Aims 12V/24V 75/37A Battery Charger out of stock, equal alternative to get SOK batteries an initial charge?

[Dinky]

Folks,
New to all this. I am waiting for the Aims to come back into stock, but cannot get a solid date on that happening. I have 2 new in the box 12v 100ah SOK batteries. No power at the barn, but I can take the batteries up to the house and charge them. I need to do the initial charge, so need something that can take them to 100%, and also balance them. Have any suggestions? Sorry, I am a novice. Future setup will be 4 or 5 100 watt solar panels, MPPT, etc, have not got that far yet. Thanks in advance for any advice.
Kind Regards,
Steve

 

[rmaddy]

I have no idea how it compares to the Aims charger but I used a Victron Energy Blue Smart IP67 12V/17A charger. They have other sizes as well but that one worked for me. I put my two SOK 206Ah batteries in parallel and connected the charger. Using the VictronConnect app on my phone I could setup the charger for Lithium batteries and then I tweaked the bulk and absorption settings a bit for what I wanted. By morning the batteries were balanced at 100% SOC.

 

[Dinky]

I have no idea how it compares to the Aims charger but I used a Victron Energy Blue Smart IP67 12V/17A charger. They have other sizes as well but that one worked for me. I put my two SOK 206Ah batteries in parallel and connected the charger. Using the VictronConnect app on my phone I could setup the charger for Lithium batteries and then I tweaked the bulk and absorption settings a bit for what I wanted. By morning the batteries were balanced at 100% SOC.

Thank you kindly!

 

[Just John]

Folks,
New to all this. I am waiting for the Aims to come back into stock, but cannot get a solid date on that happening. I have 2 new in the box 12v 100ah SOK batteries. No power at the barn, but I can take the batteries up to the house and charge them. I need to do the initial charge, so need something that can take them to 100%, and also balance them. Have any suggestions? Sorry, I am a novice. Future setup will be 4 or 5 100 watt solar panels, MPPT, etc, have not got that far yet. Thanks in advance for any advice.
Kind Regards,
Steve

This is a good option:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TMRJQTH/

Cheap option:

Amazon.com

Meanwell makes some excellent options as well, however they are not cheap, and require a little technical skill to set up. Let me know if you want examples.

 

[Bubba1]

I have been looking for something comparable to the aims converter charger with no luck. The adjustable current is what I want so I can charge different batteries at different rates. The AC input is very forgiving so good for generator power. A 30amp charger is not going to cut it on a large battery when using a generator. Good luck with whatever you pick. I'm going to wait for aims to become available again. Hopefully the price doesn't go up to much.

 

[Just John]

I have been looking for something comparable to the aims converter charger with no luck. The adjustable current is what I want so I can charge different batteries at different rates. The AC input is very forgiving so good for generator power. A 30amp charger is not going to cut it on a large battery when using a generator. Good luck with whatever you pick. I'm going to wait for aims to become available again. Hopefully the price doesn't go up to much.

Progressive Dynamics makes some good higher rate chargers, Battleborn recommends them.
For the original poster, I wouldn't go above 50 amps, for larger batteries, higher rate chargers may require special high capacity 20 amp outlets (like on a generator).

Progressive Dynamics 45Amp LiFePO4 Converter Charger

This Progressive Dynamics 12 V 45-amp LiFePO4 battery charger works exquisitely with our LiFePO4 batteries and only weighs 5.15 lbs!

battlebornbatteries.com