Sid Battery Balancers.

Far easier for me to let Sean be the customer support...trying as some of them may be.  I've already got my hands full with design...if I had to deal with customer support, orders, packaging, etc., etc., I'd never get anything done.

2nd package with another chunk of parts for the balancers has been stuck in the Memphis, TN FedEx warehouse since Sunday.  Hey, I thought only USPS had an excuse to be a bad apple...

Bla, I've still not got the remote for my gen and it was shipped usps from cal, and that was what a month ago.  Fed ex is better though, and I think sean would save more if he shipped with them, right now ups is costing a arm and leg to ship anything.

Fedex has been giving the other guys a run for their money on screwing up shipments.  For me anyway.  My batteries were supposed to be delivered "by the end of the day" yesterday, April 6.  Waited home all day.  About 7pm their tracking changed to "emergency - shipping delay" no delivery date available

WTF?  What's an emergency shipping delay anyway?  Truck catch on fire?  Driver had a stroke? Antifa burned down the fedex office?

Today about noon got a call saying my shipment was subbed out to another carrier and would be delivered tomorrow afternoon.  She seemed surprised when I mentioned it was supposed to be delivered yesterday.  Almost like she was surprised I was stupid enough to expect them to be on time.  Guess I was....

My first set of byd batteries was also supposed to be delivered by fedex, was instead subbed out, arrived on a shattered pallet with 4 damaged modules.  It worked out ok in the long run, as battery hookup replaced them and let me keep the damaged 4.  I repaired them (broken terminals) and have a larger 24v bank for the trouble.

I would much rather this new shipment arrives undamaged.  Hopefully tomorrow.  Not holding my breath.

Want to know what FedEx doesn't screw up, former government rifles and bayonets coming to me. Not one time have they failed to deliver on the day it is supposed to be delivered. And normally by 1000 as they want them out of their care as quick as possible.

Looks like Sid has quite the demand built up for his balancers.  I am hoping to order some too.  So does anyone know, where will they be on the website?

Just now, AquaticsLive said:

Looks like Sid has quite the demand built up for his balancers.  I am hoping to order some too.  So does anyone know, where will they be on the website?

Yes they will.  After I get a bit of time...and the rest of the parts get out of FedEx purgatory.

Got a Mouser order today...containing 360 LCDs, and 100 shunt transistors (remainder of the transistors in that FedEx package)...

...now it's kinda hard to solder together, program and test 400 balancers (oh, and write the updated code) while I'm working full time on a house construction project...

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Been sitting like that since Sunday.

My byd batteries finally got here today.  After fedex told me delivery was being subcontracted it was actually a fedex truck and driver that showed up with them.  Go figure.

I've already pulled the heatsinks off of one.  They are massive!  1.5 inches thick, 21 inches long and 12 wide. Haven't weighed them but probably 10-20 pounds apiece. To buy one heatsink new would probably cost well over $100.   I plan to use one for Sid's balancers. (Not sure what I'm gonna do with the other 15)  Now all I need are the balancers....

No worries Sid, think its great that those little guys are getting interest as well.  Yeah priorities house construction come first for sure.

Soldered together the first row of 8 balancers...the electronics test fine so far.  I plan to work on code tomorrow, get the serial string implemented (likely will be binary characters, as they're infinitely easier for small processors to work with--not to mention considerably reducing the processor load on the balancer MCUs)...then I have to assemble, program and test the remaining 392 balancers.

FedEx purgatory on the most important package seems to end on Monday the 12th (estimated delivery), so I'd better have the code stuff ready by then.  Never mind that it will have taken the package longer sitting in Memphis, TN than it did to transit from China to the U.S.

If you'd ever been to Memphis, you'd know why.

19 minutes ago, InPhase said:

If you'd ever been to Memphis, you'd know why.

LOL!

Sid, it seems like a lot of work for ~$12 apiece.  Are you making any money on these?  (Hopefully I'm not shooting myself in the foot here!)  Maybe you're planning to have them made in china after this test batch?

Hopefully I'm in line for 16 of this batch.  No answer from Sean about buying them....

18 minutes ago, dochubert said:

Hopefully I'm in line for 16 of this batch.  No answer from Sean about buying them....

I think anybody wanting these are in line and Sean is working around the house more then biz, I've called left message, messaged him and not got one respone from him.  I guess that helper he got must have only lasted two days. . .

Also, from what I'm hearing from a certin person, there been some issue that is being iron out.  I am hopeing I get my GS inverters next week, but, I'm not holding my breath on that happening.  I think I won't see my inverters until June.

Sadly, running a one-man business is mostly stress and high blood pressure.  I know from experience it's a losing battle.  I ran a one man computer store in the 90's for 5 years and don't think I ever got caught up on everything.  Still, it's frustrating to try to communicate and getting no response.  With his business expanding, Sean needs to get some real help before it puts him in the hospital.