Well, that's good news (to say the least .... my actual comment doesn't quite make it on a "G rated" public forum).
I wonder what's in the fine print?...... If it's the same as the old warranty it covers "factory defects" but not "misuse and abuse". I'd bet if you let them freeze, that's not going to be covered under warranty . There's nothing in there about it being pro-rated like the way a lot of battery warranties are setup. Full replacement at 10 years would be quite unique on a battery.
Of course the warranty only gets honored if the company is still there in 10 years. Judging by the way they are going right now, seems like they will keep chugging along.
They hit the ground running with a fantastic marketing plan and it's great news on the warranty. I too would imagine it's prorated after a couple years but it's better than most. I imagine the others will follow suit.
We've been studying the various brands extensively for the last few months as interest grows. Battle Born, Dragonfly, Stark, Venture, Relion and the only thing that concerns me about Battle Born is the weight (being its nearly a group 27 size battery at only 29 lbs. I'm being told by their competitors they are leaving some dead space in the case to cut weight and cost. I have not yet opened one up but might.
The other thing concerning is the BMS is not serviceable except by them tearing down the battery at their facility.
Relion's low temperature series is interesting for our friends in the north and Canada. Charges down to -4 F.
I'm really interested in Venture. They are packing 120 AH in a group 24 case (@32 lbs) with an external serviceable BMS. Since the BMS is the most likely component to fail at some point (1 day our of warranty of course ) it has my attention.
There's always a "wonderful guess" made on this sort of thing. In ten or twenty years, we'll know a lot more answers than we do now.
Is the BMS the weak link or are the connectors to an external BMS a bigger issue ... who knows. Is 100AH a good number in this or that package or should it really be 150AH ... again ... who knows. Should charging stop at 32F or is something lower ok. Is a "discharge only" spec at -4F the right number. Do they really die at -6F or is there a charge related factor (like with a lead acid).
Lots of questions and very few hard answers .... yet.
There's always a "wonderful guess" made on this sort of thing. In ten or twenty years, we'll know a lot more answers than we do now.
Is the BMS the weak link or are the connectors to an external BMS a bigger issue ... who knows. Is 100AH a good number in this or that package or should it really be 150AH ... again ... who knows. Should charging stop at 32F or is something lower ok. Is a "discharge only" spec at -4F the right number. Do they really die at -6F or is there a charge related factor (like with a lead acid).
Lots of questions and very few hard answers .... yet.
Bob
Agree. BB contacted us 2 years ago like Lifeline did ~15 years ago. Drug our feet on AGM for the exact same reasons then. Cost and the unknown.
Not many were willing to spend $300 on a battery back then when flooded was $40-50 but they gobble them up now. Not many still willing to spend $950-1200 on Lithium today but they are coming faster and I know and many of you already have.
All of the reps are saying the BMS is the weakest link because it can fail in multiple ways. Never heard anything about connectors. On the external, its formed fitted to the case and comes off with about 6 short screws and takes less than a minute to replace. What I don't know for sure yet is if they will allow the end user to replace it. I have a feeling they will since it's in their interest if under warranty and if they know that is the problem.
The question on connectors / connections more relates to a BMS that is truly external to the battery package. Any time you have wires all over the place, you run a risk.
Your trailer would stay much better connected to the tow vehicle if it there was a solid piece of wire between them instead of a 7 pin connector. Indeed there would be practical issues ( = you can never unhitch the trailer ... ) if you did that.
I don't see a photo of the Relion, that is Venture Volt and in edit they have changed the new line to Viper since I first looked at them.
Stark vaccums? Never heard of them. We have a Shark in our RV however, haha
I think it's great that the reps from BB come on here and answer questions if that is what you mean. It goes a long way I know and I am a fan.
I'm happy with my Battle Born batteries, but I certainly would not claim they have some super black magic secret when it comes to RV batteries. Their BMS is cute, but it's not that different than what others are doing. Designing one up is actually a fairly simple task. I've done a lot of very similar designs over the years.
What does matter is good care making the batteries and what goes in them. Careful testing of the product before it's shipped is vital. Standing behind the product after it's shipped is right up there as well. None of that is a "only one outfit can do it" kind of thing.
Competition is a good thing, having three or four good vendors, with stock to ship from, in the US market would be great.
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