alliexpress battery vs lunacycle

[Cavi]

Soo I can get a 13 ah 52v battery on Ebay for 280 or one from Lunacycle for 549. I understand the quality of the Lunacycle is probably better but at this point I am buying the whole kit, bike repair parts and a battery so I am considering the ebay one for now to save the $200, then latter I can swap it. Tell me about your experiences with both batteries please

 

[tomjasz]

Lunacycle batteries are also sourced from China, except for their newest sealed in epoxy builds. That eBay $280 battery has no warranty. It is using generic cells, read mediocre quality, and may have a very cheap BMS, battery management system that won't protect you from a disastrous event. There are resellers on eBay that can be trusted, but I guarantee a $280 52V battery is money wasted. There's a China seller here that people are happy with. !!!!REMEMBER!!!! You can't ship a battery back to China for repairs. It fails and you have a $280 brick. There's a video here of a UPP battery that had a cheap BMS. The kit builder, new to the adventure, shorted the battery wires and the battery turned into an eternal flame that couldn't be extinguished by the owner.

 

[tomjasz]

Go to YouTube and watch this!!!

 

[PDXzap]

Anyways, I bought this battery, arrived no problem and working fine. Good price and I'm happy with it!

In a different thread you mention this battery, or another one you bought from Eunorau, has Samsung 35E cells. How did you determine the pack had those cells?

 

[tomjasz]

AliExpress battery is significantly more powerful than Juiced battery, despite being both 48V.

Thats just nonsense! Amps is amps. A 35E putting out 20A and a 30Q putting out 20A is still 20A!

 

[MarkF]

A better battery will have less voltage sag so yes you can feel a difference, if that's the case.

 

[tomjasz]

A better battery will have less voltage sag so yes you can feel a difference, if that's the case.

A properly sized battery, output to motor demand shouldn't sag, regardless of the cells.

 

[indianajo]

I got garbage batteries from btrbattery of Amazon and sun-ebike of Ebay. I got my money back from Amazon but not Ebay since that battery would work for 11 miles and I missed the 30 day warranty. I got a good battery from Luna I'm using 18 months later. I think Luna might check their batteries in the US. Whereever thay are built. Devices are as good as the QA department, how bribeable they are or not. Worth $330 extra IMHO to not pedal the bike 25 miles unpowered in the rain again.

 

[tomjasz]

jeebus timpo. I used the two cells as an example. A properly sized 35E pack will perform as good as a 30Q. It’s all about the controller/motor demand. 26F is an old but venerable cell. 26F packs are, or should be the cheapest available. You just need more cells P to meet the same output as a 30Q. You’re confused about battery specifications. I happen to have an old 26F pack. 14s7p. I know from actual experience.

 

[tomjasz]

For uninitiated, Aliexpress is not a seller. It is a place where sellers post products. A Chinese eBay of sorts. Being on Aliexpress can mean you're a great reseller or a flake. One MUST watch the ratings. You can't ship a battery back. Warranty typically means they send parts for you to replace. You better have some soldering skills and basic battery know how.

 

[MarkF]

I think some of these vendors like to throw out good cell specs and then use cheap fakes. The proof in the pudding for me is the power under load. Timpo felt it and I believe him. Thomas, even packs made from good cells can be crap if the builder uses too much heat when soldering so yea voltage sag is real even if you don't want to believe it or me.

 

[Deleted member 4210]

To say 'aliexpress battery', is really not a very good way to label what battery you got. There are hundreds if not thousands of sellers of products on aliexpress, just like there are thousands of 3rd party sellers on Amazon. There are some really good suppliers and really bad suppliers. So unless you cite the supplier, it's a meaningless discussion.

You can get a good quality Samsung battery pack, and similar with Panasonic on Ali express and it won't be cheap, But itd totally a crap shoot as to whether they will or won't be actual the actual true name brands, or simply grade b cells with counterfeit labels on them. If you find you are saving a lot versus Luna cycle, the odds are very high its a counterfeit. That's because you simply cannot get good quality actual brand name batteries that much cheaper buying direct from China via aliexpress, Alibaba, or DHgate, among others. The bury the shipping cost in the price and it's expensive to ship one off's from there. A place like Luna cycle can buy in volume, ship by sea, and get you the true brand name, saving a LOT per battery on shipping, and not putting as high a Mark up on them versus if you buy from the ebike OEM.

Also, They ALL bank on you not opening the battery case, let alone having the ability to discern an actual Samsung from a fake, even if you could 'remove' the label. They also threaten you with 'warranty void', if you open the casing. (Nice of them 'eh' given that they wont likely send you a new battery even if you get one that dies in 35 days).

The bms, will also be the lowest quality they can Get away with.

You won't really know then until it's too late, if it's what's advertised, and your battery dies after only a few hundred charge cycles. Or dropped to half capacity in 18 months.

 

[tomjasz]

I think some of these vendors like to throw out good cell specs and then use cheap fakes. The proof in the pudding for me is the power under load. Timpo felt it and I believe him. Thomas, even packs made from good cells can be crap if the builder uses too much heat when soldering so yea voltage sag is real even if you don't want to believe it or me.

Timpo bought a pack with a cell that is at least a 10 year old design. A pack that is not well matched to the controller and motor he’s riding if he’s experiencing sag in a new pack. No one, not even the crappiest Aliexpress seller, I have ever seen, solders battery packs. NO ONE! Sure sag is real with lousy builders and buyers that don’t understand battery specifications. Anyone buying a 26F pack, in 2019, and expecting more than 15-20A power is just plain unaware of battery performance. A 20Ah 26F pack can easily power a 30A peak without sag, but expecting more is just plain missing the boat. I have a 26F 20AH pack. I know how it responds to a 30A draw. I have a 30Q, 29E, PF, and 30Q batteries. I know how they respond. NO PACK, EVEN BUDGET PACKS SAG WHEN MATCHED TO CONTROLLER. PERIOD. Please let’s stick to specs and facts.

I can share photos of a UPP pack, and. Luna pack with “best BMS” and both use $8 BMS.

But what do I know...

 

[tomjasz]

I’m not dissing Aliexpress, but that’s a broad statement. Aliexpress is thousands of resellers. That tells us nothing. Yes, my bad, 26F is correct, but you’re telling us that it’s the cell that made the difference. I’m saying it’s the build. If a pack has more get up and go, it’s not the cells as such. It’s the build. For a 26F to perform closer to a 30Q, for example, you’d need more parallel cells. 7 or 8P would bd needed to push out the Amos of a lesser parallel count of a 30Q. I’m using 30Q as an example only. Cells are rated at maximum out put. Put enough I’n parallel and a laptop cell COULD work out but who wants a third as many cells for a even heavier weight pack. My best batteries are from 3 sources. 3rd best, but acceptable understanding the limitations is from A STORE ON ALIEXPRESS.

A 2 minute Google search will flush a dozen flaky Aliexpress horror stories. Despite the fact there are very good sellers there. Ferreting out there good is the difficult part. Kevin at Enoueah has a significant USA presence. And a USA shipping point. That makes a huge difference.

I know who builds Juiced batteries. A very good fella, but it all depends on the controller/motor spec and parslell count when it comes to sag. My 30A BBSHD and a 20AH 26F wasnt a particularly good combination.

 

[tomjasz]

BTW a 30Q has nearly 3 times the discharge capacity of a 26F 5.2A compared to 15A.

 

[tomjasz]

It's too bad because people were saying 30Q doesn't cost any more than 35E.

Not sure how someone came to that conclusion. Looking around and pricing on forums is more often inaccurate. 30Q ARE more expensive.

AND,

Brand/builder is everything. "Aliexpress" is not much help in sorting who the good guys are.
I have no reason to pay for a 30Q. My newest EM3ev packs a 35E 36V 10S5P, 17Ah. Great value and nice mileage.

 

[tomjasz]

I don't think a single cell can discharge that much current.

Of course not.

Also I just looked around on price, 30Q and 35E are similar, starting approx $4.99/

You’re seeing retail pricing. Neither is$4.99 in any quantities. 35E are at least 30% less. You just aren’t accessing wholesale pricing.