3rd Group Buy - Grade A Fully Matched Lifepo4 Cells

Hinterland … I supposed that means past the wall I’m going to build when I’m Pressi of the W/Cape?

I believe The Courier Guy can deliver cells anywhere in SA. Thye have delivered lithium and lead-acid batteries to me, from Jhb.

Nice to know, did you have sell any body organs to afford it or is it a fairly practical solution?

Private Couriers are generally very competitive. Between the Courier Guy and SkyNET you will usually find an agreeable price. I love how we have an entire very affordable and very competitive spectrum to choose from these days, given the complete and utter failure of that entity which is supposed to delivery packages under 1kg…

Watching that court case with interest. I can only imagine that future packages will all be 1.01kg (when packed), or include a small bag of sweets/peanuts (cause foods are excluded). Yeah, I know I’m derailing this and a lithium battery should weigh more than that… :slight_smile:

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@TheTerribleTriplet,
Well, if this first venture pans out, I’d be keen to get on the next order in a fairly large way.

Stock standard operation. Lithium Batteries SA uses them. And @JacoDeJongh also used them to send me lead-acids.

When the cells are here, the way I want to suggest, each person sends their own courier. All Cpt buyers can come and collect.

HOW the couriers sort the dangrous good transportation … NO idea, but it is their forte, so no worries.

Not a problem once it is on land. I suspect there might be some laws against transporting such things on a vehicle that also transports passengers, but otherwise it’s just a package.

When bringing things across the border there might be limitations. I know both myus.com and aramex global shopper have lists of things you cannot ship. But I suspect that is because the first leg is by plane :slight_smile:

@TheTerribleTriplet, Just a by the way.
Did you remember to ask Amy for twice the number of busbars?
It’s something that she does for free.
The other thing I’d like to know, in terms of ordering matched cells, did you just ask to have the entire shipment matched?

I was thinking the same thing. Couriers also calculate the prise by volumetric weight and I was wondering how that works with the 1Kg. We could just start using larger boxes that does not add more weight to get past that limitation. Maybe have a special price for larger size under a certain weight.

All this talk about litium cells is making me hungry (but not for peanuts) :slight_smile:

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Here is the order - did add a couple of extra yes, but not for free.

Ideally, I want to get someone to make cool-looking busbars, with an easy connecting point for balancing wires. And if said busbars can be made “dropping a tool” proof, now that would be seriously cool.

With ABSA fees, having opted to pay all fees, it comes to R 217 808.75 I paid to date.

If the cells arrive as ordered, o man, SO doing this again using the same “recipe”.

From the time when I still imported tablets (the computer kind not the pills) the issue is with litium batteries cargo on a plane that also transport passengers.
Some couriers only use commercial airlines for cargo and they could not transport the tablets. But some have their own cargo planes that they use as well as commercial airlines (DHL for instance) and we just had to get the tables to an airport where the DHL cargo plane were operating from and the transported the tables. You still need the certificates and stuff though.

I think it all comes from the Helderberg disaster although that one has many conspiracy theories for other scenarios as well. Perhaps all this limits in transporting lithium batteries are all because of wrong assumptions because no one knows what really happened there. Hmm :thinking:

Well, you know this book called Freakonomics? It’s about cases where some input into the economical system had a surprising output. One example is that of a cup of coffee. If you levy a tax on a cup of coffee, the size of coffee cups will grow.

That realisation is almost a shoe-in for our courier/post office situation. If there is a tax (ie lost items, extra costs, corruption) on the sending of small packages… the packages will grow.

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YES!!! Monies received … well done ABSA!!!
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Have asked … thank you for that titbit too Phil!

They will send us a report like this with the shipment. That way, we can see what is the same, and send them out to the guys who ordered.
Great info to test the cells in a year or 5 and track performance.

Reply I got: Coincidentally, a Nigerian customer ordered 200 x 280AH (before your order), so we asked EVE to match this batch (500pcs) cells as a group. And so, the 124 ones will also come the same group and all be matched.

I asked what is the ideal amount of cells per pallet: The original package from EVE is 216 x 280AH on a pallet.

So the magic number is 216, or 432, 2 pallets … or more. :slight_smile:

Anybody want to sign up for the remaining 32?

Have NO idea the logistics to get 32 more added … takes 24h to chat, then few days to get payments through … so IF there is a urgent need, I can try.

But speak up RIGHT now and damn fast.

There is an interest once this batch has arrived. I’m SO doing this again, as I need more cells too.

Ps. 216 - 124 (ordered) = 92 cells to fill this palette.

@TheTerribleTriplet
HaHa, I was joking about the other 32 of the 432 you mentioned.
(I will be on board next time, for sure).

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I am also eager to participate in the next batch. At least 32 cells. Add me to your list … if such a list exist.

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When I see the cells are becoming a reality, i.e. on the ship, I will start a new list.
When I see the 64 boxes standing in my house, couriers collecting them daily for each person, the new order will be created and the process starts again, a group created on WhatsApp per buy, to keep all up to date on the process, with highlights posted here.

Target is 100 x 280ah grade A cells per pallet.
If the BMS manufacturing is resolved, one could also ship the BMS’s with the cells.

Having battled high prices myself being a DIY’er, the first goal is to make BIG banks affordable to other DIY’ers.

Take this sums as a guideline:
@Phil.g00 's idea of ±3.37v per cell, 18 x 280ah cells in a bank = 60.66v
60.66v x 280ah = ±17kWh bank at ± R45 600 incl a BMS.
Price per cell: ±R2400
BMS: ±R2400

This is NOT to compete with the brand names, THIS is for DIY’ers on forums like this.
And if anyone wants to buy cells to sell on … why not!? They add value by selling on an assembled, or not, bank cause not everyone is a DIY’er.

An idea I am wondering about: (feedback would be appreciated)
DIY’er buys 18 cells at the cost of 20 cells landed.
2 cells stay behind.

  1. The 2 cells per 18 cell bank sold are the “warranty” cells, that one can ship 'em fast to replace a faulty cell.
  2. When there are enough cells to make another 16 cell bank, new order having arrived with warranty cell replacement, selling that bank becomes the “profit”.

Must make absolutely sure there are always cells on hand in SA.

Price per 18/20 cell bank: ±R 50 400
Or a 16/18 cell bank ± R 45 600
With the option to buy individual cells building one’s bank piecemeal …no cost, cause of the 216 cells “target”. Just IF there is a warranty replacement, wait for the next import.

See, everyone who has a VAT number, their SARS standing being spot on, can get an importers license and import themselves, the caveat being that warranty replacements are not cheap.

So methinks that by doing all the effort for everyone to benefit, profit being “cents on the dollar” (the 2 cells), all made possible because the costs are shared upfront, that it could just work.

Any thoughts anyone?
Ps. It is just an IDEA.

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