Battleborn Vs. RELiON

[blinkerfluid]

We just bought a new-to-us boat and I'm planning on replacing the entire battery/charging setup on the boat as part of a refit. Right now we're leaning towards lithium for the batteries.

Does anyone have a compelling argument for choosing one of these brands over the other? They appear to be a very similar product with the Battleborns being slightly less expensive.

[robertk445]

Since Relion batteries are made in China and the they beef up the bms upon arrival have you considered ordering from other factory in China. I found the factory that makes Relion and they will sell for $1100 before shipping. Other factorys are $850 usd. This is for 300AH. Hmmm sounds attractive andaybe worth the gamble. Remember the relion is made in China.

[BigNut]

Bump to this thread.

I am facing similar choice after a lightning strike took out my 4 x 300 Ah Relions. Dealer suggests Battle Born are more reliable. OTOH, BattleBorn are only 100H vs 300Ah on the Relions. So, 4 vs 12 batteries. Many more connections.

In response to post above, I believe both Relion and Battle Born are of Chinese origin.

Anybody have any actual data, particularly on the claimed better reliability of the Battle Born vs Relions?

Thanksabunch

[Oceansailor]

Originally Posted by BigNut

Bump to this thread.



I am facing similar choice after a lightning strike took out my 4 x 300 Ah Relions. Dealer suggests Battle Born are more reliable. OTOH, BattleBorn are only 100H vs 300Ah on the Relions. So, 4 vs 12 batteries. Many more connections.



In response to post above, I believe both Relion and Battle Born are of Chinese origin.



Anybody have any actual data, particularly on the claimed better reliability of the Battle Born vs Relions?



Thanksabunch

Interesting as this is my biggest concern going with LFP. And specially dropin LFP as they have the BMS board built in.

Obviously a direct hit will damage a lot. Luckily most lightning strikes are not direct hits.

Do you know what was damaged by the lightning.

Was it the built in BMS ?

Was it the cells ?

[BigNut]

We had a direct hit.
Not sure what was damaged - 3 of the 4 batteries have been with the dealer now for over a month and we still have no concrete documentation other than a statement that they are all damaged.
Not sure how you would determine this anyway, without swapping out the controller boards? If capacity is reduced could you conclude it is the cells without swapping the boards? 2 out of the 3 reportedly have reduced capacity. The other sounds like a board issue - sudden dropping of load.
But, I am a bear of little brain, perhaps wiser heads will know more.

[Cpt Pat]

There is a good dissection (literally) of the Battleborn battery posted here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5E30u-66VI

There is also a comparison of Battleborn versus Relion batteries here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOqQp2Xjr6U

[RickG]

I had seen these videos before and the BattleBorn tear down makes them look pretty good. I like that they sell direct and have an agressive support program and long warranty. I have good support from coastalclimatecontrol.com and they sell Relion; having a good reseller helps a lot and they come in different sized and voltages.

If I were buying today I would go with the Battleborn batteries. We put in our seven Firefly Carbon Foam AGMs two years ago and I expect they will last a long time unless there is a catastrophe. By then the options will be different.

Cheers, RickG