Waiting, Waiting, Waiting for Lithium from Balqon...

[senormechanico]

We ordered 8 400 aH LiFeP04 cells from Balqon for our home's backup power supply in late June.
Balqon said there was a 6 week wait for delivery, which was fine with us.
As we were going on vacation for 5 weeks, we didn't want to miss the delivery so we said we would notify them upon our return.
We returned from vacation on August 1st and immediately called them.
Steven Perez at Balqon said it would be mid September when the cells would be delivered.
We had expected immediate delivery upon return.

HUH??

I have gotten tired of trying to get in touch either by phone or email, as they don't respond for several days or sometimes not at all.

As per the "Terms and Conditions" at the time of the order, we sent two checks, each 50% of the total. The first check was cashed immediately, the second has not been cashed.

There was no provision for credit card purchases at the time of the order.

Has anyone had this experience with Balqon?
It sure doesn't feel good from here.

[Wraith_Mac]

Senormechanico,
Have you had any luck with Balqon yet?
Cheers,
Mac

[roetter]

I had similar experiences with Balqon. Sometimes they are quick and then nothing happens. I have not figured out why and when.

I had ordered 8 250Ah cells which was a long process in itself. Strangely enough the cells arrived quickly once my check arrived there. I tested the cells and they turned out to deliver only 180Ah. These cells were overstock of a special design for a customer. I was worried that a claim would not lead to anything. However, we agreed with Balqon that they would send me 8 160Ah free off charge and I would pay for the shipping. Process went along quickly These cells delivered 183Ah. Worked great in the end.

I am now in the process of ordering some 700Ah cells, and at times nothing happens.

Try to contact Balwinder Samra <samra-at-balqon-dot-com>. He was the one who rescued my attempts twice.

[senormechanico]

GOOD NEWS !

I finally found the email link to the CEO.
He got things worked out very quickly with a personal phone call.
We had a good conversation for about 20 minutes, and he encouraged me to keep in touch with him personally if I had any more questions or concerns.

His explanations about orders from China for these batteries are tough to get as LI has become so popular that only the huge factory orders are getting filled. Balqon's are apparently relatively small compared to some industrial orders.

He promised to fix the bugs and get my shipment out quickly.
Without going into too many details, let's just say we got "upgraded".
In about a week, we're expecting delivery of our bank of cells.

I'll post more when they arrive.

Fingers crossed...

[senormechanico]

This afternoon we got a delivery date and tracking number.

We should see the cells in a week.

[Wraith_Mac]

Originally Posted by senormechanico

This afternoon we got a delivery date and tracking number.

We should see the cells in a week.

That's good news mate,
I've also heard elsewhere that huge 'industrial' orders are being processed in China from most of the large suppliers.
So much for those who keep pushing the POV that LiFePo4 is some sort of backroom industry.
Hope they are worth the wait.
Cheers,
Mac

[senormechanico]

I have NO doubt they're worth the wait.
My boat's been equipped with a 200 aH bank for nearly 2 years.
The difference is amazing.

[Wraith_Mac]

Originally Posted by senormechanico

I have NO doubt they're worth the wait.
My boat's been equipped with a 200 aH bank for nearly 2 years.
The difference is amazing.

Me neither in principle, I'm very pro LiFePo4, I was referring to those particular cells and your long wait.
Cheers,
Mac

[senormechanico]

Cells arrived. 700 ah instead of 400 to make up for the problems encountered.

I equalized them by top balancing according to Winston's directions provided to me by a pm from Wraith Mac.

The CEO of Balqon and I had a good phone conversation.
He took full responsibility for the snafu.
Bottom line, I'd order again from these folks.

Steve B.

[Wraith_Mac]

Well done Steve,
Upgrade 400 to 700, that's the sort of 'kiss and make up' only a really good company would do.
We're very pleased for you,
Mac & Kat

[senormechanico]

After connecting them all in parallel, I used my power supply to bring them up to 4.00 volts as recommended by the Winston initial charging instructions.
I then disconnected the charger, but left all cells connected in parallel.
16 hours later, they're sitting at 3.72 volts.

[dlentz]

Good to hear, I also had a good experience with Balqon. When I needed a replacement cell (my fault) they shipped one quickly and charged me the original price I had paid, as opposed to the higher price at the time.
dwain

Phone calls and emails were problematic though.

[senormechanico]

The phone and email problems were top of my list when I spoke with the CEO.

He took responsibility for it and said he'd fix it.

After seeing how the problem was solved, I'm confident they mean well and I'd order again from them.