Tulex
Solar Wizard
In April, I ordered 32 Cat302ah cells from DIYPOW. At the time, there was quite a bit on the forum about people not being happy with purchases from a couple of the common suppliers. So, I decided to shop around. I had put the cells in my cart for DIYPOW, and left them there. The next day, I had an email saying I could get 7% off of my cart. At the time, I had about 10 tabs open from different sites, including their site. Did the math, and it was the best deal. So, I placed the order.
Only after placing the order did I realize it was one of the sites shipping from China. I got a little nervous, this was over $5k of batteries. But, I decided to stick with it.
Through the waiting period, there were a couple hiccups. First, they told me after about 10 days that they were out of Catl 302ah, but that they could send me Eve 304ah at no extra charge (I think they were $10 more per 4). I said OK. Then, I had a delay because of their May holiday week. Then, they didn't make it on the boat they were supposed to be on, so I lost another week. So, all told, my delivery was extended 3+ weeks. During the wait, my contact Nicole sent me pictures of all 32 QR codes and the inspection reports. The QR codes all matched the reports.
Received the cells the end of June. When the truck driver told me I had to come look at the delivery before he unloaded it, I knew there was an issue. They had shipped all 32 cells in a wood box, and sure enough, the box was damaged. Driver had me open the box to see the damage. 3 cells were damaged, pictures below. Driver noted in on the shipper and called it in. I contacted DIYPOW via whatsapp (how they like to communicate) and sent pictures. That night, they told me they were sending 3 replacements by air. In just under 2 weeks I had the replacements. The only issue I have with the replacements is that I didn't get reports with them. They said they weren't available like they are with full orders. I don't see why, and that left a bad taste. The QR codes say they are the same cells as the originals, just different date. I tested all the cells, all came in at 3.292V. I have built one of the 2 batteries. I didn't do an actual capacity test, but I did drain it from full to 15%, and I got the watts I expected.
I pulled back the cover on one of the damaged cells, I see no other markings. The QR code is clean, no sand marks or different color. The original 32 say 320-326ah, the replacements say 304ah. The odd part of the whole purchase is that the website is DIYPOW. But, it was explained to me that they are a sub company of Keheng. And, Keheng is who my account was charged to. Keheng is supposedly a cell/battery manufacturer. If you go to their site, they do have some of the same pictures as DIYPOW. I asked why is a sub company of Keheng selling the competitions cells. Their reply was that they can buy from these companies and sell grade A to diyers, whereas diyers can't buy grade A directly from the manufactures. I don't know. All I know is that I had good communication with Nicole. She provided me with everything I asked for, other than the reports for the replacement cells. Test reports were also in the box, along with busbars. BUT, busbars are brass, so didn't end up using them. At the time, their price was the best I could find that wasn't one of the known ones that people were having issues with, and there was no shipping or charge fee. They took care of the damaged cells quickly without fuss. So, would I use them again? I think so, as long as the price is good.
Only after placing the order did I realize it was one of the sites shipping from China. I got a little nervous, this was over $5k of batteries. But, I decided to stick with it.
Through the waiting period, there were a couple hiccups. First, they told me after about 10 days that they were out of Catl 302ah, but that they could send me Eve 304ah at no extra charge (I think they were $10 more per 4). I said OK. Then, I had a delay because of their May holiday week. Then, they didn't make it on the boat they were supposed to be on, so I lost another week. So, all told, my delivery was extended 3+ weeks. During the wait, my contact Nicole sent me pictures of all 32 QR codes and the inspection reports. The QR codes all matched the reports.
Received the cells the end of June. When the truck driver told me I had to come look at the delivery before he unloaded it, I knew there was an issue. They had shipped all 32 cells in a wood box, and sure enough, the box was damaged. Driver had me open the box to see the damage. 3 cells were damaged, pictures below. Driver noted in on the shipper and called it in. I contacted DIYPOW via whatsapp (how they like to communicate) and sent pictures. That night, they told me they were sending 3 replacements by air. In just under 2 weeks I had the replacements. The only issue I have with the replacements is that I didn't get reports with them. They said they weren't available like they are with full orders. I don't see why, and that left a bad taste. The QR codes say they are the same cells as the originals, just different date. I tested all the cells, all came in at 3.292V. I have built one of the 2 batteries. I didn't do an actual capacity test, but I did drain it from full to 15%, and I got the watts I expected.
I pulled back the cover on one of the damaged cells, I see no other markings. The QR code is clean, no sand marks or different color. The original 32 say 320-326ah, the replacements say 304ah. The odd part of the whole purchase is that the website is DIYPOW. But, it was explained to me that they are a sub company of Keheng. And, Keheng is who my account was charged to. Keheng is supposedly a cell/battery manufacturer. If you go to their site, they do have some of the same pictures as DIYPOW. I asked why is a sub company of Keheng selling the competitions cells. Their reply was that they can buy from these companies and sell grade A to diyers, whereas diyers can't buy grade A directly from the manufactures. I don't know. All I know is that I had good communication with Nicole. She provided me with everything I asked for, other than the reports for the replacement cells. Test reports were also in the box, along with busbars. BUT, busbars are brass, so didn't end up using them. At the time, their price was the best I could find that wasn't one of the known ones that people were having issues with, and there was no shipping or charge fee. They took care of the damaged cells quickly without fuss. So, would I use them again? I think so, as long as the price is good.
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