iTechWorld 120X Pro Bluetooth Lithium Battery Review - ANY GOOD?

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  • Опубліковано 21 лис 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 54

  • @Spookiiee72
    @Spookiiee72 16 днів тому +1

    What a massive effort this video would have been! Well done Greg love it.
    I previously purchased the black top 120 which was sold as a 120ah but only delivered 89ah. I've hated itech for that marketing and sly changes without apologies. Good to see that they're finally over delivering as they should!

    • @TheMusingGreg
      @TheMusingGreg  15 днів тому

      Hey mate thanks for the comment! Haha yeah you're right it was a ton of work, I'd half finished the testing on the old batteries when the Bluetooth ones came out so I had to start over! If you decide to upgrade from your old black top to one of these I reckon it's worth doing, especially at the current prices less 5% coupon discount! Cheers!

  • @DiHandley
    @DiHandley 18 днів тому +2

    As always a very thorough in-depth product review. 12 months ago I purchased a complete kit from itechworld which included 3 x 120ah Pro Lithium batteries, 12VDC 40amp battery charger, 40amp DC-DC charger with solar panel input and a battery charge monitor. Very very happy with the performance and absolutely no issues. I did upgrade the battery monitor from the older round style to the one you have. My very small van (12’) has a shower & toilet, air conditioner, fridge, microwave, induction cook top, TV and range hood and the setup has no problems running for 3-5 days off grid. They’re a pretty helpful lot at itechworld too which means a lot. If you have an email I’ll send you a photo of the power setup. Cheers.

    • @TheMusingGreg
      @TheMusingGreg  18 днів тому +1

      Thanks, always great to have your feedback! Yeah in general I've been pretty happy with most itechworld stuff, I feel it strikes a good balance between budget and top of the range.
      I was a little disappointed with how long it's taken to get my questions answered, and even now I've still got my older batteries the same ones as you'd have because I'm waiting to see if I have to send these new ones back or not. It's been over two months I've been trying to get this all settled, which is unusual because generally their support as you said is prompt.
      Would love to see a snap, themusinggreg@gmail.com. Cheers!

  • @nickstone9112
    @nickstone9112 18 днів тому +2

    Ripper vid. I've been looking at batteries for my camping set-up, but wasn't sure if it was worth paying extra for an iTech over a Kings, but you hit all the points I had questions about and have sold me on it.
    Fantastic vid and thanks for sharing.

    • @TheMusingGreg
      @TheMusingGreg  18 днів тому +1

      Brilliant, that 's exactly why I do these videos! Glad it helped settle the decision for you. The current $799 is the cheapest I've ever seen these batteries, so with my coupon code you're going to get them for about $760 which is stupid cheap for what they are! And I think they're doing free shipping too!
      Please share the video on your socials!

  • @robpinter5431
    @robpinter5431 18 днів тому +1

    Thank you , your work in testing is appreciated, I replaced 3 100 Ah AGM's in my caravan with one iTech 120Ah about 2 years ago and still happy with it. Well worth the extra money for a reliable and well made battery.

    • @TheMusingGreg
      @TheMusingGreg  18 днів тому

      Thanks! It's encouraging to hear your battery's lasted that long, that bodes well for those like me who don't have that experience! Thanks for sharing, and glad you enjoyed the review! Please share it with others who might not yet have decided, if you can spare a moment! Thanks!

  • @AussieMatias
    @AussieMatias 13 днів тому

    How about a tear down and looking at the build quality? Have they improved?

    • @TheMusingGreg
      @TheMusingGreg  13 днів тому

      I would like to have done that, but I didn't want to void my warranty

  • @slalomhokko
    @slalomhokko 16 днів тому

    I wish I seen this! I just ordered the Bluetooth version only to find out that it’s only use voltage to determine source of charge!

    • @TheMusingGreg
      @TheMusingGreg  16 днів тому

      I feel your frustration as it was different to my expectation too! I use the other readings as a guide when the batteries are at rest, but I don't rely on them. And as I said the other readings are still accurate. But app aside, take comfort that you still got a very good battery in terms of its electrical performance. Hopefully iTechWorld updates the firmware so that we can all use a more accurate system in future!

  • @craig5147
    @craig5147 12 днів тому

    Thankyou for your detailed review. I was considering getting the 120x pro battery as the bluetooth monitoring sounded appealing, but after seeing your tests i might save the money and get the 120x battery and use the saved money to get a victron smart shunt to monitor the battery use.

    • @TheMusingGreg
      @TheMusingGreg  12 днів тому

      My pleasure Craig. The smart shunt is definitely a better monitoring tool so use the link in the description to grab one. The current 120X is non-Bluetooth as you say (although I expect it'll be replaced by a Bluetooth one once the old non-BT stock is exhausted), but it's also physically smaller and only 105Ah in capacity. So if you were hoping for a 120Ah battery I would still get the 120x Pro (especially at these prices with the coupon) and supplement it with the Smart Shunt. While the iTechWorld app isn't brilliant, as I said it still provides some useful info and I'd much rather have it as it is than no app at all, now I (and you) know what data you can trust.
      Good luck whichever way you go!

  • @polvincompoundsadmin5402
    @polvincompoundsadmin5402 17 днів тому

    When you do a discharge test with the smart shunt set the retain state of charge to on. Then when battery disconnects you keep your information.

    • @TheMusingGreg
      @TheMusingGreg  17 днів тому

      Thanks for the tip, I'll definitely it that in future! I didn't know it had that feature, I bought it for this test so hadn't played much with it. Cheers!

  • @colintranter5162
    @colintranter5162 14 днів тому

    Hi Greg loved the in-depth video.
    My question is related to the drop in replacement aspect, where by, and correct me if im wrong, but im lead to believe that if replaceing batterys with Lifep04 batterys they need to be in a sealed area if inside a habital area or in a box out side the caravan.
    Can you please elaborate on that bit?
    Cheers, Col.

    • @TheMusingGreg
      @TheMusingGreg  14 днів тому +1

      Hi Col, glad you liked the video thanks for the comment!
      Yes that is what the Australian Standards say, but unfortunately it's not quite as simple as that. Here's my take as a safety professional, but this is not legal advice:
      Firstly the most important thing to understand is that Australian Standards are NOT law, unless there's something in law which says you must follow a Standard. Legislation includes Acts, Regulations and Codes of Practice, but Australian Standards are simply ADVICE, I would call them Best Practice. If something in an Act, Reg or Code of Practice says you have to follow a Standard then it's law; otherwise it's not. To the best of my knowledge, AS/NZ3001.2:2022 is not called up in any legislation so it is not law. I'm not saying don't follow it, but as far as I'm aware it's not enforceable by law. I'm happy to be corrected on this.
      Secondly, the standard DOES allow for repairs:
      "Clause 1.5.2.1: Repairs to existing electrical installations in connectable electrical installations or parts thereof may be effected using methods, fixtures and fittings that were acceptable when that part of the electrical installation was originally installed or with methods, fixtures and fittings currently available as a direct replacement, provided that the methods satisfy the fundamental safety principles of AS/NZS 3000."
      There is some conjecture as to what qualifies as a 'direct replacement' - AGM to AGM would be a direct replacement, as would be a lithium upgrade to an old lithium installation. Beyond that it gets murky! The iTechWorld batteries are designed to work with a range of chargers, including lithium, AGM and others. So if you've got an old lithium installation from 2017 and you pop the iTechWorld batteries in, that would be compliant even though the batteries are not enclosed or anything which the standard requires. How is that any different to popping the same lithium battery but in place of an AGM battery, when it's designed to work seamlessly with the AGM system?
      In my view, a drop-in replacement which requires no other modifications would be a direct replacement, but that's just my opinion. Others differ; if you look at Appendix 1 on amptron.au/as-nzs-3001-22022-standard/ they've got a couple of official responses regarding this which lean towards lithium NOT being a direct replacement; however note the terms such as 'I would suggest, I would assume, in my view". Ultimately we'll only get clarity once the Standard is tried in court by a judge and a judge makes a legally binding ruling on the legal standing.
      At the end of the day as a private owner I can't see this affecting you very much. You would be welcome to follow the Standard and that would be best practice. But it's much more likely to be relevant for new installations, or if you were taking your van to a registered business to get the modification done; they may refuse to do the work without bringing it up to the Standard. Insurance may be the other aspect; possibly an insurance company may use this as an out if you didn't follow the standard and it caused a fire, whether or not there was a legal basis to do so.
      Hope this helps in some way!

    • @colintranter5162
      @colintranter5162 9 днів тому

      @TheMusingGreg Thanks for the explanation. I appreciate it.

    • @TheMusingGreg
      @TheMusingGreg  8 днів тому

      @@colintranter5162 You're welcome! Ultimately you carry the risk, so as always do your own research and decide what's the best choice for you.

  • @Matt-0079
    @Matt-0079 17 днів тому

    I really appreciate the time and effort you put into your reviews.? With your honest opinions I just used your discount code to purchase a go further battery box. I’m considering getting an inverter as well would you recommend a 3000w or just stick to a 2000w as I just want to run a fridge and freezer when we have long black outs this summer. Apart from that the main use will be running a fridge and lights when camping. Cheers thanks again

    • @TheMusingGreg
      @TheMusingGreg  17 днів тому

      Hey Matt great to hear you found it useful, and thanks so much for your support, I really appreciate it!
      As to the inverter: the main question is how much power you're wanting to draw at any one time.
      In relation to black-outs:
      1) Is the fridge and freezer you're wanting to run a domestic 240V unit, or is it a camping version with a 12V input? In either case, how much current does it draw while running?
      2) Would you ONLY be running the fridge and freezer off the inverter, or would anything else be running at the same time? If so what else would you be using and how much current does it draw?
      In relation to camping:
      3) Is it a different fridge you'd be using with the lights? If so what current does it draw? I assume the lights won't draw much unless they're halogen.
      My gut feel is that the 2000W unit will do the job, but let me know the answers to the above and I'll give you my recommendation.
      Cheers,
      Greg

  • @BruceRoss-u2t
    @BruceRoss-u2t 15 днів тому

    Hi good information, my caravan has the same battery transplant as your film shows, except my first battery has no Bluetooth is that a problem?

    • @TheMusingGreg
      @TheMusingGreg  15 днів тому

      Hi Ross,
      You mean you've got the older iTechWorld with the black label on top, like my original ones ua-cam.com/video/QOriCFwU898/v-deo.htmlsi=apmhRlM-hpifUzu8&t=13 ? If so it'll work just fine and everything other than the app information would be relevant to you. The lack of Bluetooth doesn't affect how the battery itself performs, I did some of my testing on those older ones anyway before the Bluetooth ones were released and I had to start all over again - the old ones performed much the same as the new ones. The only spec difference is that the new ones are rated to 5000 cycles at 100% DoD and 10000 at 50%, rather than 4000 and 8000 respectively for the older model, but by the time any of that shows up your warranty will be well and truly expired so it's a bit irrelevant. The cynic in me might say they may have even just pushed the numbers higher for marketing the new model, knowing they'd never need to be on the hook if they didn't live up to it!
      Cheers,
      Gre

  • @TheStaniG
    @TheStaniG 18 днів тому

    Fantastic and thorough video 👌🏻

  • @einfelder8262
    @einfelder8262 17 днів тому

    They do promote the ability to use existing AGM chargers, but there are plenty of caravan AC chargers that won't work well. Before deciding if your old van charger will work, check to see if it can operate in power supply mode and give a constant voltage without trying to read voltage from the battery to determine charge rate. That might be a simple way to get a better result, although investing in a proper lithium charger is 100% the way to go - most AGM/Lead chargers won't deliver 30+ amps, and you need plenty of charge current if you have high capacity lithium batteries.

    • @TheMusingGreg
      @TheMusingGreg  17 днів тому

      Good points. I doubt many older power supplies would have the option for power supply mode, and in any case it would give a constant voltage whereas iTechWorld recommends dropping down to 13.5 volts for float. Lithium charger is certainly the best option and as you say that will probably give you high current as well, but the takeaway for me is the 13.5v minimum is key if you're reusing an existing charger.
      Thanks for your input!

    • @einfelder8262
      @einfelder8262 17 днів тому

      @@TheMusingGreg Dropping down to 13.5 for float should be done by the BMS, even if there is 14.x at the terminals. I have noticed that my same brand battery/charger in my Patrol sometimes floats at 14.4 and other times 13.8, totally random.... Must be the BMS and the DC-DC charger fighting for control :)

    • @TheMusingGreg
      @TheMusingGreg  17 днів тому +1

      Haha yeah it's best to just have one electronic brain on the job I think!
      I would initially agree with you re the BMS except iTechWorld recommends a lower float voltage. My guess is that if you did 14.4 volts the whole time, it will rely on safe mode preventing the battery from over charging, but if it floats down to 13.5 then it should be able to still maintain a full charge without needing to activate safe mode. Those safety measures really should be backups, as opposed to the primary measure being relied on to prevent overcharge every single charge.

  • @aaronhunter7062
    @aaronhunter7062 9 днів тому

    Great review !

    • @TheMusingGreg
      @TheMusingGreg  9 днів тому

      Glad it was helpful Aaron! Thanks for the feedback!

    • @aaronhunter7062
      @aaronhunter7062 9 днів тому

      We are running 8 of these in a offgrid system (pre Bluetooth model). Just moving over from 12v to 48 volts will be interesting to see how the go

    • @TheMusingGreg
      @TheMusingGreg  9 днів тому

      You should get much lower cable losses, I'd be interested to know how it goes! What's it in?

    • @aaronhunter7062
      @aaronhunter7062 9 днів тому +1

      @ in a shed out in the country

    • @TheMusingGreg
      @TheMusingGreg  9 днів тому

      Cool please let us know the results!

  • @holgermuller2987
    @holgermuller2987 18 днів тому

    Very nice vid
    Itech….
    Seriously ?!?
    The app seems to have still more bugs then a dog flees….
    I am still monitoring my system with the Victron shunt and app..
    Nowadays I guess all underate their batteries to have a safety margins for the warranty period.
    Quote 100A capacity battery drops to 80A capacity within 2 years ask for warranty…..
    Cheers

    • @TheMusingGreg
      @TheMusingGreg  18 днів тому

      Thanks mate yeah hopefully they can sort the app promptly. The Victron app seems solid to me so hopefully they use that as a model.

  • @ArgonsGas
    @ArgonsGas 18 днів тому +1

    Pretty disappointed the battery doesn't use the shunt to give the SoC

    • @TheMusingGreg
      @TheMusingGreg  18 днів тому +1

      Yeah so was I, I mean why wouldn't you use hardware that's sitting right there? But that's why I'm hoping they can fix it with a firmware update.
      This is just my opinion, but I'm wondering whether they were just trying to throw something together quickly to meet the new Australian standards on lithium batteries which require some form of battery monitoring available. But even then, they'd already done the work to design the 500A battery monitor so why not just reuse it? More questions than answers unfortunately!

  • @JohnYoung-m4j
    @JohnYoung-m4j 13 днів тому

    Hi Greg, I wish you wouldn’t assume things while testing the batteries especially when your assuming it will get to the best result as it makes it look like some fiddling is going on. I am not accusing you of fiddling but please don’t assume when testing as it is no help to us. The AGM charger does not charge Lithium Batteries to 100% and these batteries need charging to100% thanks Jon

    • @TheMusingGreg
      @TheMusingGreg  13 днів тому

      Hi Jon thanks for the comment...
      Do you mean the comment about assuming it'll get to 100% with a second round of charge on the AGM charger? I avoid assumptions as much as I can so my reviews are all data based, but this exception wasn't because any fiddling is going on. The whole reason I purchase these batteries at great personal expense is to make it clear there is no external influence.
      The reason I had to make an assumption this time was because I only worked that out after the testing was finished. But also I wasn't willing to have to power cycle my charger every time I wanted a full charge, so in my case with my charger it was a bit hypothetical anyway - there's no way that my charger would deliver a full charge which was the point.
      That said, I demonstrated that with a 24 hour charge at 13.65v my AGM charger took the battery from empty to 95%; so I feel it is a very safe assumption to make that a further 24 hours at 13.65v would easily get it from 95% to 100%. Do you feel that's an unreasonable assumption to present?

  • @maddawg9116
    @maddawg9116 18 днів тому

    I call these Depth of Discharge cycles ratings BS. Only thing that matters is warranty periods. What's the point of rating10000 cycle of DOD at 100% when the warranty period is only 2-3yrs?

    • @TheMusingGreg
      @TheMusingGreg  18 днів тому

      Yeah that's a very valid point mate. I did consider saying that myself in the video, but being an unprovable opinion I just stuck to what I could prove. I hope it's more than purely marketing, but I'll keep an eye on that as I use the batteries myself

  • @chrisward5626
    @chrisward5626 14 днів тому

    The big question for itechworld should be why they sell their stuff on sale every second week but then jack up the price every other week . Shamefull sales practices .

    • @TheMusingGreg
      @TheMusingGreg  14 днів тому

      Yeah it's not how I run my business. As a company they are pretty heavy on marketing, so I guess it's part of that, sales give them something to keep promoting, and the in between higher priced sales maybe cover the profits they need to stay in business. But no-one likes being the one to pay more so if you're on the lookout for something it means you can play their game and wait until it's on sale and get it then.

    • @AussieMatias
      @AussieMatias 13 днів тому

      Shocking and how they have not been fined by the ACCC. I don’t know how some influencers still support and promote a business that has those values.

    • @TheMusingGreg
      @TheMusingGreg  13 днів тому

      It's not illegal to have things on sale regularly though... 🤔 What exactly is the problem?

    • @chrisward5626
      @chrisward5626 13 днів тому

      @ it’s not on sale it’s the normal price . The higher advertised fake price is the problem

    • @TheMusingGreg
      @TheMusingGreg  13 днів тому

      Oh right that. Yeah I'm not a great fan of that, I don't think I've ever seen their 300W solar blanket actually selling for the $1k it lists at. But that's why when I advertise sales, I compare to their regular sale price, not the list price.