₦airaland Forum

Got a Feb 15 order today

NIPOST is working

chuksp09:
Hello guyz.... What does this mean please?
I ordered from AliExpress to a lagos address, is there a reason its showing Ibadan?
P.s. it seems they used Fedx to ship the item.

The package with the tracking number you have was picked up in Ibadan. Contact your seller and ask why that should happen. If they did not give any concrete reason (eg they mixed up your tracking number with another buyer in Nigeria and then proceed to give you YOUR tracking number) open dispute. This is enough ground for AE to return your money.

monopolistic:
I get your point.you mention 12v 200ah battery and each alone cost 150k naira both cost 300k naira..you see why am confused.

Which of this inverter you think is better and will preserve battery life.

Can you kindly list all what i might need so i can buy them on jumia.
Thanks

Two of them are ok makes. Buy whichever one you like. But if I'm buying, I may actually buy the Microtek based on the price and it been a higher capacity.

monopolistic:
Hello @Mctfopt
I tried sending you a pm but i think i can ask here,

This is my first time trying to buy inverter,.

what advise would you give a novice to avoid future regret, Budget is 300k for everything.

Got some options on jumia but it got me confused more .

Appliances are freezer and Tv with a 95kwh.

Thanks in Advance.

Not really good in giving market prices of goods especially after the lockdown as there has been series of upward review of prices after. Reasons are increased shipping costs, rise in price of dollar (dollar was at 390 and below, today it ranges between 420 to 460), etc.

But I think you'll require to buy an 1.5kva to 2kva pure sinewave inverters of any of the following: Microtek, Luminous, Sukam, Genus, Mopower, etc. I guess you'll need also two 12v 200ah deep cycle batteries. Is the 95kwh energy you stated the energy consumption per day, month or year? Or you mean 95w? Anyways I always advise someone venturing into renewable energy to forget powering loads such as fridges and freezers (and concentrate on low loads such as lightning, low energy fans, low energy TV's, etc) unless the public supply is really good or that the person has the next best thing- solar panels incorporated.

Jove2012:
Thanks @mctfopt & @ojeysky

which solar charge controller can you recommend?

Based on past performance, I'll recommend Makeskyblue mppt SCC

Mrviktor:
Is aliexpress naira exchange rate correct or will bank debit what they want.
They are using 389. For 1 dollar

GTB 13TH MAY RATE N420.84/$
Access Bank 13th May Rate N445/$

Jove2012:
Good evening all, I will appreciate if I can get answers to the following:

1). Those 1.5kva UPS has the same capacity with 1.5kva inverter?

2). Can 1.5kva UPS carry energy saving freezer (200w) ?

3). How can I fix bad solar battery (I picked an old solar battery from someone. He stopped using it about 10 years ago cause he relocated to a place with stable electricity and didn't see the need to use it again. I guess the battery got spoilt in the process of abandonment) ?

4). Can a solar panel of 40w change a solar battery of 100ah successful without using solar charge controller?

Thanks for your anticipated positive response

1) Yes, but the UPS is built for short backup, hence may lack some cooling features that inverter has on default.

2) Yes, again.

3) If you have the time and resources why not give it a try. First get a meter and check the voltage left. Then try trickle charging it, that is charge it with little charge current. What have you got to lose? Nothing. Worse case scenario battery is dead, and you can still sell the dead battery for some cool cash

4) Yes, but the issue will be the duration it will take, hence if a 40w. If you assume 6 hours of sunshine, the total energy produced is 240wh. Assuming your battery is discharged by 50% you will need to charge back 50ah in 6 hours (this is 600wh). That means it will take your solar panel of 40w about 15hours or roughly three days to charge the 100ah battery. But using a 250w panel, as suggested by ojesky, will significantly lower the time it will take to recharge that battery.

FYI: It is not recommended to charge any battery with solar without using a charge controller. Check the name again CHARGE CONTROLLER, it controls the charging of your battery, you don't want your expensive battery to be either overcharged or undercharged, hence the reason it is important to get one of those. If you buy a good one, you won't be buying it again in years, with all things being equal.

essegis:
Guys e don land oo. Fully on site now. Too bad I'm stuck at work for a couple of long weeks. Can't get to working it till I'm done.

Congratulations. You got yourself some serious LFP.

akpunda86:
Y a poly panel while many good quality monos are in the market

Well, you can buy anyone you see. The difference between the two these days are almost unnoticeable due to technological advancements in their production.

contumely2:
I hate the sound of generator. I have one but don't like using it.

Which small solar set up can I get for just charging of phones, laptops and fan?

I always get confused each time I check because of too many options and paid reviews. This is worsened by the fact that I am not in Lagos.

I would have gone for the mtn lumous but the reviews are bad.

I need practical real life experience please.
Like solar brand, pwm or mppt brand, battery etc

Marketers stay off.

I see I'm tagged. Cool. I think you can make do with two 250w poly solar panel and one 200ah battery with a 1kva pure sinewave inverter. You can get a 30A or 40A MPPT solar charge controller. There is a marketer with awesome reviews that you can contact. His profile is this
https://www.nairaland.com/justcallmenuel ie justcallmenuel
Feel free to check him up and decide by yourself if you like what you see.

FYI: I'm not in any way affiliated with him, only recommending him based on positive reviews I've seen and his apparent cheap pricing. In this business, you must use a marketer to get your stuff, unless of course you know your way to Alaba Las Gidi

idris4r83:
i don't know why anytime i hear inverter connected to a fridge, AC or any other heavy appliances and no solar panels connected i usually feel the person that invested his money n the installer may be disappointed at the long run.

True, especially in location with little power public supply.

DUNKA:
Guru's for a dedicated inverter room in a duplex where is the best place for locating the room downstairs or upstairs?

I'll say downstairs. It'll be cooler given that there is usually roof upstairs and even with ceiling that place is usually hotter without artificial cooling. Also if the system is going to be run with lead acid batteries, you are better off having all that load downstairs. Once saw a 20-battery 200ah upstairs in a location that later cracked the deck. It's an old building though and may not have been built with such load in view.

ewizard1:
766kw is high ooo. 200ah is just the capacity. The craziness is in the burst energy, I watched a YT video where it did over 300A on dead short without killing itself. They would be very good for High Drain applications.

He said 766kwh/year consumption ie total energy consumed in a year, not 766kw load.

essegis:
Pack cost me 265k to ship down. They were not unbundled though so I cannot give the price for unbundled.

Shipping via sea would've been cheaper but it will take time. But since time=money the expense is worth it


Edit: didn't see the attached image, stuff did weigh like almost 190kg and it was shipped via sea! But some freight forwarder in China (if the goods are in China) would've done it cheaper but it will waste time.

essegis:
Since you know much about headway will a 200ah set up carry a freezer? I don't mind turning off the freezer at night while I run security lights.

See specs of freezer below......essentially 766kwh/yr

766kwh/year is approximately 88w which is not bad for a freezer, and 200ah @12v is 2.4kwh which theoretically translates to 27hours if you are running only the freezer, but in reality, you will get fewer hours due to losses in conversion efficiency, pf of the inverter, battery efficiency, etc

ojeysky:
So which one is currently in active service? If it's the 48v, can you sell the 24v to me while you place another order (since it's for backup)?

24v in service

ojeysky:
It's really a pain, I think I am going to start buying my parts in multiple pairs so whenever DIY users needs something I have they can get it faster, I hope other DIY LFP users can do the same. So instead of ordering a single BMS from AliExpress, order 2 or 3, that way someone who can't wait for AliExpress can pick it off you at a reasonable price margin.

I did same, bought BMS for both 24v and 48v, so I won't be stuck if I need to go to either system.

essegis:
I'm really interested in an alternate way of shipping things down from China oo, especially the ones that don't go through post office.

Freight forwarders or the good old FedEx and DHL

saint2ace:
When did spectranet change their website from www.spectranet.com.ng

I smell a rat, be careful guys

Even the attached picture has the real website

ojeysky:
Anyone with 8s of this active balancer for sale?

That's the problem with LFP, sourcing parts here is kinda tough. Our Alaba bros do not want to delve into it as it is quite new to them and they don't understand it and the market for it is low.

essegis:
I got these particular ones from Tech Direct on eBay, though I hear they are also called Big Battery. It was later I saw the ones being offered by Batteryhookup.com, almost same price as these. If I still had cash I would have bought from them also but I got my 38120 cells from them.

My only regret now is I should have coughed up some extra cash and done the gen 2 of the Nissan Leaf batteries. Those are from newer model cars with better percentage life in them. My thinking then was since I was going into a new adventure I should thread gently. If I know what I know now I for just go all in.

Funny thing, with everything I bought I haven't still much surpassed the budget if I was to go for Lead Acid batteries. So I think those guys saying its almost same price in the long run are correct. Although, when COVID-19 is over and I start acquiring all the additives like BMS and charger it will become higher than the Lead Acid budget.

This is an awesome adventure. It appears you bought different types of LFPs, are they for different project or you just want to have a feel of all of 'em? You can buy your BMS and charger and use DHL or FedEx to ship 'em if you won't mind the cost. They appear to be the only postal agency working efficiently at this Covid19 era.

essegis:
Even for top balancing I will still have to parallel them. Only difference will be a charge would be applied to them as against discharge when it's bottom balancing.

As for the cells they are rated at 66AH, 500WH. But these cells are not new and they being used initially in an electric car one does not know the condition they are coming with. Though seller sold at 65% capacity and a lot of folks have been getting that or higher.

Did you source from battery hookup? Impressive pack you've got. I prefer top balancing.

ceaser:
They are the Chinese company that Tesla have partnered with to provide them lithium for their new line of electric vehicles. This is because CATL LFPs are cheaper to manufacture than 18/65/0s and are a lot safer. BMW uses CATL cells in their e-volt lineup.

My most recent factory LFP pack acquisition are the same CATL cells straight from the same manufacturer that supplies Tesla.

I once get a seller that claimed he supplies Tesla batteries

But the truth is Tesla sources his battery from China. Even the so-called Fortune cell LFP batteries are all sourced in China and better packaged and sold at a higher price than similar batteries in China. For now, Chinese are doing well in the LFP industry. The cool thing is if you know how to source, the difference between it and lead acid battery is not that much in terms of price. But in terms of performance, they are a world apart. Truth is I regretted all the lead acid experience, poor charging, occupies more space, and generally dies before you could recover from your expenses, etc in my opinion. Anyways, lithium is the energy storage of the future, guess it'll keep getting safer, and of course cheaper, as the technology advances. But this is my goodbye to lead acid, it has been fun while it lasted.

NiyiOmoIyunade:
Certainly a match made in heaven.

You have to use/own a good quality LFP bank to understand what I am talking about.

The right combination makes LFP the dream.

Lordsinger:
Goodmorning family...
I have been intending to do some major high appliance / equipments shopping such as atleast 2units of 10kg washing machines.
Now, the problem is that the products i have seen and wish to purchase has an MOQ above my purchase limit.
I tried chatting the seller on Alibaba app and he referred me to chat him up on wechat, which I dont feel exactly comfortable with because of fraud and dispute purposes.

It's my first time, I need guidance on how to purchase and ship my favs to my school post office (FUTO).
...jah bless...

Don't you think that this washing machine will be cheaper here in Nigeria especially when you factor in the shipping cost plus time it'll get here?

But if you really want to buy the type you see there, keep chatting different sellers. Alibaba hates to see buyers buying only a piece, even when they have boldly written MOQ as 1. It's funny when they ask you how many you are buying when they have MOQ as 1 and act surprised when you say one. The best way is to use a third party forwarder as they can charge you very high if you allow the seller to do the shipping. Eg one Alibaba seller charged me $269 for something that weighs 5kg.

As usual do your own research while looking for this freight forwarder agents.

ojeysky:
Post offices in my state was on lock and key until this week that they are opening 3 times a week, having not yet received a call planning to check on them by next week.

That's a little progress, the truth is we should learn to live with Covid19. The bitter pill to swallow is that Covid19 is here to stay until a vaccine or cure is gotten.

ojeysky:
50mm cable? Wow that must be quite heavy, yeah BMS still on the way without clarity on when it will arrive...... Very unpredictable time we are in.

But post offices are working, just not at full capacity. I just wish they should prioritize post. Even in NYC, the epicenter of the Covid19 pandemic in the US, the post still works efficiently. But in Nigeria, things are usually upside down

ojeysky:
Lol.....I guess this is a 200AH LFP right? 0.5C is not bad....mine is limited by 60A BMS installed in it (and my current charger)....I may be unpacking in future when my ANT BMS arrives and GK comes back alive.
What's the cable size you have from the controller to the battery?

Oh, that's 50mm² the LFP is 280AH. Oh, your ANT BMS still enroute? Cool.

bigrovar:
Congrats.. keenly watching and taking notes

Thanks a lot.

TOPAI7:
Congratulations

Thanks man.

bigrovar:
Which is true but still very very expensive, an expensive experiment which often time ends up in failure.. You know why? Lithium is very very complicated and has many component all of which have to work just right. Lithium has very little margin of error in setup.. You have to get the right cell from the right cell maker, you have to ensure the cells are well balanced, you have to get the right BMS, right charger sometimes the right inverter.. One mistake and poof all goes up in smoke.. and they often do more often than not you just don't hear that part in the songs

Many on here have dipped their hands in lithium and gotten burned badly and suffer their loses in silence.. You will hear them throwing specs like 3000 cycles at 80% dod lol.. what u don't here is the case where the bank (if you are lucky) just stop working after like a year.. They just stop..

Lithium is the future no doubt.. Just waiting for the dust to settle.. maybe when reputable chinese solar maker like episolar start doing lithium then you can take a cue that it is time to give it a look. for now I will advise wait for the second iteration before you look that way

Too late to wait. I'm enjoying LFP already and I doubt I'll ever go back to lead acid

I love watching 100A flow into em banks and get it floating before 2 hours. Even if it fails tomorrow, it's been nice rocking it.

bigrovar:
Yeah, so can AGM.. I am still 4 years away from getting LFP. I am still not sold on it yet. The tech is still too bleeding edge and expensive for now.. a 140AH pylon setup would cost close to 1.4m (at N360/$) If I spend N500k on 4 Quanta batteries I would get 400A which would serve me for 4 years of diligent use.. I can then turn the 900k to dollars and put it in a eurobond account for the life time of the Quanta (4 years) by 2024.. my dollar investment would of grown.. Lithium batteries would have gotten better and cheaper and I might still be able to buy the cheaper more efficient and more capacity lithium from the eurobond investment. Economics of Lithium doesn't work for me .. yet.

Yeah, that makes sense too. LFP of that make is still expensive. Most DIYers are mostly rocking the cheaper options.

bigrovar:
Good old, stone age tech called Flooded Acid Exide Tubular to be exact. The 90A is what the controller can push out at peak not what goes into battery. The battery usually take 60A max thanks to a carefully designed system of opportunity loads and a shallow discharge that prevents a prolong charging process. system is 24v battery capacity is 400AH

Oh I see. If LFP it can take all.