Returns and Refunds

 

Can I ship my batteries back to MaxAmps?

Lithium batteries may be considered dangerous goods for shipping purposes.

To send batteries back to us for repair or replacement, you may need to be dangerous goods certified or find a local shipping company that is dangerous goods certified. Failure to ship your packages properly can cause a fire in shipping and can result in fines and penalties. 

What is a factory defect?

It’s a battery that is either manufactured incorrectly, leading to failure in use, or a cell that has a manufacturing defect that becomes apparent in or after use. A manufacturing error could be a weak connection, poor solder joint, missed cell connection, and/or improperly installed component.

Weak connections, like a poor solder joint, don’t allow for the proper flow of power out into the system it is powering. Heat is generated which can cause a cell to deteriorate in use. The heat buildup should be noticeable early on but it may be a few cycles before there is obvious damage to a cell.

Missed cell connections are most common in multi-P (or paralleled cell) batteries. Connecting in parallel requires connecting multiple cells together on both positive and negative connections. While uncommon, it is possible for one of those cells to not be properly connected with the others. This will cause a cell imbalance in charge and discharge. This type of error should be recognizable very early in the use process as your battery will get further out of balance with each charge/discharge. While a balance process can bring the lines back into line with each other, that separation will become apparent again on its next use.

A cell defect can be harder to detect as it can initially voltage test well but, once load is applied, that cell will likely begin to show it’s defect by not properly maintaining voltage under load with the other cells or continuing to discharge after load is removed.

Self-discharge is a symptom of a micro short in most cases and will cause a cell to over discharge over a period of time.

Defective cells are rare and most of them are identified and removed before battery pack assembly. So, in the case of a cell defect, you will see the deterioration of a single cell, not an entire battery.

Improperly installed components would be reverse polarity connections (plug or main lead), weak solder connections, incorrect/reverse balance lead install, or bad connector crimps on main connectors or balance leads.

What is a failure from improper storage?

Improper/non maintenance is mainly concerning how you manage a battery when not in use. Lithium batteries are designed to be used. The longer they sit without use, the faster they are likely to fail. If a battery is not used for an extended period, it should be cycled monthly to avoid failure from prolonged storage without use. When not in use your battery should also be kept in a storage state which is 60-70% of its rated capacity/voltage or 3.75-3.95v per cell. Most of today’s smart chargers have a storage mode built in which will achieve this SOC(state of charge).

Storing at full charge for long durations will cause resistance to build in the battery and it will be unable to provide the expected runtime or power. Signs of this type of failure would be a high IR (Internal resistance) across all of the cells in a given battery and will eventually result in pre-mature failure.

What is a user error failure?

Common user error failures would be over discharge, over charge, shorting, crash damage, over amperage, and use in salt water.

Over discharge is discharging any individual cell below its rated minimum voltage per cell. Most modern applications have cutoffs or warnings (set at 3.4V per cell or higher) that allow you plenty of time to stop use before over discharge can occur. Once a battery is over discharged it begins to lose capacity and capable performance. The further down it is discharged, the more apparent that deterioration is. If over discharge does occur, it is recommended that you discontinue use on that battery. Consult a friendly MaxAmps associate for guidance and assistance when this occurs.

Over charging is less common with today’s smart Lithium Charger models available. If you have the correct settings on the charger, it will not over charge a battery. There may be ways to bypass that setting in order to purposely over charge the battery in an effort to increase runtime or performance. That additional performance comes at the cost of cycle life though. MaxAmps strongly discourages charging above 4.2V for use as it is not safe and will severely limit the cycle life of a battery.

Shorting from mishandling or crash damage that deforms a cell is likely to cause an internal short which will cause failure. Shorting is the most likely scenario that you are to experience thermal runaway (fire). The likelihood of this is higher at higher states of charge. (i.e. full charge or over charged batteries are more likely to experience this if shorted.) Shorting is the completion of a power circuit when the positive and negative connections come together. This can happen if wire is damaged, plugs are damaged, or the battery is dented/punctured/damaged and those connections are able to connect, completing the circuit.

Over amperage during the use of a battery is when the amp rate causes the battery to build up heat beyond 140 degrees Fahrenheit/60 degrees Celsius in use or that the voltage under loads drops it below its rated minimum voltage range. While a battery may be able to maintain high amp draws for short periods, extended use at these rates will inevitably deteriorate a battery over time. This can be as little as 1 cycle on a battery if the amp rate is high enough. Swelling, excessive heat in/after use, venting, and melted heat shrink (protective coating of LiPo batteries) are all signs that this has occurred.

In addition, just because a cell is able to maintain a specific load, it doesn’t mean the components you have chosen are rated for that same load. While a MaxAmps 5200mAh battery may be capable of a 200A draw, an XT60 connector is not. This will cause excessive heat buildup, which will eventually reach and damage cells during use. For questions about proper wire/connector options, give us a call!

Although most lithium batteries are inherently water proof, salt water is a whole different beast. Salt water will actually render lithium inert so exposure to it has a high likely-hood of causing premature failure. If you are running in this environment, use a water-sealed battery box and connector system.

How do I get a refund or exchange?

If you would like to exchange your product(s) or get a refund, just contact our battery tech team by clicking here and we will help you with your refund or exchange.