Renogy 50ah lithium battery not accepting a charge

[moomin-j]

Left it on charge overight and no luck. Renogy are now recommending that I buy their Lithium battery charger @ £129.99 . Can anyone recommend a cheap lithium battery charger with a re-activation function. My worry re buying an expensive one is that after trying that I would still have a duff battery

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[Jim Rey]

Renogy now tell me that the Renogy DC-DC 30A mppt charger has a built in Lithium activation feature. At one point Iwas told I would need a separate charger but they have updated the case chat log to tell me that I don’t need to purchase a second charger. Hopefully this saves someone’s else buying something they don’t need to buy

 

[roadtripper]

If you've not got a charge yet that sounds like either the BMS or one of the cells is in trouble...

 

[Jim Rey]

If you've not got a charge yet that sounds like either the BMS or one of the cells is in trouble...

I have thought that a fualty cell was the most likely cause. They were suggesting that have over-discharged but there’s a permanent PV+ input from my solar panel on the roof so it would have constantly trickle charged from the sun.

 

[roadtripper]

I have thought that a fualty cell was the most likely cause. They were suggesting that have over-discharged but there’s a permanent PV+ input from my solar panel on the roof so it would have constantly trickle charged from the sun.

Be cautious, it's lead acid batteries that don't mind being held at float voltages.

Most lithium chemistry if you hold them at the end of charge voltage you shorten the life of the cells. It's why some chargers don't hold lithium at full (CTEK and Sterling usually)

 

[Jim Rey]

Be cautious, it's lead acid batteries that don't mind being held at float voltages.

Most lithium chemistry if you hold them at the end of charge voltage you shorten the life of the cells. It's why some chargers don't hold lithium at full (CTEK and Sterling usually)

I thought most people had the solar panels switched so when the sun shone they would get power fed into DC-Dc then when the DC-Dc would switch to float

 

[roadtripper]

Depends on the DC-DC. The CTEK lets the battery fall back and kicks into charge again if needed on the normal charger it may well do the same on solar.

I don't think it's an issue for you, but keep in mind that holding a lithium cell at 100% may not be treating it as kindly as we are used to with lead acid.

 

[Jim Rey]

I have a renogy 30A DC-DC charger so it should be able to handle all of the charge profiles. Renogy finally told me I was to get a new battery but that was 10 days ago and no sign of the promised dispatch or tracking details. I am wondering if I am actually getting a replacement. Will update here if I do. I first reported the issue on 14-9-23 but no solution as yet. I will not buy Renogy again. There seems to be no Renogy UK telephone number or mailing address just a slow to respond ticketing system.

 

[Jim Rey]

Update --- Still no sign of a replacement battery. If I do get one delivered, I will update. They have now started to ignore my Case number replies. This it seems, is a pattern experienced by other people who have bought Renogy batteries and had issues. They deliberately, in my opinion, do not give details of any U.K. side address and this may be to stop anyone taking the small claims route to make them comply with warranties. Looks like I am going to have to put my AGM battery back in my van so I can use it again. Renogy customer support, in my case, is not good. Check out this link >>> Renogy Trustpilot 1 star reviews 23% of people not happy and submit reviews with lowest rating. Overall ratings are 30% of reviewers not happy.
If you are lucky enough to have bought a Renogy battery and had no issues, I'm glad for you, but this should serve as advice before anyone decides what they put in their van. In absence of a replacement, looks like in all, I will have lost over £300 not withstanding all of the time stripping out my 12V setup and the time it will take me to build it back with my AGM battery. Probably in March 2024, I am going to look at another U.K. based LifeP04 supplier. Might cost me more but maybe then I won't have similar expensive issues such as this experience with Renogy.
Another thing I might do, if they don't send me a replacement and ask for the faulty one back, is take apart the faulty battery a make a video during that process. In that video I will do a technical check of the BMS function and measure the cell voltages to determine what the issue is. If I do, I will post the YouTube link in this post.

 

[Pete C]

Thanks for posting this. I will be in the market for a new leisure battery soon, and this looks like a brand to avoid.

Pete

 

[Jim Rey]

Thanks for posting this. I will be in the market for a new leisure battery soon, and this looks like a brand to avoid.

Pete

Hope it maybe saves you any hassle down line the Pete. I think a U.K. supplier might be the best route..even if it means a few extra quid

 

[Jim Rey]

Heard back from Renogy after 48 hours after my last message. This time they are saying they are having problems sourcing replacement 50aH LoFe04 Batteries....strange that, as there seems to be plenty available on eBay and Amazon. I think I am going to have to buy another battery from another company elsewhere.
Renogy 50Ah LiFePO4 Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery 12V BMS Deep Cycles Solar LFP | eBay

Just so everyone who reads this knows. The Renogy kit looks nice and lots of people are happy with Renogy but if you buy from them and have issues you may, like me, be looking at a lot of hassle to get a solution. 4 weeks down the line when this issue first surfaced and I contacted them, I have no solution yet.

Seems they have a depot somewhere in Glenfield Leicester. I am trying to get the address for that.

 

[Captain Quick]

The renogyx website lists Glenfield as its UK ‘Distribution Centre’, Glenfield being located 3 miles from Leicester. Other than home-based businesses, there are few businesses located in this small, mainly residential, village. The only place a distribution company could operate from would appear to be on the Mill Lane Industrial Estate.

However, according to its Linked In profile 'Renogy UK & Ireland' is headquartered in Reading, Berkshire and has 2-10 employees. No UK Renogy ‘employees’ have LinkedIn profiles though. On checking Companies House and Companies Registration Office, there is no company registered in either the UK or Ireland that uses the name 'Renogy' in its title, or any variant, as far as I can establish. There are no UK telephone numbers listed against the name Renogy and all registrant contact details for the domains ‘renogy.co.uk’ and ‘renogy.uk’ have been redacted for privacy on the Nominet domain registrant lookup.

All in all, the Renogy brand takes a great deal of effort to conceal its UK operating location and company registration details, and clearly doesn't want anyone contacting them. It appears to operate here (and most other countries) through anonymous third party distribution agents that just ship out orders taken through Renogy branded online stores. Draw your own conclusions but it’s a brand that I will be giving a very wide berth.

 

[ginkster]

The renogyx website lists Glenfield as its UK ‘Distribution Centre’, Glenfield being located 3 miles from Leicester. Other than home-based businesses, there are few businesses located in this small, mainly residential, village. The only place a distribution company could operate from would appear to be on the Mill Lane Industrial Estate.

However, according to its Linked In profile 'Renogy UK & Ireland' is headquartered in Reading, Berkshire and has 2-10 employees. No UK Renogy ‘employees’ have LinkedIn profiles though. On checking Companies House and Companies Registration Office, there is no company registered in either the UK or Ireland that uses the name 'Renogy' in its title, or any variant, as far as I can establish. There are no UK telephone numbers listed against the name Renogy and all registrant contact details for the domains ‘renogy.co.uk’ and ‘renogy.uk’ have been redacted for privacy on the Nominet domain registrant lookup.

All in all, the Renogy brand takes a great deal of effort to conceal its UK operating location and company registration details, and clearly doesn't want anyone contacting them. It appears to operate here (and most other countries) through anonymous third party distribution agents that just ship out orders taken through Renogy branded online stores. Draw your own conclusions but it’s a brand that I will be giving a very wide berth.

Great info. Thanks. I am looking at adding a solar panel and upgrading the electrics (MPPT and charger) and battery but will certainly be avoiding Renogy having read this.

 

[Jim Rey]

The renogyx website lists Glenfield as its UK ‘Distribution Centre’, Glenfield being located 3 miles from Leicester. Other than home-based businesses, there are few businesses located in this small, mainly residential, village. The only place a distribution company could operate from would appear to be on the Mill Lane Industrial Estate.

However, according to its Linked In profile 'Renogy UK & Ireland' is headquartered in Reading, Berkshire and has 2-10 employees. No UK Renogy ‘employees’ have LinkedIn profiles though. On checking Companies House and Companies Registration Office, there is no company registered in either the UK or Ireland that uses the name 'Renogy' in its title, or any variant, as far as I can establish. There are no UK telephone numbers listed against the name Renogy and all registrant contact details for the domains ‘renogy.co.uk’ and ‘renogy.uk’ have been redacted for privacy on the Nominet domain registrant lookup.

All in all, the Renogy brand takes a great deal of effort to conceal its UK operating location and company registration details, and clearly doesn't want anyone contacting them. It appears to operate here (and most other countries) through anonymous third party distribution agents that just ship out orders taken through Renogy branded online stores. Draw your own conclusions but it’s a brand that I will be giving a very wide berth.

Thank you for this information.
You have just confirmed my own assumptions regarding this company's dealing with customers. I still have not received a replacement battery. Very poor customer service.

I hope this thread can help someone else avoid a similar experience to mine.

I will leave it 3 weeks and then, if I have no replacement, I will attempt a repair of the battery before it may end up being taken to an authorised battery disposal facility.

I contacted them via eBay asking for a U.K. address and they replied thus......

"Greetings! We hope this message finds you well.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but unfortunately, we are unable to provide our UK address for Renogy at this time.

If you have any further questions or need assistance with an alternative solution, please do not hesitate to reach out. Thank you for your understanding."

If I had managed to find a U.K. address for them I would have considered a smalls claims court action should they have continued to not comply with their stated warranty obligations. Here is a link to their warranty statement.>>>>>. Renogy Warranty Document . Without a UK address that then isn't an option in the worst case scenario. My regret is not buying this item via Amazon or eBay becuse they would have perhaps helped. Also, I am just outside the 180 days margin for help from PayPal.

 

[Jim Rey]

Great info. Thanks. I am looking at adding a solar panel and upgrading the electrics (MPPT and charger) and battery but will certainly be avoiding Renogy having read this.

Yes, try and find a U.K. based provider. May cost a bit more money but you can avoid my current situation

 

[Captain Quick]

If I had managed to find a U.K. address for them I would have considered a smalls claims court action should they have continued to not comply with their stated warranty obligations. Here is a link to their warranty statement.>>>>>. Renogy Warranty Document . Without a UK address that then isn't an option in the worst case scenario. My regret is not buying this item via Amazon or eBay becuse they would have perhaps helped. Also, I am just outside the 180 days margin for help from PayPal.

Jim, Digging a bit deeper into the companies operating out of the Mill Lane Industrial Estate in Glenfield, I think Renogy are using Nissin (UK) Ltd Global Logistics who are based on the Mill Lane site in Glenfield (LE3 8DX) to do their UK distribution. Although they don’t name any of their clients, Nissin’s website tells us “…From Automotive parts to small consumer items, we are experienced in pick, pack and distribution operation for clients dealing in a diverse range of products.“ Draw your own conclusion.

It may be worth looking at any labelling/shipping information or scanning barcodes/QR codes on the outer packing of boxes that you have received containing Renogy products for evidence of any logistics information but I suspect it would not provide any insight other than to confirm Renogy are hiding behind a third party distributor to circumvent UK consumer rights legislation.

 

[Jim Rey]

Jim, Digging a bit deeper into the companies operating out of the Mill Lane Industrial Estate in Glenfield, I think Renogy are using Nissin (UK) Ltd Global Logistics who are based on the Mill Lane site in Glenfield (LE3 8DX) to do their UK distribution. Although they don’t name any of their clients, Nissin’s website tells us “…From Automotive parts to small consumer items, we are experienced in pick, pack and distribution operation for clients dealing in a diverse range of products.“ Draw your own conclusion.

It may be worth looking at any labelling/shipping information or scanning barcodes/QR codes on the outer packing of boxes that you have received containing Renogy products for evidence of any logistics information but I suspect it would not provide any insight other than to confirm Renogy are hiding behind a third party distributor to circumvent UK consumer rights legislation.

Yes , Google maps shows the business names on an industrial estate. I saw the company you mentioned and thought that this is what they do. I think the mistake I made was to order via Renogy website direct. So they know I have no recourse via eBay or Amazon complaints system to highlight the poor customer service. Ironically, because I paid them directly on their site they make more money from the sale because they are not paying sellers fees to Amazon or eBay. They will not answer my constant questions re when are they going to deliver the new battery they promised. Despite me volunteering to send the faulty one back to them, they told me they do not want it back.

 

[Jim Rey]

My next step is splitting the top case to get inside the battery. As they have told me (again!!) they don't want it back then I won't be invalidating any warranty....not that the warranty is doing me any good.
Looking at couriers... some of them are refusing to transport Lithium batteries citing risk of fire, even though LiFE04 batteries are safer than previous technologies it would impossible for them to discern between different Lithium technologies; so I understand their position. Renogy know this, and that is why they don't want it back.
This thread hopefully, if people insist on buying Renogy kit, is to make sure you go through Amazon or eBay. I suspect Amazon or eBay would not be happy if customers complained about them and their terrible customer service. Better still, don't buy Renogy unless their customer service improves but as far as I'm concerned, NEVER again!! When I have split the thing apart I will report back further.

 

[DXX]

My next step is splitting the top case to get inside the battery.

That’s not a very safe thing to do, there is a very high energy density.
I bought a Renogy inverter a while back, one look at the ‘manual’ indicates to me that I would neither trust the equipment or buy anymore.