Used CALB Cells for Starter DIY Battery Bank

[TheHappyNomads]

Found this seller on eBay with some "lightly" used CALB cells ( here ). I have read boatloads of posts about Grade A vs B, new vs used, EVE vs. CALB vs. CATL vs. ???, etc.

I will be traveling down by their area this weekend and they offered to sell me either 32 or 48 cells at $48/ea for my DIY 48v battery bank which would come out to be $88/kWh

I know these will take some work but at that price I'm feeling like it would be REALLY tough to pass.

 

[ghostwriter66]

Good price ... I would make sure you look for cracks or anything that looks like its been dropped ... of course you will never know if you got a good battery or not until you have done a capacity check and thats not going to happen at pickup ... I would purchase 1 or 2 extra just in case one of them is bad ...

Of course I have seen brand new batteries destroyed within minutes of it being hooked up ... and old beat up batteries still giving off their full potential ... but test the voltage and try to get as many as you can that are close to identical voltages ... and I guess look for physical damage

 

[ghostwriter66]

PS - at that price I would be thinking of getting about 60

 

[TheHappyNomads]

Thanks for the insights, I suppose that's the challenge with any and all battery systems. If I pick them up it will be a month or two until I can integrate them into a full PV system. How long can they sit uncharged before they run the risk of damage?

 

[zcskywire2]

How long can they sit uncharged before they run the risk of damage?

More than a few thoughs here but to start with answering the question. If not connected to anything and not shorted. A long time.

The cells in the eBay listing are older CALB cells, specifically CA180fi's. The cell barcode is visible on the side of the cell in the listing and is readable. This gives us some useful information. First of all the NSA start says that these cells were manufactured and sold into the US market rather than the Chinese market. Followed up with the date code indicates that the cells were manufactured in 2018. This is actually pretty new for this cell model. My one CA180fi was manufactured in December 2013. The cells themselves are plastic cased which leads to poor energy density but they generally are more durable than the newer aluminum cased cells. Cycle life is rated at 2k cycles. Overall I think that with some type of OCV reading and Capacity test they aren't a bad price.

Otherwise a little add on to how long these cells last, I've had a CA180fi sitting at 30% SoC for a decade with no issues. Still tested >93% SoH.

 

[VanDersie]

Well, I've been in lithium battery field for more than 5 Yrs, and haven't seen any brand new CALB-100/180/200Ah plastic models in the market, in other words, they were used and disassembled from EVs or ESS modules.
I often try to explain, cuz the plastic models are the 1st generation of CALB's LFP cells, and these cells went out of production many years ago by CALB, and there are no brand new ones in the market in recent yrs.
In my opinion, with the lower SOH, with the cheaper price.

 

[xuba-Aaron]

我的建议是不要购买我在中国市场上看到的这种废旧电池。很坏。

 

[Daddy Tanuki]

我的建议是不要购买我在中国市场上看到的这种废旧电池。很坏。

I don't know they could not be any worse then some of the crap pedaled on alibabba or aliexpress

 

[xuba-Aaron]

我不知道他们不会比阿里巴巴或速卖通上的一些废话更糟糕

在我看来，阿里巴巴有一些好的商家，但他们需要被识别。我去过很多供应商仓库，这些电池是从发生车祸的车辆中取出的。

 

[Daddy Tanuki]

在我看来，阿里巴巴有一些好的商家，但他们需要被识别。我去过很多供应商仓库，这些电池是从发生车祸的车辆中取出的。

quite sure, that or prime movers like forklifts and buss's that had run the batteries for half of their proposed life.

 

[xuba-Aaron]

可以肯定的是，像叉车和公共汽车这样的原动机已经运行了一半的电池寿命。

你是对的。

在中国，这种电池只被经常组装电池组的人使用。

 

[VanDersie]

在我看来，阿里巴巴有一些好的商家，但他们需要被识别。我去过很多供应商仓库，这些电池是从发生车祸的车辆中取出的。

Aaron, as I know, most of them were disassembled from taxies battery modules or test EVs. Do you think people can take the entire EVs battery module from accident vehicles?

 

[TheHappyNomads]

More than a few thoughs here but to start with answering the question. If not connected to anything and not shorted. A long time.

The cells in the eBay listing are older CALB cells, specifically CA180fi's. The cell barcode is visible on the side of the cell in the listing and is readable. This gives us some useful information. First of all the NSA start says that these cells were manufactured and sold into the US market rather than the Chinese market. Followed up with the date code indicates that the cells were manufactured in 2018. This is actually pretty new for this cell model. My one CA180fi was manufactured in December 2013. The cells themselves are plastic cased which leads to poor energy density but they generally are more durable than the newer aluminum cased cells. Cycle life is rated at 2k cycles. Overall I think that with some type of OCV reading and Capacity test they aren't a bad price.

Otherwise a little add on to how long these cells last, I've had a CA180fi sitting at 30% SoC for a decade with no issues. Still tested >93% SoH.

Super helpful info! Thanks so much ?

I'm really debating between these cells and some Grade B 305ah cells on 18650 Battery

 

[Daddy Tanuki]

just to be blunt. the CALBS are very robust and very stable. I have 48 of them running my cabin. when I bought them 2+ years ago i knew they were used and was willing to accept this.
I dont want anybody to misinterpret my motives on this. used is fine with the primary makers like CALB not so good with the alternatives. the sellers will swear up and down that they are new grade a etc etc.
But as they (calb) were produced by a solid maker even used they are good, just understand this and pay accordingly.

 

[LX4.5]

Glad to find this thread, I'm just a noob to the DIY LFP cells thing, i found myself recently in a more or less similar situation when i found a listing on Alibaba here . and i couldn't figure what the is the catch.
This forum is godsend.
Thank you all ?

 

[xuba-Aaron]

Aaron, as I know, most of them were disassembled from taxies battery modules or test EVs. Do you think people can take the entire EVs battery module from accident vehicles?

I don't know if this is possible in other countries, but in China it is possible to sell the battery cells of the accident vehicle.

 

[xuba-Aaron]

但二手电池非常容易识别，因为它们的螺柱会被重新焊接，而且正负极会非常不平整。

 

[Daddy Tanuki]

但二手电池非常容易识别，因为它们的螺柱会被重新焊接，而且正负极会非常不平整。

yeah you really understand this when you use a solid copper busbar as it will cause the cells to want to tilt as they will have not sanded the tops evenly.