Non Solar Charging

[Thos]

I have two SOK 12volt 206amp/hr batteries in parallel and I want to charge them up as quickly as possible. I have been charging them with a Progressive Dynamics 60amp charger but I have found that even with only a 75watt drain they need to be recharged for at least 4 hours a day which is costing a lot for gas.
So I need to get a bigger charger. Can someone tell me how big a charger I can use without damaging the batteries or reducing their lifespan. I have been told that anything over 100amps will definitely reduce battery lifespan.

 

[cs1234]

The spec sheet does say 50amps per battery. So 100amps is supposedly it. Seems pretty low for a 206ah battery, but that is what the sheet says. It seems like more of a potential limitation of the BMS in the battery than LiFePO4 chemistry itself, where .5c to 1c charge rates aren't unusual.

Personally, I think their sheet is probably overly conservative and it can likely charge much higher than that. Hopefully somebody else that actually owns them will chime in though.

 

[chrisski]

Only thing I will add is 75 amps about maxes out a 12 volt charger from a 120 vac 15 amp outlet. There’s a slight jump going to a 120 vac 20 amp charger and much more with 240 vac.

Probably dont want to charge at 100 amps exactly, a little less. I had a 15 amp BMS with a 15 amp SCC and when i charged the SCC would hit 15.1 amps and trip the BMS.