Hi everyone,
I've been a lurker lately. A few weeks ago I decided to buy 16 of these 280Ah cells from Xuba (alibaba.com).
About 14 kW capacity (11 kW @ 80%), closer to 10 kW usable, figuring inverter conversion/ efficiency losses.
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4 Groups of 4 (16 pieces) total price of 280AH to America:
Product price + air freight = 4 * $330.68 + $799 = $2121.72 USD (Shipped to Florida)
$82.67 USD per cell before shipping (slightly cheaper to buy in groups of 4)
$132.61 USD per cell overall cost
Order Time-line
Fri 6 Mar - I placed order with CC, no payment problems, no extra fees. I mentioned DIYsolarforum, got free bus-bars. Thanks Steve!
Tue 10 Mar - Amy sent Pics & Vid with my name (Thanks Steve!)
Tue 10 Mar - Cells shipped out
Sat 14 Mar - Amy sends me FedEx tracking number
Fri 20 Mar - Tracking number showed estimated delivery for Mon 23 Mar
Mon 23 Mar - 3 of 4 boxes (12 Cells) delivered to my door
Tue 24 Mar - Received 4th box (4 Cells) (FedEx must have missed it the day before)
About 18 days from payment to delivery.
NOTE: This was during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) concerns.
The cells were very well packed (Thanks Steve!), brand new, no scuffs on terminals, all were within 3.301 - 3.303 Volts. About half charged as I had to put in another 5-7 kW to fully charge them. I paralleled them then did a fine-tune charge to 3.65V with adjustable power supply.
Initial Capacity Test (tested only half, 8 of 16 cells)
Expecting 25.6 V x 280 Ah = 7,168 Watts (24V Nominal)
Started nearly fully charged (resting voltage)
3.625V x 8 cells = 29V (forgot to take a picture)
Test includes powering home office stuff and some kitchen appliances for less than a day:
2 Desktop computers w/ monitors, laptop, Stereo, TV, Fan, Refrigerator, Microwave, Coffee maker, Toaster oven
The cells stayed pretty well balanced (less than 30mV) until about the 24 Volt range then the mV differences started drifting farther apart.
Good news!
1st Pic - Reached expected 7,168 Watts total (averaging 25.78V)
2nd Pic - Reached expected 280Ah, over 7,200 Watts
3rd Pic - 1st cell goes below 2V, nearing 20 Volts overall (Refrigerator had just kicked on), quickly turned off
4th Pic - Cells recovering after shutting off inverter a few minutes earlier
I did a minor recharge soon after to get all cells above 2.8 Volts. I'll do a bottom balance later.
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