diy solar

diy solar

100Ah pack with yellow lid/top and a dozen names (Ogreen, Konce..)

Joris

Joris

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On Aliexpress there are multiple 'brands' that list 50Ah 12V to 200Ah 24V batteries. The specs are the same, and the 100Ah 12V of all of them has a yellow lid.
They also seem to have sales on the same moments. Does anyone know more about them?
They sound too good to be true... currently around $180 with free shipping & taxes for the 100Ah 12V.

Ogreen US $179.49
Konce US $187.82
edit:
PWOD US $275.82 (!)
DGIN US $188.92
SANBEN Global Battery StoreUS $187.82
SANBEN Energy Storage Store US $450.00
SANBEN Energy Storage Store US $254.19 (yes, same store)
DGIN US $188.92
GFITT / gifitt (looks like they can't agree on their own name) US $183.51
Lanke (Europe) US $466.10 (shipped from France)
 
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I notice that Aliexpress is offering quite a bit off in the US at the moment (til 6/18) $6 off for $60+, $15 off for $120+ and $30 off for $200+ On a previous occasion of a similar sale I go a real good final price on a 24v 80ah battery (likely only 60ah actual) for around $220. Took over two months to ship to me but is working fine after a months usage.

There is no doubt that there is a catch in batteries prices this low. So like they say in Las Vegas only gamble what you can afford to lose.
 
Well, they've both have the same brief information spiel! Both go on about blue sky & greener mountains.
Both have the same spec sheets, just different colours.
One has reviews, but mostly about cells and not the batteries in question.

Great price tho. the 25.6V has interested me.....but "should" be 24.8V really ? (not sure if I could add another battery to my 2s 2s set up tho)

Buy one and keep us updated ?
 
Mattb4 said:
I notice that Aliexpress is offering quite a bit off in the US at the moment (til 6/18) $6 off for $60+, $15 off for $120+ and $30 off for $200+ On a previous occasion of a similar sale I go a real good final price on a 24v 80ah battery (likely only 60ah actual) for around $220. Took over two months to ship to me but is working fine after a months usage.

There is no doubt that there is a catch in batteries prices this low. So like they say in Las Vegas only gamble what you can afford to lose.
Click to expand...
Yes, these sales are becoming more and more frequent. For larger items I just hold off until there's a sale like this.. it also pays to look at cash backs, extra coupons etc.
Since you mentioned it, not sure if these coupon codes work in the US or just Europe:
  • US $6 off $50 code: SS6
  • US $8 off $75 code: SS8
  • US $17 off $150 code: SS17
  • US $24 off $200 code: SS24
  • US $33 off $280 code: SS33
or:
JUNE6OT
JUNE9OT
JUNE14OT
JUNE24OT
 
They have to be cutting corners somewhere and the main thing would be to use grade B cells (do grade C cells exist?)

Would love to see someone do a capacity test and tear down on one of these.
 
gheeze under $200 with free shipping for a 100ah, thats stupid cheap. even if it only put 88ah that might not be tooooo shabby. and thats before coupon codes

i've mostly been using them for UPS, even if they don't have a ton of cycles in them, that would be perfect for an UPS where it doesn't cycle often.
 
I have bit the bullet and ordered the one on the 15 June from OGREEN for US $166.49 after all my discount codes.

Shipping: it will apparently take two months.
28 June I received a UPS label for shipment from Germany. I asked about that and when it would be actually shipped/arrive.
They sent me a screenshot in Chinese from a site that's unknown to me, showing it's on the Evergreen EVER ACE in a container and expected to arrive in port the 31 July. If they don't wedge themselves in the Suez Canal, that is.

In the screenshot I censored my UPS tracking number but not the H66251231 'waybill' number.

Ali Ogreen tracking censored.png
Grimmster said:
They have to be cutting corners somewhere and the main thing would be to use grade B cells (do grade C cells exist?)

Would love to see someone do a capacity test and tear down on one of these.
Click to expand...
I think I can do a capacity test by hooking it up to a Victron SmartSolar and a 12V Immersion heater.

Sorry for the late update, been touring Europe by train the last 18 days!
 
Oops just saw you still got acouple days till delivery lol just sitting here excitingly awaiting arrival for your package ?
 
Time for a small update, I just received my Ogreen battery! I'll give more details in the coming days, but my first impressions:
It's 8kg. The lid is sealed, and I don't feel brave enough to pry it open.
The battery had 13.3V when it arrived, so the BMS seems to not have a 'shipping protection'.

I'm currently solar charging it through my Victron SmartSolar to see roughly how much charge it can get from here. I don't have a shunt (or understand the added value tbh).
I'm currently getting 4W from the clouds so I'll probably connect something else as "solar input" soon ?


Concerning shipping: boy, what an adventure. I naively assumed when the ship arrived in the port 30km away, it would be in my home a few days later. But they first shipped it 1300km to the battery distribution partner they have in Poland, and then 1300km back.
Then UPS fucked up delivery for a week, in which Ogreen was super proactive in keeping me up to date and prodding me to contact UPS to arrange something.
 
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Just ordered an Ogreen 12V 100Ah for $166.55 + free shipping. That's the cheapest by far that I've ever seen at $0.126/Wh. I'll do a capacity test with my DL24P when the battery arrives in a few months. I've had good luck with Aliexpress for the most part. Except one order in the past I got completely the wrong item and they refunded my card. Which was a bit frustrating after waiting 6 weeks to get the wrong item but oh well.
 
Newbie question: I want to speed up my testing by charging the battery from a wall adapter/other battery instead of (just) solar). At the current rate, it'll take over a week to fill the battery.

I understand I should *not* connect the DC source to the solar input of my solar charger.
Can I connect my (drone) battery charger to the battery parallel to the solar charger?
 
It's usually OK to connect the outputs of two chargers together as long as they both have similar output/float voltages. These batteries shouldn't be charged over 14.4V so as long as both chargers put out somewhere in the range of 13.5-14.4V It should be fine. A benchtop power supply is helpful for lots of things. I have a 30V 5A variable bench supply. There are many on amazon for under $50. The 10A version would allow you to charge even faster.
 
Joris said:
Time for a small update, I just received my Ogreen battery! I'll give more details in the coming days, but my first impressions:
It's 8kg. The lid is sealed, and I don't feel brave enough to pry it open.
The battery had 13.3V when it arrived, so the BMS seems to not have a 'shipping protection'.

I'm currently solar charging it through my Victron SmartSolar to see roughly how much charge it can get from here. I don't have a shunt (or understand the added value tbh).
I'm currently getting 4W from the clouds so I'll probably connect something else as "solar input" soon ?


Concerning shipping: boy, what an adventure. I naively assumed when the ship arrived in the port 30km away, it would be in my home a few days later. But they first shipped it 1300km to the battery distribution partner they have in Poland, and then 1300km back.
Then UPS fucked up delivery for a week, in which Ogreen was super proactive in keeping me up to date and prodding me to contact UPS to arrange something.
Click to expand...
Please, don’t leave us hanging! That’s a deal, even for b grade cells. I can’t build them that cheap.
 
Deveak said:
Please, don’t leave us hanging! That’s a deal, even for b grade cells. I can’t build them that cheap.
Click to expand...
As you please! ;)
It looks like it just holds 50% of the promised charge, but please let me know if my testing and conclusions need improving.

I put an extra 360Wh in on top of the state it arrived in. Still also fiddling with my Victron SmartSolar 75/10. The SmartSolar seems to be giving totals multiples of tens.
I confirmed with a bench power supply: if I push 14.4 or 14.5V in, the charging current will drop at around 14.4.

Without charge/discharge, it stayed at 13.8v, seemingly self-distcharging to 13.3v (?)
1693740078908.png
1693740563194.png

A day later I discharged the battery at ~70W into my BluettiEB70 to a total of 630Wh.

The rate was probably limited by the EB70. I also assume discharging stopped because my EB70 would not accept a voltage under 11.5V, while the EB70 was between 60% and 80% full.

I continued discharging at 5W into my phone but I missed the cut-off point because the SmartSolar didn't store that.. ? it couldn't have been more than 7Wh on top of that 630Wh.

Below the discharge graph from my Victron app. Voltages confirmed with my multimeter at the battery terminals.
1693740996124.png

PS: I'm currently charging again, will keep you updated on how much will fit in it and try to discharge again.
 
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My full charge was disappointing as well: around 660Wh.
I used a combination of 87Wh through solar charging and the rest with a wall charger.
Apparently the charger I used is a little bit buggy (Toolkit M8 charger meant for small/drone batteries). It stated 38,3Ah which I do believe for a 6.2hr 6.2A charge, but the 51.4Wh I did not believe at ~13.4V (assuming I should count the voltage the battery has, not the voltage I set my charger to).
I accidentally disconnected and started another charge until it finished (9A, 24 minutes, 3467mAh, should be 31Wh).1693774437693.png1693774426129.png
 
Joris said:
My full charge was disappointing as well: around 660Wh.
I used a combination of 87Wh through solar charging and the rest with a wall charger.
Apparently the charger I used is a little bit buggy (Toolkit M8 charger meant for small/drone batteries). It stated 38,3Ah which I do believe for a 6.2hr 6.2A charge, but the 51.4Wh I did not believe at ~13.4V (assuming I should count the voltage the battery has, not the voltage I set my charger to).
I accidentally disconnected and started another charge until it finished (9A, 24 minutes, 3467mAh, should be 31Wh).View attachment 165863View attachment 165862
Click to expand...
Sounds like a tear down is in order. Probably 50 ah cells.
 
Interesting results. That is disappointing if it really only has ~660Wh of capacity. A 12.8V 100Ah battery should have 1280Wh. Your testing methodology was a little hard for me to follow and seemed get interrupted. It would be good to repeat the tests you've done or see if you could do them with a different setup. Are you planning to open a case with aliexpress? I certainly will if the battery I get doesn't have the capacity promised.
 
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