Panasonic Batteries 24v 17.5 Ah £110

[tillson]

This follows on from El Campiero's Bosch battery find and Hugh's post in the same thread regarding Panasonic batteries. I thought that splitting off a Panasonic thread might be appropriate, especially as this battery was used on earlier machines which could now be 5 - 6 years old and the owners, like me, could looking to replace their battery. The 16 Ah batteries are currently on sale with UK suppliers for £500, so this 17.5 Ah battery at just over £100 interests me.

My genuine Panasonic battery is 5 1/2 years old and has done about 16000 miles. It still easily manages my 20 mile round trip commute, so if it fails tomorrow, I will feel as though I've had good value from it.

So to China, the17.5 Ah Panasonic replacement batteries cost approx £108 with a listed min order quantity of 1. They supposedly use Samsung cells, offer a 1 year warranty, accept PayPal (some buyer protection?).

There are a few risks to factor in though, they might be rubbish, import duty, dealing with an unknown supplier, claiming on the 1 yr warranty, knackering my bike, knackering my charger, setting fire to the house.

http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Replacement-panasonic-24v-25-2v-26v_1611593662.html?s=p (sorry don't know how to do the embedded link thing on the new forum)

All of the above considered, if I CAN buy a single unit, I'm going to take a punt. Off to contact Mr AlanYang now. I will report back. Any thoughts from anyone reading the battery Spec?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Definitely worth a punt. Even if the cells are cheap counterfeit ones, at 17.5 aH, they won't have to work very hard.

 

[lowmtr]

I could be interested in taking a punt on one of these as well. I'm a newbie here. I had a quick search but I presume nobody has tacked restocking an existing battery pack with samsung cells? I presume the battery management is the challenge?

 

[tillson]

I have been exchanging email messages with Alan Yang at Fine Dragon Technologies. They will sell these 17.5 Ah batteries for approx £108 each. However, the shipping cost is killing the deal at the moment (£90). I think this is something to do with the battery setting the plane on fire as it makes it's way from China to Blighty.

£200 plus possible import tax / fees is a little too much to punt on a totally unknown item. I would say that there is a 50% chance the battery will be a crock of...... This also negates the 12 month warranty as the T&Cs state the return is at the buyer's expense. If I can do something about reducing that £90 shipping charge, I will still take a chance, if only out of interest.

 

[dmsims]

I wanted to buy a 20Kg Ali case from HK - got them to send it sea freight which was 1/3 the cost of air - took seven weeks mind!

 

[tillson]

This has turned out to be a non-starting idea. The shipping costs are prohibitively high and they won't ship by surface. Battery + shipping + tax leaves the total cost within £80 of some of the German dealers. For me it would make no sense to buy an unknown product at this price.

I have a friend who owns a factory in China. I will explore the possibility of purchasing the battery from within China and then think of a way to get it out of the country, but for now it's a dead duck.

I'd be interested to hear how El Campiero is getting on with the Bosch battery from the same factory.

 

[Kenny]

Came across this on ebay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/E-BIKE-AKKU-BATTERIE-26V-17600mAh-fur-Kalkhoff-Raleigh-Kettler-i-SY-26-System-/371027813230?pt=Fahrrad_Schuhe&hash=item5662fb236e

Seems an awful large mark up, if it's the same battery!

 

[tillson]

Came across this on ebay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/E-BIKE-AKKU-BATTERIE-26V-17600mAh-fur-Kalkhoff-Raleigh-Kettler-i-SY-26-System-/371027813230?pt=Fahrrad_Schuhe&hash=item5662fb236e

Seems an awful large mark up, if it's the same battery!

It seems to be the shipping costs which add to the total price of the battery. When I looked into it, Battery + Shipping wasn't far off that eBay price which you have linked to above. Add on possible tax and the two prices are even closer.

Both options carry a risk in terms of customer service in the event of a faulty battery, but I would say that the eBay battery from The Fatherland carries less risk than the one supplied by Alan Yang off Alibaba in China.

In the UK a 16 Ah battery seems to sell for about £500, but you get UK support for your extra outlay. Would that be a better experience than dealing with the German seller and is it worth it? I don't know.

 

[richardbwe]

I am interested in one of these 24 volt Panasonic equivalent batteries from Alan Yang (aka Alan Young) of "Fine Dragon Technologies" (via Alibaba) listed as having
1.Model: GD-PAN-E25.2B
2.Cell Type:18650 Samsung Li-ion
3.Nominal Voltage: 24V / 25.2V / 26V
4.Rated Capacity:17.6Ah (0.5C2A discharge)
etc.
He tells me the MOQ is 20 but the wesite says 1, so I have queried that.
Presumably if several of us clubbed together the shipping cost would be much less?

 

[richardbwe]

Ah well, forget it. He confirms the MOQ as 20 saying they are a factory, not a retailer.