Question: Should I buy from my home country (UK) or is it worth buying from overseas for example China where most Lithium batteries seem to be manufactured these days.
I was not paid by any of the companies mentioned in this article nor did they provide the batteries free. The choice was entirely my own and purchased from my own funds.
It seems like a good idea to “cut out the middle man” is it worth it?
The main issue is the price. Buying from China has to be cheaper “like for like” or it isn’t worth doing. The risks you take mean that if something goes wrong then it can be costly to return especially if the supplier isn’t supportive or helpful.
The first problem you may find.
“But the Alibaba Price is only to get your attention sir”
There are numerous locations were you could find a supplier. One of the easiest is Alibaba. However, be warned! I contacted a few suppliers and found that the prices shown on Alibaba are NOT the prices you will be asked to pay. As one supplier said to me “our price on Alibaba is to catch your eye” meaning, its not real its only to get your attention. At the time of writing I would say almost all listings were not genuine prices.
How to find a reputable Chinese supplier?
There are many small companies in China buying cells and making Lithium Batteries. Basically they buy the cells from a supplier (grade A and sometimes grade B cells) add a generic BMS (Battery Management System or circuit-board) to build a battery, its not too difficult. Some are good some are not good.
So how do you know which supplier to select? Look at the size of the company, number of employees and also the manufacturing capabilities. I found one company that manufactured their own cells and also produced their own BMS circuitry. This level of manufacturing is far out of reach of the smaller companies. In fact I found most lithium battery companies were using a generic BMS circuit-board ie one that is for sale to various battery manufacturers. I ended up finding two large companies, both looked very capable but I couldn’t decide which was best, so I bought from both companies.
How do you know if the battery is going to be any good?
To be honest you dont know until it arrives and you have used it for a period of time. You can reduce the risk of buying overseas by buying a battery from a reputable supplier and a battery that has good cells, however, its just as important that the internal construction is of the highest quality ie the area you cannot see!
These are the companies that were selected
I have a friend that was also building a camper-van and required batteries. The original idea was to buy the batteries from one supplier but then we had an idea. Why not buy from two suppliers and see which is best?
Here are the suppliers we used: Meritsun (Guangzhou China) and LithTech (Shenzhen China).
Guangzhou Meritech Power Co.Ltd.
Address:Room B213, B215, Building 196-208, Xin Guangcong Rd., Guangcong 2nd Rd., Baiyun Dist, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. +86-20-3659 5615
https://www.meritsunpower.com/
LithTech: Room 711,Building B, Zhihui Innovation Center, Xixiang Street, Bao’an District, Shenzhen. +86-755-23772509 / 86-15013751033
More information about Meritsun and LithTech can be found on this website, see the column on the right-hand side to view each company or click the links below.