DIY LiFePO4 Cost Analysis - February 2022 Edition

[houseofancients]

Yes, they have a store on alibaba https://evebatteryglobal.en.alibaba.com/

But I would caution buying directly from them, as there was a user here who did and they were packed poorly and were damaged during shipping.

plus they are not interest unless you buy container sized quantities

 

[Rossman]

plus they are not interest unless you buy container sized quantities

This is no longer true. They were happy to quote me for 64 cells DDP to Canada...but after I read about the other users problem, I decided to go with another vendor

 

[sidpost]

I was going to buy 16 Eve LF280K batteries, unless there's a better current recommendation for the money. I'll likely use the slow boat from China, assuming it's cheaper as I'm still waiting for an inverter. Who do you guys recommend contacting? Jenny, Amy, Amie etc...

Price is important, but obviously getting genuine new grade A cells and having a trustworthy source is most important... Coming with decent bus bars (preferably with small holes and a "kink" in them to release stress) is a plus.

Best practice for payment method is a good CC or use PP?

I thought I replied to this yesterday but, I don't see the post.

I just bought 32 CATL 302Ah batteries from Jenny/Docan with a pickup in Houston for $143/ea. Delivered I believe they are $160/ea. Price shipped directly from China has gone up recently. My shipping quote from China was ~$800 for 32 batteries.

I did a credit card payment directly which needs to be done Alibaba with an Alibaba surcharge, Think it was $130 plus a credit card surcharge I think which was $100. Some of this may have been sales tax though.

There are a lot of EVE posts and very few CATL posts but, the feedback I have on CATL batteries has been very good. I have also heard Tesla has transitioned to CATL batteries in China. CATL batteries seem to have better availability but, I wouldn't consider EVE better or worse than CATL batteries.

 

[princesse]

Hi,

When I go to an Alibaba store of my choice and try a mock order, I see PayPal, VISA, & MC all show 2.99% fee.

If the vendor creates an Alibaba Trade Assurance order, do they charge a fee on top of 2.99%? If so what is the % for the Assurance? (e.g., if 1%, then 3.99% total).

If the Assurance order is to be shipped or a pickup for a later date, would the credit card be charged on the later date (like Amazon does) or would it be immediate? Thanks. ?

 

[sidpost]

Alibaba charges a commission plus the credit card fee. Seems like I was about 6% all in. Payment upfront with an in-person pick up in Houston, TX.

 

[Horsefly]

Alibaba charges a commission plus the credit card fee. Seems like I was about 6% all in. Payment upfront with an in-person pick up in Houston, TX.

A purchase I made recently from Docan Technologies (Jenny Wu) had a 5% surcharge because I wanted to use PayPal. Jenny said that if I used a credit card directly with Alibaba it would have been 2-4% instead.

Last fall when I bought from Shenzen Luyuan Technology (Amy Wan) I used a credit card through Alibaba and the fee was 3%.

I've not seen higher than 5%.

 

[Eoin]

Good and interesting thread?
almost finished my new build myself with EVE 280ah cells, and I will have a full cost analysis to post in due course, and its also just over year since the initial thread was started.

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

Good and interesting thread?
almost finished my new build myself with EVE 280ah cells, and I will have a full cost analysis to post in due course, and its also just over year since the initial thread was started.

There is the 2023 version:

DIY LiFePO4 Cost Analysis - Almost February 2023 Edition

This is a recalculation based on the situation today, of what I did last year. Disclaimer: I mention vendors below and use them as an example and as reference. This should not be considered an endorsement of said vendors! Let's start again with leveling the playing field. The EG4 is a 5kWh...

diysolarforum.com

Keep in mind this one assumes cells with EVE report from Luyuan, and again, not the cheapest version. I might do a 'cheapest version' one at some point.