EVE 280Ah LiFePO4 Review (Dongguan Lightning New Energy Technology)

[LithiumSolar]

After seeing numerous people talking about EVE 280Ah prismatic batteries, I decided to order a few and start exploring LiFePO4 more. Details of the purchase are below, along with my review and testing of the batteries. I am most interested in why 2 of the 4 sound like plastic. I'm hoping someone more experienced here may have more info on this.

Supplier: Dongguan Lightning New Energy Technology (Rain Zeng)
Date Ordered: Oct 19, 2020
Date Received: Dec 18, 2020
Price Paid: $463
Initial Voltages: 3.29V, 3.28V, 3.28V, 3.29V
Comments: Supplier was very responsive to questions, but hardware was missing that should have been included...

Here's where I purchased the cells...

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[LithiumSolar]

Here's the QR code information for the EVE LF280N batteries that a few people have asked me to share.

 

[Roland W]

Weird question maybe.... do those cells smell? I am asking, because my used Sinopoly cells have a very noticable smell from the organic electrolyte inside them. They have a small rubber venting membrane in its casing. Insects don't like the smell. So my battery enclosure, even i live in the tropics and it is open on many sides, is clear of any critters. Haha.... but my cells couldn't be used inside a house. It would be a to strong odor.

 

[LithiumSolar]

Weird question maybe.... do those cells smell? I am asking, because my used Sinopoly cells have a very noticable smell from the organic electrolyte inside them. They have a small rubber venting membrane in its casing. Insects don't like the smell. So my battery enclosure, even i live in the tropics and it is open on many sides, is clear of any critters. Haha.... but my cells couldn't be used inside a house. It would be a to strong odor.

No, there is no odor what so ever. How many do you have and do they all smell? Inspect each one closely and make sure they haven't vented. The blue window thing on the top should still be sealed closed. It only opens if pressure has built up internally.

 

[Roland W]

No, there is no odor what so ever. How many do you have and do they all smell? Inspect each one closely and make sure they haven't vented. The blue window thing on the top should still be sealed closed. It only opens if pressure has built up internally.

My cells are not that aluminium casing type. The picture is showing the kind of rubber vent in the middle of the cell. I think they are all smelling same. And it seems to be normal as I do not see any leakage. I was just wondering, as I thought that LFP cells are fine to keep indoors. But i think i wouldn't recommend that to anybody with this type of cell.

 

[LithiumSolar]

My cells are not that aluminium casing type. The picture is showing the kind of rubber vent in the middle of the cell. I think they are all smelling same. And it seems to be normal as I do not see any leakage. I was just wondering, as I thought that LFP cells are fine to keep indoors. But i think i wouldn't recommend that to anybody with this type of cell.

View attachment 23136

LFP batteries aren't supposed to have an odor like that. If they smell, I'd be afraid they leaked and wouldn't use them to be honest. But that's hard to say with certainty without being there and seeing them. I've never come across a lithium battery that smelled other than ones that had holes or punctures in.

 

[Redpacket]

My cells are not that aluminium casing type. The picture is showing the kind of rubber vent in the middle of the cell. I think they are all smelling same. And it seems to be normal as I do not see any leakage. I was just wondering, as I thought that LFP cells are fine to keep indoors. But i think i wouldn't recommend that to anybody with this type of cell.

View attachment 23136

What voltage do you charge them to? Any signs of swelling?

 

[Roland W]

I am charging my pack to a maximum of 55.4V (3,46V), and then disconnecting them. The cells will then drop to their resting pack voltage of 53.4V (3.34V) and wait a few hours to be used for discharging (not going below 49V there, pack will rest at around 50V (3.12V) and wait for charging again). I have put my nose close to the cells and the smell is definitly coming out of this red rubber vents. Else nothing to see at the cells. Those cells had surely been used hard in their first life. Here in Thailand, nobody is giving away expensive items like that, if the end is not reached yet in their application. I do assume the cells where powering a telecom station somewhere in the jungle. If they had really been 100Ah at the day of first install, then they have lost 15Ah each. If there was an installation mistake at that time, I of course cannot tell. But maybe this is a special type of cell. Ment for outdoor use as replacement of lead acid batteries (those release gas as well).
The cells had all be swollen. Some more some less. Its in line with the capacity degradation. Because its LiFePo chemistry, I really don't worry much. They are save, and installed far back on the garden wall. If my other 10kWh Li-Polymer battery would start to give off some smell, I would surely be alarmed
So yeah, I have really no idea, but as I do not ask much from the pack (max. 0,15C at charging, 0,12C at discharging), they do perform well. No balancing issues, no heating, etc... just that stink, haha
The odor is somehow a very special one. Definitly nothing burnt. Nothing electrical like coming from arcing. Somewhat sweet. Somebody mixed a few chemicals together out of a backing recipe.
Unfortunately its a bit difficult to get proper information about Chinese products. It is as well not very likely to get information directly at the manufacturer. They often don't get it what you are talking about. Need to wait for a phone with smell sensor first, to submit a sample by chat

 

[Redpacket]

OK the voltages you are using are good.
The swelling is not so good - that's probably what the smell is from, ie they are venting some gas/vapours.
If you can arrange some framing to compress the cells back to "normal" shape, this would probably help the life.
The original use probably over charged them to higher voltage.