[Nut17]

I found these on Trademe. I regularly troll for LiFePO4 to see if anything new is up for sale. I paid $1750 for the pair of 12v 150 AH units. They are two years old have been sitting disconnected from any load or charge source for the last six months and all 8 cells are very even at 3.2 - 3.3 volts. At less than half new price I am happy to take the gamble - Particularly after the way my now 7 year old cells have performed.
The seller was trying to sell the whole setup, including a Studer 24 volt inverter charger and an MPPT Solar controller. It was set up as a 24 volt system, so the batteries were all that I was interested in.

[NeilV]

Thanks. Sounds like you scored a great deal there

Guess I’ll just keep trawling TMe and get a good idea of the second hand market myself now

[lemon6949]

Nut17 after a few charge/discharge cycles what % of the 150A where you seeing

[scubadoo]

I don't think Chris will have to be too concerned.
My 300Ah rated Sinopoly battery pack still delivered 312Ah @ a c10 constant 30A load on the 4th annual capacity test when the first cell reached 2.81V and the test terminated.

[Nut17]

My two recently purchased batteries are still sitting in my brother's shed in Auckland and the new caravan they are destined to provide the electrical energy storage for has yet to leave The UK !! However, the 600 AH bank we had in our last van were almost 8 years old and a discharge test done in August 2017 still showed over 12 volts available after draining the whole 600 AH. If there is any loss of capacity from new, the cells must have been over rated when they were produced.
The manufacturers talk about a design life of 15 years and a potential life (if treated well) of over 20 years. I confidently expect these AA Solar "ABatt" battery packs to last at least another 10 years. They will have a reasonably easy life in the new van as I expect out overnight draw down to be around 30 - 40 AH as we will be sticking with the 3 way fridge in the medium term. My proposed 800 watts of solar will provide 95 % of the charging duties with the tow vehicle providing the occasional emergency top up. Having a conservative 13.8 - 14.0 volt charging regime will also contribute to longevity.

[lemon6949]

thats decent, and a lot longer than I was expecting

typically the rated current for "Good" cells is a minimum for the chemistry and most cells will do more, if you show them love (charge to <80%~ discharge to >20% ) they will last significantly longer

good to know, im looking at li-on chemistry for my build

[rawill]

I mentioned this elsewhere, perhaps I should start a new thread.

Has anyone investigated or brought in any LifePO4 batteries from AliExpress.
If my memory is anygood!! maybe not, I think I saw a 300 amphour battery for around $1700.00 and $150.00 shipping.

Rbn

[NeilV]

Is there customs/excise on batteries imported from China, or just gst to pay when they ‘land’ here?