[McRat]

I just bought 4 pieces of the A123 Li batteries from EVTV Motor Verks for testing purposes.

4 of them weigh 4.5 lbs, and all four show 3.29 vdc each.

There is a piece of paper on each one, put on with scotch tape, that says 900mAh 3.7V.

Is this normal? They are Part # APP72161227, and each is serialized starting with SHBxxxxxxxxxxx.

Are these the 19 Ah pieces? The taped on number is not factory, and appears to be foreign typeset (Chinese numbers and letters are a different font than US products). The factory numbering is a normal US sans serif font.

[kerrymann]

Originally Posted by McRat

I just bought 4 pieces of the A123 Li batteries from EVTV Motor Verks for testing purposes.

4 of them weigh 4.5 lbs, and all four show 3.29 vdc each.

There is a piece of paper on each one, put on with scotch tape, that says 900mAh 3.7V.

Is this normal? They are Part # APP72161227, and each is serialized starting with SHBxxxxxxxxxxx.

Are these the 19 Ah pieces? The taped on number is not factory, and appears to be foreign typeset (Chinese numbers and letters are a different font than US products). The factory numbering is a normal US sans serif font.

I found the same on some of mine. I have not seen any difference in those that have the label. The only thing I could think of was something to do with customs duties. For more info on the cells performance check out:

http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums...ad.php?t=71283

[McRat]

Whew. Thanks! Not knowing if they are 3.2 or 3.7 cells is pretty important. I will charge and discharge them per LiFePO4 specs.

[McRat]

PS - What is a PL6 and where do I get one?

I'm a hotrodder, and only know the basics about electricity.

[danh818]

I received my shipment of 432 A123's last week and I have the same sticker. Kerry is right on, it seems to be what the Chinese are doing to have lower duties/fees. The top two cells in all my boxes were labeled this way.

PL6 is short for PowerLab6. It's a charger this is used by R/C hobbyists that will do multiple battery chemistries, and it has lots of useful features for our purposes (capacity testing, internal resistance, etc.). You can buy them from Revolectrix at: http://www.revolectrix.com/ I have 4 of them and am just beginning testing of all my cells. There are many others here on the forum that are/have used these units, and even a thread about a standardized testing procedure for A123s using them (although personally I don't want to discharge as low as they are going).