Lifebatt USA is run by Don Harmon, who brought us the now defunct and
always massively overpriced Raptor trike, and when they first wanted
to sell their LiFePo4 batteries for the e-vehicle market about a year
ago, I took a chance on their first pack and was even their rep for a
short time, though i never sold a single battery or made a penny.
Because of their recent flat refusal to support the one set of cells
we purchased when we had warranty problems related to leaking cells
and failure of the vms, i can no longer recommend anyone buy their
batteries.

On their website www.lifebatt.com they are continuing to make the
claim that they are a "Phostech Lithium TM Licensed Manufacturer",
while Don has admitted publicly that their cells are not made with the
premium Phostech powder as we were told at the time of purchase.

This is really too bad, as what could have been a great product is
suffering great damage as more people become aware of the truth about
the 3 year warranty that might make these cells worth the high price
they charge.

Another real problem with these 40138 format cells is leakage. The
cells have a 1/4" threaded stud on each end that looks like it would
make them perfect for the hobbyist, stringing the cells together in
any configuration we might wish. In the original Lifebatt packaging
these threads are covered by brass sleeves with a smooth outer
surface, and the cells are clamped into copper cradles for interconnect.

Any torque on the studs at all, even slight strain on interconnecting
cables, will cause the cells to leak corrosive electrolyte. Even in
the factory packaging the weight of the cells is supported by the
electrodes on the ends, which does not seem like the greatest idea,
and we have seen some cells leaking under this condition as well.

The weakest link in most battery systems is the bms or battery
management system. This system is critical if the cells are to deliver
the promised 3000 cycles. The Lifebatt vms has so far proven to be
inadequate and a number of cells were damaged as a result. Don
recently told me that the new vms still does not protect against
overly deep discharge, the worst thing you can do to these cells.

If the problem of leakage at the studs can be solved, and the promised
14 Ah cells turn out to be real, and some kind of bond to assure
performance of the warranty was established, this could be a good
product, but unfortunately if you want to buy them in the US you will
have to deal with people i cannot recommend.

bob mcree