Are there any good equivalents to the AIMS Power 75 Amp smart charger?

[Markilowatt]

Wasn't really sure which section to put this in but I found other posts about this charger in this section. I'm not going to be using it for testing or anything like that, I run my cabin off of a 2,000w generator so I need a good smart charger for my battery. My current setup is just a Vmaxtanks 200ah battery, 1,100 watt inverter and a Samlex SEC-1250UL battery charger. I just ordered a 206Ah Lithium Sokbattery so my understanding is that the Samlex charger isn't designed to charge lithium batteries (correct me if I'm wrong). I see Will using the AIMS charger in his videos all the time so it seems decent. So I ordered one but shipping got delayed again until late August and I'm starting to get concerned that it won't arrive because clearly they're having manufacturing issues. So I was just wondering if this charger would actually suit my needs best. I need the best charger that will work for lithium and can charge while I'm using the battery. The Samlex one works very well at this, I can just turn my generator on when I need and keep using my battery as usual. I'm hoping to keep the cost below $250.

Just as a side question, is it okay to only ever charge a lithium battery under load? Because for my lead acid battery, I always left my Samlex charger on 3 stage, leaving out the equalization because the manual said not to use 4 stage if the battery is under load. My understanding is that this is okay to do. I'm assuming that the AIMS Power charger will keep my battery healthy and I can use the battery while charging it no issues?

Thank you!

 

[snoobler]

Welcome to the forum.

If this is your unit:

https://samlexamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/11001-SEC-1250-2425UL-0920_Hrez.pdf

3 stage charging mode at 14.0-14.4V absorption and 13.5V float is fine for LFP.

Just as a side question, is it okay to only ever charge a lithium battery under load? Because for my lead acid battery, I always left my Samlex charger on 3 stage, leaving out the equalization because the manual said not to use 4 stage if the battery is under load. My understanding is that this is okay to do. I'm assuming that the AIMS Power charger will keep my battery healthy and I can use the battery while charging it no issues?

It helps to understand that batteries are either discharging or charging - never both. When you "charge under load" you are adding charge current. If charge current is greater than load current, you are charging the battery at a lower rate. If the charge current is lower than the load current, the battery is discharging at a lower rate.

 

[time2roll]

Couple possible issues with equalizing under load. First is voltage may exceed 16 volts and cause issues with some 12v appliances. Second is the time could be overly extended if the voltage does not hit the target due to the load. Either way this should be disabled for LFP.

 

[Markilowatt]

Welcome to the forum.

If this is your unit:

https://samlexamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/11001-SEC-1250-2425UL-0920_Hrez.pdf

View attachment 54755

3 stage charging mode at 14.0-14.4V absorption and 13.5V float is fine for LFP.



It helps to understand that batteries are either discharging or charging - never both. When you "charge under load" you are adding charge current. If charge current is greater than load current, you are charging the battery at a lower rate. If the charge current is lower than the load current, the battery is discharging at a lower rate.

Couple possible issues with equalizing under load. First is voltage may exceed 16 volts and cause issues with some 12v appliances. Second is the time could be overly extended if the voltage does not hit the target due to the load. Either way this should be disabled for LFP.

Thanks for the responses! I actually just realized I remembered incorrectly, the Samlex charger doesn't have 4 stage charging, and they have an option to disable stage 2:

They say to leave this setting off to avoid overcharging. But I always wondered about this because I remember the solar charge controller I use in my campervan brings my battery up to 14.4v while I'm using it with no issues. Is it okay to only charge a lithium battery (or lead acid for that matter) to 13.5 instead of 14.4v and is there any legitimate reason it says this in the manual? Could the charger be too slow to respond to sudden changes in voltage?

 

[snoobler]

You can get LFP charged to 95%+ @ 13.6V, BUT it will take a very long time. 13.5 is worse, and I don't know where it will peak.

I would select the Gel config and call it good.

 

[Bob142]

I would select the Gel config and call it good.

I agree. I've used my Samlex SEC-1230 on the Gel setting to charge both my Lion Energy LFP drop-ins and my DIY 280Ah EVE cell LFP packs. It works great.

 

[Markilowatt]

You can get LFP charged to 95%+ @ 13.6V, BUT it will take a very long time. 13.5 is worse, and I don't know where it will peak.

I would select the Gel config and call it good.

I agree. I've used my Samlex SEC-1230 on the Gel setting to charge both my Lion Energy LFP drop-ins and my DIY 280Ah EVE cell LFP packs. It works great.

Awesome will do, thanks guys! You saved me $250 and a bunch of waiting for something I don't need.

 

[snoobler]

Awesome will do, thanks guys! You saved me $250 and a bunch of waiting for something I don't need.

The DIY spirit and "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" combined can often be an opportunity to save money.