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{{StubNotice}}
{{CompanyCargo
 
|Description=Australian battery maker sued a YouTuber for defamation over honest reviews; court found DCS had no standing, DCS refuses to pay costs
{{InfoboxCompany
|Founded=2016
| Name = Deep Cycle Systems
|Industry=Batteries,Energy storage
| Type = Private
|Logo=DeepCycleSystems.png
| Founded = 2015
|ParentCompany=
| Industry = Information Technology
|CompanyAlias=DCS
| Official Website = https://deepcyclesystems.com.au/
|Type=Private
| Logo = DCS USA BLACK.webp
|Website=https://deepcyclesystems.com.au/
}}
}}


:''This article is about the battery manufacturer. For other uses, see [[DCS (disambiguation)]].''
{{Hatnote|This article is about the battery manufacturer. For other uses, see [[DCS (disambiguation)]].}}


Deep Cycle Systems (DCS), founded in 2015, is an Australian company that specializes in the design and manufacture of lithium batteries and energy storage solutions.<!-- The logo should be replaced with the one found at https://www.deepcyclesystems.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/dcs.png, since the controversies regarding the company happen within Australia. -->
'''Deep Cycle Systems''' (DCS) is an Australian manufacturer of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for off-road, marine, solar, & recreational vehicle use. The company is notable for suing independent YouTuber Stephan Fischer for [[defamation]] after he published reviews documenting battery degradation & misleading warranty changes; the District Court of Queensland ruled that DCS had no standing to bring the claim.<ref name="judgment">{{Cite web |author=Byrne KC DCJ |title=Deep Cycle Systems Pty Ltd v Fischer [2025] QDC 25 |url=https://www.queenslandjudgments.com.au/caselaw/qdc/2025/25 |website=Queensland Judgments |date=11 Mar 2025 |access-date=28 Mar 2026}}</ref> Independent testing by the ARENA-funded Canberra Battery Test Centre found a DCS battery dropped to 57% state of health after roughly 1,100 cycles.<ref name="arena">{{Cite web |author=ARENA |title=Public Report 12 (Final Report) - Lithium-ion Battery Testing |url=https://arena.gov.au/assets/2018/05/lithium-ion-battery-testing-public-report-12.pdf |website=ARENA |date=Mar 2022 |access-date=28 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230428135852/https://arena.gov.au/assets/2018/05/lithium-ion-battery-testing-public-report-12.pdf |archive-date=28 Apr 2023 |format=pdf}}</ref>


== Claims ==
DCS Pty Ltd (ABN 63 611 396 591) has been active on the Australian Business Register since 1 January 2017.<ref name="abr">{{Cite web |title=ABN Lookup - Deep Cycle Systems Pty Ltd |url=https://abr.business.gov.au/ABN/View/63611396591 |website=Australian Business Register |access-date=28 Mar 2026}}</ref> The sole director, Marek Tomolowicz, is also the sole director of Energy Tech Electronics Pty Ltd & Tomprop Pty Ltd.<ref name="judgment" /> The company manufactures batteries, battery management systems (BMS), cell management systems, DC-DC charging systems, & solar regulators.<ref name="dcs-about">{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.deepcyclesystems.com.au/about-us/ |website=Deep Cycle Systems |access-date=28 Mar 2026}}</ref>
DCS claims to manufacture long-life lithium batteries for extreme climates. They advertise them for use in solar systems and hybrid vehicles, including marines ones such as boats.<!-- Source: Start from https://youtu.be/_QNMVMlx48E?t=83


Please turn this into a proper reference. -->
==Consumer impact summary==
*DCS sued a small YouTuber for defamation over accurate product reviews, then refused to pay court-ordered costs after losing.<ref name="judgment" />
*Government-funded testing found a DCS battery dropped to 57% state of health after roughly 1,100 cycles & could not sustain discharge at its rated output.<ref name="arena" /><ref name="choice">{{Cite web |title=Solar battery trial |url=https://www.choice.com.au/home-improvement/energy-saving/solar/articles/solar-battery-trial |website=Choice |date=19 Apr 2024 |access-date=28 Mar 2026}}</ref>
*DCS changed its warranty terms to weaken capacity thresholds for engine bay installations without updating the "last updated" date, creating the appearance that the weaker terms had been in place since 2021.<ref name="car expert">{{Cite web |last=Maric |first=Paul |title=DCS batteries suing YouTuber for 'honest' review sets scary precedent |url=https://www.carexpert.com.au/opinion/dcs-batteries-suing-youtuber-for-honest-review-sets-scary-precedent |website=CarExpert |date=14 Aug 2024 |access-date=28 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814023810/https://www.carexpert.com.au/opinion/dcs-batteries-suing-youtuber-for-honest-review-sets-scary-precedent |archive-date=14 Aug 2024}}</ref>
*ProductReview.com.au detected & removed suspected fake positive reviews from DCS's listing; the company holds a 1.4 out of 5 star rating from 14 verified reviews.<ref name="productreview">{{Cite web |title=Deep Cycle Systems (DCS) Reviews |url=https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/deep-cycle-systems-dcs |website=ProductReview.com.au |access-date=28 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251214235325/https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/deep-cycle-systems-dcs |archive-date=14 Dec 2025}}</ref>
*DCS submitted a complaint to the Australian Parliament's Joint Select Committee on Social Media accusing unnamed parties of "orchestrated cyberbullying" via YouTube.<ref name="parliament">{{Cite web |title=Submission 214 - Deep Cycle Systems |url=https://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=df88fdde-8cd6-4537-84d7-683239f1a935&subId=763310 |website=Parliament of Australia |date=14 Aug 2024 |access-date=28 Mar 2026 |format=pdf}}</ref>


==Lawsuit==
==Incidents==
On August 16, 2023, Australian YouTuber [https://www.youtube.com/@AlloffroadAu AlloffroadAu] uploaded a review on DCS' [https://www.deepcyclesystems.com.au/product/dcs-12v-50ah-lithium/ 12v 50ah LiFePo4 lithium battery], mentioning the short longevity and substantial decline in performance after preforming a capacity test. Their review was privated due to legal threats from DCS<sup>''when?''</sup>.
<!-- Was it unprivated? -->


AlloffroadAu reports that 30-50% of the capacity is lost in the first several years. They also point out that DCS states that battery capacity will be significantly reduced after traveling a certain distance, but that they also don't mention this in their warranty policy.<!-- 30-50% figure is from: https://youtu.be/_QNMVMlx48E?t=131 -->
===Defamation lawsuit against YouTuber===
{{Main|DCS sues small YouTuber for accurate review}}


=== Hidden Policy Update ===
On 2 May 2024, DCS filed a defamation lawsuit against Stephan Fischer, the creator of AllOffroad 4x4 Adventures TV, in the District Court of Queensland. Fischer had published video reviews between August & December 2023 documenting battery degradation & warranty discrepancies.<ref name="judgment" /> The District Court ruled against DCS on 11 March 2025, finding that DCS was not an "excluded corporation" under section 9 of the ''Defamation Act 2005'' (Qld) & therefore had no standing to sue for defamation. The court found DCS failed on both the employee count test & the associated entity test, citing financial intermingling between DCS & Energy Tech Electronics.<ref name="judgment" />
DCS' warranty policy claims that:


* For normal installations, batteries that fail to deliver 80% of its rated capacity are covered.
DCS refused to pay Fischer's court-ordered legal costs. Fischer served a statutory demand, which DCS ignored, & is pursuing a Federal Court winding-up application to force recovery.<ref name="gofundme">{{Cite web |last=Fischer |first=Stephan |title=Help Fight for Truth in YouTube Reviews |url=https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-fight-for-truth-in-youtube-reviews |website=GoFundMe |access-date=28 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251102145025/https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-fight-for-truth-in-youtube-reviews |archive-date=2 Nov 2025}}</ref>
* For installations in engine bays/compartments, batteries that fail to deliver 70% of its rated capacity are covered.
* This policy was last updated June 14 2021.<!-- It says "fails to deliver less than X% of it's rated capacity", which is confusing. -->


This has been the case since November 7 2023 according to Trove, a web archiving service ran by the National Library of Australia. However, Trove shows that on March 9 2023, the exception for installations in engine bays/compartments didn't exist, showing that DCS lied about the policy being last updated in 2021, when it was clearly updated in 2023. The lack of the second criterion means that owners of a DCS battery purchased before March 9 2023 that:<!-- Well, Trove is "a collaboration between the National Library of Australia and hundreds of Partner organisations around Australia" according to their homepage at https://trove.nla.gov.au/. Is this important to point out though? -->
===Battery degradation in government testing===
The ARENA-funded Canberra Battery Test Centre (run by ITP Renewables) tested DCS's PV 10.0 battery as part of an independent lithium-ion battery testing program. The DCS battery reached a state of health of approximately 57% after roughly 1,100 cycles & could not sustain discharge at its rated C3 rate.<ref name="arena" /> Consumer watchdog Choice reported the battery "rapidly declined in capacity" near the end of the trial in 2022.<ref name="choice" /> SolarQuotes noted that DCS's battery discharge rate was "much lower than it should be" & that the unit "will shut down well before it runs out of available stored energy."<ref name="solarquotes">{{Cite web |title=Battery Test Centre Reports |url=https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/battery-test-centre-reports/ |website=SolarQuotes |date=22 Feb 2021 |access-date=28 Mar 2026}}</ref>


* Was installed in an engine bay/compartment.
===Hidden warranty policy update===
* Fell below 80% of it's rated capacity.
DCS's warranty page claims a "last updated" date of June 2021, but National Library of Australia web archives show the terms changed between March and November 2023. The March 2023 policy set the defective battery threshold at 80% of rated capacity for all installations. By November 2023, a new clause reduced the threshold to 70% for engine bay installations, weakening protections for those customers without updating the displayed policy date.<ref name="warranty-mar">{{Cite web |title=DCS Warranty, Shipping & Return Policies |url=https://www.deepcyclesystems.com.au/shipping-return-policy/ |website=DCS |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20230309064156/https://www.deepcyclesystems.com.au/shipping-return-policy/ |archive-date=9 Mar 2023}}</ref><ref name="warranty-nov">{{Cite web |title=DCS Warranty, Shipping & Return Policies |url=https://www.deepcyclesystems.com.au/shipping-return-policy/ |website=DCS |url-status=live |archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20231107111343/https://www.deepcyclesystems.com.au/shipping-return-policy/ |archive-date=7 Nov 2023}}</ref>
* Remained above 70% of it.


would be eligible for warranty coverage, but would have no way of knowing because of DCS' shady behavior.
===Suspected fake positive reviews===
ProductReview.com.au placed a warning on DCS's listing stating they had "detected a number of positive reviews for this listing which we suspect have been falsely generated." The suspected fake reviews were removed.<ref name="productreview" /> Following the purge, DCS holds a 1.4 out of 5 star rating based on 14 verified reviews, with 93% rated negative.<ref name="productreview" />


The Trove archives can be found here:
===Parliamentary submission on cyberbullying===
On 14 August 2024, DCS submitted a document to the Australian Parliament's Joint Select Committee on Social Media & Australian Society (Submission 214). The submission described DCS as the target of an "orchestrated cyberbullying attack via YouTube since September 2023" based on "one person's opinion and supported by a group of online followers," claiming the campaign was "used to discredit the quality of our products" & had caused "millions of dollars" of damage.<ref name="parliament" /> The submission did not name any individual by name.


* [https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20231107111343/https://www.deepcyclesystems.com.au/shipping-return-policy/ DCS Warranty Policy on November 7 2023]
===Reported battery fire===
* [https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20230309064156/https://www.deepcyclesystems.com.au/shipping-return-policy/ DCS Warranty Policy on March 9 2023]<!-- So are these enough for references? -->
A consumer on ProductReview.com.au reported that on 24 August 2023, a DCS battery installed in a Holden Commodore exploded & caught fire. CarExpert noted the review came from a "verified" purchase but stated "there's no way for us to verify the validity of this story."<ref name="car expert" />


[https://web.archive.org/ Internet Archive's Wayback Machine] has archives of this policy page, but they're all dated in 2024. This is suspicious when considering:
==See also==
*[[Vulcan Strength]]


* DCS falsely claims that their policy was last updated in 2021, when Trove's archives show it was actually updated in 2023, both years not being covered by the Wayback Machine.
==References==
* Louis Rossmann claims that consumers of DCS batteries have reach out to him, claiming that they were no longer able to access many older archives of the policy page when they contacted DCS to ask when their policy updated.<!-- Louis's claims of user reachouts: https://youtu.be/_QNMVMlx48E?t=601 -->
{{Reflist}}


This would suggest that DCS was behind the removal of archives before 2024.
[[Category:Deep Cycle Systems]]
[[Category:Articles under development]]
[[Category:Companies]]
[[Category:Companies]]

Latest revision as of 04:44, 28 April 2026

Deep Cycle Systems
Basic information
Founded 2016
Legal Structure Private
Industry Batteries,Energy storage
Also known as DCS
Official website https://deepcyclesystems.com.au/


This article is about the battery manufacturer. For other uses, see DCS (disambiguation).


Deep Cycle Systems (DCS) is an Australian manufacturer of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for off-road, marine, solar, & recreational vehicle use. The company is notable for suing independent YouTuber Stephan Fischer for defamation after he published reviews documenting battery degradation & misleading warranty changes; the District Court of Queensland ruled that DCS had no standing to bring the claim.[1] Independent testing by the ARENA-funded Canberra Battery Test Centre found a DCS battery dropped to 57% state of health after roughly 1,100 cycles.[2]

DCS Pty Ltd (ABN 63 611 396 591) has been active on the Australian Business Register since 1 January 2017.[3] The sole director, Marek Tomolowicz, is also the sole director of Energy Tech Electronics Pty Ltd & Tomprop Pty Ltd.[1] The company manufactures batteries, battery management systems (BMS), cell management systems, DC-DC charging systems, & solar regulators.[4]

Consumer impact summary

[edit | edit source]
  • DCS sued a small YouTuber for defamation over accurate product reviews, then refused to pay court-ordered costs after losing.[1]
  • Government-funded testing found a DCS battery dropped to 57% state of health after roughly 1,100 cycles & could not sustain discharge at its rated output.[2][5]
  • DCS changed its warranty terms to weaken capacity thresholds for engine bay installations without updating the "last updated" date, creating the appearance that the weaker terms had been in place since 2021.[6]
  • ProductReview.com.au detected & removed suspected fake positive reviews from DCS's listing; the company holds a 1.4 out of 5 star rating from 14 verified reviews.[7]
  • DCS submitted a complaint to the Australian Parliament's Joint Select Committee on Social Media accusing unnamed parties of "orchestrated cyberbullying" via YouTube.[8]

Incidents

[edit | edit source]

Defamation lawsuit against YouTuber

[edit | edit source]
Main article: DCS sues small YouTuber for accurate review

On 2 May 2024, DCS filed a defamation lawsuit against Stephan Fischer, the creator of AllOffroad 4x4 Adventures TV, in the District Court of Queensland. Fischer had published video reviews between August & December 2023 documenting battery degradation & warranty discrepancies.[1] The District Court ruled against DCS on 11 March 2025, finding that DCS was not an "excluded corporation" under section 9 of the Defamation Act 2005 (Qld) & therefore had no standing to sue for defamation. The court found DCS failed on both the employee count test & the associated entity test, citing financial intermingling between DCS & Energy Tech Electronics.[1]

DCS refused to pay Fischer's court-ordered legal costs. Fischer served a statutory demand, which DCS ignored, & is pursuing a Federal Court winding-up application to force recovery.[9]

Battery degradation in government testing

[edit | edit source]

The ARENA-funded Canberra Battery Test Centre (run by ITP Renewables) tested DCS's PV 10.0 battery as part of an independent lithium-ion battery testing program. The DCS battery reached a state of health of approximately 57% after roughly 1,100 cycles & could not sustain discharge at its rated C3 rate.[2] Consumer watchdog Choice reported the battery "rapidly declined in capacity" near the end of the trial in 2022.[5] SolarQuotes noted that DCS's battery discharge rate was "much lower than it should be" & that the unit "will shut down well before it runs out of available stored energy."[10]

Hidden warranty policy update

[edit | edit source]

DCS's warranty page claims a "last updated" date of June 2021, but National Library of Australia web archives show the terms changed between March and November 2023. The March 2023 policy set the defective battery threshold at 80% of rated capacity for all installations. By November 2023, a new clause reduced the threshold to 70% for engine bay installations, weakening protections for those customers without updating the displayed policy date.[11][12]

Suspected fake positive reviews

[edit | edit source]

ProductReview.com.au placed a warning on DCS's listing stating they had "detected a number of positive reviews for this listing which we suspect have been falsely generated." The suspected fake reviews were removed.[7] Following the purge, DCS holds a 1.4 out of 5 star rating based on 14 verified reviews, with 93% rated negative.[7]

Parliamentary submission on cyberbullying

[edit | edit source]

On 14 August 2024, DCS submitted a document to the Australian Parliament's Joint Select Committee on Social Media & Australian Society (Submission 214). The submission described DCS as the target of an "orchestrated cyberbullying attack via YouTube since September 2023" based on "one person's opinion and supported by a group of online followers," claiming the campaign was "used to discredit the quality of our products" & had caused "millions of dollars" of damage.[8] The submission did not name any individual by name.

Reported battery fire

[edit | edit source]

A consumer on ProductReview.com.au reported that on 24 August 2023, a DCS battery installed in a Holden Commodore exploded & caught fire. CarExpert noted the review came from a "verified" purchase but stated "there's no way for us to verify the validity of this story."[6]

See also

[edit | edit source]

References

[edit | edit source]
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Byrne KC DCJ (11 Mar 2025). "Deep Cycle Systems Pty Ltd v Fischer [2025] QDC 25". Queensland Judgments. Retrieved 28 Mar 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 ARENA (Mar 2022). "Public Report 12 (Final Report) - Lithium-ion Battery Testing" (pdf). ARENA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 Apr 2023. Retrieved 28 Mar 2026.
  3. ↑ "ABN Lookup - Deep Cycle Systems Pty Ltd". Australian Business Register. Retrieved 28 Mar 2026.
  4. ↑ "About Us". Deep Cycle Systems. Retrieved 28 Mar 2026.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Solar battery trial". Choice. 19 Apr 2024. Retrieved 28 Mar 2026.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Maric, Paul (14 Aug 2024). "DCS batteries suing YouTuber for 'honest' review sets scary precedent". CarExpert. Archived from the original on 14 Aug 2024. Retrieved 28 Mar 2026.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Deep Cycle Systems (DCS) Reviews". ProductReview.com.au. Archived from the original on 14 Dec 2025. Retrieved 28 Mar 2026.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Submission 214 - Deep Cycle Systems" (pdf). Parliament of Australia. 14 Aug 2024. Retrieved 28 Mar 2026.
  9. ↑ Fischer, Stephan. "Help Fight for Truth in YouTube Reviews". GoFundMe. Archived from the original on 2 Nov 2025. Retrieved 28 Mar 2026.
  10. ↑ "Battery Test Centre Reports". SolarQuotes. 22 Feb 2021. Retrieved 28 Mar 2026.
  11. ↑ "DCS Warranty, Shipping & Return Policies". DCS. Archived from the original on 9 Mar 2023.
  12. ↑ "DCS Warranty, Shipping & Return Policies". DCS. Archived from the original on 7 Nov 2023.
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