Opened up a ruixu battery. Not impressed...

Just watched the final in the series of YT clips on the battery debacle and IMO the only way to see what they really do is to purchase one anonymously. Anything sent specifically to say 'look what we are doing now' would have to be treated with suspicion.

Okay, and well-handled @Will Prowse. I have respect for your integrity because, like me, you've walked the valley of the shadow of death a time or two, kudos. Our word and principles are all we own, right? As you know, I have to go to a small class A because of my disabled daughter, and also need at the very least 600ah, but in reality, 800-1000ah would be best long term. This will be our home, and I'm not boondocking with a 16-year-old disable child. That being said, and as mentioned above, I wanted to go with the Sinopoly LiFePO Prismatic battery kits, but since the only ones available are sold by Ruixu, what is one to do?

I'm in no hurry, living cheap and saving money, and perhaps this is a new challenge. One never knows. One thing is for sure; you can put a lot of cheap solar panels on top of a 35 to 40-foot class A motor home with room to spare.

I watched this. I am glad you are doing year downs to show product quality. This will make everyone better. Worked for Lion Energy and BB had BMS issues in the beginning too.

@willprowse Your latest teardown on the Valence Battery was so cool! Now we know why its so $$$ Tearing down of many of the popular lifepo's so consumers can be confident in that big $$ investment. ?

Just watched the Valence tear down and commented on YT about that. Will may need a playlist for the teardowns. Given what & where they are market at, it's no surprise that they do it right... To much risk if they mess up and cost a life.

BTW: Black & Decker. DeWalt, Porter Cable, tools are all owned by the same International LLC. All made in China most likely in the same factory but B&D = crap, PC is mid grade consumer, DeWalt is high end consumer & their pro series is high end pro. Same engineers & designers but different specs and quality and the price points & profit margins reflect such.

Will Prowse said:

Yes, I will get a expensive, or possibly UL listed battery to teardown soon. That would be awesome!

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Will, please look into different UL standards for batteries and the difference between UL Listed and UL Recognized labels. There are lots of shady statements made by some battery makers when they mention UL. For example, UL1642 deals with individual cells while UL2054 is for small rechargeable battery, like cordless drills, etc. This is not applicable to 100AH+ batteries, where UL1973 is a better choice, but incredibly difficult to achieve. Also, UL has a searchable online database, where you can verify anyone's claims, here it is https://www.ul.com/apps/product-iq
Basically, any decent battery should have cells tested to UL1642, that would be a starting point.
Some US battery makers boast about UL2054, but it's deceptive because it's meant for small power tool packs, not a large storage battery.
UL1973 is the right standard for energy storage, but very difficult to pass and usually requires battery coupled with inverter for additional safety, or have a BMS with redundant protective devices, which is very expensive for an average customer.
UL Listed means the product is fully safety compliant as is, while UL Recognized means there are some components which have UL certifications, but the product as a whole is not tested to UL standard. For example, if cells inside the battery are UL1642, then a company can claim the battery is UL recognized, but it doesn't mean much if their BMS fails to protect the cells from external abuse, etc.

Will, thanks for the tear-down. As I've noted elsewhere, I also received the battery with a "shut down" BMS. I dissembled mine and thankfully found the same batteries and BMS as your originally reviewed Ruixu. In my case the connector could not stayed plugged in due to the binding tape being too tight.

CheezWiz said:

Will, I'm not so sure that the new one is really that bad from an electrical and mechanical standpoint. Other than the fact the solder joints needed a proper physical connection as pointed out earlier in the thread. That gauge wire at 8 inches can carry a lot of current at 12 volts. If the BMS kicks in at 100A, then each wire is only taking 25 amps. There's 4, right?

I would really like to see an off the shelf to a nobody BattleBorn opened up for comparison. Until then, the guts are like that physics cat, only janky and perfect at the same time rather than dead and alive.

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That may be, but mounting the BMS directly on the cells is still not cool (literally).

Having watched all three of Wills videos on this and the responses from RUIXI I have to call BS . They said they were "sorry" about this that and the other thing? What company does that? They're going revert back to their old BMS and manufacturing methods because a DIY Youtuber called Will Prowse called them out on what they did? Really? While I certainly appreciate Will chasing these guys down for a response I'm not buying it.

This is just shady Chinese business practices and manufacturing standards. While the Chinese are able to make lots of things to very high quality specs there's a wide range of quality in manufacturing processes, standards and oversight. This is not at all surprising. It doesn't mean they have a bad product and you shouldn't buy it. It may perform per the specs and Rachel may be a great contact who will address any warranty concerns. Feel free to buy it, but like anything else, buyer beware.

Mac6792 said:

It doesn't mean they have a bad product and you shouldn't buy it. It may perform per the specs and Rachel may be a great contact who will address any warranty concerns. Feel free to buy it, but like anything else, buyer beware.

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The way I see it, as long as "you get what you pay for" rule is not broken, then it's a fair game. When you buy a cheap battery from Alibaba, you get what you pay for. However, when some smart-ass in the US imports those same cheap batteries and slaps a "made in USA" label on them or promises 10 years warranty, while multiplying the price x3 or x4, then it's a different story.
I have nothing against honest importers who make money by adding value of importing/warehousing/support/etc. They take the risk and you pay for their efforts. But don't pretend your battery is a better quality than the same exact one on Alibaba, because it isn't.
I see people drool over warranty statements, which is very funny and amusing. Does anyone even read warranty statement? It is 100% stacked against you. Seller can claim product abuse and you have to prove otherwise, which is impossible. Those "Made in USA" batteries are typically just a one person LLC with a rented warehouse. When they inevitably start seeing warranty claims, they'd just close shop and open a new LLC with a new name.

Uploading video of a battle born tear down. get ready guys :D

You might break youtube with all the views

Will Prowse said:

Uploading video of a battle born tear down. get ready guys :D

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Shh quiet in the theater ? The awaited show is about to start??

BoloMKXXVIII said:

That may be, but mounting the BMS directly on the cells is still not cool (literally).

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However, in both cases, the BMS is contained in a thermally insulating box with no heat management at all that I can see. A single thin fiberglass plate between the two in the first instance is no better (thermally) in my opinion than the later one. It does provide mechanical separation which is a plus, but may not really be necessary. That green battery Will took apart shows how it should be done, with the BMS actually in a separate compartment.

electric said:

Does anyone even read warranty statement? It is 100% stacked against you. Seller can claim product abuse and you have to prove otherwise, which is impossible. Those "Made in USA" batteries are typically just a one person LLC with a rented warehouse. When they inevitably start seeing warranty claims, they'd just close shop and open a new LLC with a new name.

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Fair points indeed. That seems to be the American way these days. Same is true for home builders and developments. They setup an LLC to build a new neighborhood, use shoddy techniques and materials, but promise long warranties. Then as soon as they are done, they dissolve the LLC. I had a friend that just went through this when he tried to chase down the builder for warranty on a new home that developed severe roof leaks and ended up with major damage. makes me so 8-(

Will Prowse said:

Uploading video of a battle born tear down. get ready guys :D

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Woohoo!!!
Knowing how long it takes for my dinky little videos to upload and process, it must take hours for one of yours!

Its up!!

LiFePo in clear cases ? What a great idea Will ??
No more hidden dissappointments? Just found this.

Great review, Will. Good news!

Great Review again Will. The price of BB reflects what you are paying for doesn't it. 21650 format is an odd one I don't know how many manufacturers make that size, can't be too many. The BB BMS is likely a proprietary unit as well so I would not bet on finding much about them either I think.

If you keep doing tear downs, seriously consider a playlist for these video's specifically to make it easier for folks to compare and see side x side.