Cheap Lithiums

[Rlum]

Hi: I see lithiums have/are coming down in price. Has anyone purchased an inexpensive lithium from Alibaba? Just currious since prices are almost 50 percent lower than in USA. Are you satisfied with the vendor from China? Quality of the lithium battery with built in BMS? Any experience would be appreciated!

Thanks all

[markopolo]

I consider buying a drop-in battery from AliExpress. I didn't because what's inside the case is unknown and actually may change from shipment to shipment. I'm sure there are good drop-ins available there but there are probably some not so good ones also. Probably not much of a warranty either.

Have you looked at Battle Born or Renogy?

Take a look at Will Prowse's teardown videos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/errolpr...query=teardown

He takes apart some direct from AliExpress and Battle Born etc. The newer Renogy battery teardown has been posted also.

[JohnnyFry]

I have ordered a 150 AH battery ( 4 individual cells ) and a BMS from Ali Express but have not yet received them. Cost of the Battery was about $450 and the BMS was about $55. I also ordered a 20 amp DC/DC charger from Renogy. I have received the charger. I had originally considered BattleBorn, which is a great product BTW, after speaking with the CEO at the Escapade Rally last year but waited to do more research. I came on to Ali Express theough a YouTube series by Will Prowse who seems t have made himself into a one man testing laboratory for all things Lithium. I will post more on my project when the batteries and BMS arrive. I feel that 150AH is sufficient for the way I do business in my RoadTrek. One caution: you are pretty much on your own for support so an Engineering or Technical background is pretty important for success.

[rowiebowie]

Originally Posted by JohnnyFry

I have ordered a 150 AH battery ( 4 individual cells ) and a BMS from Ali Express but have not yet received them. Cost of the Battery was about $450 and the BMS was about $55. I also ordered a 20 amp DC/DC charger from Renogy. I have received the charger. I had originally considered BattleBorn, which is a great product BTW, after speaking with the CEO at the Escapade Rally last year but waited to do more research. I came on to Ali Express theough a YouTube series by Will Prowse who seems t have made himself into a one man testing laboratory for all things Lithium. I will post more on my project when the batteries and BMS arrive. I feel that 150AH is sufficient for the way I do business in my RoadTrek. One caution: you are pretty much on your own for support so an Engineering or Technical background is pretty important for success.

Johnny, when you install your Renogy DC-DC charger, you'll find their instructions say to install the positive and negative to your chassis battery. When installing my 40A version, I found I had no negative wire running back to the chassis battery since it is chassis grounded somewhere in the engine compartment. I called Renogy to ask if I could make a ground to the chassis in the rear compartment that houses my coach electrical system. They said I could, I did, and all works well.

One other tip. When you connect your ignition wire to the DC-DC charger (needed to activate the charger) consider installing a small lighted on/off switch on the ignition circuit. Allows you to control the engine charging.

[skunberg]

To the op, Alibaba is like ebay. So some vendors are very reliable. Some cells are seconds, some are used, some are remanufactured, etc. So it's really a mixed bag. If you get some good ones the next order could be a different batch and not so good. I'm not saying don't use Alibaba just be aware you may be getting what you pay for or less. I've had mostly good luck but I have not bought battery cells yet.

[BigFatGuy]

I find Prowse's YouTube channel incredibly irritating and annoying... but his information and battery disassembly videos are full of really good information. I learned a lot once I got over my aversion to his presentation style.

[Rlum]

On Facebook page for PW. Someone posted he purchased two 300ah 12 volt lithiums. He purchased almost two years ago. Saved almost 50 percent. I contacted him last week to see how the lithiums were doing. He said they were functioning fine. He is a DIY guy who wanted more lithiums for his air conditioner. I contacted him because he has a newer model of the lexor ts than mine.

Alibaba and Aliexpress have good and bad sellers. It is just difficult to find trustworthy sellers. I am inclined to still buy lithiums from a seller if I can determine reasonable trustworthiness. At this time, there still exists risk on business on these sites.

[stevevh27]

Last June I bought 2 pcs of 12 volt 100ah LiFePo4 batteries from Zhuhai OTE Electronic Technology on Alibaba. This gave me 200 ah with BMS. It cost $1380 delivered. I first saw it on amazon. It seems prices are coming down even more. Unfortunately I have not been using my rv due to health issues for 6 months.

[Rlum]

Interesting. It would be good once you have them in service for awhile. Just received a message from supplier on alibaba. He said if the cell is only guaranteed for 3 years. Means it is only good for 3000 cycles. My Pleasure Way manual says their lithium were good for 2000 cycles? Said the batteries will probably last longer than my ownership of rv. 2000 cycles is a lot for me.