So I jumped in and bought 16 of these cells from a particular seller on AliExpress based upon some advice from a reliable source, but subsequently learnt of the scams regularly taking place around these cells and the fact they stopped being manufactured quite some time ago. Capacity testing the cells I received revealed that they were well below the 200Ah mark they should have reached, varying from 119Ah up to about 159Ah - essentially all are already below the 80% capacity mark and so likely to drop precipitously in capacity from here on out, based upon my research. Five cells in particular had substantially lower figures than the others, and the difference in serial number ranges for these and the others underscored that variance.
Fortunately, it is looking positive that I will at least successfully recover a portion of the cost through the AliExpress dispute process in the coming days.
My next question though is what to do with these.
A. I could deploy them into my solar system anyway and just get what life out of them that I can, but they will obviously be dragged down by the lowest performing cells in the set.
B. I could arguably replace the 5 worst performing cells with other SE200 cells, but that seems like a bit of a crap shoot in reality - who knows what rubbish will show up the next time around (or maybe actually decent quality cells would show up, rendering ALL of the cells I already have below par anyway - still a better outcome than the likely alternative, mind!)
C. I could buy 5 or 6 160Ah cells of a different make to replace the worst performing cells. Not sure how well mixing cells from different vendors would go though, or the viability of mixing new 160Ah cells with old cells with a similar remaining capacity. I expect the latter will still degrade much faster than the new ones, so the balance would not last long.
D. I could buy a complete second set of cells (different make/model) and place both batteries into service in parallel.
E. I could cut my losses and just put these ones out to pasture altogether.
Would love some sage advice on this matter!
Fortunately, it is looking positive that I will at least successfully recover a portion of the cost through the AliExpress dispute process in the coming days.
My next question though is what to do with these.
A. I could deploy them into my solar system anyway and just get what life out of them that I can, but they will obviously be dragged down by the lowest performing cells in the set.
B. I could arguably replace the 5 worst performing cells with other SE200 cells, but that seems like a bit of a crap shoot in reality - who knows what rubbish will show up the next time around (or maybe actually decent quality cells would show up, rendering ALL of the cells I already have below par anyway - still a better outcome than the likely alternative, mind!)
C. I could buy 5 or 6 160Ah cells of a different make to replace the worst performing cells. Not sure how well mixing cells from different vendors would go though, or the viability of mixing new 160Ah cells with old cells with a similar remaining capacity. I expect the latter will still degrade much faster than the new ones, so the balance would not last long.
D. I could buy a complete second set of cells (different make/model) and place both batteries into service in parallel.
E. I could cut my losses and just put these ones out to pasture altogether.
Would love some sage advice on this matter!
