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Sunstone Battery from Alibaba? Too good to be true?

lionel1984

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Oct 26, 2020
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Gathering pricing for an off-grid setup, and came across these batteries (links below). Anyone ever heard of them or have any experience? For the price is there anything that comes in a single package (BMS, enclosure, monitoring, etc) that beats it? Thanks!

Alibaba link
Product website
 
I don't know anything about that product but you need to contact the supplier to get the actual price. Also don't forget to factor in shipping costs. It weighs 55kg or 120 pounds. Even if shipped my sea shipping will be expensive.
 
The build there looks good and tidy, and I would say it’s approaching competitive pricing if the shipping is not extreme. I really like the terminals and the secure packaging. But as an example of the challenges in judging build quality they have the cells on their sides, which manufacturers caution against. The electrolyte is liquid, so I can imagine why they don’t want it against a terminal. Maybe it needs to fit into a shelf system and that determines width. Do you need that shape? Given the option I’d pick upright cells.

DIY is still cheaper as well. The parts for a DIY 280AH prismatic battery setup with a MOSFET based bms like Daly or Heltec should cost around $1000 delivered, and will hold 7.2kWh, 50% more. Packaging may be another 100 for fancy, or 10 for plywood and tape. If you need 48v and have to buy 16 cells the parts cost goes up a few hundred since an capacity from a smaller cell costs more than from a larger cell.

DIY also requires assembly which takes meaningful time and effort, If you aren’t in the mood for that these packs are tempting. But shop around - I asked a question of one seller on Ali and didn’t get an answer to my question but did get about 10 inbound messages from other sellers. My Ali rule is that if I can live with things i don’t ask about being as cheap as possible it is an option, but if you know enough to shop smart you can probably DIY.
 
The build there looks good and tidy, and I would say it’s approaching competitive pricing if the shipping is not extreme. I really like the terminals and the secure packaging. But as an example of the challenges in judging build quality they have the cells on their sides, which manufacturers caution against. The electrolyte is liquid, so I can imagine why they don’t want it against a terminal. Maybe it needs to fit into a shelf system and that determines width. Do you need that shape? Given the option I’d pick upright cells.

DIY is still cheaper as well. The parts for a DIY 280AH prismatic battery setup with a MOSFET based bms like Daly or Heltec should cost around $1000 delivered, and will hold 7.2kWh, 50% more. Packaging may be another 100 for fancy, or 10 for plywood and tape. If you need 48v and have to buy 16 cells the parts cost goes up a few hundred since an capacity from a smaller cell costs more than from a larger cell.

DIY also requires assembly which takes meaningful time and effort, If you aren’t in the mood for that these packs are tempting. But shop around - I asked a question of one seller on Ali and didn’t get an answer to my question but did get about 10 inbound messages from other sellers. My Ali rule is that if I can live with things i don’t ask about being as cheap as possible it is an option, but if you know enough to shop smart you can probably DIY.
Thanks for the extensive reply Dhopewell! What type of cells are these? How could you tell? I dont care about the shape. I could mount it on its side if you think that fine.

Since the size of the project is a bit bigger than average (30-40kwh), I wanted something with a "pro" finish or quality to it. DIY'ing a battery that big without prior experience is a bit daunting to me. Are there sellers that do custom builds with these prismatic cells? I wouldnt mind paying a reputable diy'er to save.
 
I can’t point you to a fabricator. I am looking at truck boxes but it’s a challenge to find the right size. You could probably ask here for some direction, there have been solid builds. It’s easier if you have a stationary vs mobile install. Weight is around 12lbs per kWh so it begins to add up.

I can’t get a link up, but go to Alibaba and look for 280ah batteries. I was at shenzen basen and they have a good descriptive site. They are among the best priced at the moment so you can see the economics that are possible.
 
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