I have seen those blue batteries many times on Ali, but I never trusted any of those sellers. Too many new ones pop up out of thin air. And delivery from Germany (to the Netherlands) means not tax as well, making it even more shady. So I just buy them in the EU. I even bought 4 of them from a guy who did not treat them very nice. He had 4 12V batteries 100AH. One was almost twice the size, as the pouches had blown up severely. But after taking off the bluetooth BMS and putting it in one of the other ones, I did came up with 3 working 100AH batteries with BT. And out of the last one I did retrieve 10 separate pouches os 20AH each, still to be used for a project. You are right. It is preferably better and safer to buy from local dealers. imho. It is a good thing you did a rant on this subject. I hope my thumbs up wil make the YT recommend your rant to as many interested people as possible!
Been looking at the LFP market for about a year now as my 48KW FLA battery is over 10 years old and will soon need replacing. I concur with you about buying a complete ready made battery only thing is they tend to be smaller like 5 or 10KW whereas the latest 300Ah cells 16S will make a 16KW battery so I only need 3x units rather than x5 of the smaller. I do see some momentum building at last and the chemistry is changing quickly, what you buy this year will be old hat by the same time next year. Look at the EV market I can get a 5 yr old Tesla now for under €25K in Portugal where I am.
If you’re in the UK always use a credit card so you can claim the refund from the CC insurance, it has the added bonus that you can keep whatever you’re claiming for. If there’s even a minor issue make a claim, you should get what you pay for and you can claim up to £30,000 so the cost of a Lifepo4 battery bank is easily covered.
Problem with Aliexpress is like playing the Loto.. Sometimes you win, and sometimes, it is your loss... Example: I bought a cordless Solder iron, and I am very happy with it.. Only been ripped off once.. As I did not read the tiny full print.. Extra hint, Do not buy if English is very poor!
Man I just bought 24 eve 280 ah cells from 18650 battery store. They were kinda expensive for sure but I'm happy with the quality but then again Ive not checked the capacity. They seem to work great as a 840 ah 24 volt battery. I am now using the jk 200 amp s with the 2 amp active balancer. I have 2 of the 300 amp dally smart BMS but they now set on the shelf since I got the jk BMS. Those power queen and other premade batteries are not very consistent and are bad about being unbalanced and the BMS inside isn't capable of correcting the imbalance. Solar is my hobby and how I power my home. I'm not a professional but I have spent a lot of money and time to finally get it together enough to be comfortable without a monthly bill.
I prefer to buy raw cells and build the battery. Because I know the quality of the cells inside. I can choose the bms.I have direct approach to the cells and bms. I can diagnose the issue if any and fix it. On the other side, Ready-made battery brands may change quality without notice. I dont trust companies nomatter what.
The concern I have is what will one do when a single cell or row of cells in one of those pre-done LiFePO_4 kits fails, but all the other rows of cells are still okay? Or the communication protocol changes every 2 years to make kits incompatible? There are certainly advantages to learning and building one's own system. And still, in a fixed building where weight is not a concern, tried-and-tested flooded lead acid batteries are still a good option as the complexity does not increase with voltage.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm a little concerned that you had a good experience or perhaps several on Ali Express, and are now condemning the platform because of this bad experience, yet go on to recommend another platform as a 'great place to buy' based on one good experience. Surely the lesson here is that the reputation of the seller matters at least as much as the platform does? That's why I wish more videos would name names. That said, I'm with you on Alibaba being a better bet. And thankfully, the community is much less shy about naming sellers who provide a great experience... that's all that is really needed in the end: a list of trusted names so we can ignore the rest.
The JBD store on aliexpress is perfectly fine to buy from. jiabaida.aliexpress.com/store/1101682188?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.2.5fb41802sxDjcf The company on aliexpress that screwed me over is gone so I can't steer people away from them. Never had any issues with anyone on alibaba and this is company that I like the most. I also prefer the Lishen cells over the Eve ones. basen.en.alibaba.com/?spm=a2756.trade-list-buyer.0.0.d38d76e9VPHF2B&tracelog=from_orderlist_company Also check out the diysolarforum.com/. There lots of people who have lists of vendors they like and some to avoid.
Hola recientemente he comprado unas eve 280k de basen y no he tenido ningún problema la entrega ha sido de 8 días en almacén de europa y las celdas se ven bien ,a estas alturas ya se que fuera de china no existe grado A o EV esas se quedan allí lo que compramos fuera de china son gradeB o gradeC las B te las venden como A y las C ,como gradeB
They are owned by the same company but have different business models. It is like how Facebook and Instagram and both own by Meta and are both social media but have different business models.
This was the vendor that burnt me. But they have already been removed. www.aliexpress.com/store/1102888751?spm=a2g0o.detail.0.0.6cf6NlugNlug2N These are the LiitoKala that I bought several years ago. They don't have the best rep but have worked great for years. www.aliexpress.us/item/3256801464892589.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.40.76941802lZFBTm&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt
Did the seller have many positive feedback or was it no feedback? I just bought some cells from ali but made sure the seller has been around for a few years and has plenty of positive feedbacks, but I am still anxious.
i wouldnt buy any kind of batteries from aliexpress, there are damn nice offers etc but...anyways i buy a lot of stuff, but batteries... donno, there are a lot of people testing them and those batterits just cant pass the exams :)
Have you noticed that nowadays RUclips is full of 1) videos praising 2 money junk products (batteries, inverters, mppt etc et) 2)comparions between a top-of-the-range product and a cheap one that claim that the cheap one is equal or better. 3) heavily critical videos on high-end products . You are looking for a praise of a mastervolt inverter or a victron lithium and you find almost Nothing. You are looking for a video of praise of a junk hybrid like easun, voltronic, master power, and there are thousands of them. So much so that the tones are so enthusiastic that they are ridiculous. All the alleged "tests" of this dangerous garbage last a few hours and claim to affirm the validity of a product. They try an inverter 1 minute at maximum power and so it's ok. They want you to believe by now that complying with advertising specifications makes that a good product. Like saying that a bike is good because it moves by pedaling.
No one puts on this junk, an inductive load at 100% of the power that turns on and off 100 times a day for a year. No one tests a 2 euro lifepo4 for Ah with 2000 cycles at 80% dod (in 200 cycles it is totally unbalanced to have maybe 50% of the capacity but the average user will not notice). This misinformation has given rise to myths like that if you use 200w loads, you need a 4000w inverter. of course! If it's Chinese garbage it's true. Or as the obsession with the active balancing in assembled lithium batteries. Of course!! If you use all different cells that are the waste of production you need a bolanciatore that wastes dozens of AH a day !! On junk hybrid inverters that waste 30% of production, things are written that are true admissions of the poor quality of the product. Shameless: choose a power 3 or 5 times greater than the use Then : if you connect a generator as a utility, it is mandatory to use a voltage stabilizer (which costs more than the inverter ..) otherwise the inverter will be irretrievably damaged. But how do you buy junk like this? Those who say they are valid, are all dishonest people A 3kw mastervolt you use it at 3kw h24 every day without any problems. A victron multiplus accepts the worst generators and synchronizes with them@@OurBlackCatCottage 😅
You can actually get these cheaper directly from the factory so I cant understand why people always relate cost to quality. They are just bad actors in the market that are dishonest
you really don't know!!!?? i did not watch the whole video, no time, i may be wrong, sorry, but and yoyu made a video? ; IF they are the wrong size, HALF the size, you get your money back, NO QUESTIONS, open up a complaint and send pics, the vendor made a MISTAKE, you keep the cells, Aliexpress gives you your money back; you do not know this? i am a small buyer in Portugal (SW of europe) and i have read AliX's policy and twice i had my money back for bad goods.
I have seen those blue batteries many times on Ali, but I never trusted any of those sellers. Too many new ones pop up out of thin air. And delivery from Germany (to the Netherlands) means not tax as well, making it even more shady. So I just buy them in the EU. I even bought 4 of them from a guy who did not treat them very nice. He had 4 12V batteries 100AH. One was almost twice the size, as the pouches had blown up severely. But after taking off the bluetooth BMS and putting it in one of the other ones, I did came up with 3 working 100AH batteries with BT. And out of the last one I did retrieve 10 separate pouches os 20AH each, still to be used for a project.
You are right. It is preferably better and safer to buy from local dealers. imho.
It is a good thing you did a rant on this subject. I hope my thumbs up wil make the YT recommend your rant to as many interested people as possible!
Thanks. I just wanted to show people that they need to be careful when buying on Ali.
@@OurBlackCatCottage You should always be careful, no matter where you get them from
If the offer on Ali included the dimensions of individual cells, this would be a good point to make a claim.
Been looking at the LFP market for about a year now as my 48KW FLA battery is over 10 years old and will soon need replacing. I concur with you about buying a complete ready made battery only thing is they tend to be smaller like 5 or 10KW whereas the latest 300Ah cells 16S will make a 16KW battery so I only need 3x units rather than x5 of the smaller. I do see some momentum building at last and the chemistry is changing quickly, what you buy this year will be old hat by the same time next year. Look at the EV market I can get a 5 yr old Tesla now for under €25K in Portugal where I am.
If you’re in the UK always use a credit card so you can claim the refund from the CC insurance, it has the added bonus that you can keep whatever you’re claiming for. If there’s even a minor issue make a claim, you should get what you pay for and you can claim up to £30,000 so the cost of a Lifepo4 battery bank is easily covered.
I use a credit card backed with paypal. Never had to go that far because Aliexpress has always voted in my favour and got the money back.
Problem with Aliexpress is like playing the Loto.. Sometimes you win, and sometimes, it is your loss...
Example: I bought a cordless Solder iron, and I am very happy with it..
Only been ripped off once.. As I did not read the tiny full print..
Extra hint, Do not buy if English is very poor!
Man I just bought 24 eve 280 ah cells from 18650 battery store. They were kinda expensive for sure but I'm happy with the quality but then again Ive not checked the capacity. They seem to work great as a 840 ah 24 volt battery. I am now using the jk 200 amp s with the 2 amp active balancer. I have 2 of the 300 amp dally smart BMS but they now set on the shelf since I got the jk BMS. Those power queen and other premade batteries are not very consistent and are bad about being unbalanced and the BMS inside isn't capable of correcting the imbalance. Solar is my hobby and how I power my home. I'm not a professional but I have spent a lot of money and time to finally get it together enough to be comfortable without a monthly bill.
Yep, no more big saving on small battery project but still possible to save some when building a large battery bank.
So true.
I prefer to buy raw cells and build the battery. Because I know the quality of the cells inside. I can choose the bms.I have direct approach to the cells and bms. I can diagnose the issue if any and fix it. On the other side, Ready-made battery brands may change quality without notice. I dont trust companies nomatter what.
Good video. THANKS!
The concern I have is what will one do when a single cell or row of cells in one of those pre-done LiFePO_4 kits fails, but all the other rows of cells are still okay? Or the communication protocol changes every 2 years to make kits incompatible? There are certainly advantages to learning and building one's own system. And still, in a fixed building where weight is not a concern, tried-and-tested flooded lead acid batteries are still a good option as the complexity does not increase with voltage.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm a little concerned that you had a good experience or perhaps several on Ali Express, and are now condemning the platform because of this bad experience, yet go on to recommend another platform as a 'great place to buy' based on one good experience. Surely the lesson here is that the reputation of the seller matters at least as much as the platform does? That's why I wish more videos would name names. That said, I'm with you on Alibaba being a better bet. And thankfully, the community is much less shy about naming sellers who provide a great experience... that's all that is really needed in the end: a list of trusted names so we can ignore the rest.
The JBD store on aliexpress is perfectly fine to buy from.
jiabaida.aliexpress.com/store/1101682188?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.2.5fb41802sxDjcf
The company on aliexpress that screwed me over is gone so I can't steer people away from them.
Never had any issues with anyone on alibaba and this is company that I like the most. I also prefer the Lishen cells over the Eve ones.
basen.en.alibaba.com/?spm=a2756.trade-list-buyer.0.0.d38d76e9VPHF2B&tracelog=from_orderlist_company
Also check out the diysolarforum.com/. There lots of people who have lists of vendors they like and some to avoid.
@@OurBlackCatCottage Thanks!!! What do you prefer about the Lishen cells over the Eves?
Man some of the prices on aliexpres for 320ah, under $1400 for 16pcs, maybe to good to be true. Scary.
I know. Just have to be careful.
Got the full battery pack, for $1400((14kwh) on alibaba. Only downside is it took 3 months to get here.
that is the right price now, July 2024, prices have come down to half, all vendors,all makers; 600 to 650 euros for 8 x 280 Ah
Ya that fun you speak of it’s the only reason I need other I want to
do a chargeback
if you live in Ukraine then difference between self-made and anything on the market is 2x-3x price
If u live in Africa 😂😢
Ween you say make you'r own battery vrs powerqueen booth option look exactly the same. What am I missing ?
Hola recientemente he comprado unas eve 280k de basen y no he tenido ningún problema la entrega ha sido de 8 días en almacén de europa y las celdas se ven bien ,a estas alturas ya se que fuera de china no existe grado A o EV esas se quedan allí lo que compramos fuera de china son gradeB o gradeC las B te las venden como A y las C ,como gradeB
I have had really good luck with basen too.
Alibaba and Alixpress are the same company. It's not the company, it's the vendor that ripped you off.
Very true.
I thought alibaba and aliexpress were the same site >_
They are owned by the same company but have different business models.
It is like how Facebook and Instagram and both own by Meta and are both social media but have different business models.
Great review...Peace
It wouldn’t have made a difference…had the same experience only instead of 100 Amp hour. I got 39 amp hour🤣
Dang! That is way off!
What's the list? I don't the list! Haha. Please do tell. Just beginning my research. Thanks for the info. Forewarned is forearmed.
This was the vendor that burnt me. But they have already been removed.
www.aliexpress.com/store/1102888751?spm=a2g0o.detail.0.0.6cf6NlugNlug2N
These are the LiitoKala that I bought several years ago. They don't have the best rep but have worked great for years.
www.aliexpress.us/item/3256801464892589.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.40.76941802lZFBTm&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt
Comment to feed the algorithm. 🤘🏻💀🤘🏻
Did the seller have many positive feedback or was it no feedback? I just bought some cells from ali but made sure the seller has been around for a few years and has plenty of positive feedbacks, but I am still anxious.
Not many positives. In retrospect there were several red flags. Most vendors are good.
i wouldnt buy any kind of batteries from aliexpress, there are damn nice offers etc but...anyways i buy a lot of stuff, but batteries... donno, there are a lot of people testing them and those batterits just cant pass the exams :)
I probably won't buy any more either. Too slow and too risky.
you can buy cells if they cost much. cheaper are crap
So true.
Have you noticed that nowadays RUclips is full of
1) videos praising 2 money junk products (batteries, inverters, mppt etc et)
2)comparions between a top-of-the-range product and a cheap one that claim that the cheap one is equal or better.
3) heavily critical videos on high-end products .
You are looking for a praise of a mastervolt inverter or a victron lithium and you find almost Nothing. You are looking for a video of praise of a junk hybrid like easun, voltronic, master power, and there are thousands of them. So much so that the tones are so enthusiastic that they are ridiculous. All the alleged "tests" of this dangerous garbage last a few hours and claim to affirm the validity of a product. They try an inverter 1 minute at maximum power and so it's ok. They want you to believe by now that complying with advertising specifications makes that a good product. Like saying that a bike is good because it moves by pedaling.
No one puts on this junk, an inductive load at 100% of the power that turns on and off 100 times a day for a year. No one tests a 2 euro lifepo4 for Ah with 2000 cycles at 80% dod (in 200 cycles it is totally unbalanced to have maybe 50% of the capacity but the average user will not notice).
This misinformation has given rise to myths like that if you use 200w loads, you need a 4000w inverter. of course! If it's Chinese garbage it's true.
Or as the obsession with the active balancing in assembled lithium batteries. Of course!! If you use all different cells that are the waste of production you need a bolanciatore that wastes dozens of AH a day !!
On junk hybrid inverters that waste 30% of production, things are written that are true admissions of the poor quality of the product. Shameless: choose a power 3 or 5 times greater than the use
Then : if you connect a generator as a utility, it is mandatory to use a voltage stabilizer (which costs more than the inverter ..) otherwise the inverter will be irretrievably damaged.
But how do you buy junk like this? Those who say they are valid, are all dishonest people
A 3kw mastervolt you use it at 3kw h24 every day without any problems. A victron multiplus accepts the worst generators and synchronizes with them@@OurBlackCatCottage
😅
You can actually get these cheaper directly from the factory so I cant understand why people always relate cost to quality. They are just bad actors in the market that are dishonest
you really don't know!!!?? i did not watch the whole video, no time, i may be wrong, sorry, but and yoyu made a video?
; IF they are the wrong size, HALF the size, you get your money back, NO QUESTIONS, open up a complaint and send pics, the vendor made a MISTAKE, you keep the cells, Aliexpress gives you your money back; you do not know this? i am a small buyer in Portugal (SW of europe) and i have read AliX's policy and twice i had my money back for bad goods.
You should have gotten half of your money back! I would make them give it back to me
I completely agree with you.