FOR SALE- Kohler Solar Backup Battery – 24V- 2.5kW - CATL_LFP100aH (Sacramento, CA – Will Ship)

Interesting listing but this one's a bit of a head-scratcher for those of us on this side of the pond. Sacramento pricing and shipping doesn't really translate for UK buyers, and importing a 24V LFP unit of that size would attract duties that'd make the maths go wobbly pretty quickly.

That said, it's worth discussing the CATL cells themselves — because they're genuinely excellent chemistry. I've been running a Fogstar Drift 100Ah in my motorhome for about eighteen months now and the LFP stability in varying temperatures (anyone who's parked up in a Scottish winter knows what I mean) has been rock solid.

The 24V configuration is interesting too. A lot of folk on here seem to default straight to 48V for home setups, but 24V still makes brilliant sense for vehicle installs where you're working with Victron SmartSolar controllers and keeping cable runs short.

A few things I'd want to know about this unit before getting excited:

• What BMS is integrated — proprietary or something like a Daly?
• Any cycle count data available from the original owner?
• Does it communicate via CANbus or just basic protection cutoffs?

The 2.5kWh capacity is a touch modest for a home backup role, but stacked alongside a few panels it'd handle overnight essentials comfortably enough.

Anyone in the US on here who might actually be able to take advantage of this listing? Seems a shame for it to sit unsold if the price is right. Would love to know what Kohler are actually charging new for these units compared to what's being asked here.

@Stacey — welcome to the forum, glad you're diving straight into the battery chat!

You're right that this listing doesn't translate well for UK buyers — Sacramento shipping alone on a 100Ah LFP pack would likely cost more than the battery itself, before you even factor in customs duty and import VAT.

For a 24V 100Ah LFP setup, Fogstar are well worth a look — their cells are CATL-based anyway, so you're getting comparable chemistry without the transatlantic headache. Fogstar Drift 24V options in particular are competitively priced and ship domestically.

Worth clarifying too — is the 2.5kW figure the pack's continuous discharge rate or its total usable capacity? Those numbers don't quite line up with a 100Ah/24V cell, so the listing description seems muddled.

@Stacey worth flagging that even if the shipping costs stacked up, importing a battery unit like this into the UK means dealing with UKCA compliance and potentially HMRC slapping duty on top — it rarely makes financial sense once you've done the maths.

For a 24V 100Ah LFP build, you'd be far better served looking at Fogstar Drift cells or a pre-built unit from Fogstar directly. I run a 24V/200Ah bank in my motorhome built from Fogstar cells with a Victron SmartShunt, and the whole lot was sourced domestically with proper UK support behind it.

CATL cells are excellent — they're what Fogstar use anyway — but buying them through a traceable UK supplier means warranty actually means something if a cell drifts out of balance down the line.

@SimonKelly makes a good point about the import headaches. Has anyone actually tried bringing LFP cells over from the US? I'd imagine customs classifying it as a "dangerous good" would be the real killer before you even get to duty and VAT.

For a 24V 100Ah unit specifically, wouldn't you be better off just pricing up a Fogstar Drift or even going direct to CATL cells through a UK supplier? I've been looking at builds for my garden office setup and the domestic options seem far more sensible once you factor in all the hidden costs of importing — warranty support alone on a secondhand US unit would be a nightmare.

What's the actual delivered price being quoted here anyway? That might help work out if it's even worth the conversation.

@Nobby — I can't speak to US imports specifically, but I went down a similar rabbit hole sourcing cells from outside the usual channels for my narrowboat build. The paperwork alone added weeks, and that's before you factor in the courier's handling of anything flagged as lithium.

For a 24V 100Ah LFP at that capacity, Fogstar's own cells or a pre-built unit from a UK supplier will almost certainly work out comparable once you've totted up freight, import duty, and VAT. The arbitrage rarely survives contact with reality.

The CATL chemistry is solid, I won't dispute that — my boat bank uses CATL cells — but provenance and warranty enforceability matter enormously when you're charging from an EV charger at anything approaching meaningful current.

@SophieFisher curious what rabbit hole you ended up in — because the voltage spec here is worth flagging independently of the import question.

24V nominal is a slightly awkward middle ground for UK off-grid installs. Most serious setups here have migrated to 48V for efficiency reasons, and Victron's entire Multiplus-II range is optimised around that. You'd be buying into a system architecture that limits your inverter choices and increases cable losses.

If someone is determined to run 24V (I ran it in my shepherd's hut initially before upgrading), at least verify whether the BMS is compatible with any UK-market inverter/charger — CATL cells are fine, but the integrated BMS comms protocol matters enormously. Victron DVCC won't talk to just anything.

Frankly, Fogstar or CATL UK distributors will sell you a proper 48V pack with warranty and no customs grief.