280a LifePO4 Battery

[DavidCh]

Its finished

This is the first time I have built a battery and I am very proud of the result. It was also the first time I have purchased from AliBaba which went remarkably well.

I used these links for the parts

https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...html?spm=a2700.shop_index.82.7.31404ed8C4myoT

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/10050....order_list.order_list_main.60.187a194dLqkh4G

Both suppliers were great and delivery took about six weeks. Total cost was around £600 and included all customs duties. I did purchase the LCD display at an additional £20 to switch the BMS on and off but it would not be required as a button was included with the BMS. Looks pretty though Batteries appeared to be well matched and top balanced perfectly.

Inspiration came from these two youtube videos




I am very proud of myself

 

[Tombola]

Well done..good info.
Keep us posted

 

[Peppadog]

Thanks. Very good. Well done.

By contrast, I wanted a 200/230ah Fiat Ducato type seat base Li battery to replace my agm. None were in stock until the end of March and they are £1000 plus. I finished up buying 3x50ah batteries to fit the space. All with bms etc. cost? Same as your 280ah = £600.

A project for me in the future maybe?

 

[MisterB]

Good job, though not sure if your comment was that 'you' top balanced the cells or you accepted they were?

Its a great way of getting the battery you want into the space you want it to, in particular an awkward shaped space!

 

[DavidCh]

Thanks. Very good. Well done.

By contrast, I wanted a 200/230ah Fiat Ducato type seat base Li battery to replace my agm. None were in stock until the end of March and they are £1000 plus. I finished up buying 3x50ah batteries to fit the space. All with bms etc. cost? Same as your 280ah = £600.

A project for me in the future maybe?

I suspect that the three are probably significantly heavier as well? One of my motivations was to save weight as well. The new battery works out at about 24kgs and fitted easily into the space that the original agm fitted. So far they are going great

Good job, though not sure if your comment was that 'you' top balanced the cells or you accepted they were?

Its a great way of getting the battery you want into the space you want it to, in particular an awkward shaped space!

I put them in parallel and charged them to max voltage before installing them. When I received them the were all charged within a millivolt anyway. With the benefit of hindsight (it took me two weeks to top balance them with a 5A charger) I would build the bank and fit the BMS, charge them as a bank with a 20A charger then disconnect the BMS, parallel them and top balance.

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[Ditcha]

I suspect that the three are probably significantly heavier as well? One of my motivations was to save weight as well. The new battery works out at about 24kgs and fitted easily into the space that the original agm fitted. So far they are going great

I put them in parallel and charged them to max voltage before installing them. When I received them the were all charged within a millivolt anyway. With the benefit of hindsight (it took me two weeks to top balance them with a 5A charger) I would build the bank and fit the BMS, charge them as a bank with a 20A charger then disconnect the BMS, parallel them and top balance.

That was exactly what I did to quicken the process up, connected in series used my multiplus to take the pack up to 90% then finished top balancing off with power supply in parallel .

 

[SeanF1]

Evening All,
I am following this with interest as I need a new project.
If you buy LiFePo4 cells via AliExpress from the UK are there duty/VAT charges to pay on import, and how are these normally calculated and charged please?. I'm trying to figure out what the real cost of a DIY build will be in the UK. The cells Davidch used above are currently selling on aliexp at say $110 each so $440 for four plus a BMS at say another $130. I assume the supplier charges delivery cost on top? and then is there import duty/vat is on top of that?
If anyone has bought them via this route, what were the additional costs you incurred over and above the listed price on Aliexpress.
Many thanks in advance.
Sean

 

[DavidCh]

Evening All,
I am following this with interest as I need a new project.
If you buy LiFePo4 cells via AliExpress from the UK are there duty/VAT charges to pay on import, and how are these normally calculated and charged please?. I'm trying to figure out what the real cost of a DIY build will be in the UK. The cells Davidch used above are currently selling on aliexp at say $110 each so $440 for four plus a BMS at say another $130. I assume the supplier charges delivery cost on top? and then is there import duty/vat is on top of that?
If anyone has bought them via this route, what were the additional costs you incurred over and above the listed price on Aliexpress.
Many thanks in advance.
Sean

I can’t speak for the U.K. with certainty, I am in Portugal but I suspect the system is the same. With everything I have bought here from both alibaba and AliExpress it has always been fully tax paid. I paid about €25 for delivery. If you message them I found the supplier used honest and reliable and they will confirm the tax position.

 

[MisterB]

Evening All,
I am following this with interest as I need a new project.
If you buy LiFePo4 cells via AliExpress from the UK are there duty/VAT charges to pay on import, and how are these normally calculated and charged please?. I'm trying to figure out what the real cost of a DIY build will be in the UK. The cells Davidch used above are currently selling on aliexp at say $110 each so $440 for four plus a BMS at say another $130. I assume the supplier charges delivery cost on top? and then is there import duty/vat is on top of that?
If anyone has bought them via this route, what were the additional costs you incurred over and above the listed price on Aliexpress.
Many thanks in advance.
Sean

Or buy the cells from Fogstar...?

Unless it's a project you really want to do, or you need a specific physical size due to location, then I suspect the savings won't be sufficient enough to forego a decent warranty ...

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

Thanks. Very good. Well done.

By contrast, I wanted a 200/230ah Fiat Ducato type seat base Li battery to replace my agm. None were in stock until the end of March and they are £1000 plus. I finished up buying 3x50ah batteries to fit the space. All with bms etc. cost? Same as your 280ah = £600.

A project for me in the future maybe?

Can you advise how you connected your batteries together with bms on each, thanks..

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[DavidCh]

if you watch the two videos I linked at the beginning they cover the whole project in detail.

 

[DavidCh]

Or buy the cells from Fogstar...?

Unless it's a project you really want to do, or you need a specific physical size due to location, then I suspect the savings won't be sufficient enough to forego a decent warranty ...

I built it for two reasons, firstly I wanted the capacity but not the weight of two batteries. Looking at costs a 100ah was not much less than my total cost for 280 and and secondly, it looked like great fun to build and I really wanted to

 

[SeanF1]

I built it for two reasons, firstly I wanted the capacity but not the weight of two batteries. Looking at costs a 100ah was not much less than my total cost for 280 and and secondly, it looked like great fun to build and I really wanted to

Looks great David. I think I'm hooked.
How are the Quizou cells performing? Are they really Grade A and are you getting the full advertised capacity?
Cheers, Sean

 

[DavidCh]

Looks great David. I think I'm hooked.
How are the Quizou cells performing? Are they really Grade A and are you getting the full advertised capacity?
Cheers, Sean

They appear to be working just fine. I did a full capacity check when I first put them in and the Victron reported 286ah capacity. They were physically in perfect condition and have never shown more than 5mv deviation even under load. I have no reason to suspect they are anything other then Grade A and they were manufactured within six months of delivery to me (from the QR codes), all from the same batch. I dealt with Quaine Xiang who was very helpful before, during and after the delivery. I used this supplier because it was recommended by the guy who runs 'off grid garage' on youtube.

 

[Lenny HB]

I was going to build my own battery for my next van if it ever comes. I was going to use EVE grade A cells but now it works out cheaper to buy a Fogstar complete battery which is made with EVE cells and has a very good BMS & a heater.

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[TinaLes]

Not as much fun as a self build I agree, but as Lenny suggests a Fogstar 280 amp hour LipePo4 with a JBD BMS comes with a 10year warranty, that's the bit that's hard to disregard in building your own I guess.
The link below is for The Fogstar Drift battery with EVE A Grade cells, cant see a mention of a heater, but a phone call would fix that I guess.
NB: Delivery wont be before March 2023, due to high demand & stock delivery.
LES

Lithium Leisure Battery - Fogstar Drift 12v 280Ah

280ah 12v Fogstar Drift Lithium Leisure Battery | Grade A LiFePO4 cells, JBD BMS, Bluetooth, Heating | Lowest Prices in the UK. 10 Year Warranty.

www.fogstar.co.uk

 

[Lenny HB]

Not as much fun as a self build I agree, but as Lenny suggests a Fogstar 280 amp hour LipePo4 with a JBD BMS comes with a 10year warranty, that's the bit that's hard to disregard in building your own I guess.
The link below is for The Fogstar Drift battery with EVE A Grade cells, cant see a mention of a heater, but a phone call would fix that I guess.
NB: Delivery wont be before March 2023, due to high demand & stock delivery.
LES

Lithium Leisure Battery - Fogstar Drift 12v 280Ah

280ah 12v Fogstar Drift Lithium Leisure Battery | Grade A LiFePO4 cells, JBD BMS, Bluetooth, Heating | Lowest Prices in the UK. 10 Year Warranty.

www.fogstar.co.uk

You can connect up to x4 Fogstar Drift Leisure Batteries in series and parallel.

Manufactured using Grade A EVE LiFePO4 Lithium cells, high discharge JBD BMS, built in Bluetooth and Heating as standard - our new Lithium Leisure Battery collection offers everything you’d expect in a premium product.

 

[Ditcha]

My cells are Rept cells more than happy with them, bought them a year ago and my complete build came in at under £550 but pre built battery's have came down in price over the last year.
Would I do it again most probably not but I did enjoy researching and doing the build myself.
I took my 280ah down to 10% just 2 days ago to capacity test them after nearly a year in use, 259ah was the figure so coming out at approximately 288ah in total.
I have used 33 cycles in a year so even if I attained 1000 cycles which these batteries are said to last double may be treble that your talking about 30yrs so you can potentially leave the battery to someone in your will .
Warranty isn't a issue with me as I know my battery build, new BMS if it goes wrong less than £100, can't see having any problems with the cells once they are okay after first comission.

 

[Two on Tour]

Here's my 280Ah battery pack that I built with CATL "A" grade cells.
I have now swapped out the 100Ah Daly Smart BMS for a JK 200a BMS that has the 2 amp active balancer.
Built for around the £550 mark as was Ditcha's

 

[Ditcha]

Here's my 280Ah battery pack that I built with CATL "A" grade cells.
I have now swapped out the 100Ah Daly Smart BMS for a JK 200a BMS that has the 2 amp active balancer.
Built for around the £550 mark as was Ditcha's

View attachment 715446

Are you happy with the JK, I am tempted but the Daly hasn't put a foot wrong yet and 150amps is all I need.

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[Ditcha]

Is it the JK that shows the balance lead cables resistance in the app good addition that

 

[SeanF1]

My cells are Rept cells more than happy with them, bought them a year ago and my complete build came in at under £550 but pre built battery's have came down in price over the last year.
Would I do it again most probably not but I did enjoy researching and doing the build myself.
I took my 280ah down to 10% just 2 days ago to capacity test them after nearly a year in use, 259ah was the figure so coming out at approximately 288ah in total.
I have used 33 cycles in a year so even if I attained 1000 cycles which these batteries are said to last double may be treble that your talking about 30yrs so you can potentially leave the battery to someone in your will .
Warranty isn't a issue with me as I know my battery build, new BMS if it goes wrong less than £100, can't see having any problems with the cells once they are okay after first comission.

DId you buy the cells from EV Lithium in HK? I've looked at their website but no pricing or delivery information without contacting them. Cheers Sean

 

[Two on Tour]

Are you happy with the JK, I am tempted but the Daly hasn't put a foot wrong yet and 150amps is all I need.

Yes Dave, very happy with the JK as I feel that it does better reporting than the Daly, plus you have not got the faff of turning on the BMS if it shuts down like the Daly has.
I have rigged the JK up to display on my Victron OS running on the Pi which I could not get the Daly to do.
I have also bought a JK BMS for my backup lithium battery pack for off-grid in the winter months.
The JK BMS's are a lot cheaper than the Daly BMS's and I bought my JK BMS's from Offgrid Power Solutions aka our very own RogerIvy

 

[Two on Tour]

Is it the JK that shows the balance lead cables resistance in the app good addition that

Yes.

 

[Ditcha]

DId you buy the cells from EV Lithium in HK? I've looked at their website but no pricing or delivery information without contacting them. Cheers Sean

AliExpress I bought them from over a year ago took 2 months to arrive but no duty.

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[SeanF1]

I was going to build my own battery for my next van if it ever comes. I was going to use EVE grade A cells but now it works out cheaper to buy a Fogstar complete battery which is made with EVE cells and has a very good BMS & a heater.

I'm not sure this is correct Lenny, with Fogstar's current pricing.

In the case of the battery built by the OP above, Davidch, those cells currently priced at US$109 each so x 4 = $436 plus say $25 for delivery. Another $150 for JK BMS and sundries gives total of say $620 or £515 for a 280ah. Fogstar's current price for 280ah drift is £819.99. A saving of £300+ plus the challenge/reward of building it yourself.......looks quite tempting. Cheers. Sean

 

[Lenny HB]

I'm not sure this is correct Lenny, with Fogstar's current pricing.

In the case of the battery built by the OP above, Davidch, those cells currently priced at US$109 each so x 4 = $436 plus say $25 for delivery. Another $150 for JK BMS and sundries gives total of say $620 or £515 for a 280ah. Fogstar's current price for 280ah drift is £819.99. A saving of £300+ plus the challenge/reward of building it yourself.......looks quite tempting. Cheers. Sean

The cells have come down in price since I last looked gone from £180 to £145 now by the time you have added a BMS heater pads and a case talking about saving 50 or 60 quid, and you get a decent warranty with a complete battery. Not worth the hassle & I would have to buy a power supply to top balance them, so naught in it.

Don't want to buy from China with no warranty and possibly get caught for import duty & VAT been caught by that in the past.

 

[Raul]

I also have two banks near completion. Work gets in the way. I went for JK bms because of the active balance, individual resistance per cell that can be calibrated to 0 before build. This can spot potential weak cells down the line. Also what I like on JK you can intergrate it with victron to a degree. The cells I got from fogstar, with double terminal instead one stud. This gives a massive contact area for the bus bar and eliminate the troublesome resistance on some one stud terminals. The fogstar cells are £145 but, it’s a premium cell. Most will test at 290ah and above. I’ve got a second multiplus 5000/48 on its way, and when it’s all here, I will wire the bmses and post few snips.

 

[Raul]

Also, if your cells are fairly matched, with active balancer you don’t have a need to top balance, just ensemble the pack, wire the bms, then charge as a pack. When you are close to the top, or set 0 absorb for first charge, then alter settings and reduce the rate so the bms can balance. Job done.

 

[DavidCh]

Also, if your cells are fairly matched, with active balancer you don’t have a need to top balance, just ensemble the pack, wire the bms, then charge as a pack. When you are close to the top, or set 0 absorb for first charge, then alter settings and reduce the rate so the bms can balance. Job done.

I agree and I wish I had thought that through before spending three weeks top balancing!

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