Coralbox battery extender V2

Aaronhome27 · Apr 23, 2019

In setting my new tank up I wanted to incorporate a new battery back up for my return pump. Going through reefbreeders I decided to get a pair of the new battery extenders (V2) since they are supposed to be plug and play.

I recieved the V2 batteries, I've owned the V1 so it should be a simple plug and play. Open the box up and they only come with 2 "Y" cords. This really wasn't an issue as I'm using a coralbox return pump so it was simple. Power in, then split to battery and pump controller. Simple, one would think..... Nope.......

I woke this morning to see my pump had been running on the battery all night and now I have a near dead battery that is surging power to the pump as it tries to charge. Not sure if this has damaged the battery but it definitely is not good. This was a test of the battery before I installed the 2 that I bought in the power cabinet. Right now waiting to see what reefbreeders has to offer on a fix as this is a new product and I'd imagine I got a first run if not the first ones in the US. I'll update the post when I hear what the issue may be in case others run across this. But with the power plugged in and only one connection plugged into the pump controller it works fine. When you connect it to the battery it then pulls from the battery and not the power supply. I've got 2 batteries so I've tried them Noth, and both do the same thing. It's not in the cord either as I've tried swapping that out as well. Neither battery senses the line voltage in so it is pulling the battery power instead.

I was also disappointed in the fact they no longer send the other cord OPTIONS (but I guess the cord is now capable of doing quite a few jobs on its own) . You get 2 "Y" cords and nothing else. And I did talk with reefbreeders before ordering as these were replacements for my V1 batteries. And the batteries are plug and play out of the box. And it's a very simple setup! Hopefully we can find the issue as these are far better than any other battery back up on the market as I found out they are now lithium powered cells and have controllers built in which is far superior to the lead acid batteries used in all the others made right now.

Pic of the build below.

Ron Reefman · Apr 24, 2019

That's a nice looking system!

I was just looking... and considering these yesterday as my Jebao return pump is starting to fail (after almost 5 years of use). I've bought stuff from Reef Breeders before and they have always done the right thing when handling my concerns and replacements.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Reef Breeders · Apr 25, 2019

Aaronhome27 said:
In setting my new tank up I wanted to incorporate a battery back up for my return pump. Going through reefbreeders I decided to get a pair of the new battery extenders (V2) since they are supposed to be plug and play.

It took about 2 weeks to receive the batteries. I've owned the V1 so it should be a simple plug and play. Open the box up and they only come with 2 "Y" cords. This really wasn't an issue as I'm using a coralbox return pump so it was simple. Power in, then split to battery and pump controller. Simple, one would think..... Nope.......

I woke this morning to see my pump had been running in the battery all night and now I have a near dead battery that is surging power to the pump as it try to charge. Not sure if this has damaged the battery but it definitely is not good. This was a test of the battery before I installed the 2 that I bought in the power cabinet. Right now I'm pretty underwhelmed and waiting to hear back from reefbreeders. I'll update the post when I hear what the issue may be in case others run across this. But with the power plugged in and only one connection plugged into the pump controller it works fine. When you connect it to the battery it then pulls from the battery and not the power supply. I've got 2 batteries so I've tried them Noth, and both do the same thing. It's not in the cord either as I've tried swapping that out as well. Neither battery senses the line voltage in so it pulling the battery power instead.

I was also disappointed in the fact they no longer send the other cord options. You get 2 "Y" cords and nothing else. You don't even get a jumper wire to connect 2 batteries together. So now I have 2 batteries that can't be run for extra power until I buy yet another cord. And I did talk with reefbreeders before ordering as these were replacements for my V1 batteries. So right now I don't have anyway to run 2 batteries together without contacting the supplier for an additional cord that used to be included. And the batteries are plug and play out of the box. And it's a very simple setup!

Pic of the build below.

Hey Aaron!

We have been talking back and forth via email. I am working with the factory right now to figure out what's up with your pump draining the battery. As for the jumper cable, you can use the Y splitter to link the batteries together. We already discussed this- I just wanted to point that out in case someone else runs into the same roadblock.

-Logan

Aaronhome27 · Apr 25, 2019

I do have to admit Logan has been more than willing to help resolve the issue. I do believe it's an issue at the factory and can be fixed. That's why I haven't returned the batteries. I've never had an issue where reefbreeders didn't get it resolved in exemplary fashion. Once the issue is found I'll report back here in case it should happen again and someone is looking for the answer.

Ron Reefman · Apr 26, 2019

I've had multiple dealings with Logan over the years. In fact, at one point I worked for a competitor of his and he has never held that against me. He has always told straight up what the situation was and what needed to be done. And at other times, has bent over backwards to supply me with parts and spares. But then I'm really big on customer service and Logan provides it to the best of his ability. After all, there are situations a distributor just can't fix.

Aaronhome27 · May 2, 2019

Post update

I didn't want to leave this post hanging without new information on the issue.

Between Logan and the coralbox factory testing and working hard on this, the issue was found. They didn't try to cover it up as many companies might do. Instead they were honest and kept me constantly in the loop. I never returned the batteries hoping there was a fix. And I hated to see reefbreeders foot the bill with more shipping cost and a refund. The one saving grace that I found out in these batteries is that they are lithium now. This is a HUGE improvement over the old and the ecotech. My concern was duty cycle as the OP stated the battery dead cycled for hours. With lithium this really isn't an issue and the service life should be a very long time. I have parts coming to fix my batteries and the new ones shipped will have the updated parts. If your looking for a battery back up you won't find a better battery (once they get the issue fixed). I've been using lithium for years in quite a few things here. If you have a laptop that's what it's been using too. Under this kind of use it will be years before you see any different in battery life. The ecotech uses lead acid which don't have near the service life and are much larger. On top of that it has direct connect circuitry so no controllers are needed for nearly all 10V to 24V equipment. Anyway, I wanted to update and will continue to do so until it's hooked up and running. But the service and direct responses from coralbox and reefbreeders has been excellent. Nearly my whole system now is controlled by coralbox equipment. I decided to go this route after having so many issues with jebao equipment in the past and not wanting to spend a fortune for ecotech. I tried coralbox in the last 2 tanks and had a service issue. Within a day it was already being taken care of by reefbreeders. Haven't had any other issues. So I stuck with it on this build. There is a reason why both coralbox and reefbreeders are really getting some positive reviews. Cant beat the prices and as good or better service as any company in the industry.

Rick5 · Dec 16, 2019

Aaronhome27 said:
Post update

I didn't want to leave this post hanging without new information on the issue.

Between Logan and the coralbox factory testing and working hard on this, the issue was found. They didn't try to cover it up as many companies might do. Instead they were honest and kept me constantly in the loop. I never returned the batteries hoping there was a fix. And I hated to see reefbreeders foot the bill with more shipping cost and a refund. The one saving grace that I found out in these batteries is that they are lithium now. This is a HUGE improvement over the old and the ecotech. My concern was duty cycle as the OP stated the battery dead cycled for hours. With lithium this really isn't an issue and the service life should be a very long time. I have parts coming to fix my batteries and the new ones shipped will have the updated parts. If your looking for a battery back up you won't find a better battery (once they get the issue fixed). I've been using lithium for years in quite a few things here. If you have a laptop that's what it's been using too. Under this kind of use it will be years before you see any different in battery life. The ecotech uses lead acid which don't have near the service life and are much larger. On top of that it has direct connect circuitry so no controllers are needed for nearly all 10V to 24V equipment. Anyway, I wanted to update and will continue to do so until it's hooked up and running. But the service and direct responses from coralbox and reefbreeders has been excellent. Nearly my whole system now is controlled by coralbox equipment. I decided to go this route after having so many issues with jebao equipment in the past and not wanting to spend a fortune for ecotech. I tried coralbox in the last 2 tanks and had a service issue. Within a day it was already being taken care of by reefbreeders. Haven't had any other issues. So I stuck with it on this build. There is a reason why both coralbox and reefbreeders are really getting some positive reviews. Cant beat the prices and as good or better service as any company in the industry.

@Aaronhome27 - Can you please provide an update on your experience with the batteries in terms of performance and longevity?

@Reef Breeders - Will the V2 battery connect to a Varios 2 pump without any additional connectors (i.e. right out of the box)? Additionally, can you give me a ballpark projection regarding expected battery runtimes (for a Varios 2)?