Replacement 36V 16AH LiFePO4 batteries?

NRG

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 6, 2009
2,592
10
WU offers you no protection what-so-ever, the seller could run away with your money and you would have zero come back....do not pay by WU.
 

bazwaldo

Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2010
219
21
Thanks for your warning NRG.
What alternatives are there which would minimise the cost of money transfer?

Barry.
 

NRG

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 6, 2009
2,592
10
Unless its via paypal or a secure credit card payment portal I'd forget it.
 

Kudoscycles

Official Trade Member
Apr 15, 2011
5,566
5,048
www.kudoscycles.com
Barry....you seem to be going to a lot of trouble and not insignificant risk to save the cost of the replacement battery. Might I suggest that you offer a good old British gentlemans compromise with your original bike supplier....you have had good usage out of the original battery which must have had value but you say that the battery is still under warranty....why not offer to your original supplier the same sum that it is going to cost you to get a replacement from China,looks like about £250....they may forego any profit on the new battery but not lose a fortune which would result if they gave you a battery and they have a happy customer....you get a new battery which should be good for another couple of years and no hassle.
Not my business but in most cases a compromise is always cheaper for both parties.
Hope that helps
Dave
KudosCycles
 

JuicyBike

Trade Member
Jan 26, 2009
1,671
527
Derbyshire
I have been asked to pay by Western Union for the battery.
After signing up for an account Western Union will charge £25 for the £242 money transfer.
This seems rather expensive, is there another cheaper way to pay for the battery?
I asked if they do PayPal but I guess not as they did not mention this at all just stating Western Union was what they preferred.

Barry.
Barry, please do not pay by this method. Ask for their Bank Details if you're intent on buying this battery from these people. Ask for their name, address, company name, company address, Swift Number, Bank Name, Branch Address. Ensure that Branch Address and Company Address are only a short distance from each other.
With those details you should be able to pay from your own bank account.
Many Chinese accounts will only accept USD and via an American intermediary bank, making everything very difficult to trace. My advice is that there is a high degree of risk in this transaction, simply because they have only offered you payment via Western Union. Western Union is not safe in my opinion.
Please find another UK customer of this seller to confirm their authenticity. Ask them to provide details of a UK customer for verification.
I'd much rather sell you one of our batteries at cost than see you follow this route.
 
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banbury frank

Banned
Jan 13, 2011
1,565
5
Hi I agree with the warnings I you send a western union payment It is a CON

The only way to pay is by Paypal but make sure you put in a complaint before 45 days

If no goods

Frank
 
D

Deleted member 4366

Guest
The best way to pay for Chinese or similar foreign goods is with Paypal or credit card. WU is an absolute no no - same as direct bank transfer and debit card. Aliexpress has some form of protection, where the supplier can't get hold of the money until you're happy with the goods, but still not as secure as Paypal or credit card,
 

bazwaldo

Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2010
219
21
OK thanks to everyone for your replies.
It seems pretty clear that I am likely to run into trouble if I pay with Western Union.
Dave at Kudos your compromise idea seems a sensible way to go.
I'm disappointed if I can't reliably source a battery direct from suppliers.
The vendor works for a company showing as an Alibaba 3 year Gold Supplier:-

General Electronics Battery Co.,Ltd.
Address:Huihuang Industrial Building, Huada Road, Dalang, Longhua, Baoan District, Shenzhen 518109, P.R. China

I'll ask about alternative payment methods.

Barry.
 

bazwaldo

Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2010
219
21
Hello everyone,
More news about the Alibaba battery situation.
After I emailed that I could not pay WU due to the potential risks the vendor has replied that I can pay via PayPal.
I am going to go for it and see just how good these batteries are, of course there is still a risk but on the other hand the seller hopefully is completely genuine and I may just get a bargain relative to UK battery prices.
After Dave at Kudos has talked up the advantages of the LiFePO4 type of battery I am really curious and keen to see for myself just how they match up to the Lipo battery I have been using with my Bearprint Ebike for the last 13 months.
The exchange rate varies but currently indicates the cost as follows:-

373.00 USD = 237.654 GBP

As long as I am not stung with all sorts of import duty and VAT costs it seems like a good price.
This is for a battery advertised as 36v 12ah including a charger with UK 3 pin plug.
I am waiting for the vendor to confirm if the slide rail is also included.

Barry.
 
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NRG

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 6, 2009
2,592
10
Cant you get the same from Kudos direct without the risk and at less cost?
 

bazwaldo

Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2010
219
21
Hello NRG,
I do not think so as all the Kudos batteries are the rack type whereas mine is the "Silver Fish" type which slides behind the seat post.
I believe the Kudos batteries are also 10ah not 12ah, they are however good value at just £208.
Kudos deserve success doing things right in my opinion.
If I pay via PayPal via my credit card I should have some sort of cover if things go wrong.
Barry.
 

NRG

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 6, 2009
2,592
10
Ah! OK, hope it all goes well...
 

AndyOfTheSouth

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 15, 2009
347
4
Barry

Just to go back a stage...

If the battery that came with your bike failed within its warranty period, then the retailer should not be putting you to this trouble.

Why do you not write a letter simply stating the position, asking for a replacement within a reasonable period eg 14 days and indicating that if this is not done you will take further action?

If you paid for the bike by credit card, you should send the same letter to them as they are also liable.

If the position is as straightforward as it seems, either the retailer or credit card company should respond positively or at least make some sort of reasonable offer.

If not, tailing action via the small claims court is cheap and fairly easy. There is a lot of information available online about this. For example:

Taking a dispute to the small claims court - Making a complaint - Which? Consumer Rights

Your local Citizens Advice could also provide free guidance.

Once you have indicated your intention to pursue the matter, you may well find that it is not necessary and the matter will be resolved quite quickly.
 

bazwaldo

Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2010
219
21
Hi AndyOfTheSouth,

Yes you are right.
I have spoken to Bearprint again today and they are going to replace my battery under the warranty period which was advertised as 2 years.
The latest update from them is that the 16ah sized batteries will be arriving on Monday and we will then organise the delivery and return of my original battery.
The Chinese option is really looking to the future as after the remaining 11 months warranty period has expired I will either have to pay UK prices probably £500 to £600 or take a risk buying direct from an Alibaba vendor.

As I mentioned above Kudos Ebike owners are lucky having UK based battery replacement at just over £200 - what a great deal that is with Ebikes also purchased at more affordable prices.
If I can purchase the Chinese LiFePO4 battery direct I can maybe alternate from 1 battery to the other 1 week to the next to maximise their lifetimes.

Thanks again for your helpful post.
Barry.
 
D

Deleted member 4366

Guest
You should save your money. Hopefully your new battery will last a lot longer than the last. By the time this one expires there'll be better ones or cheaper ones to buy.
 

bazwaldo

Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2010
219
21
Hello d8veh,
I hope so!
Since using my Ebike to commute to work I reckon I have saved about £720 on petrol costs so I think I can afford to take a chance with this Chinese vendor who seems genuine.
If my experience is good it may help others here who baulk at the high levels of UK battery replacement costs.
As far as future developments go if a new improved battery arrives it would be a big boost for the industry.

Barry.
 

bazwaldo

Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2010
219
21
Well I have sent off payment to the Chinese vendor for the 36v 12ah LiFePO4 "Silver Fish" battery.
Time will tell if this was a wise thing to do!
PayPal converted the amount to £246.73p.
When it eventually arrives I will check how it matches the description, how it performs and give feedback as to whether it is a good or bad purchase.

Barry.
 

indalo

Banned
Sep 13, 2009
1,380
1
Herts & Spain
If I pay via PayPal via my credit card I should have some sort of cover if things go wrong.
Barry.
Smart move Baz and that's exactly the way I purchase online. Cashback CC + the legal protection under the act and Paypal's dispute settlement procedure allied to the fantastic service most online companies provide makes for a great buying experience.

Indalo
 

bazwaldo

Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2010
219
21
Well after having an enforced car commute to work for the last couple of months or so I have recently received 2 new batteries within 2 days, it's a bit like Buses I suppose! :)

My chinese sourced LiFePO4 36v 12ah battery arrived just 2 days after being despatched on 09.01.12 which surprised me as I thought that it would come via surface transport.
UPS must have flown it over from China.
They stung me for another £48 COD which I suppose was for Import duty, this still left the overall cost as just under £300 which included a charger, bottom plate with connector and slide rail.
Then last Saturday my Bearprint 2 year warranty replacement battery finally arrived - this is a LiPo 36v 16ah battery like the original.

I really have to compliment Bearprint for looking after me, when ever I have needed help they have been there for me - now with the most expensive warranty item of all the battery.
This ought to see me out well beyond the remainder of my 2 year warranty period after which I will be on my own!

Here is a link to a picture of both new batteries side by side, they are almost identical in size:-

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/CX9I0Jc_mhXjO4K0qb3kRNMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink

No matter what I do I just cannot seem to embed the photo in the post.

I used the Chinese 12ah LiFePO4 batttery for the first time last Friday after fitting the new bottom plate with electric connector and it's own slide rail.
It appeared to be fully charged but gave up assistance at about 8 miles and turned off around 10!
I feared for the worse but after charging it at work it got me home in a much better fashion still showing 4 lights immediately after stopping at home.
It's too early to say if it will do the job I need it to do and if it will be reliable and long lasting.

What I hope to do is to alternate between the 2 batteries every week or maybe fortnight as I have to swap out the bottom plate, connector and slide rail when going from one to the other.
This will I hope seem to double the life of each battery.
It will be very interesting to make a comparison between the LiPo 16ah and LiFePO4 12ah batteries.
If needing another from China it would be cheaper next time as all that would be required would be the battery on it's own providing the charger lasts and does not fail.

Best wishes to all.

Barry.
 
D

Deleted member 4366

Guest
Do you still have the original battery or did you send it back. If you still have it, you could swap the bottom moulding/connector on the battery rather than the bike so that you could use either battery when you want.