RayfromTx video "Reduce the Risk When Buying Lifepo4 From Alibaba!" is misleading

[SparkyJJO]

Buy cells, Be happy
Just don't short the terminals, and may your class T defend thee

 

[Kornbread]

What is the requirement for the cell to be qualified as telecommunications grade cells? I have not seen one before, just curious.

Composed a response and deleted it. Grade A appears to be anything we want it to be. For an example, go to this thread post #213 Apparantly, some very popular server rack batteries use telecom grade cells and advertise them as grade A+. I'll have to look again, but some sites claim EV cells are superior to telecom cells. Would that make the telecom cells grade b?

Which brings up the question: What specifications determine a grade A cell?

Which leads to ... what specifications does the manufacturer utilize in determining the grade of a LiFePo4 cell, and what are those grades?

It would help immensely to establish solid guidelines on this subject.

 

[timselectric]

There are no official grades. (Just marketing hype)
If they pass, they go to the auto manufacturers.
If they fail (no matter how slightly), they are sold to vendors that sell to us.

 

[robby]

There are no official grades. (Just marketing hype)
If they pass, they go to the auto manufacturers.
If they fail (no matter how slightly), they are sold to vendors that sell to us.

They do Grade them as A, B and C. The C cells are dumped or recycled. (hopefully)
Anyway your point is Valid in that they do not deliberately make a Grade B cell, it is just a byproduct of failing one or more of the tests. What would be nice to know is what test did each battery fail. Some of them are not as important as others and it's almost certain that they record that data somewhere. They would have to so that analyst can tell what part of the manufacturing processes is causing the most issues.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Or could it be simply pass/fail? Of course with the final test result of why it failed.

 

[robby]

Or could it be simply pass/fail? Of course with the final test result of why it failed.

I have heard they have at least 5 major tests it needs to Pass over a 30 day period. The one that they typically fail is the X-Ray examination. I figure if it fails that first test they don't bother with the others like weight, resistance, capacity testing, etc.

The cells have lots of electrodes that are thin strips of metal that are cut on a machine "Slitting" and spun onto rolls into something that looks like a role of tape. That roll is then cut into individual strips and each strip is an electrode.
If any of the strips have a bad cut it shows up under X-Raying as jagged edges. These typically occur because the blades are getting dull or for many other reasons.

Anyway as the cell is charged and discharge it expands and contracts and the electrodes rub against the separator between them. If the edges are rough they cut into the Separator and eventually render that damaged separator useless.
This rupture in the separator then causes a higher self discharge rate in the battery. In a nutshell it shortens the life of the cell significantly.

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

@houseofancients @Kornbread @Bud Martin
I'm just wondering what your relationship is with Ray. Because I always see the 3 of you show up anytime Ray is in a dispute. I'm just wondering if one or more of you is like Ray's sock puppet army. Y'all seem a little too interested in everything related to Ray.

What did I say about falsely accusing someone? If someone uses a duplicate account in that manner, we (the admins) would know. It's against the rules. There are automated systems in place to check for this.

 

[robby]

What did I say about falsely accusing someone? If someone uses a duplicate account in that manner, we (the admins) would know. It's against the rules. There are automated systems in place to check for this.

Yes I am not sure what he was suggesting because Ray is probably one of the nicest guys I have seen on YT.
It does bring up one exception you guys seem to make. All of these corporate accounts from one particular company are being used like one person with 9 accounts. Could you imagine what it would be like if Outback, SMA, Watts247,SOK, Sol-Ark and the rest all had 8 or 9 accounts? This place would be a corporate zoo of product promotion.
There really should be a limit on that.

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

All of these corporate accounts from one particular company are being used like one person with 9 accounts.

Which one? We've already kicked off a lot of corporate accounts. Promotion is not allowed, and they have to actually contribute to discussions.

 

[houseofancients]

@houseofancients @Kornbread @Bud Martin
I'm just wondering what your relationship is with Ray. Because I always see the 3 of you show up anytime Ray is in a dispute. I'm just wondering if one or more of you is like Ray's sock puppet army. Y'all seem a little too interested in everything related to Ray.

i have none, except i consider him someone, like will, trying to help folks, and doing so with honesty and integrity

same can be asked about your and amy...

 

[houseofancients]

I KNOW Amy Wan IS NOT SELLING TO SFK ! He IS on several Blackists with companies he has threatened and been belligerent to. Amy Wan She is also a friend as I know her mother, husband & daughter and get regular updates about the family even. I am the one who encouraged her to go direct and she buys in Large Lots of matched batches.

If SFK says the sun rises in the west, would you believe it. ? I would hope not.

that is what i thought, this skf guy is one nasty piece of work

 

[robby]

Which one? We've already kicked off a lot of corporate accounts. Promotion is not allowed, and they have to actually contribute to discussions.

I think you know which one because there is only one.
Promotion comes in many forms, not just sales pitches but also in the form of promoting the idea that you offer great customer service when in fact the customer service is terrible. Promotion can come in the form of creating a narrative that your working hard on delivering fixes for your products issues when in fact you have delivered nothing for months on end.
These things influence a buyers decision.
Anyway think nothing more of it, it was just a suggestion.

 

[robby]

As production yield is constantly improving, there will be less and less "Grade B" cells available. AKA scrap cells

EVE doesn't advertise "Grade A" because they don't offer anything but "Grade A" cells which has passed all QC checks and come with warranty from EVE. The failed batteries are all sold to 1 sole factory currently who then sells to many of these Alibaba companies who put fancy stickers on the cells and market them as best they can.

10,000 cells is a sample order from EVE, while you may think this is a large quantity, large manufacturers use many times this amount.

Your right about that but in a few years their are going to be a ton of used cells on the market, so much that I bet the prices drop in half or even more.
This will change the way we look at batteries. Larger banks of used batteries that are changed out every couple of years might become the new DIY method,

 

[houseofancients]

What if for the first 20 seconds on any sponsored Youtube video, Youtube added a huge disclaimer you couldn't miss that states
"The following filmmaker is being compensated for the video you are about to watch"

Would this make things more clear for how you viewed the video, with a grain of salt perhaps?

Ray is viewed as a KOL due to his down to earth style and very trustworthy.

What is a KOL?
"KOL stands for Key Opinion Leader, which is also known as an “influencer” in the Western countries. Key opinion leaders are a spokesperson, a brand ambassador, or a thought leader. They are seen as having more importance and relevance than mass media because they are able to connect and relate to their audience."

I don't believe Ray set out with bad intentions but here we are today, it should be known he is well compensated by Docan so take that as you will.

well compensated ?

sjeez assumptions all over the place.
will makes some of his off affliate links, he untrustworthy now too ?

folks give it a freaking break, and get off your high horses.

you all claim to want ev grade cellz, but you dont want to pay ev grade prices and quantities

when are you all going to finally smell the roses ?

 

[curiouscarbon]

ray had their entire account wiped from this forum not too long ago. for spam.

Post in thread 'RayfromTX Gone..? Huh..?'
https://diysolarforum.com/threads/rayfromtx-gone-huh.38440/post-486412



clearly state commissions. don't spam referrals. it's pretty easy if you think about it.

for what it is worth, they seem friendly, cool project etc. i still want spammers to be banned.

i have no affiliation with any company. this forum is rad. spam is not.

 

[Sverige]

Am I the only one wondering how much of a connection there is between the fact Ray recently outed SFK’s bullying behaviour and the fact he’s now being attacked by multiple posters as being commercially influenced to promote Docan? New member @The_truth managed one whole post not on the subject of Ray before diverting directly to parroting the same narrative the OP of this thread has been pushing!

 

[RV10flyer]

I don't know about other's, but I don't believe Amy Wan's cells are grade A. Perhaps it's timing related, but zero of my nine cells received in Jan, 2021 met capacity test.

I have one battery out of four of SLT that has runners, so not too bad. 2 out 4 from another vender. 1/1 from another and 1/1 from another.

 

[kolek]

parroting the same narrative the OP of this thread has been pushing!

@Sverige

There's no "narrative." I already said why I posted this thread. I'm pasting it again here:

The purpose of this post was to try and make sure people don't make the mistake of believing you can get the same cells from Docan for $110 that Luyuan is charging $146 for. In his video Ray implied you could, and that's factually wrong. It's no more complicated than that.

So please don't try to turn it into a "narrative" with some kind of ulterior motives. I'm just a guy trying to understand what's what with batteries, not get screwed over by some vendor, and help others in the process.

Some people here are acting like Ray is their guru and he walks on water, and how dare anyone say otherwise.

Sorry but I'm not going to join the Church of Ray, if he says something wrong that is misinformation or potentially harmful, if I happen to notice, I'll point it out.

 

[efficientPV]

I find Ray totally unwatchable. I keep telling myself, shouldn't an add be showing up soon. Please make an add come on. Take 20 minutes to say something that takes a minute. You get a new set of batteries and can't remember you have charged them!

 

[John Frum]