Anyone else noticed Fogstar prices creeping up lately?

Used to be the go-to for cheap LiFePO4 cells but had a look last week and the 280Ah Grade B cells are noticeably pricier than this time last year. Still decent compared to most, but the gap's closing.

Currently running 4x 280Ah in a 24V setup with a Victron Multiplus and it's been rock solid for 18 months. Thinking about adding another 4 cells to double the capacity before prices climb further — the off-grid setup at the smallholding is starting to feel tight through winter.

Anyone bought from them recently? Worth pulling the trigger now or is there a better supplier I'm missing? Seen a few people mention AliExpress direct from EVE but not sure I trust the shipping and QC on that route.

Yeah, noticed the same @JimKelly. Part of it's probably the pound taking a hammering against the dollar over the past year or so — these cells are priced in USD at source and the margins get squeezed somewhere along the chain. Fogstar still absorb some of it to stay competitive but they can only do so much.

Worth keeping an eye on their Drift range as an alternative — sometimes better value depending on what you need. Also seen a few people having decent luck sourcing directly through AliExpress sellers with solid track records, though obviously that's more of a gamble without the UK warranty backing.

Wouldn't write Fogstar off entirely yet, but definitely worth shopping around a bit more than we used to have to.

@JimKelly @HarbourSoul the currency piece is only part of the story. LiFePO4 cell production costs in China have actually fallen considerably, but shipping, import duties (post-Brexit tariff reclassifications caught a few suppliers off guard), and the sheer cost of UK warehousing have eaten into those savings entirely.

Worth noting that Fogstar's Grade B cells have also quietly improved in consistency — early batches were genuinely lottery territory, whereas recently I've been measuring my 280Ah cells and getting 285-292Ah actual capacity. You're arguably paying slightly more for a better product.

For my narrowboat bank I'd still choose them over random AliExpress sellers every time. At least there's a UK returns address if something goes catastrophically wrong.

That said, keep an eye on Basen stock through UK resellers — occasionally undercuts Fogstar on larger quantities and the spec sheets are reasonably honest.

Curious what the actual landed cost per kWh works out to now compared to, say, 18 months ago — has anyone done the maths recently?

I'm wondering whether it's still worth going Fogstar Grade B for a second bank or if the premium for Grade A from somewhere like Fogstar Drift (or even just going the Renogy prebuilt route) has shrunk enough to make Grade B less compelling. The whole appeal was always the value margin, not the cells themselves.

@DevonDweller are you suggesting production costs have risen or fallen in China? Your post got cut off — genuinely interested because it changes how I'd think about whether this is a temporary pricing blip or a new baseline to plan around.

@VE_Boats I did a rough comparison a few months back when I was pricing up an expansion to my shed bank. From memory, Grade B 280Ah cells from Fogstar worked out around £68-72/kWh landed when I last bought in early 2023. Recent quotes I've had put it closer to £95-105/kWh depending on batch. That's a meaningful jump. Worth noting that Grade A pricing from other suppliers has come down slightly at the same time, so the traditional Grade B value proposition isn't quite what it was. If you're buying in reasonable quantity it might be worth getting quotes from Docan or a couple of the AliExpress regulars for comparison — sometimes the difference doesn't justify the Fogstar convenience premium anymore, though their customer service is still head and shoulders above most of the alternatives.

@VoltDoug would love to see those numbers when you find them — I priced up my narrowboat bank with Fogstar Grade B 280Ah cells about 14 months ago and the same config would cost me roughly 20% more today, which is enough to make me glance at Rept and EVE direct imports with a slightly raised eyebrow.

Still, Fogstar's warranty and UK-based support is worth something when you're living aboard and can't wait three weeks for a slow boat from Shenzhen.

@VE_Boats good question on the landed cost. From my own recent quotes, Grade B 280Ah cells from Fogstar are working out somewhere around £85-95/kWh assembled into a basic 48V pack once you factor in BMS and busbars — that's noticeably up from the ~£70-75/kWh I was seeing in early 2023. Grade A cells close the gap further obviously. That said, I'd push back slightly on the doom and gloom — for DIY builds they're still genuinely competitive against pre-built packs from the likes of Pylontech once you account for the capacity you actually get. The real pinch I'm seeing is on smaller builds where the economies of scale disappear. Anyone pricing up a 5kWh system is feeling it more proportionally than someone doing a 20kWh build.

@BordersSolar would be curious to see those figures when you've got them written up.

From where I'm standing — built out a 16kWh bank for the garden office last spring using Fogstar Grade B 280Ah cells — I reckon I caught the tail end of the sweet spot pricing. Same spec cells now would stretch the budget noticeably more.

What I have noticed is the Grade A stock seems proportionally less of a jump than it used to be. The Grade B discount that made them such a no-brainer is narrowing. Couple that with Victron BMS and cabling costs staying stubbornly high, and suddenly the whole build lands in a different bracket than it did 18 months back.

Still better value than buying a pre-built battery system, but the calculation's getting tighter for people starting fresh today.

Chiming in here — I've been tracking cell prices pretty closely over the past 18 months or so and the trend is definitely real. Worth bearing in mind that some of the increase reflects improved QC and better documentation on the Grade B batches, so you're arguably getting more for the extra money than you were. That said, I'd suggest keeping an eye on CATL spot pricing if you want a rough leading indicator of where Fogstar and similar suppliers are likely to head over the next quarter. @Glen1983 @BordersSolar — happy to share my spreadsheet if useful.

Been watching this too. Built the narrowboat bank last spring with Grade B 280Ah cells and the price I paid then looks pretty generous compared to current listings.

Worth factoring in that Fogstar's Grade B QC seems fairly consistent — I've had near-zero rejects across two separate orders — so even if the raw price has crept up, you're not necessarily losing ground if other suppliers are selling cheaper cells with higher variance.

Might be worth @XHF_Builds sharing that 18-month tracking data in a proper thread — would help people make a more informed comparison rather than just headline price.