₦airaland Forum

nazablossom:
I lost my job during this pandemic,so I decided to buy a laptop at AliExpress to start small something online with my last card.

I bought a laptop at the rate of $240 with free shipping (juicy right?).

Sorry about the job loss. How's the user experience with the laptop? Care to share link? Good to share your experience, it is useful as some of us may run into their crazy billing (duty) soon.

dataking:
Thanks Boss, I know about the smart charger but nice to hear of a cooling fan as well.
If those 2 are taken care of, do you see the APC UPS with a smart charger outperforming the Hybrid Inverters?

Also what about battery health and longevity. Will the UPS charge and utilize the batteries optimally and efficiently.

Thanks a lot.

Well, I personally don't see it outperforming an inverter with same capacity (charger size and cooling system). But you can only find out for sure when you get the two and put it to work.

dataking:
My Ogas,
I need to set up a small office and would like to use 2pcs of 12v 200Ah batteries.
Would you advise buying a 1500 24v APC UPS or simply buying an inverter.
I also would like to know reasons why.
Thanks in advance.

Buy an inverter for these two reasons:

1) An inverter will have a charger big enough to produce the charging current that can charge big batteries (such as the 200ah) while a UPS is equiped with chargers to sufficiently charge smaller batteries such as 7ah or 28ah batteries.

2) An inverter is designed to run for longer periods, while UPS is made for shorter backup. Hence the two has different cooling system. But I've seen a dude here in nairaland that has modified the UPS (by adding cooling fans and external charger) to enable a UPS run for longer and charge bigger batteries.


You can checkout this UPS conversion process to inverter here on nairaland by checking out this link

https://www.nairaland.com/1389975/worlds-smallest-power-inverter/60#77800554

NiyiOmoIyunade:
Ah boss! SPD is entirely useless and potentially even dangerous if there is no earth/ground to send the fault current to.

Putting a copper rod in the ground for protective earth is not an elaborate affair as such - anywhere in the compound from where you can run cable to your own flat/house is alright. We have used flower bed, just beside a ground floor window, just outside the compound beside a gutter, side of wall or fence.....

People just hammer the rod into the ground but this will only work with suitable soil - ideally you want to dig/auger a narrow hole like say 4 inches wide, put your copper rod in the center of the hole and backfill with suitable enhancement material - budget installs use industrial charcoal ground to a fine powder mixed with cement for a permanent earth. I would say 2 copper rods driven at least 16 feet apart is the minimum for safely channeling large surges from lightning e.t.c - if all you can do is one rod then it is better than nothing - just make sure it is the 8foot length type.

If all else fails, you can bond to a large metal body that is firmly connected to earth e.g the metal work frame that carries an overhead tank, car port or the water corporation metal pipe buried horizontally several meters length.

Half of my array is ground mounted sitting atop a large metallic frame embedded deep in the ground via 5 heavy duty concrete bases/legs - I did not bother to earth the frame the panels sit on as the entire assembly already has a firm connection to ground in Lekki saltwater soil.

We may have to pin this comment, there is often this misconception that an SPD can work without a good earth.

Kamaye:
just be patient, you will get update maybe next week, but I don't think it is advisable to buy a phone or anything that you need urgently from aliexpress at this time of international logistics problems due to covid 19. I have a June order too but it is just a DIY power bank box which I wouldn't mind if takes months to arrive, anything I need urgently, I will source for it here locally including phone.

You can buy and use FedEx and pray the service tax won't bankrupt you

Damdammy:
Hello my people, I want to ask the following questions as partaining to Alibaba.com. I saw an item that MOQ is 1pcs which I want to order.
Pls how is the payment mode and shipping method compared to AliExpress. It's the same formalities. Thanks is advance.

Chat seller to discuss these things. Shipping method is often discussed and the price you want to pay for such. When you are through, ask seller to send you a PI (proforma invoice). The seller will send you this link in your message. You can then pay through credit card (just like in AliExpress) or decide to do a bank transfer. But whichever method you want just let seller know that you prefer a particular method. Below is me discussing with a seller.

Monlo:
Good day all.
Take a look: https://www.nairaland.com/5980873/15000-nipost-workers-lose-jobs
Just hope is not what am thinking.Because these guys have never one day disappointed me in terms of package delivery for the past 8 years I have been using their logistics......
Solar all the way.

Same here, after 300+ package with non missing, I'll say NIPOST is doing well. Let's hope it never gets to them carrying out the threat of striking.

samtobbie:
Made an order on Ali express for over 2months, upon checking today, I saw the 1st picture attached. When I tried to track further, I saw the second picture which I do not really understand. Please peeps that use the platform well, what does that really mean? Please help.

The order completed is automated. It just shows your goods is over 60 days (when 60 days is the buyer protection period). What you should do is to check how many days remains of your buyer protection. Once it elapses and you didn't get your goods, you are free to open dispute and ask for refund


As you can see I, too, have "order completed" and my buyer protection remains just three days to go. I can open dispute within 15 days after this counter drops to zero and request for refund.

iKingsley:
this whole thing is so confusing. How come?

Covid19 logistics magic

earthrealm:
There are many solar threads, you should have posted your advert. Chief amongst which is this over 10yr old thread.

https://www.nairaland.com/390522/solar-energy-complement-fta/795

Happy sales

Me like this

earthrealm:
Chooi. Gennextech and co have smiling happily to the bank, selling 60k and above

That was my first thought too...some Nigerian company just love ripping off their customers for no reason at all.

iKingsley:
arrived or picked up? Two different things

Picked up. I'm shocked. Was expecting older ones and this pretty recent one just got here.

mctfopt:
Item 6

---

Order Date: 16th May 2020
Shipped by AE through AE standard shipping
Aliexpress Tracking Status: Departed Country of Origin
Buyer Protection Days Remaining: 42

Update: Item 6 just arrived
Shipped by SG
Eight more to go..

Trippledots:
You noticed too right? Lol.. Pls price of fan oh, bros.

Hard to miss that
Still waiting for your cheap plug in third party shipping biz

jmaine:
Sure it's the Xiaomi Smartmi Pedestal fan look alike. It was procured for 40K .... Deciding to purchase locally than Importing with the current Aliexpress logistics debacle was a no brainer.

Your Legit Canadian solar plug is right here.... okaniudemba (08039489441).... He has been here all along.....

Well, that makes lots of sense. Why import the Smartmi if you can get it here, right? Never knew him, I guess he (okaniudemba) is not that active in this section that is why I'm just seeing the username.

earthrealm:
Thanks, however i am not in lagos. Wish you included model numbers, so one can compare prices as i believe prices of LG products should be same across the major LG showrooms nationwide,..

After my last fiasco with a normal LG freezer, i decided not to go near LG freezer again,
Only Lg and Samsung appear to hv inverter fridge to the best of my knowledge. No real life reviews from samsung users, so am forced to consider Lg again

I use a Samsung Inverter Fridge. It is rated 140W but it can drop to around 90w after running for some time. Got it around 5 years ago. Still running.

jmaine:
Thanks to the combined efforts of Simydan (Procurement) and Oshomo12 (Installation), I was able to have my modest setup of:
1050W Canadian Poly panels (3 X 350W) in series at 48K each from @okaniudemba
48V 1.5KW Hybrid inverter with an inbuilt MPPT charger of 60A from Alibaba. ( Low Frequency)
48V 50AH LifePO4 battery with a 7-year warranty from Alibaba.

Pic 1: is showing the neat setup by Oshomo, he pays attention to details, and if he tells you he will be in your place by 5 am, be damn sure he will be there a few mins to that. ...

Pic 2: I did like to also give an empirical power consumption review of the FUSHIAI energy-saving fan I purchased from Simydan(Pic 2 attached). It's a decent 30W rated fan with 3 modes namely: Eco mode, natural wind, and Sleep mode, it can be powered via a US device and it's non-rechargeable.

Pic 3: Shows the power consumption of the device when in rotation and when still.

Disclaimer: I am not DIY savvy , but i have been an avid follower of this thread since the early days of George et al., long before the nairaland Tsunami of 2013...

The fan sure looks like a clone or should I say a lookalike of Xiaomi Smartmi standing 2S fan. How much did you procure it? I like the pricing of the Canadian solar too. If you don't mind can you share contact of PV seller?

NiyiOmoIyunade:
Very well explained in simple language!

Thanks a lot.

Trippledots:
Using an offline, third party shipper may reduce your price significantly.

Their shipping is about $60 but I have a shipper that may be able to land it for not more than $20-$30 .

We are always in need of cheap, and reliable third party shipping agent

Can you share the details of this awesome agent?

bbally:
in the case of rented apartment that we can not dig to install a earthing. what can we do please?

I doubt any reasonable landlord will be against anyone putting up earth especially if the house lacks one. Even if the place is cemented, all you need do is dig and cement it back. It's usually unobstructive as everything is down in the earth. If done professionally, landlord may not even notice, except for that "mystery" yellow wire or flat copper bar that goes in the ground

Easylearner:
I'm not too sure... with good Earthing, is there any need for spd? and if there's need for spd... where will be the best place to install it - I'm thinking the spd will be for just the panel and charge controller.

Yes, there's need for SPD with good earth. The two work together. SPD is voltage sensitive. Its resistance reduced sharply as voltage increase. You can imagine SPD as a gate and surge as flood. Under normal situation, the gate is shut but when seeing surge voltage coming, the gate quickly open so the surge can be diverted away from the equipment to the ground. It will automatically reset to high impedance status after the surge ends.

Ordinarily the resistance of the four major components (spark gap, Metal Oxide Varistor- MOV, Gas Discharge Tube- GDT and Transient Surge Suppressor-TVS) are so high under normal voltage but this resistance drops to zero or near zero to allow the surge current flow to the ground.


This YouTube video animation from ABB shows you the end of life behaviour of an MOV SPD behaviour in an AC circuit. The visuals depicts that the surge current flow path is through the earth (follow the flowing yellow line)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfXoOfipO08

Remember we have SPD for DC and AC. All are there to protect the equipment from surge current.

Easylearner:
My inverter just got toast(burnt)from thunder... no surge protector.

I'm planning to fix the inverter and install surge protector...

What is the best way to install surge protector :

Between the Charge Controller and panel
Between the inverter Ac output and house load
Between the inverter Ac input (to charge the battery) and Nepa...

Please I would need your advice.

#Oga Niyi
# Oga Casar
# Oga mctfopt
# The other Ogas

I see I'm mentioned here, do you have a good earth, and thunder arrestor installed in the location?

Valto:
good morning house.. abeg does anyone know about this sorotec hybrid inverter. its has touchscreen display.

http://www.sorotecups.com/product-detail/on-grid-off-grid-hybrid-inverter/

I can't really talk of this their hybrid, but I can talk of Sorotec as a brand. Their inverters I've seen so far are ok and pretty decent. Though not premium, but quality is ok.

lainwords098:
thats a lot of ginger i must confess

chibu4u2:
That's a whole lot of orders..........u get mind oh. Ordered this much and you're yet to receive any.

You gotta do what you gonna do.

I just want to ginger my fellow AE peeps. There is still light at the end of that tunnel and I guarantee it ain't a train travelling at 540km/h

Below are a list of items with date ordered from aliexpress that I am yet to get:

Item 1

---

Order Date: 14 April 2020
Shipped by AE through AE standard shipping
Aliexpress Tracking Status: Order Completed
Buyer Protection Days Remaining: 6

Item 2

---

Order Date: 2nd May 2020
Shipped by AE through AE standard shipping
Aliexpress Tracking Status: Order Completed
Buyer Protection Days Remaining: 27

Item 3

---

Order Date: 4th May 2020
Shipped by AE through AE standard shipping
Aliexpress Tracking Status: Order Completed
Buyer Protection Days Remaining: 26

Item 4

---

Order Date: 12th May 2020
Shipped by AE through AE standard shipping
Aliexpress Tracking Status: Departed Country of Origin
Buyer Protection Days Remaining: 34

Item 5

---

Order Date: 13th May 2020
Shipped by AE through AE standard shipping
Aliexpress Tracking Status: Departed Country of Origin
Buyer Protection Days Remaining: 34

Item 6

---

Order Date: 16th May 2020
Shipped by AE through AE standard shipping
Aliexpress Tracking Status: Departed Country of Origin
Buyer Protection Days Remaining: 42

Item 7

---

Order Date: 30th May 2020
Shipped by AE through AE standard shipping
Aliexpress Tracking Status: Departed Country of Origin
Buyer Protection Days Remaining: 54

Item 8

---

Order Date: 28th June 2020
Shipped by AE through AE standard shipping
Aliexpress Tracking Status: Departed Country of Origin
Buyer Protection Days Remaining: 82

and finally

Item 9

---

Order Date: 28th June 2020
Shipped by AE through AE standard shipping
Aliexpress Tracking Status: Departed Country of Origin
Buyer Protection Days Remaining: 81

I am still hopeful that I will get 'em all

tonididdy:
Thanks bro.
This "unsuccessful delivery" will appear on track24 ?

Yes

tonididdy:
Good morning pros.
I am newbie shopper.
Please how do nipost make contacts... Via calls or text or both?
What if I missed their calls. Will I receive a text?

They use text and call. Sometimes they use one of them, or both. Always check your tracking number online, once you see "unsuccessful delivery" just know that your item is in your local post office.

akpunda86:
Pls guys i ordered for a large quantity of items going 100days i no see.This for an urgent job.if i buy in alaba i might spend close to 600k but client now on my neck.im regretting using ali express.

Guys how can i hasten it if i want a refund is it 100%.i wana source money and buy in alaba.
Thanks guys
My first time horrible

If it's up to 90 days and tracking still shows you are yet to get it, open dispute. You'll very likely win the dispute and get refunded. Refund takes up to 3 to 20 business days. Best way to ship things that are needed in a hurry is to use DHL, UPS or FedEx

dapsyra:
I was well within the Voc limit of the CC. It was the amps rating that I exceed.

I tried to use the Powmr CC to transfer energy from a 60V, 520AH Lithium battery to charge a 24V, 200AH Lithium battery expecting the CC to self limit the charging current to the rated 60A. It didn't. Due to the low internal resistance of both Lithium batteries, the charging current spiked beyond the ability of the CC and out comes the magic smoke. I didn't get to see how high the current went before the smoke but it was less than two minute after I started the process.

Mind you, I have always done same with Midnight Classic CCs.

Will love to see this experiment repeated, but with a Makeskyblue. Who can donate to this noble cause?

ceaser:
Oooshey! Tuale.

Lol. How is the PV doing? Good to see my fellow from the green side here

holyboss1:
This is quite informative.
Unfortunately the $60 does not include shipping.

How do you guys go about acquiring items that sell cheap, but has a high shipping fee?

The item in question costs less than $50 on Aliexpress but ships for $111 at the very least.

Does anyone know of any credible forwarder that can receive it cheaply and forward of at a reasonable price?

People that buy such usually do it in bulk and ship via sea. Getting a cheap and credible forwarder is just what makes the difference and that is where the real deal can be found. Unfortunately, I don't know of a great forwarder to recommend as it is almost like looking for a needle in a haystack. That does not mean it's impossible to find, it's just difficult. But if you look hard enough you may just see one.

holyboss1:
Hi guys, it's my first time with aliexpress.
I found a product there selling for $21 but ships for $111.

So I went on Alibaba and found the same item for $60 including shipping cost.

I am however skeptical about alibaba because I have never used it. Is the shipping/order processing similar to that of Alixpress?

Chat with the seller to actually verify that the $60 is inclusive of shipping to Nigeria, and that they can sell only ONE piece of the item. Many times the sellers are reluctant to sell just a piece even when they stated MOQ (minimum order quantity) of 1. I've bought one piece of item from Alibaba, but I had to chat with seller first and seller asked how many I was buying (seller actually has MOQ as 1) and it had to take some convincing to get seller to sell that 1 and also we negotiated shipping price before the deal was sealed. Alibaba sellers are a different specimen of sellers, most of shady ones will want you to take the conversation to WeChat or WhatsApp (you will have no evidence if deal goes south if you agree), always insist you have neither so all communication will be on the Alibaba portal, also only pay with Trade Assurance order so that you will have buyer's protection, the payment methods include:

1) Credit Card
2) TT
3) Online Bank Payment
4) Online Transfer
5) Western Union
6) Pay Later (for only US citizens suspended for now due to the world's economic downturn brought by Covid19)
7) Boleto

Note: If you pay via a method not on the list or directly
to supplier's personal account, the order will NOT be
protected by Alibaba.com Trade Assurance service.


Alibaba in my opinion is more flexible, I've gotten a seller to locally source for items not in their store and the seller was able to do that for me saving me extra cost in shipping that item from other stores as the seller consolidated the items. You just have to be patient to negotiate, get them to send you a PI (proforma invoice) take some time to source dollar (for big dollar payment you can always approach bank to dollars with the PI, bank can then wire to an account produced by Alibaba to effect the payment). I think it's fun to do all these

FYI: majority of sellers prefers shipping to a forwarder in China. The reason is simple, they get to get their money very fast. So get used to saying "I don't have a forwarder in China" when chatting with them about shipping and they ask, " Do you have a forwarder in China?"