Our NEW GO-TO LiFePO4 vendor...09.20.21

[Maitake]

18650 site showed zero stock when I ordered mine.
They had batteries but no packing. Larger orders they were shipping in crates.

 

[GRBreaks]

18650 site showed zero stock when I ordered mine.

I took a look at some of the threads you have started in this forum. Impressive project, much more ambitious than my own! You have done plenty of homework on your vendors. Hope those 18650batterystore LF280K cells work out for you, I have yet to see bad reports about them. Let us know. Current pricing is very close to Docan from Houston once you count alibaba and credit card fees.

 

[GRBreaks]

First batch of 16 LF280K cells was ordered through Jenny, had shipped from Houston, arrived in a about a week. Second batch was ordered through Jenny on July 21, arrived at the house via UPS on August 31. Jenny emailed me the UPS tracking number on July 29 even though UPS did not get the product off the boat till Aug 28 at which time UPS tracking flipped from "label printed" to showing the US city where the product was passing through.

This second batch looks good, all boxes and cells were in impeccable condition, all cell were within a couple mV of 3.203 volts. A QR code scan shows all cells were built on the second day of the month, which seems an astounding coincidence. All were built in March through June of 2022, except for one that claims to have been built on Sept 2 2022, which is a couple days after they arrived at my house. Best guess regarding the time warp is that the QR code printer on line 65 was set up incorrectly.

manufacturers product_types cell_types model_codes capacity production_date production_city factory_product_line factory_task_order number_of_cell_produced_that_day original_qr_content
EVE Power Cell LiFePO4 LF280K 280Ah 5/2/2022 Jingmen 84 62 8959 04QCB76846200JC250008959
EVE Power Cell LiFePO4 LF280K 280Ah 4/2/2022 Jingmen 84 61 8789 04QCB76846100JC240008789
EVE Power Cell LiFePO4 LF280K 280Ah 9/2/2022 Jingmen 83 65 540 04QCB76836500JC290000540
EVE Power Cell LiFePO4 LF280K 280Ah 5/2/2022 Jingmen 84 61 8886 04QCB76846100JC250008886
EVE Power Cell LiFePO4 LF280K 280Ah 4/2/2022 Jingmen 84 61 8153 04QCB76846100JC240008153
EVE Power Cell LiFePO4 LF280K 280Ah 5/2/2022 Jingmen 84 61 8413 04QCB76846100JC250008413
EVE Power Cell LiFePO4 LF280K 280Ah 3/2/2022 Jingmen 84 60 8233 04QCB76846000JC230008233
EVE Power Cell LiFePO4 LF280K 280Ah 4/2/2022 Jingmen 84 61 8718 04QCB76846100JC240008718
EVE Power Cell LiFePO4 LF280K 280Ah 5/2/2022 Jingmen 84 62 9136 04QCB76846200JC250009136
EVE Power Cell LiFePO4 LF280K 280Ah 6/2/2022 Jingmen 84 63 8087 04QCB76846300JC260008087
EVE Power Cell LiFePO4 LF280K 280Ah 6/2/2022 Jingmen 83 63 1697 04QCB76836300JC260001697
EVE Power Cell LiFePO4 LF280K 280Ah 4/2/2022 Jingmen 84 61 8594 04QCB76846100JC240008594
EVE Power Cell LiFePO4 LF280K 280Ah 5/2/2022 Jingmen 84 62 9082 04QCB76846200JC250009082
EVE Power Cell LiFePO4 LF280K 280Ah 5/2/2022 Jingmen 84 61 9772 04QCB76846100JC250009772
EVE Power Cell LiFePO4 LF280K 280Ah 3/2/2022 Jingmen 83 60 472 04QCB76836000JC230000472
EVE Power Cell LiFePO4 LF280K 280Ah 4/2/2022 Jingmen 84 61 8457 04QCB76846100JC240008457

Have yet to load up the WindowsPC application to change the JBD 7S-20S-200A BMS defaults, it still thinks I have a 200 Ah battery bank. Adjustments will wait till I have this second bank of 16 cells in service for the final 2p16s configuration. I believe the "Hardware Overcurrent Protection" of 100 Ah in the BMS firmware assumes the battery gets charged at a maximum of 0.5C (so takes 2 hours to fully recharge a depleted 200 Ah battery). And that when I change the 200 Ah setting in the BMS firmware to 2*280=560 Ah, the "Hardware Overcurrent Protection" setting will magically flip to 280 Amps (or perhaps as little as 200 Amps, the nameplate max for the BMS).

Edit: From hankcurt's reply:
"The dates that come out of the QR code reader are in the order of day/month/year. So all of your cells are from February. The portion of the alpha-numeric characters around the QR code that give the date are C29. C is the year, 2 is the month, and 9 is the day."
Yup. Was more obvious in my post of July 4, where we had day codes into the 20's on my first batch of 16. What happens when I post after my bedtime. So all of these were built between Feb 3 and Feb 9 of 2022.

 

[GRBreaks]

There are no LF280K cells in stock at the Houston warehouse, though was told there are some on a boat headed that way. I suspect they have plenty in China. Prices don't seem to have changed since I started paying attention in March of 2022.

 

[Cheap 4-life]

That first buy of 16 LF280K cells plus the JBD 200A BMS from Houston have been working great.
I have now placed a buy of 16 additional LF280K cells plus 16 extra busbars to be shipped from China.
The following describes how my buy process went.
Should be the same for any customer in the continental US.
Prices haven't changed for nearly 6 months now.

Each cell comes with one busbar, I bought 16 additional busbars at $0.75 each in the second buy,
needed to connect all 32 cells in a 2p16s configuration of two rows.
The busbars are sized for a single row of cells, using those busbars on two rows of LF280K cells
leaves a one inch gap between the rows. The older version of the EVE 280AH cell has the terminals
placed differently, and would have no gap between rows.

Each cell shipped from Houston costs $149.00 and the JBD 200A BMS costs $145.00, shipping included.
The price for cells shipped from China is lower at $110.00, but shipping is not included in that price.
Whether you have them shipped from Houston or China, you can work with Jenny Wu: jennywu896@gmail.com
or Amy Zheng: amy@docanpower.com who I believe are both based in China and both employees of Docan.
You could buy through the Houston website at www.powerwholesale.net without a salesperson,
but the price is the same and you then don't have someone at Docan to answer questions and
advocate for your interests. I believe they can inspect cells that ship from China (but not Houston).

Alibaba charges a fee of 2.04% on these transactions whether shipping from Houston or China.
You could pay for the merchandise, any shipping fees, plus the Alibaba fee with a wire transfer.
Using a credit card is safer but incurs an extra 3.00% charge from Alibaba to cover credit card fees.
Buying direct from Alibaba with my Mastercard failed, so instead bought through a paypal account
and paid paypal with that same credit card, still just an extra 3.00% charge.


First buy of 16x EVE LF280K cells plus the JBD 200A BMS, ordered May 31 2022, shipped from Houston:
Total value of merchandise: 16*149.00 + 145.00 = $2529.00
Shipping from Houston via UPS: $0
Alibaba transaction fee: $51.60 (2.04% of $2529.00)
Additional fee for using a credit card: $77.16 (3.00% of $2529.00+51.60)
Total cost as billed to my credit card: 2529.00+51.60+77.16 = $2657.76

Second buy of 16x EVE LF280K cells plus 16 extra busbars, ordered on July 20, 2022, shipped from China:
Total value of merchandise: 16*110.00 + 16*0.75 = $1772.00
Shipping fee from China, arrives via UPS: $276.00
Alibaba transaction fee: $41.80 (2.04% of $1772.00+276.00)
Additional fee for using a credit card: $62.49 (3.00% of 1772.00+276.00+41.80)
Total cost as billed to my credit card: 1772.00+276.00+41.80+62.49 = $2152.29


Total cost of just the 16 EVE LF280K cells shipped from Houston on a credit card including fees
should be around 16*149*1.0204*1.03 = $2505.61
Total cost of just the 16 EVE LF280K cells shipped from China on a credit card including fees
should be around (16*110+276)*1.0204*1.03 = $2139.86
So buying from China saves 2505.61 - 2139.86 = $365.75 on 16 cells
but takes a month or two to arrive instead of a week or less from Houston.
Regardless whether you buy from China or Houston, report any problems to your
salesperson (Jenny or Amy), and any defective product is shipped to Houston.

Well, that's how I understood the transaction, let me know of any errors in the above.

Edit: I'm in the state of Oregon, which has no sales tax.

From Amy I’m getting a price quote of $145 per cell not including shipping from China which is right at $300 for my order.. wonder why yours were so much cheaper from China. I see cells for around $110 each from China on Ali but they are not grade A.
Just realized I might be talking to the wrong Amy. Her name is Amy Wan (Luyoun). Is Amy Zheng a different Amy...? Apparently they are different people.. I just asked Amy Zheng for a quote

 

[powerpole]

I have 3 16S banks in parallel, all from Houston through Jenny. Working great, no duds! Using 3x overkill solar 100A BMSs. Would buy again!

 

[hankcurt]

All were built in March through June of 2022, except for one that claims to have been built on Sept 2 2022, which is a couple days after they arrived at my house. Best guess regarding the time warp is that the QR code printer on line 65 was set up incorrectly.

The dates that come out of the QR code reader are in the order of day/month/year. So all of your cells are from February.

The portion of the alpha-numeric characters around the QR code that give the date are C29. C is the year, 2 is the month, and 9 is the day.

 

[justgary]

Just realized I might be talking to the wrong Amy. Her name is Amy Wan

Amy Zheng works for Docan.

 

[GRBreaks]

The dates that come out of the QR code reader are in the order of day/month/year. So all of your cells are from February.

The portion of the alpha-numeric characters around the QR code that give the date are C29. C is the year, 2 is the month, and 9 is the day.

Hank, thanks for the correction! Silly mistake.

 

[Jaxonwood]

There are no LF280K cells in stock at the Houston warehouse, though was told there are some on a boat headed that way. I suspect they have plenty in China. Prices don't seem to have changed since I started paying attention in March of 2022.

Yeah, now they show out of stock in China as well. I ordered with Jenny, a first shipment of 16 of the EVE 280 K's just before this change in availability. Wondering now if I have an allotted shipment on the way or an unexpected long wait.

 

[Jaxonwood]

View attachment 109755

I have 3 16S banks in parallel, all from Houston through Jenny. Working great, no duds! Using 3x overkill solar 100A BMSs. Would buy again!

EXCELLENT news! I am right behind you.

 

[GRBreaks]

Yeah, now they show out of stock in China as well. I ordered with Jenny, a first shipment of 16 of the EVE 280 K's just before this change in availability. Wondering now if I have an allotted shipment on the way or an unexpected long wait.

On the bright side, when they arrive they will probably be fresh from the factory. ;-)

 

[nc73]

I bought 16 myself not long ago. Not the least bit disappointed.

 

[Cheap 4-life]

View attachment 109755

I have 3 16S banks in parallel, all from Houston through Jenny. Working great, no duds! Using 3x overkill solar 100A BMSs. Would buy again!

Have you noticed any of your cells swelling? I see you have the cells oriented in a way where swelling shouldn’t matter, But was just curious. I was only able to get CATL cells because EVE was out of stock. I here CATL are more prone to swelling or swell more. Trying to figure out if I should compress or not.. flexible busbars or not...

 

[Wet1]

View attachment 109755

I have 3 16S banks in parallel, all from Houston through Jenny. Working great, no duds! Using 3x overkill solar 100A BMSs. Would buy again!

I have some similar racks, any feel for what the shelf and overall rack weight capacity is?

 

[Cheap 4-life]

I have some similar racks, any feel for what the shelf and overall rack weight capacity is?

It appears to me as if his racks are drooping from the weight..in my experience some of those racks that look like that are made better than others

 

[NVS]

Has anyone weighed their cells individually? I weighed my cells I got from AliExpress varicose cells supposed to have been 280ah but have only been getting 245 to 250ah out of them in my motorhome. They weighed 11.4 to 11.7 lbs. Each.

 

[Wet1]

Has anyone weighed their cells individually? I weighed my cells I got from AliExpress varicose cells supposed to have been 280ah but have only been getting 245 to 250ah out of them in my motorhome. They weighed 11.4 to 11.7 lbs. Each.

I weighed a few of mine, about 11.85 to 11.95 lbs each.

 

[Wet1]

It appears to me as if his racks are drooping from the weight..in my experience some of those racks that look like that are made better than others

Agreed, I just get a little nervous about those plastic sleaves/inserts that lock the shelfs in place and most seem to use that same basic design.

 

[Cheap 4-life]

Agreed, I just get a little nervous about those plastic sleaves/inserts that lock the shelfs in place and most seem to use that same basic design.

Will uses those shelves and they don’t appear to be drooping. I have two of those shelves that look almost identical. One of them I’d almost feel comfortable standing on and it is a lot heavier, the other would bend in half if I stood on it and it is lighter