Sinetech bad battery experience - no customer service

[ekkekan]

I need some tech info on batteries. After using my UPS for over 3 years I decided to replace them with 2 x Koyosonic 12V 7Ah units. As the UPS works on 24V the 2 are charged and discharged in series.
What a big mistake to not look at hellopeter before buying. During the loadshedding of the end of May I found the one battery would go flat before the oher one. I did a 16 hour charge of both in the UPS and disharged them as per the spec sheet at a current of 1.8 amp. They had to be able to deliver 1.8A for 3 hours down to a voltage of 10.8V I would not have discharged them so low but that is the highest voltage for which specs are provided.

With the one battery much lower than the other one I contacted Sinetech 7 days after I bought them.

This is the response from Herbert Teubner the general manager from Sinetech
You have not tested the batteries correctly. Firstly, when you buy the batteries, new batteries never have 100% capacity immediately. You would have to first do 5 – 10 cycles to reach 100% capacity. In addition, the batteries have to be charged according to a proper charge cycle. UPS system do not normally have very sophisticated chargers, they are normally only float chargers. This will never bring the batteries up to 100% capacity. You never test batteries in series. You should test the batteries individually. So therefore your report does not make sense and is invalid.

When I requested them to charge the battery correct and prove the 3hrs load test @ 1.8A they ignored my e-mails.

The battery not close to spec it took only 2h 15min to reach 10.8V. The spec gave a time of 3 hrs and my test the temp was 4 degrees lower than their spec temp. After a few more discharges to bring it to 10 this battery only gave a time of 54 min. This is after 10 days since I bought them. Also it would not charge to a voltage higher than 12.7V

Can I please get some comments on what to do as Sinetech would not accept the battery is faulty. Also if some replies could be had from people in the know about the method of testing such batteries.

 

[savage]

You get what you pay for... Don't buy crap next time

1.8A @ 230V = 360W odd... With 24V/7Ah (2 x 12V in series), you're going to be LUCKY to get 0.2 hours (15 minutes). You have FAR to little capacity.

There's going to be a LOT of stories like this coming up in the next few months / years as batteries start to die... Way to low spec'ed, abused, not charged correctly, not maintained correctly, the list really goes on...

 

[The_Traveller]

Yeah Sinetech are a bunch of w@nkers. I tried contacting them several times via phone as well as email. No answer or replies . The day I visited them, they were having a staff function. LoL

Worked out well i guess, cos I buy big. Sorry for your bad experience OP.

 

[ekkekan]

Hi Chris,
Somewhere I put the amps in a way you read it wrongly. I expected to get 1.8A from the 7.0Ah battery for 3 hours as per the spec of the battery. Not 1.8A @ 230 V.
My current 3 year old batteries in the UPS are still delivering more than 2 hours at 2Amp on the battery side - not the 230V side.
I thought I am not buying crap from a supplier of solar and UPS systems.
The batteries can only be charged as per the UPS charger that is working well after 3 years. Cannot charge each battery on its own. Further the UPS does charge in multi stage.

 

[ekkekan]

So it means I was lucky that I at least got a reply to my e-mail with the method of discharge testing the bank as a 24V bank.

 

[Lord Farquart]

There's going to be a LOT of stories like this coming up in the next few months / years as batteries start to die... Way to low spec'ed, abused, not charged correctly, not maintained correctly, the list really goes on...

Yup. Was also wondering about the guys jumping on the UPS band wagon. I was wondering how a UPS can be so cheap, but if I buy a battery, inverter and charger, I come to 3-4 times the price for the same "capacity". Seems like the charger is the first weak point in a UPS. I bought most of my stuff from Sinetech. The charger worked out to R2k. 3 Stages and 20A, and it can charge to 14.2V, not the 12.7V the OP gets out of his UPS. Secondly, Omnipower, also from Sinetech, is one of the best batteries on the market. Not a cheap as lead acid batteries, but you get what you pay for.

 

[ekkekan]

Yup. Was also wondering about the guys jumping on the UPS band wagon. I was wondering how a UPS can be so cheap, but if I buy a battery, inverter and charger, I come to 3-4 times the price for the same "capacity". Seems like the charger is the first weak point in a UPS. I bought most of my stuff from Sinetech. The charger worked out to R2k. 3 Stages and 20A, and it can charge to 14.2V, not the 12.7V the OP gets out of his UPS. Secondly, Omnipower, also from Sinetech, is one of the best batteries on the market. Not a cheap as lead acid batteries, but you get what you pay for.

It is not a fault on the UPS charger as my other batteries on the same UPS are charged up to 13.5V. It is only the faulty battery that would not accept any further charge as it must be charged to 13V before it is 100% full. Easy to compare as I bought 2 batteries and both were subjected to the same conditions.

This battery has a lower capacity than even cheap batteries bought from china shops. The worst output after the shortest time of any 7Ah battery bought in over 25 years.

All I would expect that a supplier would at least check the unit when a customer complains and charge it the correct way and show that it is indeed a battery to supply 1.8A for 3 hours as per the spec sheet.

I bought a 7Ah battery that cannot even produce 1.65Ah being flat after 54 min @ 1.8A load - 10 days after I bought it.

 

[ekkekan]

testing

TEST

 

[The_Traveller]

Omnipower, also from Sinetech, is one of the best batteries on the market. Not a cheap as lead acid batteries, but you get what you pay for.

Omnipower is also a Lead Acid battery. But not a normal one. 4200 cycles at 20% DoD is a bit too optimistic though ...

Anyone know the price of a 12v100ah ?

 

[ekkekan]

Omnipower is also a Lead Acid battery. But not a normal one. 4200 cycles at 20% DoD is a bit too optimistic though ...

Anyone know the price of a 12v100ah ?

The Omnipower are gr8 batteries.

My Koyosonic 12V 7Ah units from Sinetect also have a spec of 1300 discharges and could not even do 10 with 30% DOD.

Check www.bushpower.co.za

 

[Lord Farquart]

Omnipower is also a Lead Acid battery. But not a normal one. 4200 cycles at 20% DoD is a bit too optimistic though ...

Anyone know the price of a 12v100ah ?

Technically yes, but not a conventional lead acid. The 200Ah one I have is an AGM battery. I don't have a price on the 100Ah, but the 260Ah is going for R4900 odd.

 

[Gnome]

He does have a point about charging batteries in series.

That is the reason 6v batteries are longer life than 12v (6x2v cells in series) and 2v cells better than 6v (3x2v cells in series).

He is also right about UPS & etc. having bad quality chargers 99% of the time.

I found this after much research and went with 12v batteries in series with each battery having its own battery charger attached (directly to battery terminals).

 

[ekkekan]

He does have a point about charging batteries in series.

That is the reason 6v batteries are longer life than 12v (6x2v cells in series) and 2v cells better than 6v (3x2v cells in series).

He is also right about UPS & etc. having bad quality chargers 99% of the time.

I found this after much research and went with 12v batteries in series with each battery having its own battery charger attached (directly to battery terminals).

I would agree what is better. The fact that my current batteries are in better shape after 3 years than the new batteries bought from Sinetech cannot be blamed on the charger only or the load. Or the fact that one battery goes flat long before the other one.

Further I had the bad new battery charged with a CTEK when I only got a load current of 1.8A for 54 min after about 10 charge/discharges.

Is this what one would expect of a 12V 7Ah battery and a supplier who would not do a check on the battery at fault?

Can one not expect to see that a battery can at least deliver 75% or more of the capacity quoted on the spec sheet even with a test temp lower than what the spec indicated?

I have a 12V 12Ah battery 3 years old which I will charge with the same UPS in series with a 2nd 12V battery and this battery will also deliver about 75% of it's rated capacity.