AGM/Gel chargers for Ampere Time - Is this claim true?

[Westcoast]

I was looking at an 12.8v 200AH Ampere Time LFP battery and saw they claim “Can be Charged with normal AGM/Gel battery chargers.”

I’m looking into battery replacements for my travel trailer and have read I’d need to change out the charger somehow if I go with lithium. Being a beginner and not knowing much of anything… I like the idea of less stuff I have to swap. Is this claim true? Or would I have to still incorporate a lithium-specific charger?

 

[Bossrox]

I'm using the agm settings on my charger to do my lith's. The only difference is a lith charger goes about 2-4 tenths of a volt higher on charge & lith chargers don't use float settings so instead of full speed ahead til the bms kills the charge, the float will kick in near the lith's full charge not letting them top off to their max which is still a pretty full charge.

 

[fratermus]

Whether you would need a new charger depends on the old charger{s}, and what you want to accomplish.

It's a bit like buying a new Toyota Corolla. If you want it to last 100,000 miles you do the basics and avoid driving it into a wall.* If you want it to last 400,000 miles that will require curiosity, gentle driving, and some understanding of how cars work. Choose your own adventure.

Charging LiFePO4 with preset AGM/Gel lead charging profiles is not (IMO) great for them** but they will likely make it through the warranty period before dying. Of the two a Gel profile is likely to be gentler on the battery.

You can "roll your own" charging profile in a controller that allows editing the charging setpoints but it requires some understanding of how chargers work and what the battery wants. That rabbit hole is not something everyone would enjoy.

Is this claim true?

Gently offered: descriptive titles like "AGM/Gel chargers for Ampere Time" might get you more and better responses. Descriptive titles guide readers to topics where they help the most, given the amount of time and energy they can devote to the forum.

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* charging at freezing temps
** and I'm not convinced many preset Lithium profiles are much better.

 

[chrisski]

I think gel profile in my case is better than nothing. Even though the lithium cells could take a charge of up to 14.6, I like to Charge them at 13.8. I can set that on my SCC no problem, until there’s no sun, then I need to use an AC to DC converter. These are my settings for the Aims 120 volt to 24/12 volt converter and the gel profile is as close as it gets:


THe Lead is so high it could cause a runaway cell or a BMS trip; the AGM is at the limit; the lithium phospahte less than 14.6, but too close for my comfort. THat leaves Gel as the least worst choice IMO.