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diy solar

Hello from Alberta, Canada

GingerHuntsman

New Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2021
Messages
6
Good Day! :)?

It looks like there are several Canadians on this forum which is really great to see. I'm in southern Alberta and very interested in getting my own LiFePo4 pack build underway. The first thing I immediately realized was how ludicrous the cost of shipping is to get raw lithium cells delivered to Canada. If I lived 6 hours south, the shipping would be free and I could actually get these cells at a decent price. I would love to start following Will's teachings but not at double the price to get the hardware to my door.

I am hoping that we True North Canucks can work together to find alternative solutions or persuade our political leaders to allow us to be DIY enthusiasts. I am not a political person but we do have an important election coming up so we should take this opportunity to send a strong message to our representatives that are wanting our votes that Lithium shipping costs need to change. ?
 
Good Day! :)?

It looks like there are several Canadians on this forum which is really great to see. I'm in southern Alberta and very interested in getting my own LiFePo4 pack build underway. The first thing I immediately realized was how ludicrous the cost of shipping is to get raw lithium cells delivered to Canada. If I lived 6 hours south, the shipping would be free and I could actually get these cells at a decent price. I would love to start following Will's teachings but not at double the price to get the hardware to my door.

I am hoping that we True North Canucks can work together to find alternative solutions or persuade our political leaders to allow us to be DIY enthusiasts. I am not a political person but we do have an important election coming up so we should take this opportunity to send a strong message to our representatives that are wanting our votes that Lithium shipping costs need to change. ?
LOL I feel like at this point it will actually go in the opposite direction and end up costing more in the long run with some or more proceeds going to the feds. For this reason I have ordered my hybrid/offgrid system from China directly and will soon be taking my welding and machine shop off grid myself. Im also located in southern Alberta. I too also hope we Canucks can work together and share infos
 
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I've brought in a LOT of cells direct from China and no issues @ customs etc BUT I use Luyuan Tech who is one of the Best Known Good Vendors here.... not the cheapest but you get exactly what you are paying for. I once had to pay a premium for delivery once because I am "way off the beaten path" but that was a unique one-off.

To get a proper quote from ANY VENDOR, you have to open a Chat/<Messenger session with the vendor and provide your Postal Code. The Shipping Guesstimator is way off.

Link to Luyuan Tech: https://szluyuan.en.alibaba.com/?spm=a2756.trade-order-list.0.0.110d76e9kv6ApB

Good Luck, Hope it helps.
 
It does feel like a bit of a minefield to the uninitiated doesn't it? So far I have only communicated with your supplier Steve (Shenzhen Luyuan Technology Co., Ltd.) and a supplier recommended by "off-grid-grid garage" guy (Shenzhen Qishou Technology Co., Ltd.). Both quote a price (about $125 Canadian apiece) for 4 x 280Ah prismatics. Both tell me that delivery to Canada is suspended right now. Even so, neither will even give me a rough idea of usual delivery cost; feels like they are being evasive. What should the total price including delivery be to Canada (AB), just roughly?
Anyone have some idea? Thanks
 
Now that I have my new trailer installation close to completion I should follow up regarding LiFePO4 batteries in Canada.
I seriously considered importing and building and have viewed and vetted more ads for cells and ready-made batteries than I can count on Ebay, Amazon and.... you name it, but everything was either expensive or seemed dodgy. Armed with good info from forum members I narrowed down better Chinese Alibaba sources, but each one in January and February advised me that shipping to Canada was suspended, and we all know the west-coast ports were seriously backed up. After weighing up everything and wanting to complete installation soon, I followed up on this ad (I previously posted in another thread):
https://www.kijiji.ca/v-buy-sell-other/grande-prairie/lithium-battery-packs/1581996362
I paid a deposit and ordered a 12v 280Ah battery pack. As promised, the battery (with JBD BMS) arrived in 3 weeks, cells all well balanced. Since upgrading SCC, wiring etc., I have been stress-testing the system before our first road trip (any day now!)
I am not set up for proper capacity testing, but drawing a 150A load for 20 minutes (probably 2-3 times as long as I'll ever run continuously) was no problem. The SCC voltage monitor showed about 12.8v under full load and bounced right back to 13.6v afterwards (PV's off). Immediately after, I reconnected the PV's and 30A were flowing into the battery. I looked later in the day and all was back to 14.4v.

Okay, only time will tell with regards to durability, but so far I am very pleased with performance and value.
 
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