Between myself, my dad, and my father in-law, we have 21x US3000C batteries, all varying around 1000 to 1400 cycles.

So far, we haven't had any issues, but all of the feedback on this forum concerns me greatly.

Further to this, I have a friend who traded in his batteries on this deal and the trade value for batteries with less than 1000 cycles was incredibly low (R2000 per battery). This is very poor for batteries that have only used 1/6th of their design life (1000/6000 cycles). Based on this, I would rather purchase a different brand going forward.

What?!?! R2000 trade-in offer on a 1000 cycle battery? Thought it a bit weak to put out the offer without giving a rough indication of trade-in values (subject to verifications of course), with that sort of offer I now understand why and am glad I didn't waste my time sending in an application...

Surely this is the same logic as buying a car.

A brand new car loses a massive chunk of its value the moment it rolls off the showroom floor, and then continues to depreciate at a steady rate every year.

Nobody walks into a dealership three, four or five years later and demands close to original purchase price just because it still drives or it only has 150 000 km.

Exactly the same principle applies to lithium batteries and inverters, for that matter.

A new Pylontech US3000D is currently sitting around R12 000 to R14 000, comes with 8 000+ cycles and a proper 10 year warranty.

Yet people with 3–5 year old US2000, US3000 and US3000C packs that originally cost R20k+ are somehow shocked when a trade in offer comes in at a few thousand rand.

Using Cycle count is only one data point to measure value.

These batteries have lived through South African summers, possible high ambient temperatures, deep discharges, high C rates, and whatever else the installation threw at them.

Health, remaining capacity, cell balance and thermal history matter far more than the number on the cycle counter.

And here’s the part many owners forget the evaluation tool Pylontech uses doesn’t just look at the cycle count.

It pulls the full historical life of the battery every stress event, temperature extreme, over discharge, high current event, cell imbalance, the lot.

Even if the owner was completely clueless about what the battery actually went through, that data is sitting right there in the BMS logs for them to see.

Once a product has been used, it is a used product. It has already taken the big depreciation hit and continues to lose value.

Expecting anything close to new money for an old Pylontech is simply unrealistic.

Keep running the old ones until they actually become a problem, or accept that the trade in value reflects today’s market reality not what you paid years ago.

Or just sell them on in the open market and buy new ones.

6 hours ago, Schnavel said:

Between myself, my dad, and my father in-law, we have 21x US3000C batteries, all varying around 1000 to 1400 cycles.

So far, we haven't had any issues, but all of the feedback on this forum concerns me greatly.

Further to this, I have a friend who traded in his batteries on this deal and the trade value for batteries with less than 1000 cycles was incredibly low (R2000 per battery). This is very poor for batteries that have only used 1/6th of their design life (1000/6000 cycles). Based on this, I would rather purchase a different brand going forward.

So did your friend accept the trade-in offer?

1 hour ago, Boerseun said:

Surely this is the same logic as buying a car.

A brand new car loses a massive chunk of its value the moment it rolls off the showroom floor, and then continues to depreciate at a steady rate every year.

Nobody walks into a dealership three, four or five years later and demands close to original purchase price just because it still drives or it only has 150 000 km.

Exactly the same principle applies to lithium batteries and inverters, for that matter.

A new Pylontech US3000D is currently sitting around R12 000 to R14 000, comes with 8 000+ cycles and a proper 10 year warranty.

Yet people with 3–5 year old US2000, US3000 and US3000C packs that originally cost R20k+ are somehow shocked when a trade in offer comes in at a few thousand rand.

Using Cycle count is only one data point to measure value.

These batteries have lived through South African summers, possible high ambient temperatures, deep discharges, high C rates, and whatever else the installation threw at them.

Health, remaining capacity, cell balance and thermal history matter far more than the number on the cycle counter.

And here’s the part many owners forget the evaluation tool Pylontech uses doesn’t just look at the cycle count.

It pulls the full historical life of the battery every stress event, temperature extreme, over discharge, high current event, cell imbalance, the lot.

Even if the owner was completely clueless about what the battery actually went through, that data is sitting right there in the BMS logs for them to see.

Once a product has been used, it is a used product. It has already taken the big depreciation hit and continues to lose value.

Expecting anything close to new money for an old Pylontech is simply unrealistic.

Keep running the old ones until they actually become a problem, or accept that the trade in value reflects today’s market reality not what you paid years ago.

Or just sell them on in the open market and buy new ones.

Completely agree. And the fact that solar adds little to no value on a home valuation. I still get surprised when I see people trying to sell their batteries and inverters for 1000 rand less than what a new one goes for. I understand trying to recoup money as you would have bought when batteries etc where 2 to 3x the price but it just won't get bought if the buyer just does the bare minimum in research. Perfect analogy you used btw, a used car that can still go another 300k km is still a used car and doesn't not warrant asking for almost new prices when being sold, a customer will just go and buy new.

If the trade-in value is R2000, it's simply not a smart decision! You're effectively losing your batteries for that amount. Instead, consider selling them for a price that you find acceptable or continue using them until they can no longer function, allowing you the flexibility to purchase any brand you prefer. There are numerous alternatives available in the battery market, and the prices are quite appealing.

3 hours ago, Boerseun said:

Surely this is the same logic as buying a car.

A brand new car loses a massive chunk of its value the moment it rolls off the showroom floor, and then continues to depreciate at a steady rate every year.

Nobody walks into a dealership three, four or five years later and demands close to original purchase price just because it still drives or it only has 150 000 km.

Exactly the same principle applies to lithium batteries and inverters, for that matter.

A new Pylontech US3000D is currently sitting around R12 000 to R14 000, comes with 8 000+ cycles and a proper 10 year warranty.

Yet people with 3–5 year old US2000, US3000 and US3000C packs that originally cost R20k+ are somehow shocked when a trade in offer comes in at a few thousand rand.

Using Cycle count is only one data point to measure value.

These batteries have lived through South African summers, possible high ambient temperatures, deep discharges, high C rates, and whatever else the installation threw at them.

Health, remaining capacity, cell balance and thermal history matter far more than the number on the cycle counter.

And here’s the part many owners forget the evaluation tool Pylontech uses doesn’t just look at the cycle count.

It pulls the full historical life of the battery every stress event, temperature extreme, over discharge, high current event, cell imbalance, the lot.

Even if the owner was completely clueless about what the battery actually went through, that data is sitting right there in the BMS logs for them to see.

Once a product has been used, it is a used product. It has already taken the big depreciation hit and continues to lose value.

Expecting anything close to new money for an old Pylontech is simply unrealistic.

Keep running the old ones until they actually become a problem, or accept that the trade in value reflects today’s market reality not what you paid years ago.

Or just sell them on in the open market and buy new ones.

It's different from trading in a vehicle. One doesn't purchase a car for R12000 and trade it in for R2000, which is about 16% of the original cost, unless the car is being scrapped. If the vehicle is a non-runner or has been in an accident, then the situation changes. You are comparing apples with strawberries here. Anyone with US3000C wishing to trade in for R2000, I'm here to take one or few, for an extra R1000 on top of that trade value please

I have given this matter a good think-over, and have realised that people tend to value their solar kit at far more than what it is worth. There are many factors contributing to this, like pricing fluctuations, and also possibly the perceived value and pleasure that they derive from using them. Some may even value their installations for the snob / social status that it provides them, along with the size and brand of their battery bank, their inverter/s, the quantity and kWp of their solar panels.

Then there is the actual condition of the battery, determined by experts who consult the data which is logged by the battery, and as @Boerseun has pointed out, this will reveal quite a lot. For example, an owner who cycled the battery on a daily basis (per warranty Ts & Cs) would have a healthy battery that is in far better condition than one who charged it to 100%, and kept topping it up for 2 years, and then cries "But it's hardly used!".

Whatever the case, it is clear that the intrinsic value of alternative energy kit is often outweighed by the owners' perceived value. A similar situation exists with homes, cars, and other possessions, where sentiment, emotion, political and economic ideologies tend to sway the value that people attach to their possessions (and that of others). I think that the parallel drawn by @Boerseun is spot on, and can actually be applied far broader, to all possessions / assets.

Any classical libertarian / free-market economist worth his salt will tell you that the value of an item is worth something between the price that the individual owner is prepared to accept to part with it, and the price that another individual person is prepared to pay for it. Willing buyer, willing seller. The opposite is true for Marxian / socialist economy, where individual ownership is discouraged in favour of "the collective", and the price of something is determined by a number of theories, ideas and philosophies.

In a free market, price is a critical "sensor", because it informs the broader market what the value of an asset / commodity is. This is why ownership of property is such an important thing to defend, because only a person who truly owns something, can determine that they 1) wish to part with it; and 2) the price that they will be prepared to accept for it.

With the old Pylontech battery trade-in offer, no-one is forcing anyone at gunpoint to part with their batteries. It is after all, an offer, which is subject to a technical evaluation, and which requires acceptance.

If the owners' batteries are in such great condition, then they should keep them. After all, they are the owners, and no-one should deprive them of their right to own such fine batteries. The same applies to a car: trade-in value is substantially lower than retail, and if the owner does not like what he / she is being offered, then they can elect to either keep it, or to sell it to a random tyre kicker. Simple as that.

So why are people crying on a public forum then, attempting to appeal to "the collective" ? I blame Karl Marx.

Spot on, @Yellow Measure .

People get emotionally attached to what they paid years ago and the “status” of their big battery bank, but the market and the BMS logs don’t care about feelings.

Once those cells have taken heat, imbalance or abuse, there’s no practical way to fix them. You can’t just swap a single cell like you replace a water pump on a bakkie the labour and matching alone make it a non starter.

And let’s not forget a replacement BMS on these Pylontechs is sitting around R3k. So the moment one of these tired packs needs a new BMS which a lot of the low-value ones do, you’ve already burned more money than the whole battery is worth.

That’s why the R2k trade-in isn’t “unfair” it’s just the real residual value after the logs have spoken.

Keep running them till they die, or sell them privately if you can find a buyer who hasn’t done the maths.

58 minutes ago, hoohloc said:

It's different from trading in a vehicle. One doesn't purchase a car for R12000 and trade it in for R2000, which is about 16% of the original cost, unless the car is being scrapped. If the vehicle is a non-runner or has been in an accident, then the situation changes. You are comparing apples with strawberries here. Anyone with US3000C wishing to trade in for R2000, I'm here to take one or few, for an extra R1000 on top of that trade value please

Careful now boet, I have a rural acquaintance with 5x US3000Cs that he has "hardly used" for 4 years, kept at 100% SoC @ 35-55 degrees C. After introducing him to the wisdom of Powerforum and Battery University, he said "So my batterye het blykbaar grondpad gery". 😆

Edited Saturday at 08:183 days by Yellow Measure

On the surface of it i do agree with you gents, which is why I've never sold my car or any other items to a dealership.

This offer came up without indication of trade-in value, even after request from a few "please provide an indication / rough idea" of trade in value ... of course there's many unknown variables that will influence the offer, but we were just asking for (and to my mind should've been offered from beginning without asking) a rough idea. A range, R2000 - R6000 as a basic example.

Such has still not been offered, and instead we're basing our expectations on someone who sold for R2000 with us only knowing the cycle count ... for all we know his battery was swollen, in which case the offer wasn't bad at all. But because we're working off hear-say and there's been no indication from the beginning, this offer is getting a potentially worse image than it deserves

Oh, and someone mentioned further up the inconvenience and dangers of selling privately ... I must tell you, specifically within renewable energy 2nd hand buying and selling, I've had nothing but genuine pleasure dealing with like-minded private individuals...

On 2026/07/14 at 2:13 PM, Energy-Jason said:

@HennieL

and the forum, We completely understand the scepticism many members have had frustrating experiences with Pylontech support in the past, and those concerns are valid.

On a positive note, Pylontech via Solar Deity and Powerforum is actively working to fix they're after sales support and technical services in South Africa.

This is genuinely encouraging and refreshing, especially considering how small our market is compared to the rest of the global renewable energy sector. They are willing to engage directly with the community, which shows real commitment.

Powerforum is also engaged directly with Pylontech in China to help facilitate the restoration of their reputation here.

Our experience with Solar Deity so far has been very positive they are committed to delivering proper after-sales support and educating both installers and end-users.

Many users argue “But the BMS is supposed to protect the battery.” This is fair, however the older BMS units in the US-series had limitations.

They could prevent catastrophic events but were not always 100% effective against long-term cell stress from sustained high C-rates, poor thermal management, or frequent high-load cycling.

Newer BMS technologies have improved significantly, and Pylontech’s latest protocols have become a standard that many other brands follow.

South Africa’s extreme heat and cold conditions also played a big role these are not favourable for older lithium technology.

Combined with limited knowledge of lithium systems at the time among consumers, installers, and distributors, some very bad decisions were made around system sizing and configuration.

These were not directly the fault of the manufacturer.

On top of that, after-sales support was never handled directly by Pylontech it was left to their local distributors. Unfortunately, many of those distributors focused primarily on sales rather than proper after-sales service and technical support.

With all of this said, I do not see many other manufacturers that are willing to engage with the consumer directly to repair their reputation. I can think of many brands guilty of very bad after-sales and support.

Regarding the trade in “fine print” and process:

The process is designed to be transparent and low risk (similar to trading in a used car):

- Preliminary remote assessment Completely free. You submit serial numbers, manufacturing dates, and photos via the ticket system. Solar Deity gives an initial estimate.

- Physical inspection Also free if you decide to proceed. You send the battery (at your cost for shipping). They test it with professional equipment.

- Final offer Binding trade-in value is given. If you accept, the credit is applied to your new Fidus (or other model) purchase. If you decline, you simply arrange collection of your battery no inspection fees, no hidden charges.

- No obligation at any stage until you accept the final quotation.

If users have specific concerns about “hidden details” e.g. shipping costs, turnaround times, minimum trade in values, or what happens in edge cases like swollen batteries, please state them clearly here or in your ticket so Solar Deity can address them directly.

The new products come with far better C-ratings, more robust chemistry, and improved designs.

The Fidus (IP65 with 10-year warranty and optional aerosol fire suppression) and their HV range are excellent examples.

As a Tier 1 brand, Pylontech has clearly evolved with the market.

We believe this partnership is a meaningful step forward. We encourage anyone interested to book a no-obligation assessment via Solar Deity it’s free at the preliminary stage.

Appreciate the open and constructive discussion. This helps the whole community move forward.

Sincerely

Jay

Are you going to support the 10y warranty of all pylontechs sold in the last 10 years ?

If no, why not as an approved agent

19 hours ago, Yellow Measure said:

I have given this matter a good think-over, and have realised that people tend to value their solar kit at far more than what it is worth. There are many factors contributing to this, like pricing fluctuations, and also possibly the perceived value and pleasure that they derive from using them. Some may even value their installations for the snob / social status that it provides them, along with the size and brand of their battery bank, their inverter/s, the quantity and kWp of their solar panels.

Then there is the actual condition of the battery, determined by experts who consult the data which is logged by the battery, and as @Boerseun has pointed out, this will reveal quite a lot. For example, an owner who cycled the battery on a daily basis (per warranty Ts & Cs) would have a healthy battery that is in far better condition than one who charged it to 100%, and kept topping it up for 2 years, and then cries "But it's hardly used!".

Whatever the case, it is clear that the intrinsic value of alternative energy kit is often outweighed by the owners' perceived value. A similar situation exists with homes, cars, and other possessions, where sentiment, emotion, political and economic ideologies tend to sway the value that people attach to their possessions (and that of others). I think that the parallel drawn by @Boerseun is spot on, and can actually be applied far broader, to all possessions / assets.

Any classical libertarian / free-market economist worth his salt will tell you that the value of an item is worth something between the price that the individual owner is prepared to accept to part with it, and the price that another individual person is prepared to pay for it. Willing buyer, willing seller. The opposite is true for Marxian / socialist economy, where individual ownership is discouraged in favour of "the collective", and the price of something is determined by a number of theories, ideas and philosophies.

In a free market, price is a critical "sensor", because it informs the broader market what the value of an asset / commodity is. This is why ownership of property is such an important thing to defend, because only a person who truly owns something, can determine that they 1) wish to part with it; and 2) the price that they will be prepared to accept for it.

With the old Pylontech battery trade-in offer, no-one is forcing anyone at gunpoint to part with their batteries. It is after all, an offer, which is subject to a technical evaluation, and which requires acceptance.

If the owners' batteries are in such great condition, then they should keep them. After all, they are the owners, and no-one should deprive them of their right to own such fine batteries. The same applies to a car: trade-in value is substantially lower than retail, and if the owner does not like what he / she is being offered, then they can elect to either keep it, or to sell it to a random tyre kicker. Simple as that.

So why are people crying on a public forum then, attempting to appeal to "the collective" ? I blame Karl Marx.

Remember when these were bought a few years ago they were bought with 10year warranties.

The bms was supposed to manage the events you are talking about. Blaming the customer for a junk bms by saying you have a few high voltage charges is bs

I had 3 us3000. After 4 years they swelled. I had warranty rejected because of high voltage events 3 years prior.

I will never touch the brand again and will point the middle finger at them every chance I get. Crap brand

4 minutes ago, Gary Waterworth said:

Remember when these were bought a few years ago they were bought with 10year warranties.

The bms was supposed to manage the events you are talking about. Blaming the customer for a junk bms by saying you have a few high voltage charges is bs

I had 3 us3000. After 4 years they swelled. I had warranty rejected because of high voltage events 3 years prior.

I will never touch the brand again and will point the middle finger at them every chance I get. Crap brand

And that could also explain the poor resale on Pylons. I would never get a Pylon unless it’s given to me for free. The warranty is worth less than the paper it’s printed on.

Edited Saturday at 01:113 days by Denns

1 hour ago, Gary Waterworth said:

Are you going to support the 10y warranty of all pylontechs sold in the last 10 years ?

If no, why not as an approved agent

What an inane question.

1 hour ago, Gary Waterworth said:

Remember when these were bought a few years ago they were bought with 10year warranties.

The bms was supposed to manage the events you are talking about. Blaming the customer for a junk bms by saying you have a few high voltage charges is bs

I had 3 us3000. After 4 years they swelled. I had warranty rejected because of high voltage events 3 years prior.

I will never touch the brand again and will point the middle finger at them every chance I get. Crap brand

Nope. The Pylontech warranty on my own US 3000s is very clear, see attached (Section 3. Warranty Conditions and Section 5. Warranty exclusions).

Here is an excerpt:

The warranties in respect of the Product only apply if the Product be used on a daily cycle basis and only for energy storage system.

You remind me of Mr. Jaco van der Merwe, who towed a two-ton heavy-duty all-terrain off-road trailer with his Isuzu KB280 4x4 double-cab bakkie. The bakkie was also fully loaded with equipment, and carrying multiple passengers, and to top it all, had a roof rack heavily loaded with gear. Expert testimony in the Supreme Court revealed that the trailer had exerted a mass in excess of 1,650 kg on the towball, resulting in the chassis bending like a pool noodle. The permissible maximum towball mass specified by Isuzu was 90 kg, so they (quite rightly) rejected his warranty claim. In protest, he drove around Pretoria for years with a bakkie shaped like a caret, with a huge sticker on the rear claiming "Worst 4x4 by far", and the same on a massive hotdog vendor banner on the vehicle's roof. This caused much mirth and laughter for the people of Pretoria, who all stopped, pointed and laughed at him, including myself. Van der Merwe seemed quite oblivious to all of this, and the cringeworthy position that he had put himself into.

But the worst was my wife at the time: she developed uncontrollable and unstoppable giggling every time she saw or thought of van der Merwe and his famous bakkie. Even days after, when she saw the name "van der Merwe" on some correspondence at work, she had to take the rest of the day off because she was unable to stop laughing.

Pylontech warranty.pdf

3 hours ago, Gary Waterworth said:

Remember when these were bought a few years ago they were bought with 10year warranties.

The bms was supposed to manage the events you are talking about. Blaming the customer for a junk bms by saying you have a few high voltage charges is bs

I had 3 us3000. After 4 years they swelled. I had warranty rejected because of high voltage events 3 years prior.

I will never touch the brand again and will point the middle finger at them every chance I get. Crap brand

Swollen cells and then told “you overcharged them” while the BMS was supposed to stop it… ja, classic.Those older US3000s + Voltronic the real battery killers was a match made in hell. Weak balancing, voltage spikes the BMS couldn’t catch in time, and the logs still show every high-cell event. That’s why the trade-in is R2k and not “almost new” money.Used is used, boet. Depreciation doesn’t care about the brochure.

11 minutes ago, Boerseun said:

Depreciation doesn’t care about the brochure.

The batteries were abused, all 3 of them.

Edited Saturday at 05:043 days by Yellow Measure

Out of interest I just did a Google search using the words: "48v 75ah lithium battery raw material value in us$" and got the AI answer:

"The raw material value for a 48V 75Ah (approx. 3.6 kWh) lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery is roughly $220 to $300 USD, based on average cell-level LFP raw material and commodity benchmarks"

I make allowance that this may be inaccurate, but for sure I'd want to dig deeper before thinking even for a second of selling some fully functional built up batteries for possibly half the cost of the materials used to make it. Don't care, not leaping before looking.

6 hours ago, Gary Waterworth said:

Are you going to support the 10y warranty of all pylontechs sold in the last 10 years ?

If no, why not as an approved agent

How on earth would the Power Forum a trusted free resource take responsibility for your batteries? Please send me what you are smoking seriously... 😎 The okes at Power Forum has always been solid maybe your Question should be focused on Pylontech....Besides Pylontech knowing the risk is attempting to engage with guys like you 🤣🤣🤣 a fortune 500 company engaging with the 44 left in SA but who am I 😛 I see it as refreshing and positive does Sunsynk do the same ? With 6 month plus warranty repairs? ....nope ..... It's a joke 🤣.... But the BMS should have Functioned at 275000 KM per second...just because you used a crappy budget inverter... seriously send me what you're on...

Edited Saturday at 07:463 days by Boerseun

1 hour ago, GreenFields said:

Out of interest I just did a Google search using the words: "48v 75ah lithium battery raw material value in us$" and got the AI answer:

"The raw material value for a 48V 75Ah (approx. 3.6 kWh) lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery is roughly $220 to $300 USD, based on average cell-level LFP raw material and commodity benchmarks"

I make allowance that this may be inaccurate, but for sure I'd want to dig deeper before thinking even for a second of selling some fully functional built up batteries for possibly half the cost of the materials used to make it. Don't care, not leaping before looking.

I think that you are onto something, and I like your approach, but words matter. Raw material value would be the input materials at the Pylontech factory, before they assemble it, test and put it on the market as a brand spanking new battery.

Salvage value would be the value of the battery after someone has used abused it by applying "a few high voltage charges", and it swells up like a marshmallow in a microwave.

I asked Grok, who gave a detailed, interesting response:

Roughly $80–200 USD as scrap/material salvage value for a typical 48 V 75 Ah (~3.6 kWh) lithium battery, most likely in the $100–150 range depending on chemistry, condition, location, and volume.

Key Assumptions and Breakdown

• Capacity: 48 V × 75 Ah = 3.6 kWh.

• Typical weight: Commercial 48 V 75 Ah LiFePO4 (LFP) packs commonly weigh ~30–43 kg (often ~35 kg / ~77 lb). Energy density for LFP packs is generally in the 90–120+ Wh/kg range at pack level.

• Chemistry matters a lot:

  • LFP (LiFePO4) — most common for 48 V solar/storage, golf carts, etc. No cobalt/nickel; value mainly from lithium, copper, aluminum, steel/casing, and some graphite/iron phosphate. Lower scrap value.

  • NMC/NCA — higher value from nickel + cobalt (plus lithium, copper, Al), but less typical for many stationary 48 V packs.

Scrap market references (US-oriented, ~2026 data): Lithium-ion battery scrap has traded in roughly the $1.50–2.50/lb range (average often cited around $2/lb in earlier 2026 data; some later figures lower). At ~77 lb this implies a ballpark of ~$115–190 before adjustments for chemistry, state of charge/safety handling, transport, and minimum quantities.

Older analyses put contained metal value for LFP cells/black mass meaningfully lower than NMC/LCO (e.g., historical figures around a few thousand USD per tonne of cells vs. much higher for cobalt/nickel-rich chemistries). Current lithium prices have been volatile (lithium carbonate often in the ~$10k–26k+/t range at various points in 2025–2026), which affects LFP more directly.

Recoverable Materials (Order-of-Magnitude)

A pack contains:

• Lithium (roughly on the order of ~0.1–0.2 kg pure Li equivalent per kWh in real cells, higher as carbonate equivalent).

• Copper (current collectors + interconnects; often ~0.3+ kg/kWh range in examples) and aluminum (cathode foils + casing/structure).

• Steel or other casing, plastics, electrolyte residues, graphite (anode), and (for LFP) iron/phosphate.

• For NMC: meaningful nickel + cobalt.

Recyclers recover these via shredding → black mass → hydro/pyro refining. Net value to the seller is well below theoretical contained-metal value after processing, logistics, sorting, and safety costs. LFP recycling has often been closer to break-even or required gate fees in some markets because of lower high-value metal content.

Practical Realities

• What you actually receive is usually a per-pound or per-load price from a specialized battery recycler (not a general scrap yard), and it varies by region, volume, exact chemistry/testing, and current metal markets. Single consumer packs often get less favorable terms than bulk.

• Condition, remaining capacity, and whether it is still “live” affect handling costs.

• New battery pack prices have fallen substantially (cell/pack levels often cited well under $150/kWh and lower for storage LFP in recent data), which also pressures second-life and scrap values.

• Local regulations, transport of hazardous materials, and recycler availability matter. In many places you may pay a small fee or break even rather than receive a large check for one unit.

Bottom line: Expect low-to-mid hundreds of USD at best for material salvage of one 48 V 75 Ah unit under favorable conditions (especially if NMC and sold in quantity to a proper recycler). LFP is typically toward the lower end. For a precise quote, contact specialized lithium battery recyclers with the exact model, chemistry, weight, and condition—they price based on current black-mass/metal markets rather than a fixed formula. Values fluctuate with lithium, copper, nickel, and cobalt prices.

So it turns out that chemistry, condition, location and volume are relevant (no extra dollars for the marshmallow ones!). Hubble AM2s are NMC, Pylontechs are normal LFP. And remember: this is in the US, where they have recycling industries that can leach the chemicals and re-use them, not South Africa. So I asked Grok again, this time specifically Pylontech US3000s, and the response was that in SA, one would basically have to pay the recycler to take it away 😄

For a Pylontech US3000 / US3000C (LiFePO4, non-NMC) in South Africa, the pure material/salvage (scrap) value is very low — typically near zero to a modest positive amount at best, and sometimes you may need to pay a recycler to take it.

Specs Recap

• Nominal: ~48 V, 74 Ah, 3.55 kWh (usable ~3.2 kWh).

• Chemistry: LiFePO4 (LFP) — no cobalt or significant nickel.

• Weight: 32 kg.

LFP has far lower intrinsic metal value than NMC because the main recoverable items are lithium (limited quantity), copper, aluminium, steel/casing, and iron/phosphate. Black-mass or contained-metal value for LFP is substantially lower than for cobalt/nickel-rich chemistries.

South African Reality

South Africa’s lithium-ion recycling infrastructure is still limited. Cwenga Lib (Germiston, Gauteng) opened the first dedicated Li-ion facility in the Southern Hemisphere around late 2024, using a hydrometallurgical process. Other players (Desco, e-waste handlers, etc.) exist, but volumes of end-of-life residential storage packs are still relatively small and logistics/handling costs (safety, transport of potentially hazardous goods) eat into any residual value.

Local anecdotal feedback (e.g. solar installer groups) indicates that non-working or end-of-life Pylontech modules often have little to no positive scrap value. Some recyclers effectively charge a gate fee or only take them as part of larger loads. Working or high-SoH second-life units have far more value on the used market than pure material recovery.

Rough Material Value Estimate (USD)

Global LFP cell/black-mass recoverable values have historically been in the low thousands of USD per tonne of cells (far below NMC). For a single 32 kg module:

• Theoretical contained materials might support a gross value in the tens of USD range under favourable lithium/copper prices.

• After processing, transport, sorting, and safety costs in the SA context, the net amount a private seller is likely to receive is often $0–50 USD (roughly R0–R850 at ~R16.8/USD), and frequently closer to zero or a small cost to dispose of properly.

Bulk commercial volumes or manufacturing scrap can be more viable for recyclers; one-off residential modules are not.

Practical Advice in SA

• Contact specialised handlers directly for a current quote (Cwenga Lib / batteryrecycling.co.za, Desco, or other e-waste recyclers that accept Li-ion). Mention it is a Pylontech US3000 LFP module, weight, and condition.

• If the module still has usable capacity or a working BMS, second-life/resale (even as parts or for DIY) is almost always worth more than pure scrap.

• Proper recycling is preferable to landfill for safety and environmental reasons, even if there is little or no cash return.

• Prices fluctuate with lithium and copper markets and with how established local processors become.

In short: do not expect meaningful material salvage value for a single Pylontech US3000 in South Africa — it is one of the lower-value chemistries and the local market for individual end-of-life units remains thin.

Edited Saturday at 07:573 days by Yellow Measure
typo

14 minutes ago, Yellow Measure said:

I think that you are onto something, and I like your approach, but words matter. Raw material value would be the input materials at the Pylontech factory, before they assemble it, test and put it on the market as a brand spanking new battery.

Salvage value would be the value of the battery after someone has used abused it by applying "a few high voltage charges", and it swells up like a marshmallow in a microwave.

I asked Grok, who gave a detailed, interesting response:

So it turns out that chemistry, condition, location and volume are relevant (no extra dollars for the marshmallow ones!). Hubble AM2s are NMC, Pylontechs are normal LFP. And remember: this is in the US, where they have recycling industries that can leach the chemicals and re-use them, not South Africa. So I asked Grok again, this time specifically Pylontech US3000s, and the response was that in SA, one would basically have to pay the recycler to take it away 😄

Yet Pylontech offers R2K eish man eish...

1 minute ago, Boerseun said:

Yet Pylontech offers R2K eish man eish...

Just now, Yellow Measure said:

Bawahaaaa! Crying 😭 😭 😭 😂 😂 😂 😂 eish...

1 minute ago, Boerseun said:

Bawahaaaa! Crying 😭 😭 😭 😂 😂 😂 😂 eish...

LOL. That's reserved for those that have a Masters Degree in Cycle Count. 😆

Just now, Yellow Measure said:

LOL. That's reserved for those that have a Masters Degree in Cycle Count. 😆

Rotfl 😂 😂 😂 I can't Columns Columns 😭🤣😭 Masters Degree....