Winston battery supplier?

[poiu]

I've got a dead cell, with 0.7v. A 700Ah unit. A complete mystery what went wrong. Maybe it just died after a few months disconnected. It's an ex Balqon cell, so not with a pristine heritage. It maybe the Housepower BMS I was using that went awry. Anyway, beyond the help of any defibrilator or life support regime.

Where can I get a replacement please, capable of quick delivery to the Caribbean?

[dlentz]

Last I heard Battery Management Systems | Lithium batteries | Power Inverters | Mining Equipment | BMS equipment | Electric EV products had some, but it's been a while.
Did you, by chance, leave the BMS connected while stored?

[poiu]

Originally Posted by dlentz

Last I heard Battery Management Systems | Lithium batteries | Power Inverters | Mining Equipment | BMS equipment | Electric EV products had some, but it's been a while.
Did you, by chance, leave the BMS connected while stored?

Thanks. Their website says it is not in stock, but I sent an email just in case.

I disconnected the BMS whilst away, but the cell terminal units were still bolted down.

[travellerw]

I have been dealing with a company in China called "evlithium". They have been very prompt to my questions and overall good service. I haven't placed an order with them yet, but most likely will.

If you need to import it from China they might be an option for you.

[CarstenWL]

If you need to import it from China they might be an option for you.

AFAIK LiFePO4 chemistry is no longer allowed to be shipped by air so will take some time to arrive in the Caribbean ...

No stock on the 700Ah cells with the 2 largest European distributors also (and you would still have the shipping problem)

Wish you good luck to find a cell quickly!

Carsten

[TheThunderbird]

Try GWL (CZ)

[Caribdis]

Here's one from GWL. Haven't bought from them yet, but have been in touch with them, good response. Excellent website too. Tried to convince them to set up a distributorship in US, no luck yet.

https://www.ev-power.eu/Winston-300A...hparam=winston

[travellerw]

GWL would not ship outside the EU.


evlithium quoted me 25 days by sea to St. Lucia.

[Maine Sail]

Try Brennan at Voltronix. Last I recall he had some 700Ah cells in stock in the US.

Voltronix cells are Winston cells in a green case.

For long term storage your cells should be disconnected from the BMS and cell boards, as well as sitting a 40% to 60% +/- SOC

[poiu]

Originally Posted by travellerw

I have been dealing with a company in China called "evlithium". They have been very prompt to my questions and overall good service. I haven't placed an order with them yet, but most likely will.

If you need to import it from China they might be an option for you.

I tried them. They can't ship by air. 60 days by sea though.

[boom23]

I bought mine (Winston 700ah) from Balqon in Harbor City, California, five years ago. It seems that they might have declared bankruptcy.
About a year ago, I found Chinese suppliers of Winston cells at Alibaba.com.

China is probably your best bet.

Some more info for you... Good luck.

[poiu]

Originally Posted by travellerw

I have been dealing with a company in China called "evlithium". They have been very prompt to my questions and overall good service. I haven't placed an order with them yet, but most likely will.

If you need to import it from China they might be an option for you.

Thanks. I contacted them. They say they can't ship by air from China. By sea only and maybe 60 days in transit.

[hellosailor]

I think you will find the current air carrier policies mean no air shipment, so you are left with three choices:

Sail to the US or other mainland, if you can source a cell that matches 5+ year old one well enough

Wait 1-3 months for slow boat, again if what you can source is a match

Rig a kludge: Maybe a string of 100A or 200A cells in parallel to replace that one cell, until you can obtain a proper replacement. Or some other equally unhappy but functional kludge for 1-3 months.

I don't think these were ever popular outside of commercial traction solutions, unlikely to be found in the islands.

[poiu]

Originally Posted by CarstenWL

AFAIK LiFePO4 chemistry is no longer allowed to be shipped by air so will take some time to arrive in the Caribbean ...

No stock on the 700Ah cells with the 2 largest European distributors also (and you would still have the shipping problem)

Wish you good luck to find a cell quickly!

Carsten

It seems to be the case. I can't get anyone positive about air freight.

Originally Posted by Caribdis

Here's one from GWL. Haven't bought from them yet, but have been in touch with them, good response. Excellent website too. Tried to convince them to set up a distributorship in US, no luck yet.

https://www.ev-power.eu/Winston-300A...hparam=winston

I tried them, they are out of stock.

Originally Posted by Maine Sail

Try Brennan at Voltronix. Last I recall he had some 700Ah cells in stock in the US.

Voltronix cells are Winston cells in a green case.

For long term storage your cells should be disconnected from the BMS and cell boards, as well as sitting a 40% to 60% +/- SOC

Thanks. I emailed, waiting a response, but their website shows no stock.

I may have made a mistake leaving the cell boards connected. They are not easy to disconnect. 16 bolts to remove and re-torque. I could look for a slow current drain on the suspect cell board to try to identify the fault? The cell could also have died a natural death as I don't know its history and it could have had a hard life.

Originally Posted by hellosailor

I think you will find the current air carrier policies mean no air shipment, so you are left with three choices:

Sail to the US or other mainland, if you can source a cell that matches 5+ year old one well enough

Wait 1-3 months for slow boat, again if what you can source is a match

Rig a kludge: Maybe a string of 100A or 200A cells in parallel to replace that one cell, until you can obtain a proper replacement. Or some other equally unhappy but functional kludge for 1-3 months.

I don't think these were ever popular outside of commercial traction solutions, unlikely to be found in the islands.

After a few days now it looks like I can just about manage with 7. I have to run at the top 30% of the capacity range to keep the volts up, but so far everything works, just not quite as well as it should. I am probably in for a long wait. Daily genset runs will needed.

[hellosailor]

IATA - Contact IATA Cargo

IATA can be contacted directly. Folks in the shipping business, even in the hazmat departments, are often uncertain of the rules but IATA *makes* them, and also has links to them online, supposedly.