SV_Stray_Cats
New Member
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2020
- Messages
- 30
Hello, I just wanted to share and record in the forum this price and a few thoughts about buying from this Xuba listing:
https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...a2756.order-detail-ta-ta-b.0.0.171e2fc2AN4I3x
I ordered 16 cells. Shipping to the Northeast US was $295 and I paid $35.61 for Alibaba's credit card fee for a total of $1242. Depending on how Alibaba runs that I am not sure if my credit card will also charge a fee for foreign transaction. I did have to "appeal" to use my card after Alibaba, not my issuer, rejected the payment for security reasons. The appeal button brings you to a page where you upload images of the card and your ID. You are allowed to redact some information from the images. It took less than a day for mine to be approved.
Tthe result is a cost per Ah that is similar to the best prices for the more popular 280 Ah cells. Those wouldn't fit as well in my boat, whereas 202 Ah will disappear into an unused locker. Neither the 202 Ah size nor the Lishen brand are frequently discussed here, which is part of why I'm posting. I felt comfortable ordering CATL or Lishen cells, as those are two large OEM suppliers that make this size of cell. One of the Nordkyn articles says "In spite of being virtually unknown, Lishen also makes very good cells, which were selected by a large customer in Switzerland following lab tests, ahead of the better known brands."
The price from Xuba matches their listing, whereas Basen and others will quote a lower price than their listings. I realize there's a culture of negotiation, but I liked that Xuba's listing was consistent with what my Xuba contact Pina told me in messages, whereas others weren't. Basen listings were for CATL cells, but they were selling Lishen. This seems like a common thing, at least right now, that Lishen cells are substitutes for something else. I appreciate that the pictures, dimensions, and specs in Xuba's listing were the product I am buying. I liked that the listing included the list below and did not over promise "matching" like many other listings do - at least one of which specifically claims to match capacity, but when asked, admits they don't use a capacity test to do that matching by capacity.
Now while I wait (this is for a boat, so there's no urgency as I write this before the winter solstice) I will make bus bars (tinned copper, with square ends to match the square contact pads on Lishen cells), and finalize a BMS plan. I am almost certainly going to use the Orion Jr. BMS 2 with external dual coil contactors from Gigavac or TE Kilovac, but those are things I need to learn more about.
Thanks to the forum! Without this, I'm not sure if I would have ordered directly from China, but doing so enabled me to spend less for 202 Ah LiFePO4 cells than I would have spent to replace AGM batteries rated at only 68 Ah (1 hr rating, for EV). Of course the BMS and contactors will increase the total cost of the new system, but by going direct, I can enjoy the benefits of LiFePO4 whereas I don't think I could have afforded or accepted US retail pricing.
https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...a2756.order-detail-ta-ta-b.0.0.171e2fc2AN4I3x
I ordered 16 cells. Shipping to the Northeast US was $295 and I paid $35.61 for Alibaba's credit card fee for a total of $1242. Depending on how Alibaba runs that I am not sure if my credit card will also charge a fee for foreign transaction. I did have to "appeal" to use my card after Alibaba, not my issuer, rejected the payment for security reasons. The appeal button brings you to a page where you upload images of the card and your ID. You are allowed to redact some information from the images. It took less than a day for mine to be approved.
Tthe result is a cost per Ah that is similar to the best prices for the more popular 280 Ah cells. Those wouldn't fit as well in my boat, whereas 202 Ah will disappear into an unused locker. Neither the 202 Ah size nor the Lishen brand are frequently discussed here, which is part of why I'm posting. I felt comfortable ordering CATL or Lishen cells, as those are two large OEM suppliers that make this size of cell. One of the Nordkyn articles says "In spite of being virtually unknown, Lishen also makes very good cells, which were selected by a large customer in Switzerland following lab tests, ahead of the better known brands."
The price from Xuba matches their listing, whereas Basen and others will quote a lower price than their listings. I realize there's a culture of negotiation, but I liked that Xuba's listing was consistent with what my Xuba contact Pina told me in messages, whereas others weren't. Basen listings were for CATL cells, but they were selling Lishen. This seems like a common thing, at least right now, that Lishen cells are substitutes for something else. I appreciate that the pictures, dimensions, and specs in Xuba's listing were the product I am buying. I liked that the listing included the list below and did not over promise "matching" like many other listings do - at least one of which specifically claims to match capacity, but when asked, admits they don't use a capacity test to do that matching by capacity.
#4 was true too, the listing calculated shipping to the US as $822 but I paid $295. I felt comfortable with this and am pleased to get the same price per Ah as the 280 Ah listings people are excited about. I can also add that Pina's English is excellent.Tips:
1. Lishen 3.2V 202AH, as shown in the picture, the QR code is intact.
2. We will give you bus bars, screws and washers for free. (1 battery---2 bus bars, 2 screws, 2 washers). If you need extra, please contact us.
3. We will test the internal resistance and voltage of each battery, and will select the batteries with very close data to send out. If you need to test their real capacity, please contact us.
4. Please ignore the default shipping price on the website, we will calculate the specific shipping cost according to different order weights, different shipping methods and different countries.
Now while I wait (this is for a boat, so there's no urgency as I write this before the winter solstice) I will make bus bars (tinned copper, with square ends to match the square contact pads on Lishen cells), and finalize a BMS plan. I am almost certainly going to use the Orion Jr. BMS 2 with external dual coil contactors from Gigavac or TE Kilovac, but those are things I need to learn more about.
Thanks to the forum! Without this, I'm not sure if I would have ordered directly from China, but doing so enabled me to spend less for 202 Ah LiFePO4 cells than I would have spent to replace AGM batteries rated at only 68 Ah (1 hr rating, for EV). Of course the BMS and contactors will increase the total cost of the new system, but by going direct, I can enjoy the benefits of LiFePO4 whereas I don't think I could have afforded or accepted US retail pricing.