Cell price drop

[Steve_S]

The cost of "Lithium" is only ONE factor... there isn't that much actual lithium in a cell and the price drop just on Li is not that significant. Cobalt, Nickel have a higher impact in general. LFP and even LMFP will always be cheaper and those are the ones to watch. Don't get carried away with Fantasizing about low prices... Some Places are about to pile on New Duties & Fees in 2024 which will likely cancel out the lower material costs.

 

[Quattrohead]

It might be time to persuade my Brother in England to get into solar electric. The hardware is getting cheaper and more powerful and electric and gas prices are rising.
Energy is power !!!!

 

[Pi Curio]

Just received my order, the cell-protective wrap does look funny, to say the least. I can't even get the foam back onto the cells to put these back into the box till tomorrow.?

How does the QR code look to you, legit?

Thanks

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

The wrap probably got messed up with the foam pressing on it. QR codes look legit and decode correct - date of manufacture is 7/7/2023.
The LF105 cell wrap isn't very good these days; guess they changed the process compared to a few years back...

 

[Pi Curio]

The wrap probably got messed up with the foam pressing on it.

My thoughts as well. Maybe I could try to heat the end of the wrap with a heat gun and press it back onto the cell?

QR codes look legit and decode correct - date of manufacture is 7/7/2023.

Most of the other cells are 10/7/2023 but I guess after the cells testing they match the closest ones. I hope.

The LF105 cell wrap isn't very good these days; guess they changed the process compared to a few years back...

Was a bit surprised at first, to be honest. Then again, I have very limited experience with prismatic battery cells. The only other ones I've worked with are from the off-the-shelf batteries I took apart.

With that said, the cells look great. Almost flat on all sides with no swelling, and the terminals look pristine. All of the cells have the same voltage, though, I'm still waiting on the YR1035+ Battery Internal Resistance Tester to check if these are a match on that front as well.

All in all, can't wait to get started with the build.

 

[Alkaline]

Some updates:

Batteryhookup has started to carry 280K V3 cells with test reports, at $115.00/cell BUT... Sales tax & shipping on every order makes takes it to about $150.00/cell delivered.
Ezeal is out of stock on everything and has been for a while... ?
sunfunkits has the 48 cell rept 280 pallet for $5500 including shipping so $114.50/cell delivered, the 280K V3 48 cell pallet is $116.60/cell delivered
18650batterystore has both LF304 and LF280K in stock for $125 and $115 respectively with official dole pole. Shipping is about $20.00/cell and no sales tax for a good bit of people including CA & TX

And those are your grade A vendors in the US/CAN with test reports so yeah price drops across the board.

 

[green mountain boys]

I was doing some poking around to see what I could find for current cell prices in the USA. I thought others might find the results useful. The shipping shown is to my location so yours will vary.

DIY 48 Volt Battery
Supplier	Cell Type	Amp hours	cost per cell	shipping	# of cells	cost of cells	kilo watt hours	Busbars	cost per kw/hr
Battery Hookup	EVE V3	280	$115.00	$150.00	16	$1,990.00	13.44	included	$148.07
18650 Battery Store	EVE V3	280	$110.00	$120.00	16	$1,880.00	13.44	$24.99	$141.74
Sun Fun Kits	EVE V3	280	$116.00	?	48	$5,600.00	40.32	$48.00	$140.08	plus shipping and over 1 month
Sriko	Lichen	272	$95.00	$246.16	16	$1,766.16	13.06	No	$135.28

 

[Tomthumb62]

I was doing some poking around to see what I could find for current cell prices in the USA. I thought others might find the results useful. The shipping shown is to my location so yours will vary.

DIY 48 Volt Battery
Supplier	Cell Type	Amp hours	cost per cell	shipping	# of cells	cost of cells	kilo watt hours	Busbars	cost per kw/hr
Battery Hookup	EVE V3	280	$115.00	$150.00	16	$1,990.00	13.44	included	$148.07
18650 Battery Store	EVE V3	280	$110.00	$120.00	16	$1,880.00	13.44	$24.99	$141.74
Sun Fun Kits	EVE V3	280	$116.00	?	48	$5,600.00	40.32	$48.00	$140.08	plus shipping and over 1 month
Sriko	Lichen	272	$95.00	$246.16	16	$1,766.16	13.06	No	$135.28

This is awesome, thank you for putting this together and sharing this.

I just keep hearing such good reports about 18650 Battery Store that even though they are not the cheapest per kWh, I would probably go with them knowing I am dealing with a reputable company. Not that the others aren't reputable, I just haven't heard as many glowing (if any) reports about them.

But it is interesting that my mind thinks that the 272's sold by Sriko are significantly lower in capacity, but when I see 13.06 compared to 13.44 kWh, that really puts it in perspective. If Sriko is a good company to deal with (I have no knowledge of them either way), then their price is certainly appealing.

I should also note that 18650 Battery Store also has "grade b" Envision 305Ah cells for $75. That is certainly very appealing. Especially since when I do build a Lifepo4 pack, it will be primarily used during grid power-outages to run our well pump. Not sure if I need a 48v pack for that or not and 305Ah at 48v is probably overkill for such a use case, but the price is certainly nice. I have heard good things about 18650batterystore's grade B cells. But I am unfamiliar with Envision as a cell manufacturer. I only know of EVE, CATL and a couple of others. More research would be needed.

 

[green mountain boys]

This is awesome, thank you for putting this together and sharing this.

I just keep hearing such good reports about 18650 Battery Store that even though they are not the cheapest per kWh, I would probably go with them knowing I am dealing with a reputable company. Not that the others aren't reputable, I just haven't heard as many glowing (if any) reports about them.

But it is interesting that my mind thinks that the 272's sold by Sriko are significantly lower in capacity, but when I see 13.06 compared to 13.44 kWh, that really puts it in perspective. If Sriko is a good company to deal with (I have no knowledge of them either way), then their price is certainly appealing.

I should also note that 18650 Battery Store also has "grade b" Envision 305Ah cells for $75. That is certainly very appealing. Especially since when I do build a Lifepo4 pack, it will be primarily used during grid power-outages to run our well pump. Not sure if I need a 48v pack for that or not and 305Ah at 48v is probably overkill for such a use case, but the price is certainly nice. I have heard good things about 18650batterystore's grade B cells. But I am unfamiliar with Envision as a cell manufacturer. I only know of EVE, CATL and a couple of others. More research would be needed.

No problem, I find the spread sheet format really helps put it all into perspective. It would be nice if this site had a place for a spread sheet like this that was able to be edited and kept up to date for everyone. I think that could be a huge help. Maybe even a separate spread sheet for complete batteries. Then when someone was ready to buy they could check 1 place to see the current prices!

 

[houseofancients]

This is awesome, thank you for putting this together and sharing this.

I just keep hearing such good reports about 18650 Battery Store that even though they are not the cheapest per kWh, I would probably go with them knowing I am dealing with a reputable company. Not that the others aren't reputable, I just haven't heard as many glowing (if any) reports about them.

But it is interesting that my mind thinks that the 272's sold by Sriko are significantly lower in capacity, but when I see 13.06 compared to 13.44 kWh, that really puts it in perspective. If Sriko is a good company to deal with (I have no knowledge of them either way), then their price is certainly appealing.

I should also note that 18650 Battery Store also has "grade b" Envision 305Ah cells for $75. That is certainly very appealing. Especially since when I do build a Lifepo4 pack, it will be primarily used during grid power-outages to run our well pump. Not sure if I need a 48v pack for that or not and 305Ah at 48v is probably overkill for such a use case, but the price is certainly nice. I have heard good things about 18650batterystore's grade B cells. But I am unfamiliar with Envision as a cell manufacturer. I only know of EVE, CATL and a couple of others. More research would be needed.

There are multiple topics in these cells, and .multiple owners posting their experience with them, amongst me..
They are my default "to go" cells since last august..

 

[Alkaline]

I was doing some poking around to see what I could find for current cell prices in the USA. I thought others might find the results useful. The shipping shown is to my location so yours will vary.

DIY 48 Volt Battery
Supplier	Cell Type	Amp hours	cost per cell	shipping	# of cells	cost of cells	kilo watt hours	Busbars	cost per kw/hr
Battery Hookup	EVE V3	280	$115.00	$150.00	16	$1,990.00	13.44	included	$148.07
18650 Battery Store	EVE V3	280	$110.00	$120.00	16	$1,880.00	13.44	$24.99	$141.74
Sun Fun Kits	EVE V3	280	$116.00	?	48	$5,600.00	40.32	$48.00	$140.08	plus shipping and over 1 month
Sriko	Lichen	272	$95.00	$246.16	16	$1,766.16	13.06	No	$135.28

What is your zipcode? Sorry but my prices and yours are very different, plus ezealco is missing...

The shipping is free on sfk but the wait is 45-60 days, it is currently the cheapest price per cell. You skipped EzealCo which is the absolute cheapest for cells in the USA with test reports if you want it shipped form within the usa, sorry but Sriko is not yet verified vendor I don't see evidence of test reports so they should not be on a list of grade A vendors.

 

[Tomthumb62]

There are multiple topics in these cells, and .multiple owners posting their experience with them, amongst me..
They are my default "to go" cells since last august..

Which cells are you referring to, the Envision ones?

 

[houseofancients]

Which cells are you referring to, the Envision ones?

Yes sir

 

[green mountain boys]

What is your zipcode? Sorry but my prices and yours are very different, plus ezealco is missing...

The shipping is free on sfk but the wait is 45-60 days, it is currently the cheapest price per cell. You skipped EzealCo which is the absolute cheapest for cells in the USA with test reports if you want it shipped form within the usa, sorry but Sriko is not yet verified vendor I don't see evidence of test reports so they should not be on a list of grade A vendors.

I added Ezeal for you.
Just a note about Ezeal. The sales tax was calculated incorrectly. I could not even figure out how they calculated it. Also, all solar related items are tax exempt in this state but I understand it is difficult for businesses to get sales tax correct because of all the changes and exemptions. Ezeal says the busbars are included, but I could not see what type of busbars they were going to ship. The item description did not say what version of the cell Ezeal was sending.

I have excluded sales tax from all of these sellers.

I am not endorsing any of these businesses, just posting what I have found.

These shipping prices are based on zip code 05255.

DIY 48 Volt Battery Supplier Cell Type Amp hours Cost per cell Shipping # of cells Cost of cells Kilo watt hours Busbars Cost per kw/hr Battery Hookup EVE V3 280 $115.00 $150.00 16 $1,990.00 13.44 included $148.07 18650 Battery Store EVE V3 280 $110.00 $120.00 16 $1,880.00 13.44 $24.99 $141.74 Sun Fun Kits EVE V3 280 $116.00 free* 48 $5,600.00 40.32 $48.00 $140.08 *shipping over 1 month Sriko Lichen 272 $95.00 $246.16 16 $1,766.16 13.06 No $135.28 Ezeal EVE V? 280 $120.00 $239.84 16 $2,159.84 13.44 included* $160.70 *busbars included but no description

 

[Alkaline]

Green,

BOTH 18650 and Sfk include bus bars, 18650 includes flexible busbars and Sfk includes rigid bus bars which you can pay to upgrade to flexible for $48.

Sriko is "trust me bro grade" which is really reject failed grade B cells unless you have proof your chart is beginning to look like BS and more of an attempt to steer people to Sriko. They have no test report stop putting them on a grade A vendor list or we can go down this road and I suspect you won't like the result.

 

[timselectric]

I'm confused.
Where does it say "grade A vendor list" ?

 

[green mountain boys]

Green,

BOTH 18650 and Sfk include bus bars, 18650 includes flexible busbars and Sfk includes rigid bus bars which you can pay to upgrade to flexible for $48.

Sriko is "trust me bro grade" which is really reject failed grade B cells unless you have proof your chart is beginning to look like BS and more of an attempt to steer people to Sriko. They have no test report stop putting them on a grade A vendor list or we can go down this road and I suspect you won't like the result.

Busbars: In order to make an apples to apples comparison, I priced it with flexible busbars. It was just my preference, you can order how you like.

I don't think I described this as a grade A vendor list. Just what I found while poking around.

 

[Alkaline]

I'm confused.
Where does it say "grade A vendor list" ?

I was referring to my post: https://diysolarforum.com/threads/cell-price-drop.72837/post-943819

Busbars: In order to make an apples to apples comparison, I priced it with flexible busbars. It was just my preference, you can order how you like.

I don't think I described this as a grade A vendor list. Just what I found while poking around.

Apples to apples you say with Grade B Sriko on a list of Grade A vendors, someone needs to get there facts straight you have Battery Hookup on there with rigid bus bars as inlcuded but then you say 18650 charges 24.99 for fleixble bus bars even though there description clearly states:

EVE LF280K V3 Grade A Cells - 3.2V LiFePO4 280Ah Battery

Brand new Grade A EVE LF280K LiFePO4 cells with 280Ah capacity. 10+ years design life, 6,000 cycles. Get unmatched power and performance for your energy storage needs.

www.18650batterystore.com

Cells include the double hole terminal block welded factory direct by EVE and Flexible busbars.

The 24.99 is you want to add an additional set (needed if you want to balance cells).

I have seen enough I know what you are all about and your objective here is.

 

[Sam Cho TX]

Sun Fun Kits EVE V3 280 $116.00 free* 48 $5,600.00 40.32 $48.00 $140.08 *shipping over 1 month

? $140/KW?

$116.00/KW delivered to Arkansas no sales tax or anything else with bus bar and a .5mm fiberglass separator sheet. Sriko looks to be 100% grade B down to the little white capacity stickers which is the hallmark of grade B cells.

Only Batteryhookup and Sun Fun Kits have the 1KW 280K V3 cells, 18650battery does not. The dual pole do not get 1kw I don't even think they are really even V3 maybe v2.5?

Sfk posted this video showing the difference in capacity between the octagon v3 280K and round 280K v3 with the dual pole:

I have 48 of the 304 with the high amp adapter on order and should arrive in mid-to-late January.

 

[Brucey]

I thought all eve 280k V3 used octagonal terminals?