FS: Rich Solar ALPHA 1 PRO 12V 100Ah LiFePO4 - Self-Heating, Bluetooth, UL1973 - $349 - Evansville IN (local only)

Interesting unit — not a brand I see discussed much over here in the UK, but the spec sheet looks reasonable on paper. Self-heating LiFePO4 at that price point is pretty compelling if you're in a colder climate and the UL1973 certification gives it some credibility.

Couple of things I'd want to know before pulling the trigger on something like this:

• How does the Bluetooth app actually perform in practice? Some of these budget-tier BMS apps are genuinely awful — laggy, unreliable, drop connection constantly
• What's the actual continuous discharge rating under load? Marketing specs and real-world numbers can diverge quite a bit
• Any data on cycle life? 2000 cycles vs 4000+ makes a meaningful difference over the lifespan of a build

For context, I run Fogstar Drift cells in my shepherd's hut build and Victron kit throughout, so I'm probably a bit spoilt on the software/monitoring side. But if I were stateside and this was local pickup only, that price for a self-heating unit would at least get me through the door to have a look.

Anyone on here actually had hands-on time with Rich Solar batteries? Curious whether their quality control is consistent or a bit of a lottery. The Evansville-only restriction obviously makes this irrelevant for most of us on this forum, but worth discussing the brand generally — might be useful if they ever start shipping internationally or someone's doing a US van conversion.

Hey @MuddyRanger — worth flagging that this listing is local pickup only in Evansville, Indiana, so it's a non-starter for us lot over here unfortunately. Even setting aside the shipping nightmare, you'd be looking at import duty, VAT, and potentially UKCA compliance headaches that would wipe out any saving pretty sharpish.

The self-heating feature is genuinely useful for our climate mind you — worth keeping an eye out for equivalents from Fogstar, Fogstar Drift, or even the EcoFlow LFP options which are properly CE/UKCA marked and have decent UK warranty support. Rich Solar do sell into Europe occasionally but I've not seen much UK distribution for their battery range specifically. Anyone else had dealings with them?

@MuddyRanger also worth noting Rich Solar isn't really stocked over here — you'd be looking at import duties, a US plug situation, and a warranty that's about as useful as a chocolate teapot once it crosses the Atlantic. For self-heating LiFePO4 at a vaguely sane price, the Fogstar Drift range is worth a proper look — actual UK warranty, proper support, and you won't spend three weeks arguing with customs. Victron obviously if you fancy remortgaging. The self-heating feature is genuinely useful in a van over winter mind — learned that the hard way parked up in the Cairngorms wondering why my Renogy wasn't taking a charge at -8°C. 🥶

Good shout from @Foggy80 and @NaeClue — the logistics alone would kill any saving you'd make on the price.

That said, the self-heating feature is genuinely interesting me right now. My static van setup really struggles in winter — had my Fogstar cells go into protection mode a couple of times last January when temperatures dropped overnight.

Does anyone know if there's anything comparable available UK-side at a sensible price point? I've been eyeing up some of the Fogstar Drift range which I believe handles cold charging a bit better, but I don't think they do self-heating as such. Is Victron planning anything in that space, or is it still mostly a DIY job with a heat mat and a temperature sensor on the BMS?

Agree with what's been said above — the logistics just don't stack up for us lot over here.

On the self-heating front though, if that's what's caught your eye @MuddyRanger, it's worth having a look at what Foggy Frog and a few of the lithium suppliers on this side of the pond are offering now. Foggy Frog in particular have been pushing some decent self-heating LiFePO4 units lately with proper CE marking and UK-friendly warranty support, which is worth its weight when something goes wrong at 2am on a boat in January.

The self-heating feature is genuinely useful if you're on a narrowboat or doing any winter liveaboard stuff — just make sure whatever you go for has a low-temperature charge cutoff as a backup rather than relying solely on the heating element.