battle born battery

smiley

has anyone had issues with battle born lithium batterys

AnOldUR

Will Prowse? 

Okpete

I have had no problems with BB battery’s for five years. Nor have I read about any failures on the internet. Will prowse is not certified testing lab and does not have a degree in Electrical engineering. Take all of dire warnings with a grain of salt. However, there are cheaper alternatives .

qhumberd

Well, reports on the internet are there, outside of Mr Prowse. This one speaks to how they respond to what seems to be a reasonable warranty claim 

https://youtu.be/E3aySTut7Vs?si=FGksPHm5QPDLNbM9

pthomas745

If you have watched "all" of the series of videos, Prowse has shown the failures and the reasons for the failures. Lots of owners in the Prowse DIY Forums have also reported on failures of the Battleborns...all for the same basic reason  This issue, apparently, has been bubbling up in the DIY Forums for about the past year, so it isn't something that Prowse created by himself for "clicks".

The question for us, as basic trailer owners of small systems: how much does this really apply to a travel trailer with a basic setup that is not charging and discharging at the rates being discussed in the testing videos?  This is the hard part.  Does it make a difference in the chance of failure with an owner with a single Battleborn who  rarely pushes the battery capacity to a low level, does not use an inverter or a large lithium charger?

Would having one of the 4 lithium 400 amp hour packages with the 3000 watt Multiplus inverter, where an owner might run the AC on battery for a couple of hours and  then plug into shore power and ask for a large charging current make a difference in the chance of failure?  

And: even if the Battleborns do start to show failures across the RV world, will the RV manufacturers (many of who have sales agreements with Battleborn) admit there is an issue and warn owners of what to look for?  The answer is...no...since consumer protections for RV owners are not the same as protections/recalls for automobile owners.  NuCamp owners will get the same response to Battleborn failures as we have gotten for the failures we have seen on the Alde corrosion issue.  Which is practically zero.  The next step for Battleborn is bankruptcy, fi you follow their stock price, etc.  

If I had a Battleborn battery setup, I would have a look at the various videos and take a good close look at the positive battery terminal and look for the color of the red ring around the terminal, looking for the possibility of overheating of that terminal.

There have also been several posts about owners reporting the entire trailer power has completely failed.  After being walked through all the various reasons for the power in the trailer to be completely shut down and finding them all satisfactory...a few hours later the owner reported the trailer power "just came back on".  This is impossible to verify in any case, since there are so many variables.  Did the Battleborn simply "cut itself off" as a "safety measure?" 

Grumpy_G

The certified testing labs and people with degrees should have ensured that the discussed problems don't happen in the first place. As I understand the batteries are "UL certified" and not "UL listed" which is the more stringent evaluation. 

I agree with @pthomas745 that the problem appears to show mostly in high current applications, typically using an inverter. For people that enjoy the 12V lifestyle the risk of the terminal heating up is low. 

jimcenname

After I watched the videos I tested mine BB100ah battery (purchased in 2023) with an infrared thermometer on the positive terminal during a charging cycle while the charger was at its maximum output of 45 amps. The terminal heated up into the 90s but nothing more than other components in that area. I'm okay for now. 

VonAustria

I worked for a business jet manufacturer in Wichita and what BB is doing is absolutely stupid. You don’t have to be an engineer to know how to make the PROPER connections when high dc amperage is involved. I bought a “22 Tab 320 and wanted to upgrade the factory battery to the 200ah lithium system. I looked at the BB but went with Renogy due the the cost. I don’t know when the BB issue started but BB but they need to wake up and clean house in their engineering staff. Some decision maker doesn’t know what he’s doing.
if you put ANY kind of washer between the battery terminal and the connecting cable, you’ve introduced resistance and resistance produces heat.  The more amperage, the more heat. 

SavvyNurseCamper

So I am new to the form. I recently bought my Tab 400 Blackcanyon boondock 2025 and that was last July. The 4 100 amp hour BB batteries were added on in addition to the 3000 watt inverter . I took it to Yuma for first trip and it was plugged in the whole time so never really used the inverter except to power the refrigerator going and coming home.

This year was heading to Bend Oregon and had my trailer at my work site staging. I fired up the refrigerator and over the course of 2-3 days got the temp down to 30-40 degrees. On the 4th day I came to load up and found the batteries disconnected because the voltage dropped below 10.3 That should not have happened with 400 amp hours of battery and sunny days with no clouds to obstruct the solar panels. I canceled my trip and took it to Blue Compas RV in Vegas. Before I did I got the voltage up to 12.6 via 110 plug in but I noticed something odd on the Vitron Blue tooth notes- it said it was overheating. Which I thought was a mistake but now after watching the Will Prowse U-tube video I am inclined to believe. BB batteries are not well built- I saw the take apart and was sick to my stomach . I would not want to use them even if BB gave me 4 brand new batteries! the thought of blowing up or gassing myself with Hydrogen Florine does not excite me I would feel bad to give them away really but now I have sunk so much money into them I doubt they would give me my money back if they indeed are bad.

I did find what I feel would be a good replacement battery. Vatrer 460 amp hour battery with 300a discharge current and the build quality looks fantastic- for 1049.00

Will Prowse praised the 300 amp hour battery but was disappointed that that one did not have the Over current protection . This one does! I think Vatrer was watching the guys videos and fixed what it was lacking. The one thing that makes me cautious is the fact that the battery is 9.92 inches in height but the terminal connection is aproximately one inch shorter and the casing is metal not plastic. I like that but not sure there is enough room under the bed to put the battery.

the only other battey that he liked as well was the Epoch - they had an issue with the software but have finally solved that but the cost is 2 times the BB-2199.00

I spent a lot of money on BB batteries and if I had known I would not have bought them.

It works well with the Vitron equipment and has overcurrent protection and built in heating element. So instead of 4 batteries I would have one to manage and an additional 60 amps of battery . Safety seems a concern for all of us . What are your thoughts?

qhumberd

@SavvyNurseCamper I believe that we are still in the Wild West phase with lithium batteries. Actually these concerns and back and forth claims have raised awareness about an accessory that even in the lead acid days was dangerous.

There was a common belief by many that you always “kill” your first battery. And then you learn enough about how it works to better manage the replacement. If you are not comfortable with assessing your 4 batteries for any damage or overheating I would see if you can find someone that has the proper knowledge of testing and inspecting them. There are a LOT of BB batteries installed in RVs now, so if indeed there are safety concerns, something is bound to happen eventually.

In the meantime you just have to decide which battery you trust and can understand. I replaced my 2 6V lead acid Harris batteries with a single LiTime 230 amp hour lithium and it is working fine. I am sure others with a better electrical background can help as well.

elbolillo

@SavvyNurseCamper I would suggest making sure that the all the systems are correctly connected and determine if indeed the solar panels are functioning properly. Many of these installs have not had the solar chargers connected properly.

I installed my own 400ah battery setup using BB batteries and my system has worked flawlessly. I also installed an additional 180w solar panel on the roof and have a 220w external panel that I use. On one 10 day trip we had limited charging and still arrived home with 20% remaining on the batteries.

If I were to do it over, I probably wouldn't use BB, however, I think you should determine what is causing the batteries to get depleted so quickly and why the solar charging isn't keeping up.

SavvyNurseCamper

Oh I fully agree with both of you both. We are still in the Wild West when it comes to solar. We as a country we will get better standards . BB's were held up as the shining star. After watching the tear down of that battery I know better. The BBs are shoddy construction easy to see visually . Campers that are on the road constantly need to be aware of vibration. The only thing holding together the BB's are the caseing.

Many of the newer batties on the market for less are much better construction . I will not be sleeping with BBs under my bed! Period! The fact that I spent over 4 thousand for 4 batteries that were constructed that poorly sickens me. But, I am alive . I can learn my lesson.😉 Do either of you know the amount of room under the bed that a battery can fit? I want to replace with a Vatrer 460 amp hour battery that has all the features that Will Prowse talked about. I believe that the company was watching his u-tube vids . His tear down of the 300 he said the battery was impeccable and was only lacking the Over Current Protection. Well gee, the 460 has all of that and more. It has sustained amperage over 300 and can be drawn right down to 0 with no issues or hiccups . The construction was impeccable . The only thing better was the Epoch battery. But those are priced like a Mercedes 2200 for the 460 amp hour battery- but it has a slimmer profile and mates perfectly with Vitron equipment. The Vatrer are 1044.00 for the 460 but the smallest profile is 9.92 inches. If I can get that under the bed I will go with that!

Have not heard back from Blue Compass today, so will wait till then. I will update both of you then.

PS the 230 amp battery-Li Time looks exactly like the Echo Worthy Battery that Will did a break down on and was well constructed as well, it just lacked the heat element to the battery . Echo Worthy makes a great looking 280 amp hour battery that has great construction as well and cost only 415.00