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Battery shipping charges

Subdood

Subdood

Photon Wrangler
Joined
Mar 27, 2022
Messages
581
Location
NE Kentucky
Maybe someone here more knowledgeable of the subject could answer this riddle for me..

Why does a ~100lb Lifepo4 rack battery (box size 20x20x8 inches) cost me $325 to ship (from Texas) to me here in Kentucky, when 8 solar panels that are 3.5x7ft and 62lb each on an 8ft long by 4ft wide pallet for a total weight of 690lb costs $305 to ship (from Arizona)?? The distance to ship here from Arizona is twice as far as Texas (1800mi vs. 900mi).

What am I missing here? Is it because lithium batteries are considered hazardous material? I could see if the battery was something other than LiFePO4 would be considered as such, but LFP isn't really considered that dangerous. So what gives?
 
Hello neighbor (GO BIG BLUE)
Batteries are considered Hazardous, just because they are Batteries. They have the ability to release a lot of energy in an accidental shorting situation.
 
Subdood said:
because lithium batteries are considered hazardous material?
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On ground transportation there is no cost consideration really for the shipper other than paperwork. .

LTL is really a scam for the small vendor. My guess is the panels are coming from SanTan? If so they are a good size business that can negotiate rates with multiple carriers. Pretty sure they have a shipping guru there that will pass the load through a couple of LTL vendors for best rate.

Your batteries might be coming from a small vendor, no $$$ or pull in the LTL market and logging into a LTL carrier website just like you are I could do and getting a rate. Or the battery vendor is screwing ya.
 
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MrThisIsME said:
On ground transportation there is no consideration really.

LTL is really a scam for the small vendor. My guess is the panels are coming from SanTran? If so they are a good size business that can negotiate rates with multiple carriers. Pretty sure they have a shipping guru there that will pass the load through a couple of LTL vendors for best rate.

Your batteries might be coming from a small vendor, no $$$ or pull in the LTL market and logging into a LTL carrier website just like you are I could do and getting a rate. Or the battery vendor is screwing ya.
Click to expand...
The vendors I'm talking about are Santan and Signature Solar. Don't know how long SS has been in the business, but I'm guessing they haven't been around longer than Santan.

timselectric said:
Hello neighbor (GO BIG BLUE)
Batteries are considered Hazardous, just because they are Batteries. They have the ability to release a lot of energy in an accidental shorting situation.
Click to expand...
Oh yeah? Cool. Where are y'all? We're up in the NE part of the state in the foothills of the Appalachians, near Grayson. Very remote rural location, we don't even get cell service here..

Well, okay on the hazardous aspect. But, I did do a fake order of 4 of these batteries from SS, and the shipping costs are still $325 for 4 of them.
 
Subdood said:
The vendors I'm talking about are Santan and Signature Solar. Don't know how long SS has been in the business, but I'm guessing they haven't been around longer than Santan.
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I have physically been to both. Take away:
SanTan is run by highly educated and experienced senior staff that understands business, customer service and have been in business for years and /or brings a ton of experience to the table, i.e they do it right. Their facility is pretty impressive (in Phoenix). Equaling - low shipping cost.

Signature Solar is a bunch of High School friends doing their first gig in a dilapidated factory that JB-Weld abandoned. Some say the left over fumes from the epoxy causes a lot of delusions at SS. Equaling - throw a dart at the wall to determine your shipping cost.

At Santan you will be greeted by "How are you sir", at SS "Watup bro", figure the rest from there.
 
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timselectric said:
Louisville, here.
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Cool. I'm originally from Oklahoma, but we've lived on my wife's family farm for about 8 years. I lived and worked in the Dallas area for about 30 years in the electronics industry.

Hey, you said GO BIG BLUE, and you're in Louisville??
 
Subdood said:
Cool. I'm originally from Oklahoma, but we've lived on my wife's family farm for about 8 years. I lived and worked in the Dallas area for about 30 years in the electronics industry.

Hey, you said GO BIG BLUE, and you're in Louisville??
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Yes
It's 50/50 here. But I have the rest of the state on my side. lol
 
timselectric said:
Yes
It's 50/50 here. But I have the rest of the state on my side. lol
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My wife is a UK fan; me, I'm pretty ambivalent about either one, being a Sooners fan. Nice to see that Bob Stoops' bro is doing well at UK. Their football program is definitely on the upswing.

RV10flyer said:
16 ea 280aH cells from Atlanta to Kentucky $185.
Click to expand...

That's $185 shipping for all 16 cells? What's the total weight for all of those? What type of cells?

Hey, I just noticed your tag line says you have the same latitude as me, 38 degrees. What angle do you have your arrays set at? I know most say just use your latitude, but I was using some other tool that said my best fixed angle would be 33°.
 
Subdood said:
The vendors I'm talking about are Santan and Signature Solar. Don't know how long SS has been in the business, but I'm guessing they haven't been around longer than Santan.


Oh yeah? Cool. Where are y'all? We're up in the NE part of the state in the foothills of the Appalachians, near Grayson. Very remote rural location, we don't even get cell service here..

Well, okay on the hazardous aspect. But, I did do a fake order of 4 of these batteries from SS, and the shipping costs are still $325 for 4 of them.
Click to expand...
I, ve noticed that as well. Their shipping prices have stopped my order carts many times, it's just too much for a 100lb package.
 
bones1 said:
I, ve noticed that as well. Their shipping prices have stopped my order carts many times, it's just too much for a 100lb package.
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Yeah, they charge $325 to ship one of their batts, but about $280 for 10 solar panels? I get the hazardous material reasons, but that still doesn't make sense to me.
 
Subdood said:
My wife is a UK fan; me, I'm pretty ambivalent about either one, being a Sooners fan. Nice to see that Bob Stoops' bro is doing well at UK. Their football program is definitely on the upswing.



That's $185 shipping for all 16 cells? What's the total weight for all of those? What type of cells?

Hey, I just noticed your tag line says you have the same latitude as me, 38 degrees. What angle do you have your arrays set at? I know most say just use your latitude, but I was using some other tool that said my best fixed angle would be 33°.
Click to expand...
200 lbs. 45* gives me better winter performance. 53* is recommended, but 45* is much easier to frame up ground mount out of PT lumber.

I placed my first and last order with SS. Buyer beware nowadays. A lot of companies have zero to poor customer service, warranty or return policies. Maybe all of these companies should just wait for customs to inspect at LA, Savannah, Houston, NYC, then slap my address label on it. It would save a lot of shipping back and forth across the country. Same junk with no QC.
 
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