the batteries would shut themselves off then come back on a few seconds later. It turns out the 200ah 100 amp BMS (Battery Management System) batteries I bought couldn't handle the power draw. I had to replace them with 200ah PLUS batteries with the 200 amp BMS, which allows for 200 amps of continuous power draw. It took me forever to figure out what the problem was. These guys went way out of their way to help me on numerous occasions, including paying for shipping AND packing when returning a battery that turned out to have nothing wrong with it. I bought the batteries after seeing a YouTube video where a guy cut one open and was impressed with the quality construction. The batteries work great and other people I know with Chins batteries have never had any issues with them. The prices are better than most. What really sets this company apart though is the customer service, which is the best I have ever encountered. I have been repeatedly impressed by their responsiveness to my technical questions as I tried to discover what was causing my power problems. So yeah, I highly recommend Chins batteries. UPDATE: July 2023 -- It turned out that all my power problems did not involve the batteries shutting down at all. The power was cut by a circuit breaker which would reset itself after a few seconds. I had no idea self-resetting circuit breakers even existed and assumed that since the lever on the breaker hadn't flipped open the breaker had not tripped. I replaced the breaker anyway just to eliminate the possibility it could be part of the problem, which still persisted. Something to know about nearly all the circuit breakers sold on Amazon and elsewhere: They trip at much lower current draws than they are rated for. My 150 amp breaker was tripping at 100 amps. I replaced it with a 300 amp breaker and that solved the problem that had been defeating me for 9 months.

I was VERY hesitant to gamble the money (still expensive compared to LA batteries) to "try" these in my bone stock 2005 36 volt EZ-Go TXT PDS golf cart as replacements to the old Lead Acid batteries. I couldn't find any applicable reviews, videos, or install pics online or on Amazon showing them being used in a golf cart. I didn't really want to be the test-monkey for these in a golf cart. There were a couple of solar guys using them, some reviews for solar systems, and even one YouTube reviewer who tore them apart and was impressed by the build quality; but NO golf cart specific examples that I could find. I long debated the cost to "potential" benefit ratios, the golf-cart-proven (but significantly more expensive) alternatives that were out there, and the total amp hour ratings, peak discharge current ratings, and the potential for difficult returns if necessary. BOY AM I GLAD I BOUGHT THEM!! Huge difference in golf cart performance! Super light compared to the old LA (3 light weight batteries vs. 6 super heavy anchors). Runs MUCH longer and more consistently between charges. I've run it around and around my neighborhood up to 10 miles before I got bored and cold and still had tons of power to spare. Ran it for 4 days on the ranch while hunting and doing small maintenance tasks; NEVER lost power and performance and NEVER had to recharge the pack all weekend. Charges faster when needed. Way less mess than the old LA Batts. Cart runs a little faster (consistently up to governed speed regardless of terrain), accelerates faster, has more torque, pulls hills better, runs seemingly forever, powers lights, powers accessories, powers the cart w/me the wife and 3 kids (2 full grown)...the list goes on and on. I also installed a Renogy battery meter that measures draw and I never come close to exceeding the 200 amp 5 second peak draw my batteries are rated for (I think they just released a new version with 300amp peak for 5 seconds). Bottom line, if you are looking for a less expensive alternative LiPo battery set for your 36-48 volt golf cart, these will work, and work VERY well. No more pushing the cart up the last little hill to get home. And they actually shipped relatively fast from China to TX in very sturdy and well packed boxes with plenty of shock resistant foam surrounding the battery pack. Saved several hundred dollars over "cart specific" marketed LiPo battery kits and these simply work wonders in my cart. My only complaint is that I had to go to another more expensive (but reputable) manufacturer of golf cart battery pack kits to pick up a 36 volt specific LiPo charger for the batteries wired in series. Simply couldn't find an applicable 36 volt LiPo golf cart charger on Amazon to match my specific application. But the DL 36 volt LiPo charger tied to these 3 batteries in series has made my golf cart a whole new and more enjoyable experience.

These are great. I replaced two Interstate lead-acid deep cycle batteries (SRM-27's), and can't believe how much better (and longer) the Minnkota Ulterra functions with these LifePO4 batteries! First, as mentioned I use two of these 12v batteries wired in series to power the 24v Ulterra trolling motor that is mounted on a Carolina Skiff 23UE's bow. The batteries are charged with a Noco GENPRO10X4 12V 4-Bank, 40-Amp On-Board Battery Charger, which allows me to individually select the type of battery for each of the four batteries on the boat to Lead/Acid, Gel, AGM, or Lithium. Obviously, the two CHINS 100AH LifePo4's are set to "Lithium." They needed to be charged upon receipt of the batteries, and I let them charger overnight. No problem. The Ulterra is very sensitive to voltage. Regular Lead and sealed (agm) batteries drop voltage as you use them, causing problems where the Ulterra stops functioning, except at very low speeds. After experiencing many error codes on the Ulterra after an hour or less of use ( if running more than speed 5 (of 10)), I called Minnkota who said, "the Ulterra needs the batteries to have voltage of 12.6v per battery under a load for a combined reading 25.2v total," or it will turn off, as I was experiencing. My multimeter showed that the voltage of the two Interstates (only about 3 months old) was dropping well beneath the 25.2 threshold almost all the time at load -- dropping beneath the 25.2 that Minn Kota wants to 24.6v at speed 5 of 10. To better check and understand and track, I installed a Victron BMV-712 ( https://www.amazon.com/Victron-Energy-MONITOR-VTBMV-S-BMV-712-Battery/dp/B075RTSTKS/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2LK4SOA30P2XT&keywords=Victron%2B712&qid=1650131508&sprefix=victron%2B712%2Caps%2C94&sr=8-5&th=1 ). It confirmed my multimeter readings but allowed more much more detailed tracking. The lead batteries were not maintaining sufficient voltage output. When brand new, they worked better. Likely, I ran them below the 50% charge level a few times without knowing it, and might have damaged them. That's another benefit you'll read about LifePO4's over traditional deep cycle batteries. The lead flavors are not supposed to be run beyond 50% of their rated capacity, so you should only use 44AH of an 88AH battery, or it can be damaged. The LifePO4's can go low. I've taken these to 20% without any problems, and have heard of others going to 10%. Getting them to 20% was a long day of running the trolling motor. The voltage on the two LiFePO4's (in Series) stays in the range of 26.9 to 26.0v under load when operating between Ulterra speeds 1 to 7.5 of 10. It drops into the 25's at speed 8 to 10, but never drops below 25.4, which was at speed 10 with about 50% of the AH's consumed already. Excellent!! These batteries are great!! Strongly recommend for the Ulterra 24V and imagine they would also be great for the 36V Ulterra if you buy three of them. Remember to buy, have, or install a proper lithium battery charger for these, too. One word of caution, I try to avoid running the Ulterra at the high speeds 7.5 or higher for long periods of time (30 minutes) with the LiFePO4's because Minn Kota's website mentioned that the motors were designed with Lead Acid durations in mind, not the much longer durations without voltage drops that we can get from the lithium batteries. Also, the Victron has an alarm that notifies me when the only 15% of the battery capacity remains. Lithium batteries hold their voltage very well until the end, then really, really drop. I'm concerned there would not be sufficient voltage to Stow the Ulterra if I ran it to the end of capacity.

I've had this in my RV for about a year now, and I am impressed with how it powers everything for so long when "off the grid" One trip, we powered our furnace, microwave, lights, water pump, TV and DVD player, and we went 4 days before the capacity had dropped to 50%. We have a DC-DC charger that runs from the RV alternator, and since it can charge at 40A, we can fairly quickly add a good amount of charge if needed, especially when solar is not available. I can easily carry the battery, and have no complaints about its performance. I disconnected the battery over the late fall, winter, and early spring, and still had 95% capacity on the battery monitor! Excellent storage performance.

The product was to be added to another battery in parallel. As an electrical engineer, I know how this works and have done it before and many times since with another brand. This battery went to -30 on connection and charge. Brought down the whole system. Now that happens if the BMS is bad or internal damage between cells. Here’s how rechargeable batteries operate: You have to apply a second source of power to the terminals of a healthy rechargeable battery to give it back the energy (amps) that it lost during usage. This second source can be an electric transformer, a solar source or another battery. The receiving battery can’t and doesn’t care what the other source is as long as the voltage is within its acceptable range. The source with higher voltage will immediately balance with the lower source on voltage and transfer amps of direct current electricity to the other one; thus filling its reserve of amps and charging it. That is the way to recharge a battery. Modern LiFePO4 batteries are in fact, internally, made of multiple smaller cells that are used to achieve the voltage and amperage that are specified. You are always using cells in parallel while charging and dicharging. This means that you can always safely attach 2 batteries of the same category and voltage in parallel (plus to plus, minus to minus). Modern LiFePO4 batteries all have Battery Management Systems (BMS) that will protect the battery from overvoltage or over-amperage (which is detected by excess heat) and stop any excess transfer. The only reason that manufacturers say don’t mix with another brand with similar voltage is marketing. You bought my batteries, don’t buy someone else now. This all breaks down with a defective battery with internal damage to individual cells that might create short-circuits or a broken BMS that wreaks havoc. If a seller tells you that you can’t use more than 4 batteries in parallel, or worst, claims you damaged batteries by using them in parallel because only a few ways to put series and parallels are safe, they are must be ignorant. They could also be criminally deceptive if it’s just a way not to honor warranty or a marketing ploy. I have had no success to have this repaired or returned. They are not honoring the 30 days return or refund stated on the website. As it's not an Amazon purchase, I've had to file a fraud charge with Amex which will clear it up and give them a charge-back.

Have this for my 55 lb troll motor on my 12 ft canoe, twice as light as two AGM batteries at 200Ah. Well see if it holds out after a year, I maybe will use it once or twice a month, sometimes not for a few months, it all depends. It does last long pushing the troll motor at full speed, most time I have it on low speed. There are other brands of LiPOE that are built for troll motors, found out too late, this will do. Did get the extra warranty in case something happens. NEW UPDATE 2025 I have had this since May 2024, I use it for my MinnKota 55 lb troll motor, it is still working great, it charges the same amount of time very consistent, in has been on and off my boat, hot and cold, conditions, no issues yet. This is definitely the type for deep cycle use. I am so very impressed, what a great product.

The AGM battery in my dump trailer went belly-up. The attributes of a lithium battery, more specifically LiFePo, made perfect sense for the work of a dump trailer. With that in mind, I went shopping for a reputable 100Ah LiFePo battery. CHINS had a great price and solid reviews, so I made the investment and have zero regrets. What I gained from the swap from AGM to the CHINS LiFePo: 1) I get 8-10 dumps (maybe more) from a fully charged battery instead of 4 - extends the work day, if needed, makes me more productive 2) Half the weight (made install much easier) 3) Battery can be run all the way to 0% without worry of harming it (try not to go below 20% though - refer to next point) 4) Up to 5,000 charging cycles if I don’t run the battery down below 20% - an AGM battery *might*, maybe last three years or so realistically; the CHINS LiFePo could last 10 or more years! 5) The CHINS battery has its own battery management system (BMS), so I don’t have to worry about overcharging or damage to the battery if it’s too hot or too cold 6) CHINS included some nice terminal posts which made installation easier With the pricing of AGM versus LiFePo batteries running neck and neck, the only real “con” is the need to swap out the charging system due to the increased voltage required for lithium. A 5amp system (I wouldn’t go any less) will work just fine for a 100Ah battery. I found a good one for under $100 (an NOCO) and have been thoroughly pleased with the results. If you have the option, buy the CHINS battery. It’s a great option for the value.

Update: After going back and forth with CHINS for some time it became clear that the 250AH Smart battery uses grade B cells that are conservatively managed to get approximately 250AH and that because they are grade B the capacity can vary somewhat. This is fine in my opinion so long as this information is disclosed to the consumer. CHINS customer service was prompt and excellent, broken English but you could tell they were really trying, they replaced my battery free of charge. I am upgrading my review to five stars for excellent customer service, and I actually recommend the 250AH as the best value LFP battery that comes with low temperature charge protection, heating elements and Bluetooth. This battery showed up on the CHINS Amazon store recently and seemed like a great value for the money so I bought one for my RV. After it arrived (which was today, Aug 18th 2022) the app “BAT-BMS” connected to it properly and gave an impressive amount of info on the battery in a nice format. Unfortunately the information in that app brings up one serious concern, and together with info in the supplied CHINS manual leads me to speculate on another even more serious concern. Concern #1. The recommended and aforementioned app shows a battery capacity of only 241AH (see the second image I attached for a screen shot of the app, I note it is possible that the BMS is off), when I buy a battery advertised as 250AH I expect it to actually have that much capacity, this is false advertising. But why did the capacity fall short of advertised? Chinese Grade A LFP cells, which CHINS has always used, have VERY consistent capacity, which leads me to my second, even more serious concern. Concern #2: CHINS may NOT be using new cells for these batteries. I’m not saying I know this to be fact but there are two pieces of evidence which point in that direction. If CHINS is using used cells, this would explain the capacity discrepancy because used cells would have more variable capacities than new cells. Secondly, look at the first image I attached, it shows that the 250AH smart battery is HEAVIER than the 300AH smart battery, this means that either CHINS is using lower energy density cells… or… CHINS is using used cells without telling us. If that is the case that would be very bad business, the use of used cells by a respectable brand like CHINS ought to be disclosed to the consumer as used cells will have a higher risk of failure and safety issues. CHINS advertises the same battery longevity as other products but how can they be confident it will be achieved if the cells are used. I would appreciate a response from CHINS on this.