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Ampere Time 200ah Lithium??? Any reviews?

I finished my final test with the Ampere Time 200Ah Plus batteries. It took a while as I was busy with the CHINS batteries that arrived before I could finish with these. So here it is. I have a 12V Giandel 2200W PSW inverter, and used it to put these batteries through a load test which would put it over 180A. I don't have anything that could put a 200A load on them.

To my surprise, the inverter does more than 2200W. I was able to get 189A current from each battery with the same load. So calculating it out, I was doing around 2270W on the Giandel. I was able to get it to trip when I added more load. But the Giandel holds approx. 2270W for prolonged periods of time, and the Ampere TIme batteries did the 189A with no problem. I held the load once again for 12 minutes each. So, it is just an assumption that they can actually do the 200A. You decide.

I hope this helps someone when deciding whether to buy them or not. My wife wants the room cleaned up and all of this stuff has to go. I can't wait till the weather breaks so I can use my workshop again. By the way, I have decided to purchase two more of these after the CHINS fiasco. Be safe!
 
Great work all around in your reviews.

I might point out that any inverter is not 100% efficient so if it’s putting out 2000w AC it might be using 2200w of DC (assuming approx. 90% efficiency).
 
Does anyone have the manuals for the Ampere Time 200ah (not plus version)?

I just ordered two to wire in parallel in my motorhome. Im trying to figure out what settings to use on my Victron MultiPlus 3000w
 
My 2 new Ampere Time 200Ah Plus batteries arrived today. They are unpacked, and both are on chargers. I will put them through the same paces as the last two and post anything negative it if occurs. I don't want to bore everyone with the same stuff all over again.
 
Repro said:
My 2 new Ampere Time 200Ah Plus batteries arrived today. They are unpacked, and both are on chargers. I will put them through the same paces as the last two and post anything negative it if occurs. I don't want to bore everyone with the same stuff all over again.
Click to expand...
Not boring at all. Please share
 
Here are the results of battery #3. Fully charged with a PowerMaxx P3 45LK. Discharged with an East Tester ET5410 @ 31A. Starting battery voltage was 13.65V, test was set to automatically cut off @ 11V. Discharge test took 7 hrs. 13min. Battery capacity is 208.75Ah. Battery #4 was charged the same as #3, with a starting voltage of 13.67V. I will post the results when it is completed.
 

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Repro said:
Here are the results of battery #3. Fully charged with a PowerMaxx P3 45LK. Discharged with an East Tester ET5410 @ 31A. Starting battery voltage was 13.65V, test was set to automatically cut off @ 11V. Discharge test took 7 hrs. 13min. Battery capacity is 208.75Ah. Battery #4 was charged the same as #3, with a starting voltage of 13.67V. I will post the results when it is completed.
Click to expand...
Cool.

Why are you automatically cutting these off? I thought you let the chins run until the bms shut them down?
 
I have a new load tester since the CHINS batteries. After I was done with 31A load, I swapped with my old load tester @ 15A to test the BMS. With my multimeter connected, it tripped at 10.7V. Ampere Time's specs are 10.8V. The battery is now charging again with the PowerMaxx charger. I didn't really want to post everything like I did with the first two batteries. I though that if anything went wrong, I would post that. Just don't want to repeat and bore everyone.

Also, I like to end my load tests with 11V and see what the capacity is. After 11V, the voltage drops so fast, it will not make a significant difference. My batteries surpassed their capacity with 11V, that makes me happy. I have read in many places that doing a complete 100% discharge will shorten the cycle life as opposed to an 80% discharge. So, 11V is my personal limit. Not 100%, but close. I have relays installed on all my builds with 100A to cut power at 11V. The relays are limited to 100A. I use the together with Thronwave's smart shunt. Unfortunately they will not work with these Ampere TIme batteries which are capable of 200A. But that is OK. No need, my Growatt will allow me to set all of these parameters anyway.
 
Repro said:
I have a new load tester since the CHINS batteries. After I was done with 31A load, I swapped with my old load tester @ 15A to test the BMS. With my multimeter connected, it tripped at 10.7V. Ampere Time's specs are 10.8V. The battery is now charging again with the PowerMaxx charger. I didn't really want to post everything like I did with the first two batteries. I though that if anything went wrong, I would post that. Just don't want to repeat and bore everyone.

Also, I like to end my load tests with 11V and see what the capacity is. After 11V, the voltage drops so fast, it will not make a significant difference. My batteries surpassed their capacity with 11V, that makes me happy. I have read in many places that doing a complete 100% discharge will shorten the cycle life as opposed to an 80% discharge. So, 11V is my personal limit. Not 100%, but close. I have relays installed on all my builds with 100A to cut power at 11V. The relays are limited to 100A. I use the together with Thronwave's smart shunt. Unfortunately they will not work with these Ampere TIme batteries which are capable of 200A. But that is OK. No need, my Growatt will allow me to set all of these parameters anyway.
Click to expand...


Very cool, appreciate the tests, info and clarification.
 
Battery #4 capacity and low discharge cut off test completed. Capacity of 208.45Ah with voltage cut off @ 11V. Started load tester manually to trip BMS @ 10.8V low voltage. Ampere Time spec is for 10.8V. Battery #3 fully charged. Connected my bench power supply and continued charging till BMS tripped @ 15.1V with multimeter. Will test battery #4 over voltage disconnect in the morning.

All in all I am happy with the Ampere Time brand. They function as described. Ampere Time has rescinded the low temp charging cut off feature. I don’t need it for this application anyway.

Also, the Powermax P3 charger I recently purchased is really nice. I love the charging parameters. Thanks for the tip.
 

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I have four of these, and now officially from Ampere Time, low temp. charging cut off is no longer a feature. That is from an email I got from Ampere Time. One of my batteries did trip on low temp, however it took a long time to reset itself (overnight). The day the batteries arrived, it was around 19 degrees, and I immediately tried charging them in my garage where there is no heat. One of my batteries probably has a functioning low temp cut off. The other one I bought in January did not trip. The two I just got more than likely do not have it either. I can’t test it now.
 
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Here are the four Ampere Time Plus 200Ah batteries being prepped. They are fully charged and are now balancing for 24hrs in parallel. I will do a 2S2P 24V set up with my Growatt. My panels arrived and I will start building the ground mount system for the panels. It was fun testing and posting my results. I hope this was a help to someone. I posted a quick review in the Solar Panels category of my new panels if anyone is interested. https://diysolarforum.com/threads/longi-320w.19310/
 

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We have 4 Ampere Time 200 ah batteries on the way. After they were shipped I learned about the lack of low temp charge prevention.

I was wondering if a freezer thermostat might do the trick.
 
I've been thinking about getting a couple of these batteries. The low temp charge prevention is that for use in freezing temps? They are going to be stored/used in the basement and it never gets less than 55'F. That shouldn't be a problem??

Any thoughts on the Amptime 300 Ah?

Thank,
Bud
 
I am happy with mine. There was a member that had a bad run in with the 300Ah version. See the link below.

diysolarforum.com

Warning: Ampre Time 300Ah "Plus" has no low temp disconnect/LVD and trips at 100A (rated 200A)

Don't buy this: https://www.amazon.com/Ampere-Time-Phosphate-Overland-Off-Grid/dp/B08K7HZ6KZ/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=300ah+lithium&qid=1612131916&sr=8-3 The seller lists them as having a low temp disconnect, but disabled it in later batches because they can't figure out how to have a...
diysolarforum.com diysolarforum.com
 
This thread has been very helpful! I have the 200ah Ampere Time that I plan on installing in a small travel trailer along with 400W of rooftop solar.

The lack of a low temp cutoff has been bothering me, but Will Prowse just posted a video review of the Overkill Solar BMS which may be a great solution. I just need to open up the battery first to be sure everything can be accessed easily for BMS replacement. Has anyone opened up one of these exact batteries yet?

 
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Repro said:
If you get a Victron Energy SCC and VE battery sense, there is no need to rip your batteries apart.

Click to expand...
I had considered this option, but I’m still a bit worried about the trailer converter charging the battery when plugged into shore power or a generator when temperatures drop below 0°C. Disabling the converter is an option I guess, but complicates things...
 
Repro said:
I have a new load tester since the CHINS batteries. After I was done with 31A load, I swapped with my old load tester @ 15A to test the BMS. With my multimeter connected, it tripped at 10.7V. Ampere Time's specs are 10.8V. The battery is now charging again with the PowerMaxx charger. I didn't really want to post everything like I did with the first two batteries. I though that if anything went wrong, I would post that. Just don't want to repeat and bore everyone.

Also, I like to end my load tests with 11V and see what the capacity is. After 11V, the voltage drops so fast, it will not make a significant difference. My batteries surpassed their capacity with 11V, that makes me happy. I have read in many places that doing a complete 100% discharge will shorten the cycle life as opposed to an 80% discharge. So, 11V is my personal limit. Not 100%, but close. I have relays installed on all my builds with 100A to cut power at 11V. The relays are limited to 100A. I use the together with Thronwave's smart shunt. Unfortunately they will not work with these Ampere TIme batteries which are capable of 200A. But that is OK. No need, my Growatt will allow me to set all of these parameters anyway.
Click to expand...
Repro, thanks for all your testing. As a result I purchased one Ampere Time 200ah LiFePO4 battery (not the Plus). I ran a capacity test using AC from an inverter and it passed with flying colors. But when running DC test to determine if the BMS low voltage cutoff was working, mine did not shut off at 10v like yours did. I ran it down to 9.45v and then I ended the test in fear of ruining the battery. Do you think my BMS is bad? I kind of want to run it some more to see if the BMS ever cuts it off. How low do you think I can run it down to? Thanks.
 

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Sorry for keeping this short. If I were you, I would contact Ampere Time immediately to cover yourself if there is an issue. Also, my experience with CHINS, they told me that their BMS should trip at 9.2V. I find that to be bad the the internal cells. I am sure that Ampere Time will resolve the issue by replacing the battery, or issuing a refund. Hope this helps.

service@amperetime.com
 
Avi8orN8 said:
I had considered this option, but I’m still a bit worried about the trailer converter charging the battery when plugged into shore power or a generator when temperatures drop below 0°C. Disabling the converter is an option I guess, but complicates things...
Click to expand...

If you're concerned about the affect of temperature on your battery, consider moving the battery inside the trailer or putting warming pads on the battery to keep it above 32° F.
 
HRTKD said:
If you're concerned about the affect of temperature on your battery, consider moving the battery inside the trailer or putting warming pads on the battery to keep it above 32° F.
Click to expand...
The plan is to install the battery inside the trailer, however I still can’t help but worry about the battery temperature dropping below 0°C while the converter is charging it during cold weather.

A couple of days ago I made the decision to take the battery apart and verify that I could easily replace the BMS. After doing so it appears that is the case, so I ordered the Overkill 12V BMS from Amazon. I believe this will solve the low temperature charging issue, as well as provide a lot more data and control. Getting the case open took some serious work though! Fortunately I was able to open it up without causing any significant damage to the case. I’ll post an update after installing the new BMS.
 

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