Cheap Ebay lithium battery packs, are they any good?

Thread Starter

tysontripodi

Joined May 9, 2019
1
Hi,

I am planning on building a portable Bluetooth speaker, in the past i have used a Sealed Lead Acid battery as the power source and it has worked pretty well. But this time i want to make the switch to a Lithium ion battery to save weight.

I wanted something cheap and pre-built (because i don't feel like building my own pack because i don't have the proper tools and i am on a tight budget) so i went on eBay and found a "12v 20,000mAh lithium battery with charger"

I was just interested if anyone has had experience with these battery and if they are worth it, but also if they have the appropriate protection circuits or if they can even output what they clam.

(link: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/20000mA...b0b98d112e4ff4b477d9743c62026b&frcectupt=true)

Thanks
Tyson
 

Wolframore

Joined Jan 21, 2019
2,609
No experience with that particular battery but on the whole, the cheap Chinese batteries leave much to be desired.

1. advertised mAh is almost always inaccurate ( I purchased ones rated for 3300 which turned out to be about 800)
2. I don't trust their protection. It says over current yet does not state the current, does it actually have a thermocouple to check temp?
what is out of date protective mean?

Plus that charger can't be more than 1 or 2 amps at best... if they are being honest and it is a 20 amp battery (which is doubtful) it would take 5-10 hrs to charge assuming no other charge protection in the circuit...

$45 AU doesn't seem very cheap either.

I don't have a lot of faith from what I've seen of Chinese batteries... if you can live with it being 1/4 what it says it is for the price and you don't make huge current demands you might be ok.
 

oz93666

Joined Sep 7, 2010
739
No experience with that particular battery but on the whole, the cheap Chinese batteries leave much to be desired.
.. advertised mAh is almost always inaccurate ( I purchased ones rated for 3300 which turned out to be about 800)
That sounds like a 18650 cell ... these are notorious for being a scam , best to buy sony or Panasonic

Prismatic batteries are usually better ( this is the same chemistry but they cut down on weight by using a plastic bag instead of a metal cylinder for containment) ... They can't use recycled cells , often used for 18650 , or hide anything ....

It's a pity the manufacturer doesn't give weight of this 20Ahr battery , that is the best indicator.... @ 12V (11.2) this is about 200Whrs ... the very best 18650 is 10Whrs and weighs 45gm cost $4 ... 20 of these will give 200Whrs and cost $80 ... this battery should weigh about 800gm ...

It's an unknown ...hard to call ... You can always send it back if it's drastically below 20Ahrs ...
 

mikewax

Joined Apr 11, 2016
184
the dealer looks pretty reputable, but i see the product does not have over discharge protection or trickle charge feature, so i would get one of those 3-digit voltmeters so you can make sure it never goes under about 9.5v. dunno what they mean by out of date protection. these batteries aren't measured by age or date.
 

ian field

Joined Oct 27, 2012
6,536
Hi,

I am planning on building a portable Bluetooth speaker, in the past i have used a Sealed Lead Acid battery as the power source and it has worked pretty well. But this time i want to make the switch to a Lithium ion battery to save weight.

I wanted something cheap and pre-built (because i don't feel like building my own pack because i don't have the proper tools and i am on a tight budget) so i went on eBay and found a "12v 20,000mAh lithium battery with charger"

I was just interested if anyone has had experience with these battery and if they are worth it, but also if they have the appropriate protection circuits or if they can even output what they clam.

(link: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/20000mAh-Li-ion-DC-12V-Super-Rechargeable-Portable-Battery-Pack-w-Power-Charger/323728329157?var=&hash=item4b5fb649c5&enc=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&checksum=323728329157ffb0b98d112e4ff4b477d9743c62026b&frcectupt=true)

Thanks
Tyson
The Motorola phone battery I bought on eBay wasn't - but YMMV.
 
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