mac_man_luke
Well-Known Member
I have run mine down to about 30% and was looking like i was going to get the full 100ah usable, was still in the 13v area
ITechworld Lithium
- Thread starter Rags90mod
- Start date
Hey guys,
I have owned the iTech120 for over a year now. I am not sure what had happened but it died after 1 year. I installed it under the bonnet and managed by a Redarc DCDC Charger. After a few months of installation, the outer shell started to deform. Buckled around the outside, kind of melted in some thinner plastic covers on the top. I tried to claim warranty initially but I was assured that it was perfectly fine and safe to use as there is an internal shell to protect the main cells that can cop up to 250 degree heat. So I used it for another 3 months or so and it died on me. Had to send it back at my own cost of around $80 to get a new replacement. They have now discontinued this model and replaced it with the newer iTech120X, which I believe would address some of the short comings of the older model. Its cost $980 now. I originally thought the iTech120 was a great product but when it started to deform and died, I am not sure. May be the plastic used is too soft or the BMS inside is not as durable as expected. I think to main risk to think about when you want to use this is "what happen if the internal BMS system failed?" is there another safeguard because if it died and no longer control the charge rates etc, can it lead to fire or explosion? I am still taking my chances but have so far cut my bonnet and installed air vents and bonnet scoop to keep the engine bay temperature low! my dealing with iTechworld is positive, though they can take a bit long to respond at times for some unknown reason. Hope it's not due to too many warranty claims!
Thats no good. Some LIFEPO4 batteries are designed to be installed in the engine bay, some are not. Sounds like yours was not. I am unsure if itechworld advertise this or not. But the battery should be marked if it is not suitable for use in an engine bay. I have mine mounted under a sub floor in the tub of my ute. So no issues there.
The iTech Lithium is actually designed to withstand underbonnet installation. I have confirmed this with iTech and they are happily provide a written warranty for this type of uses. To be fair on iTech, my case could be a little unusual as I have a Landcruiser with the 1FZ-FE petrol engine. These are found on the 80 and 100 LC and we all know that underbonnet temperature in these vehicles are hotter than most. I would definitely not recommend this installation to anyone who have converted to gas because gas will create even more heat as evident by fading on bonnets on many 80 series LC. Since installing bonnet scoop and air vents to suck the hot air out, I have not had further issues but only time will tell how good a product is. The only thing to be mindful when dealing with iTechworld is that warranty claim is at their absolute discretion and you must pay for postage to send the product back at your own expense. The most worrying thing is this. Even if you are covered by 3 year warranty and it died at say 2 year, they can still denied the claim if they believe the product had done its part (fair usage!). Therefore, it's a conditional warranty only and you have no say in it!!
mac_man_luke
Well-Known Member
Is any petrol engine hotter than a turbo diesel though? turbos tend to radiate a lot of heat
I think it's all to do with the ability of other components that keeps the engine cool plus the available ventilation. Radiator size, large high speed fans, secondary radiator, bonnet scoop, larger grill and so forth. You don't find much heat under the bonnet of newer diesel 4WDs. In the case of the LC80 and 100/105 with a 4.5L petrol 1FZ-FE engine, simply touching the bonnet after a long drive could burn your hand and this is the reason why most of them, in particular, the LC80 have bubble-crack on their bonnets followed by paint fading/peeling. Those who have converted to gas would see discolouration of all engine components as well as cracked rubber hoses and plastics parts. There is not a lot of ventilation coming in and nothing is coming out due to lack of air vents or bonnet scoop. You can feel the heat under your feet while driving!!
I think yours would be alright. You got the newer version, which is the iTech120X. I think they recognised the issues with the old ones and made improvement to this one, possibly using higher temperature tolerance plastics and may be better heat shield for the internals, hence the higher price. Also, by the looks of it, you do have quite a bit of space around the battery for ventilation plus you covered with battery with insulation. I have to space around the battery at all, which doesn't allow for much airflow.
Really you are no suppose to put lithium under the bonnet no matter what these box importers say, I only recommend it if the engine bay temps are not too hot & your only doing infrequent driving (holiday use). The bms inside will have some kind of shut off in the switches in it get too hot, if the bms dies or malfunctioned chances are the battery would not operate properley & you would see this straight away. There is no other failsafe, but so far they seem to be fairly reliable, so no stories of bad things happening...yet. I think itechworld would have done some torture testing to get an idea of what happens after alot of driving, theyd be fools not too. So far it seems lithium just rapidly ages under the bonnet badly, some describe the heat as nothing short of murderous. The max charge rrate under bonnet conds should be about ~0.5C, which is hard to achieve by voltage drop in such short cables & DC-DC under bonnet is a waste of time, unless you have in the cabin.
Their warrenty is half a shame, all this under bonnet rated stuff is just to sucker you in & make money. It's much more appealing to be able to put them under the bonnet & most are oblivious of the real health of the battery, lithium just slowly fades away in capacity so it can seem like they live a long life.
personally, if I ever go lithium under my bonnet they will be only charged while camping off solar, so less stressful life.
Well, apparently, the iTechworld Lithium Batteries (they have a deep cycle and a starting) are made to be fitted anywhere including under the bonnet and they provide a 3 year warranty on them, which is quite daring and I believe they would have to be good to come with such a lengthy warranty. It's only when you read further into the warranty terms and conditions that could raise some concerns particularly the clause that says iTechworld reserves the right to determine whether the warranty claim is valid based on 'useful life' assessment rather than the length of use. Basically, if you used it for 12 months and iTechworld determines that it had a lot of use (equivalent to 3 years of standard use), then the product has served its purpose and the claim is invalid. Anyway, my DC-DC charger was installed in the cabin and not in the Engine bay and I have used massive cable size to compensate for voltage drop as recommended by Redarc. Time will tell how long this replacement battery will last but given I have vented the bonnet with 2 air vents and a bonnet scoop, I believe the unit should now lasts. No issues with melted plastic or buckling of the outer shell so far. Have yet to to a long trip yet! the iTechworld Lithium batteries are designed by iTechworld so they are not direct Chinese Imports, hence the reason why I gave them a try. I now have both Starting and Deep Cycle iTech Lithium batteries under the bonnet. There is no sign of ageing with the starting battery so far after 6 months and I think there should be no problem with it as it's installed on the cold-side of the engine bay.
nightscale
Active Member
How is this going after a few months I just ordered a 120x